It is naive to think that you can test yourself in advance, says the professor.
It seems tempting to take a corona test shortly before you go on Christmas vacation to visit grandma and grandpa. Then you can safely give a hug and eat Christmas duck and risalamande with them.
But drop it.
This is the warning from several researchers and doctors who deal with coronavirus on a daily basis.
– These “safety tests” provide a false sense of security. The risk of being infected when you reach your grandparents is almost as great if you have been tested as if you have not been tested, says Viggo Andreasen, associate professor of mathematical biology and epidemiologist at Roskilde University .
He directly calls on the Statens Serum Institut to “make a campaign and explain to people that it is useless to think that you can test yourself in advance”.
Provides a snapshot only
Despite the strict restrictions and the fact that the Danes may gather a maximum of ten people, it is still expected that generations will meet each other across the Christmas period.
But there is no reason why Danes who have not been exposed to infection or feel ill should have a coronation test taken up for a possible Christmas holiday, it also sounds from Thomas Benfield, who is professor and chief physician in infectious disease medicine at Hvidovre Hospital.
– The test is no better than that it only gives a snapshot of one’s situation. No matter how careful you are, you can be very unlucky to be infected shortly after taking the test, says Thomas Benfield.
It is still unclear whether the restrictions will be tightened towards the Christmas holidays. On Thursday, however, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (SocDem) stated that she does not envisage any relief.
According to a new forecast from the European Agency for Infection Control, ECDC, Denmark can look forward to a steadily increasing number of cases of infection and more hospital admissions as we approach Christmas Eve.
Where we currently have around 1,000 new infected people every day, by the end of December there will be close to double that, ECDC predicts.
Isolate for four to five days
No matter what the situation looks like in the days leading up to Christmas, “a safety test” will never be the solution if you are going home to the family, warns Jonatan Schloss, director of the General Practitioners’ Organization.
– You risk becoming infected the minute after you leave the place of your test. You may also have been infected a few days before the test and still get a negative response. Because it takes a few days from you being infected until enough virus is produced for it to be measured, he says.
But can you understand the need to take such a “safety test” if you are visiting a family that is at risk?
– Yes, it is my family’s. We can not participate in the usual big family Christmas Eve. We will have to follow the recommendations from the National Board of Health to keep social activities to a minimum, especially in relation to the particularly vulnerable.
According to Viggo Andreasen, the most optimal strategy to protect your grandparents is quite simple:
– Go as much as possible in isolation four to five days before you have to meet with the grandparents, says the professor.
Test capacity: 95,000 people
Denmark currently has a total capacity to test around 95,000 people a day, according to the Ministry of Health and the Elderly. That equates to us being able to test about 11 percent of the population every week.
Minister of Health Magnus Heunicke (S) announces in writing that the normal opening hours and the current analysis capacity with few exceptions will be maintained in December and between Christmas and New Year.
He emphasizes in his answer that it is important to have a high test capacity during the Christmas period, and that it is implemented especially for “people with symptoms or in need of health treatment as well as close contacts with the infected”.
The Ministry of Health and the Elderly is currently working on a concrete plan for testing at Christmas across the country.
Source: dr.dk
