Slovenian police are investigating the disputed check with a quick test – EURACTIV.com
According to the whistleblower, the Slovenian police launched an investigation into the verification of rapid antigen tests, which the state bought last year.
Twelve tests were conducted across the country on Tuesday, including at the National Laboratory for Health, Environment and Food, and according to media reports at Majbert Pharm, which delivered the tests last December.
The laboratory checked the tests, and the virologist who worked there, Metka Paragi, told the parliamentary commission of inquiry that the tests did not meet the technical requirements. Nevertheless, the laboratory confirmed their suitability and recommended their use.
Similarly, the head of the working group for rapid tests of the Ministry of Health, Viktorija Tomič, said in the investigation that the tests did not meet the technical criteria for mass screening for coronavirus.
The lab said the test verification was based on World Health Organization standards, and denied the claim that the virologist who ran the laboratory department for COVID-19 was fired for speaking.
The € 1.2 million deal for half a million rapid tests imported from China sparked a lot of controversy when it was first published. The company had no previous experience with such supplies, and its owners, linked to several cryptocurrency schemes, boasted on social media about what a killer deal they had struck.
(Sebastijan R. Maček | sta.si)