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However, according to the Vilnius City Municipality, even if it is established that a virus has been found on surfaces, testing will not be mandatory, as this is only a preventive measure. For their part, epidemiologists are not very optimistic about this type of study.
The test will not be mandatory
In one of Vilnius’ largest kindergartens, Pilaitukas, this week public health specialists conducted a study that has never been used in kindergartens before. Specialists examined whether there were traces of coronavirus on the surfaces of the nursery furniture.
“Everything went well, quickly, there were no children in the study and the study of one group lasted about 10 minutes.
The researchers, with the help of specialists from the Vilnius Public Health Office, took 6 samples from the group of changing rooms, beds, windowsills, educators workplaces, ”said Rasita Gylienė, director of Pilaitukas kindergarten.
After analysis of the samples, traces of the virus were detected in one of the groups.
“Only one kindergarten group found a significant amount of viral material on the surface, contacted all parents in the group, and most parents agreed to take the test. Antigen testing is currently underway and results are expected, ”said the kindergarten director.
Starting next week, such tests will be carried out in other Lithuanian kindergartens, in those municipalities where the incidence of coronavirus was the highest in the last two weeks. The research has led to the fact that nurseries are increasingly becoming hotspots for coronavirus as morbidity increases in the country.
“If a large amount of the virus is detected, the homes of that group of children and the educator are invited to perform a prophylactic antigen test, because there may be asymptomatic cases in the group that share the virus with each other,” Guoda explained. Ropaitė-Beigė, Director of the Vilnius Welfare Office.
However, Vilnius authorities admit that even if traces of coronavirus are found in the nursery, it will only be offered for examination. Alina Kovalevskaja, advisor to the Vilnius city municipal administration on education issues, said it was a voluntary decision and a preventive measure.
“We suggest doing it and parents will agree or disagree. If the tests are positive, then the group will be isolated in order, ”he said.
For his part, epidemiologist Saulius Čaplinskas doubts that this research in kindergartens is justified.
“In order not to send a false message to the public that surfaces can be particularly unsafe and that nurseries can infect each other, it must be said right away that it is indeed a very rare case and there is no evidence that the virus spreads widely. I don’t want to be a prophet of evil, but so far I don’t see much optimism here, “said the epidemiologist.
Currently, samples of furniture surfaces are taken in two kindergartens in Vilnius.
Outbreaks in educational institutions are worrying
As reported by the National Public Health Center (NVSC) this week, the majority of COVID-19 outbreaks have been recorded in preschoolers.
“Recently, kindergartens are the places where the eyes of epidemiologists are most concentrated. In them, unlike the other two important areas, social institutions and medical institutions, we do not see positive dynamics.
The Vilnius region stands out in particular, where almost half of the outbreaks in kindergartens were recorded at the end of last week: forty-three out of eighty-seven, ”said Giedrė Aleksienė, Head of the Disease Management Division Transmissible from NVSC. acting director.
According to her, as the contact in educational institutions is very close, it cannot be ruled out that the faster transmission of the British coronavirus strain contributes significantly to such an unfavorable dynamic in the Vilnius region.
According to experts, outbreaks in educational institutions are also a cause for concern, as they often isolate large numbers of people at risk of infection. For example, 87 outbreaks have been linked to more than 580 COVID-19 cases, more than 1,500 people in contact have been isolated, and nearly 500 low-risk people have been identified.
