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Dispute over infection data
Health personnel perform quick swabs (Photographic archive)
It is a war of numbers, after the bulletin published in recent days by the Ministry of Health and bounced almost everywhere, which witnessed a positive rate of 36% in Veneto, according to the swabs made. Today, Sunday, December 27, the response from the Region has arrived (the graph of the Veneto Region, December 27).
With more than 5,000 cases, Veneto, in fact, Veneto was reported as the Italian region with the highest increase in positives: 5,010 cases identified with 13,776 swabs, which caused the positivity rate to jump to 36.3%; three times more than the national average, which yesterday was 12.5%.
Prevention Department of the Veneto RegionFor this reason, today he noted in a note the following:
1. “In recent days, Azienda Zero has published a table that provides an erroneous reading of the trend of the Covid 19 epidemic in the Veneto region, in particular with regard to the percentages of the number of positives in the swabs made.
2. The table was also constructed on the basis of a standard dating from February 2020 that states that the percentage of positives in swabs is calculated exclusively on the number of molecular swabs. It should be noted that at the time of the promulgation of the regulation, the fast pads were not yet available, in fact they only appeared on the markets in April.
3. It should also be noted that while only the number of molecular swabs is entered in the percentage calculation, the number of positives also includes the subjects reported with quick swabs.
4. The true epidemiological situation in Veneto cannot, therefore, ignore the sum of the quick and molecular swabs to calculate the percentage of positives. while Veneto performs around 20 thousand molecular swabs and around 40 thousand quick swabs every day
5. It is recalled that on December 24, the Coordination of the Health Commission of the Italian Regions sent an official note to the Minister of Health Speranza and the technicians of the department in which, in addition, “it is requested that the total number be clearly specified of tests carried out (molecular and antigenic) of the different Regions in all the bulletins of the Ministry and Civil Protection “
6. A table is attached that shows the real situation of the relationship between the positives and the total of swabs performed (sums of molecular and rapid swabs)
7. Following the interface with the Department of Prevention of the Ministry of Health, we have had assurances about the publication of the quick swab data along with the number of molecular biology swabs. This element is strictly related to the modification of the case definition that will be included in the next circular of the Ministry of Health. The proportion of cases over the total number of tests carried out, both rapid and molecular, will provide a more precise element for the evaluation of epidemiological scenarios.
