Romania Started Covid-19 Mass Testing

Romania has just started the Covid-19 mass testing for the population. According to the authorities, the testing, which started on July 1 in Bucharest and one of the neighboring counties, is due to be finished by the end of August. It is not yet clear how many tests will be conducted during this experiment.

The purpose of the mass testing for Covid-19 is to show what is the percentage of people who already got infected with Covid-19 and have antibodies for this infection.

Why did the former Minister of Health resigned after agreeing with a mass testing for Covid-19?

The mass testing in Romania is not a new subject. The former Minister of Health resigned on March 26, right after he agreed with the proposal of the Bucharest Mayor to conduct a mass testing in Bucharest.

He has never explained his gesture. At that time, the Romanian media suggested his resignation could have been linked to the suspicious acquisitions of medical masks which are now investigated by the anti-corruption prosecutors. But, at this moment, we have to take into consideration something else and to try and answer one simple question: what would have been the results of a mass testing in March? Would have they still support the drastic measures of lock-down take in Romania?

It seems that the percentage of the infected persons is very low, even in June, let alone in March.

According to the results of a mass testing conducted by the Bucharest City Hall, less than 1 in 1000 residents is infected with Covid-19

The Bucharest City Mayor, Mrs. Gabriela Firea, started in late May to test the Bucharest residents, but her initiative was soon stopped by the authorities. Even so, the conclusions of the tests conducted until they were forbidden bluntly contradict the official statistics: from 4,600 Bucharest residents tested, only 4 were found positive. In other words, only 0.08% of the Bucharest residents are positive. Less than 0.1%.

The official statistics show a different picture: each day, the Romanian Government shows that, from approximately 10,000-12,000 tests, there are found 200-400 infected persons. In fact, from a total number of 720,000 tests, there are 27,000 confirmed cases in Romania, which means 3.7 infected persons from 100 tested.

What numbers are correct, then?

Dr. Alexandru Rafila gives a conclusive answer: the results depend on what kind of persons we test!

Dr. Alexandru Rafila is one of the most reputable epidemiologists in Europe, not only in Romania. Professor Rafila’s expertise is fully recognized as expert for WHO, NATO and the European Commission.

He was invited at one of the Romanian news stations on Wednesday, July 1, to explain the difference between the governmental testing and the Bucharest City Hall testing.

He said that while the authorities conduct tests on potential infected persons, such as persons with symptoms and persons who were in contact with infected persons, during a mass testing you test volunteers, most likely not infected persons. He also said that, while the medical testing aims at identify the infected persons and to isolate them, the mass testing conducted on volunteers shows the level of the infection among a certain population.

He didn’t contest the results of the Bucharest City Hall and even said that in China, after a 10 million people were tested, only 300 were found infected, which is even less than the percentage of the infected persons identified in Bucharest.

A conclusion for all those who still haven’t grasped the truth behind the test results

The authorities, not only in Romania, but all over the world, test potential infected persons, meaning people with symptoms and people who are close contacts of those already found infected. The chances for these tests to be positive is around 3-5%. In Romania, this percentage is at 3.7. This means that, from 100 people tested by authorities from those who have symptoms or have been in contact with people confirmed infected, there are 3-5 who contracted the disease.

The authorities don’t conduct tests on asymptomatic persons, as they wouldn’t be able to accomplish the goal of their testing which is to find infected persons.

On the contrary, mass testing means testing population as it is, symptomatic or not symptomatic, in contact or not in contact with other infected persons. The results in this case show that only 1 or less in 1000 is infected.

A medical conclusion is to be drawn in September, when the mass testing conducted by the Romanian authorities will end.