China Assures that Spain’s Government Bought the Faulty Quick Coronavirus Tests from An Unlicensed Company

 The Chinese Embassy assures that Spain’s Government took no notice of the recommendations given to them as they insist, they provided “a list of recommendations of classified suppliers”.

The Chinese Embassy in Spain has made a statement, via their Twitter, that claims the quick coronavirus tests purchased by Spain, which have turned out to be faulty, were sold by a company which does not hold an official license with the National Administration of Medical Products in China. Furthermore, they assert that the Spanish Government did not take any notice of the official list of recommendations given to them by China, which did not include Shenzen Bioeasy Biotechnology, the seller of the faulty quick tests.

Fernando Simon, the the Director of the Centre for Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies of the Ministry of Health, has confirmed in a press conference that the quick tests had arrived but that at least 9,000 of the 640,000 tests purchased from the Asian manufacturer do not work.

According to the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC), these rapid tests are invalid as they only have a sensitivity of around 20-30%, which is much lower than the recommended sensitivity level, 80%.

This means that the highly anticipated tests which were promoted by the Spanish Government are not valid and cannot be introduced to the routine testing protocols.

A paper on the microbiological diagnosis of COVID-19, written by the SEIMC, recognises that conducting quick tests on the population is relevant to flattening the curve of infection, as this allows individuals to quickly identify, isolate and treat patients before the virus develops in their system and has been spread to other individuals.

To achieve this, the tests must give accurate results and have high sensitivity, which they do not. Their low levels of sensitivity make it “practically impossible to use on a routine basis, as they would need further confirmation through a RTPCR technique which is both timely and costly. Other types of tests are also on the market; however, these take approximately four days to show results. They aim to detect M or G antibodies, M signalling that the individual has an acute infection whilst G signals that the individual is cured or immunised

Written by

Laura Kemp

Originally from UK, Laura is based in Axarquia and is a writer for the Euro Weekly News covering news and features. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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