Health Ministry to launch this month a national study to determine spread of COVID-19 in Romania

Almost 30,000 people will be tested in a seroprevalence study to be carried out in Romania between June and September 2020. The Health Ministry announced on Tuesday, June 2, that it has finalized the order approving this study.

The study is meant to determine how the new coronavirus has spread in Romania, so that the authorities can plan future measures to protect the health of the population, health minister Nelu Tataru explained.

“The National Institute of Public Health will coordinate the technical part of the project, will process and analyze the data so that in September we have the first results. According to estimates, a total of 29,019 residual sera are to be collected and investigated,” Tataru said, quoted in a press release from the Health Ministry.

The seroprevalence study will include residual sera collected from people in all age groups who don’t show signs and symptoms of infectious disease. They will have to express their informed consent to participate in the study.

The public health departments will select at the level of each county and the capital Bucharest some 3-5 laboratories that will participate in the study.

Bucharest City Hall also launched at the end of May a testing campaign meant to determine how the new coronavirus circulated in Bucharest, mayor Gabriela Firea said. A total of 10,500 Bucharest residents will be tested for COVID-19 antibodies within this project.

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