Two special tents will be put up by the army in Brno on Thursday, to assist in the large-scale testing of the public for Covid-19. The tents will be located on Brno’s Moravské náměstí and in the car park between Brno University Hospital (FN Brno) and the university campus in Bohunice, and will be open from 8am to 6pm. Photo credit: Armada CR via Twitter.
Brno / Czech Rep., Apr 22 (BD) – “We are launching a unique study of collective immunity. 27,000 people will be tested for the coronavirus. We want to find out how much of the population has come into contact with the infection and what immunity different age groups have. As a result, we will be able to better understand the situation and create a prediction for its future development,” said Health Minister Adam Vojtech on Twitter on Tuesday.
Participation is voluntary and it is not possible to register or make an appointment in advance. The tents will be open to the public from 8am to 6pm for two weeks, with the hours between 8am and 10am reserved for senior citizens over 60. The tests will detect the presence or absence of antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, so-called rapid tests.
Participants must not show any symptoms associated with Covid-19 or have previously been diagnosed with Covid-19. Anyone who meets the criteria can come to the collection point without prior registration, and will need to show their health insurance card or ID. The test takes about 20 minutes.
The entry criteria are:
- Aged 8-89 (Prague and Brno only); aged 18-89 (all other locations)
- No acute health problems typical of COVID-19
- No elevated temperature
- No confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19
- Permanent / temporary residence in the Czech Republic
The actual test will only take place with the express consent of the subject participating in the study. All information can be found on the official website Covid-imunita.uzis.cz.
The study will take place in Prague, Brno (and surroundings), Olomouc (and surroundings), Litoměřice, Litovel and Uničov. Evaluation of the study results should be ready in May.
According to the South Moravian Regional Hygiene Authority (KHS), as of yesterday a total of 5,352 tests were carried out in the South Moravian Region from March, of which 393 (7.3%) were COVID-19 positive cases. KHS uses a laboratory examination of nasopharyngeal swabs, rather than rapid tests.
