According to the Ministry of Education, the planned tests in the federal states of Burgenland, Lower and Upper Austria were carried out as planned. There are still massive database problems at the ARGE for molecular diagnostics, it said
For faster results, ten samples in the pool are always evaluated together in the school PCR tests. Only if one of them is positive is each sample examined separately. According to the education department, the laboratory is currently having difficulties in the automated process in allocating the specific tests or people when dissolving the pools. The bidding consortium will therefore “process as much as possible manually” until this problem is resolved. If there are no results, schools should use daily antigen tests instead.
External specialists in action
Further rounds of coordination between the ministry and the ARGE for molecular diagnostics will take place this Monday, and there will also be a qualitative on-site inspection by an external expert. In addition, it was agreed that an external IT specialist would get an idea of whether the problems could be resolved this week.
For the time being, the APA from the bidding community could not find out how far the technical problems had been resolved on Monday. In the “Krone” its managing director Claudia Prantner-Lahr reported that twelve technicians would work flat out on a solution. Regarding the Monday test, one is in coordination with sub-companies who can help out.
Other labs want to step in
In the meantime, other laboratories are already offering to step in for school tests if necessary. The company Novogenia, which handled the school tests in six federal states (except Vienna, Lower and Upper Austria) before the new tender, reported on Monday about an initiative with two other laboratories that would be available together. Specifically, Novogenia could test the schools in Carinthia and Salzburg. The Covid Fighters, who were responsible for Viennese elementary schools and Lower and Upper Austria before the new tender, could take over the states of Lower Austria and Upper Austria, Styria and Burgenland, Novatium Tirol cover. In view of the current framework conditions, it is a “big challenge” to accept further tests, but this is feasible with cross-border cooperation.
It will now be seen whether the further development of the school tests will lead to the BBG coming back to this offer, Novogenia said. According to the company, at the end of last week they asked all the larger laboratories without obligation whether they could help out with the school tests if necessary. In the BBG, on the other hand, it was emphasized that a substantive exchange with contractors of framework agreements, to which Novogenia also belongs, takes place “continuously and regularly”. At the weekend, the head of Lifebrain, which among other things handles the “Alles gurgelt” tests at the Viennese schools, reported in the “Krone” about an inquiry from the BBG about the school PCR tests – and canceled it.
Provider change after Christmas
The Ministry of Education had to switch to a new provider after Christmas because the contract was reassigned by the BBG after objections by Lifebrain. In the course of a review procedure, the Federal Administrative Court also examined the performance of the working group (Procomcure Biotech GmbH & Hygienicum GmbH & Confidence DNA-Analysen GmbH & Tauernkliniken GmbH based in Bergheim/Salzburg).
Source: Nachrichten
