Frequently asked questions about coronavirus tests
This page includes frequently asked questions about coronavirus tests and answers to these questions.
You need a referral in order to be tested for coronavirus infection. In the Digital Clinic service of OmaMehiläinen, a doctor will assess your symptoms and issue a referral for a coronavirus test, if necessary. You can also be issued with a referral at a remote appointment or by your occupational health nurse.
What to do when arriving for a coronavirus test
Create a family profile in OmaMehiläinen to access Digital Clinic on behalf of your underage child or another family member and browse their test and examination results. When accessing Digital Clinic on behalf of someone else, please remember to choose the right profile.
How to create a family account
In most cases, your medical expense insurance or the insurance of your child will cover coronavirus tests when they are performed as a part of a treatment process or when a doctor has issued a referral to the test. Check your insurance terms and conditions or contact your insurance company to determine which services are covered by your insurance.
Read more about accessing our services with an insurance
If you have been issued with a referral for a coronavirus test, check which drive-in testing station or respiratory tract infection clinic laboratory is closest to you and visit the station or clinic for testing. Please note that a referral for a coronavirus test is always required. Learn more about the instructions of the testing site before visiting it. Further instructions will be provided at the testing site.
Test results are available in OmaMehiläinen within 1–2 days. Please wait for three days for the test result. Samples are analysed around the clock every day, which means that the result may be made available in the middle of the night. In order to access the test results of an underage child, you need to create a family account in OmaMehiläinen. The results of samples taken at Express testing stations are available in six hours on average. The results of the antigen tests are ready in about 30 minutes.
Please note that if you access a Mehiläinen sampling site and your referral was issued by a municipality/city, the analysis of the sample is performed at a laboratory of the municipality/city according to their schedule. You will be informed of a positive test result by phone. Please note that the results of analyses performed in laboratories other than Mehiläinen’s are not available in OmaMehiläinen but in the My Kanta service.
If you need a certificate of the result of a coronavirus test in order to, for example, travel or for any other purpose, you must request it separately. You can pick up the certificate from a Mehiläinen medical clinic.
If the testing service is included in your occupational health agreement, you, as an occupational health customer, can be issued with a referral for a coronavirus test in Digital Clinic or at a remote appointment with a doctor/occupational health nurse. Act according to the instructions provided once you have been issued with a referral.
A Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test can be performed at any time, regardless of whether there are any symptoms or not. The test can also be performed before the onset of the disease. The PCR test is a more sensitive method of detecting the coronavirus than the antigen test. The results of the test are available approximately within 1–2 days.
An antigen test can be done if there are symptoms and it has been under five days since the onset of symptoms. The antigen test is not as sensitive as the PCR test, but it is faster than the PCR test, as its results are available in about 30 minutes from testing. The antigen test is ideal for situations where quick results are required and the symptoms have just begun.
If you receive a referral to a test from a health care professional, they will determine which method of testing is appropriate for you. You do not need to request a specific type of coronavirus test. Both tests are performed by taking a sample from the nasal cavity with a cotton swab.
