As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 31st of October, 2020, the director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ), Krunoslav Capak, said that rapid antigen tests would help speed up the coronavirus testing process and reach the population, but PCR tests remain the “gold” standard. He also explained just who can be considered coronavirus positive even without having been tested for the disease.
“These rapid antigen tests have reached a stage of development, we have researched them relatively well and we know what their flaws and positive sides are. They’re relatively specific,” Krunoslav Capak told Dnevnik Nova TV.
If someone is really coronavirus positive, he will certainly return a positive result on a PCR test, which is still the gold standard, and if someone is negative on an antigen test, we cannot be one hundred percent sure that he is indeed actually negative,” Capak said.
“If there are symptoms, we’ll check with a PCR test. We’ll check the negative results,” pointed out the director of HZJZ.
Priority is given to people who have symptoms of the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.
Priority is given to people who have symptoms and will be tested with the use of rapid antigen tests. ”It will help us in the speed of testing and population coverage,” he said.
With the flu season rapidly approaching, Capak reiterated that it will be difficult to distinguish the flu virus from the new coronavirus because there will be a lot of respiratory symptoms typically present in both diseases.
“People who have symptoms and have been in contact with those who are infected and haven’t been tested will be considered coronavirus positive. We’re now going with joint tests and that will be a significant help in terms of diagnostics,” he pointed out.
“People who have characteristic symptoms of the new coronavirus – fever, cough, shortness of breath and other symptoms – and have been in contact with someone who is infected, but haven’t been, are considered coronavirus positive,” explained Capak.
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