Slovakia to test all adults for SARS-CoV-2

Slovakia plans to be the first country to test its whole population for SARS-CoV-2, but experts warn of logistical and technical challenges. ...

 

Slovakia has begun a massive operation to test its entire adult population for SARS-CoV-2 in a bid to halt what its government has said is an alarming acceleration of the spread of the virus in the country.

An initial 3-day pilot testing scheme in four regions in the north of the country that have become infection hotspots began on Oct 23, 2020, ahead of mass testing of the rest of the population on the two weekends of Oct 30–Nov 1, and Nov 6–8.

 

But questions remain about the effectiveness and safety of an operation that was only announced 2 weeks before it was due to begin, with some infectious disease experts warning that the plan could put people's health at risk and undermine public trust in measures to contain the virus's spread.

The number of COVID-19 cases has risen rapidly in Slovakia since the end of the summer. The country garnered international praise for its response to the virus in the first wave of the pandemic. Slovakia's first identified SARS-CoV-2 infection was in early March, and between then and September, it had recorded relatively few infections, with new daily cases rarely rising beyond 100.

But in the past 3 weeks, thousands of new infections have been identified per day, with the proportion of infections per number of people tested at just under 16%. Government ministers have called the numbers alarming and had warned that, unless the spread of the virus is slowed, the country's hospitals could be on the brink of collapse within weeks.

 

For the mass testing, thousands of testing sites are to be set up across the country and everyone over the age of 10 years—approximately 4 million people—will be asked to attend a testing site and take an antigen test. After being tested, people must wait in a separate disinfected room and, around half an hour later, will be given their results.

 

Anyone testing positive must remain in strict self-isolation at their home for 10 days, or they can go to a quarantine facility provided by the state.  ...But many experts have said that although mass testing in itself is not a bad idea, Slovakia's approach the way it is being done in is flawed.

 

“This isn't a good move. There are some serious risks to this”, Vladimir Leksa, an immunologist working with the Slovak Academy of Sciences and the Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, told The Lancet.

 

Scientists have questioned the use of antigen tests, which WHO has said are not suitable for mass testing unless used alongside PCR tests. ...