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Mass testing is currently the strategy of some neighboring countries: in South Tyrol this weekend on 250,000 people tested. RE.Slovakia is already planning more on December 2 Massive corona tests, in which almost the entire population will be tested. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz wants to use massive tests “to make Christmas the safest possible.”
For the Basel epidemiologist Marcel Tanner, such massive tests are problematic if they are not carried out consistently. You can’t just have everyone tested once, because not all infected people will be logged. “If you look at the population today, you don’t register people without symptoms or during the incubation period, since these people are not yet infectious,” Tanner explains. Someone who was infected three days before the test would have a negative mass test result.
Slovakia under fire
Tanner takes Slovakia as an example: in the first test run, only about 50 percent were recorded there. “That means the transmission continues. That only leads to a false sense of security and disappointment, ”says Tanner.
Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovič boasted on Friday despite strong criticism of the approach taken so far. His idea of mass testing now serves as a model for copycats, from Liverpool to South Tyrol to our neighboring country Austria. However, there should be no penalties for not participating in further tests in Slovakia. After the first two rounds of testing, those who had not been tested were treated almost like people with a positive test result. For example, you were not allowed to go to work without a negative test.
No compulsory exam in Austria
In Austria, teachers will be tested first, and then police officers, he said. Government announced on Friday. Shortly before Christmas, the entire population, about nine million people, could be tested. Participation is voluntary for everyone, emphasized Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
Epidemiologist Tanner doubts the usefulness of mass testing in Europe: “A mass test in an island state like New Zealand is completely different from ours, whether in Austria or Switzerland. We are in the center of Europe and we have all the exchange. “
Oh you are happy
However, in special situations, the Covid-19 Working Group member considers the procedure to be quite sensible: “If you are testing an entire church choir or a sports club. We already have. However, these are outbreak controls to determine how far the virus has spread. “
In terms of logistics, the great organizational achievement of mass testing would theoretically also be possible in Switzerland, believes Tanner. However, in his opinion, the best way is still to comply with the currently applicable measures. “That is definitely the best strategy for a calmer Christmas. Better than launching such a big operation now, ”says Tanner. Now self-discipline is required so that by the end of December there is a state of mind instead of panic.
