Lollipop tests: two positive results in Salzburg
The lollipop tests in the Salzburg childcare facilities produced two positive results for the corona virus. In total, around 18,000 of these PCR tests have been performed in the four weeks since it began on September 27.
“The uncomplicated screening with the voluntary and free tests has shown that the incidence of infections in the kindergartens is very low”, the responsible regional councilor Andrea Klambauer (NEOS) is quoted in a broadcast on Monday. “With the existing hygiene and safety precautions, we can keep the childcare facilities open despite the ongoing pandemic, so that the youngest can play and develop together unencumbered.”
Exams in 609 Salzburg institutions
The PCR tests were carried out nationwide in all 609 childcare facilities in the country, it said in the broadcast. The procedure with a lollipop is already suitable for toddlers from one year. Parents received the material at home and carried out a test with their children once a week. Then it was handed in to the kindergarten, picked up by the local laboratory team and evaluated. The result was sent straight to the parents’ cell phone.
Employees in the childcare facilities were also able to test themselves with it. The Ministry of Health paid for the screening. The bidding consortium Procomcure Biotech and Tauernkliniken was commissioned with the implementation. A continuation is not currently planned.
Same rules as in elementary schools
In the event of positive results, both via lollipop tests and other PCR tests, the general rules apply as in elementary schools: The child in quarantine, the authorities start contact tracing, and free testing is possible from the fifth day.