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by Tiziana Di Giovannandrea 25 April 2020 The goal is an investigation to understand how much Coronavirus has really spread in Italy. The American pharmaceutical giant Abbott has won the tender for the supply of 150 thousand serological tests to be performed on a sample of the Italian population, defeating the 72 participants in the tender called by the Government. 

The award decree was published on the site of the Emergency Commissioner Domenico Arcuri.

The Abbott company will make serological tests available from 4 May, with the start of Phase 2, to estimate the percentage of Italians affected by the virus, many of whom may also have developed antibodies but the data is still to be to demonstrate.

Serological tests will be carried outnationally  on a first sample of 150 thousand people. Blood tests will define if a person has been infected, even unconsciously.

The experimentation will start in the laboratories of the various regions and will concern specific population samples based on the Istat and Inail categories. It will take into account the job profile , the genre , the six age groups , geographic origin . Domenico Arcuri, Commissioner for emergency explained: "Together with Inail and Istat, based on the registry, the area, the census and the class, we will have a massive deployment of these tests that will allow us to achieve the first results ", which will occur from the first week. In the following weeks, a probable extension of the supply of kits, reagents and consumables of the same type is expected, with another 150 thousand tests for a total of 300 thousand .

Emergency Commissioner Domenico Arcuri explained that: "This is the best solution on the market today. There is no one in the world that gives 100% of the response - added Arcuri - we had put the result at the base of the race that it was 95% (the target is 95%, editor's note), for those who won it it is greater than 95% and we trust that it is a very important test. " 

The American company Abbott, selected four days in advance among the 72 participants in the tender launched by the government just over a week ago, it will offer the kits free of charge. 

The decree, in addition to awarding the supply to Abbott who was classified "first in the merit ranking", provides that "the verifications of the possession of the requirements declared in the tender "by the company and establishes" to proceed with the stipulation of the relative contract, by affixing the automatic termination clause of the same should the aforementioned verifications reveal impeding causes to the continuation of the contractual relationship ".

Government and experts will thus add an important element in the post-lockdown strategy, which will allow to understand the level of spread of Coronavirus in the country and plan the timing of the gradual return to activities.
"The sample survey on seroprevalence - explained the  minister of Health Roberto Speranza commenting on the publication of the announcement - will allow us to understand the level of spread of the virus in the country and to plan the next steps and the return to activity. one of the five points of our health strategy together with the strengthening of the territorial network, the dedicated Covid-Hospitals, the remote tracking and assistance App and the maintenance of measures of social distancing and individual protection ".