In the coming weeks, molecular salivary swabs will be distributed in 73 primary and lower secondary schools in Sardinia to tackle the spread of the coronavirus. The collaboration of the hospital-university companies of Cagliari and Sassari, the Health Promotion Service of the Department is intended for the institutions that have joined the monitoring promoted by the government and the commissioner structure, under the direction of the Corsa (Regional Operations Center of Sardinia) of Health, the Siso Services (Public Hygiene) of ATS and the Regional School Office.
"An additional weapon in the fight against Covid - comments Governor Christian Solinas - which will allow us to immediately identify cases among the very young and intervene promptly, avoiding the emergence of new outbreaks. I am particularly satisfied with the involvement of the children of our schools. trusting as always in their responsibility and in their generous support and participation ". "Monitoring - adds Mario Nieddu, regional health councilor - will be important to ensure even greater safety for schools. The age group is up to 14 years old, it was not chosen by chance: it concerns in particular that part of the population that is mostly not was involved in the vaccination campaign and for which screening is therefore fundamental ".
Molecular salivary swabs, therefore not unsanitary, will be administered to about two thousand pupils of the 73 schools on the island: 16 in the metropolitan area of Cagliari with 600 students involved, 25 in Carbonia-Iglesias with 160 pupils, 3 in Medio Campidano for a total of 135 students, 210 children will be monitored in Nuoro in 5 institutes, 80 in Ogliastra (4 institutes), 250 in Olbia (9 schools), 210 in Oristano (2 institutes) and 460 pupils in Sassari (9 schools).
Extremely easy to use, explains Ferdinando Coghe, medical director of the Cagliari university hospital, "unlike other swabs, they have a very high precision rate comparable to rhino-pharyngeal molecular swabs".
With the help of a video tutorial (produced by the Communication and External Relations Service of the Aou of Cagliari) the students - with the supervision of the families - will be able to self-administer the tampon at home, then bringing it back to school. And it will be the Corsa to coordinate the collection of the samples that will be analyzed in the two reference laboratories of Sardinia: the Aou of Cagliari and the Aou of Sassari.
(Unioneonline / ss)
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