To track the spread of the novel coronavirus in the Finnish population, the Finnish public health authority announced 7 April 2020 that Finland will start randomized antibody tests, according to the news provider Reuters.
The main hospitals in the different regions of Finland will mail “invitation letters” to Finnish citizens of all ages that have been randomly chosen. The hospitals will then test the randomized patients for the antibodies people infected with COVID-19 develop – including those who have been infected but are not displaying symptoms.
“The main aim of the research which will begin now is to get up-tp-date information on how large of proportion of the population has formed antibodies that indicate an earlier encounter with the coronavirus. By assessing the occurrence of antibodies in the population, we can track to what extent the epidemic has spread amongst different age groups and in different areas,” said the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare in a press statement.
The first tests will begin in the region around the capitol Helsinki and then spread out.
Finland has 2.176 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. 27 Finns have died of the virus.
Source: Reuters
