Adriana Pistol, Director of the National Center for Surveillance and Control of Communicable Diseases, announced that nationwide coronavirus testing of the population has begun. The first county to be tested is Ialomița, but several samples were also collected from Bucharest, Pistol said. The program will probably end at the end of August and is using the most advanced testing method available at this time.
As a result of the program, by autumn, the authorities will have an idea of the percentage of Romanians who have been infected in the eight development regions.
According to Adriana Pistol, all the samples will have a bar code, which will be automatically uploaded to the STS platform. “A few samples have started to be taken in several locations. The first is Ialomița County, and some were performed in Bucharest. It is a sample that is calculated in a certain way {…} We think that we will finish the collection of the samples by the end of August and most of the results will be available,” Pistol told Digi24.
The Director of the national center said that through the testing, the authorities will know the percentage of Romanians who have been infected, even if the person didn’t realize it. She added that they would distribute the data by age groups and territories.
“The data will be available for the decision-makers. This is the reason we are conducting this study, to help the decision-makers in adopting measures, and especially, to help the healthcare system to prepare for what might come,” Pistol explained.
She said that they chose several laboratories that wanted to participate in the program from all of the counties and Bucharest. “People arrive to be tested for various reasons at a laboratory that performs any type of medical analysis. These people are asked if they would agree to participate in the study. Then, these laboratories, since they collect blood anyway to do these tests, will keep a small quantity of the blood, which they will give to us, and we will test it here in Bucharest for antibodies,” the director explained.
She added that the testing is going slowly, as they are using the most advanced method available at this time.
Title image: In autumn, the authorities will have an idea of the percentage of Romanians who have been infected. Photo: healthline.com
