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Rapid test tests for corona have been carried out at the Aker Hospital test station in Oslo since the beginning of November. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen
Rapid tests are used, among other things, in case of infection outbreaks to identify people who are infected.
Rapid tests are distributed according to the population of the municipalities, reports the Norwegian Health Directorate in a letter sent to all municipalities in the country.
The Norwegian Health Directorate has ordered a total of 5 million rapid tests and has received some of them. Some municipalities with outbreaks have already received evidence.
In the coming days, more tests will be sent through the regional health authorities to the municipalities. The distribution will be made according to population, so that each municipality will receive a series of rapid tests corresponding to 20 percent of the inhabitants of the municipality, writes the Norwegian Health Directorate in the letter.
These rapid tests are taken in the same way as the tests done today, that is, with a cotton swab that is inserted into the nose and mouth. But the rapid test does not need to be analyzed in a laboratory and shows the result after 15 minutes.
The two different test methods have different properties. The PCR test (which must be sent to a laboratory) is the most accurate test for SARS-CoV-2. It is recommended if the laboratory can give a response within 24 hours or if the response time is not decisive.
Rapid tests can be used when quick results are required. This is especially important in the case of the elimination of infections in connection with the outbreaks. In some cases, the PCR test is recommended in addition to the rapid test, writes the Norwegian Health Directorate.
Some of the main uses of rapid tests are:
• To clarify the diagnosis in people with symptoms where the response time to CRP is long (> 24 h).
• In the event of an infection outbreak, identify people with the infection, clarify the scope, and quickly begin detection, quarantine, and isolation of the infection.
• In areas with a lot of infection, according to the evaluation of the municipal doctor: periodic tests of employees and residents in health institutions where there is an increased risk of a serious course of covid-19, possibly. also visitors. It should be the municipal superior who, based on professional advice and local conditions, decides on the use of rapid tests.
An experiment was started on 2 November in which 4,000 rapid tests were to be carried out in Oslo, among other things to find out whether rapid tests are as reliable as laboratory tests.
Nakstad: – These tests are good
At 1:00 p.m. today, the Minister of Health and Care Services, Bent Høie, and the Deputy Director of Health, Espen Rostrup Nakstad, will discuss the results and plans for the use of rapid tests to detect coronary heart disease.
– It depends a bit on each municipality if they want to use rapid tests, and then it comes down to things like the duration of the trip from that municipality to a laboratory. If it takes a long time to get the test results in the usual kind of tests, then it may be better to use quick tests, because then you get faster answers, and there are many other things that do quick tests that you might want to use, says Nakstad to VG .
– But that test in Oslo, how did it go? It was good? Do these tests work?
– These tests are good and suitable for use in situations where there is a long way to the lab with regular tests, and for a person with symptoms, a quick test has a lot to offer, and exactly how good they are, etc. . we’ll say a little more in a couple of hours, he says.
He is killed by a French study
A French study shows that the rapid tests Norway has tested are now less accurate than the manufacturers themselves have declared.
The test manufacturers, Abbot and Roche, claim that the tests are between 85 and 95 percent accurate. But according to the French study, the precision does not exceed between 50 and 60 percent, writes NRK.
In Denmark, a panel of experts believes that such tests should not be used to detect infections, and the country has stopped using rapid tests as the only documentation that one is not infected by corona. The Danes draw heavily on French study.
