The Flemish residential care centers received an e-mail today that the test capacity for Friday is exhausted. The Agency for Care and Health sent that email. But Minister Wouter Beke (CD&V) tweeted that extra tests will be carried out after all. “We’ve had additional tests.”
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“The testing capacity on the federal test platform will be fully utilized before Friday, October 16,” it sounded in the email from Zorg en Health to the residential care centers. ‘So no more tests can be requested for that day, not even for outbreak-oriented tests.’
The residential care centers test in two ways in Flanders: preventively or in the event of an outbreak. At the end of September, the test capacity was no longer sufficient for preventive testing. A week later the capacity then increased from 1,000 to 4,000 tests per day. Only on Friday it got stuck at 3,000. But those 3,000 tests have already been fully reserved for Friday. Hence the mail from the Agency for Care and Health.
But the Minister of Welfare, who is responsible for the agency, announced a little before noon that extra tests will be carried out before Friday. He did this via Twitter: ‘In the meantime there have been intensive consultations with the federal test platform. We requested and received additional tests for Flemish residential care centers before Friday (morning). It is absolutely essential that we can continue testing with the most vulnerable. This must be the priority in testing. ‘
Lorin Parys sued the lack of tests earlier today because it is a new ‘mental blow’ for the residential care centers, where 2,800 employees have already dropped out due to illness or quarantine. That is 3.7 percent of all staff. On Wednesday, 368 covid cases were added to residents or employees and five residents died from the virus. The second wave hits hard, the test capacity is not increasing fast enough. “It’s not even winter yet,” remarked Parys. ‘Now it’s about one day this week. But what’s next, or the week after? ‘
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