Rapid antigenic tests will be able to provide the definitive diagnosis of coronavirus infection, without the need for confirmation of “traditional” molecular swabs. The Ministry of Health has ready the circular with which a significant change is introduced for the testing strategy. After all, the ECDC, the European center for disease control (the center for the control of infectious diseases) has changed the definition of case of infection. Among other types, it also includes the one diagnosed precisely through the antigenic test, which from the point of view of sampling is identical to the swab.
When, within a few days, the circular will be signed, the rapid tests will in the meantime enter the daily count of the Civil Protection. Today only molecular swabs are observed, whose number has dropped in the last period. In November, 250 thousand swabs per day were also exceeded (the Regions made 254.908 on 13 and 250.186 on 19), while more recently it has also dropped abundantly below 200 thousand. It is not just the effect of reducing the circulation of the virus. There are areas of the country where the use of antigen tests is now widespread. For example, in Veneto some days are as many as there are molecular ones. However, the rapid are not counted, despite the many requests in this regard made by the Regions in recent days, in the daily report of the Civil Protection. Thus the percentage of positives with respect to the number of tests carried out, considered very important for evaluating the real trend of the epidemic, is distorted. In fact, it would be much lower if the antigenic ones were also counted, as it should happen in the next few days.
Another important consequence of the circular is that of no longer making it necessary, in the face of a positive antigenic, to carry out the confirmation molecular swab, a procedure that is instead foreseen now. In the meantime, this reduces the waiting on the part of the citizen, then frees up exam kits that can be used for other people, thus reducing the time for them too. In the circular it should also be provided that the rapid test can be used to declare the infection concluded, that is, it will also be used for those who have been infected and must end the quarantine period.
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