Beovic announced what he would propose to the government regarding the measures

The epidemiological situation in our country is not yet calming down

Head of the covid-19 advisory group at the Ministry of Health Bojana Beović he told the STA that the group would propose to the government this week to extend existing measures to contain the novel coronavirus and that any changes could only be discussed when the latest measures go into effect, towards the end of this week.

In an interview with STA, Beović said that the new coronavirus is still largely circulating among the population, despite some measures, such as closed kindergartens, remote schooling, etc. have been going on for a month. “But it is one thing to prescribe a measure, it is quite another to follow it”, she added.

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In some countries, after a few weeks of measures – for example in Austria – the epidemiological situation has calmed down, but in Slovenia this is not noticeable, which Beović attributes to a different perception of these measures in our society. That perception is also aided by the lack of support or the controversy over action in the mainstream media was critical.

The virus spreads in the workplace

According to her, there is no point in changing the measurements in any way until they show the effect they expect towards the end of the week. Therefore, the advisory group will propose to the government for the time being to extend these measures for the time being.

The virus is more than evident, he said, spreading in the workplace, while it spreads in kindergartens, schools, bars, etc. cannot because these are closed. Therefore, according to her, they will not be able to propose the release of measures that would facilitate the functioning of the economy. To stop the spread in companies, companies themselves must take care to prevent contacts or. transfers between employees, he said.

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We would test particularly vulnerable groups

Beovic also commented on the prime minister’s announcement Janez Janša on voluntary mass population tests. According to her, the advisory group tends to aim for mass testing, that is, to test those groups that are particularly at risk from a possible infection. At the same time, weekly tests of health workers have already started, which will also be tested in homes for the elderly.

When asked how it should be done and to what extent, he said the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) proposes to run repeat tests in the DSO two or three times a week. This could likely prevent many infections, although there is no good research on the subject yet, he said.

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The problem is the false negative tests

Mass tests would then be carried out with fast o. antigen test. According to Beović, the decision whether to confirm a positive test with a PCR test, decided in some health institutions, also depends on the extent to which the virus spreads in the population. If many infections are present, the likelihood of a rapid test being false positive is low. However, if there are few infections in the population, the likelihood of a false positive result is higher, so double confirmation with a PCR test in this case makes more sense.

However, he agrees with concerns that mass population testing may also cause harm by giving those whose test is negative at the time a sense of false confidence.

Some companies have already started testing their employees. Beovic says they will not suggest to the government that all companies should conduct such tests. Those who want to do so can decide, but the test must take place in a regulated manner, so they must work with a healthcare professional. So they can’t just take swabs on their own, and the ratio must be interpreted correctly and measures must be taken, i.e., isolation of the positive ones, he added.

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