PM Orban: Stories we go door to door to test - not serious

Prime Minister Ludovic Orban on Thursday criticized the "door-to-door" testing method for coronavirus infection, pointing out the importance of following the procedures recommended by the National Institute of Public Health (INSP).

"We strictly adhere to the procedure adopted by the INSP, which is, in fact, a recommendation of the European Commission, based on the recommendations of the scientific support forum of the European Commission, namely: symptomatic patients with an international travel history, contacts beginning to show symptoms, medical professionals - starting with the symptomatic ones, but we will have to, with the increase in the capacity, to be able to test more medical professionals, even if they do not present symptoms, so as to make sure that the experience in Suceava is not repeated; symptomatic institutionalized persons. That is there is an order of priorities in testing, which cannot be violated and which we will strictly apply. The stories that we go from door to door to do tests are not serious and I would like to emphasize this. So we clearly apply the procedures that are validated and based on technical and scientific testing arguments," the prime minister said at the beginning of the Government meeting.

He added that Real Time PCR devices provide 100pct accuracy, which is not achieved by other types of testing.

"We have seen a lot of stories circulating on the market. At present, in Romania, there is a test procedure, in which the test priorities are established, the order of priorities in which the testing is done. Testing at the present time can be done only with these Real Time PCR devices, because only this test mode ensures 100pct accuracy. Other types of testing do not ensure 100pct accuracy and there is a risk that, from people who are declared negative, a part may actually be positive. Not to mention that they are extremely hard to find and are also at quite high costs," he said.

Former Health Minister Victor Costache said on Wednesday that he wanted to implement an "innovative" testing program of the kind of the one in South Korea for the new coronavirus through which all citizens of Bucharest would be tested by the door-to-door method.

"Today we signed a protocol together with Mr. Streinu-Cercel, which will be validated, and we want to implement an innovative program like the one in South Korea, we want to test all citizens of Bucharest with mobile door-to-door testing teams", said the official at Adevarul Live.

He said that not all the people in quarantine have been tested yet.

"There are different testing phases. A test can be done when exiting quarantine. This test is done depending on the capacities of the centers and the symptomatic ones are prioritized, as it is done in other countries," Costache said