Vienna (AFP)
A simple pacifier to put in the mouth for 90 seconds: in some Austrian nurseries, children are now tested for Covid-19 via a fun and unprecedented solution to control the spread of the virus.
In a kindergarten in downtown Vienna open to the media this week, the timid students indulged in this painless exercise for known results in 15 minutes.
To prevent an increase in cases in this unvaccinated age group, an Austrian laboratory at the Kaiser-Franz-Joseph hospital in Vienna had the idea to develop this new saliva technique, after having already designed the method of gargling today very widespread in this alpine country of 8.9 million inhabitants.
A study is currently being carried out in five nurseries involving children aged between one and six years to determine the reliability of the method and consider a wider deployment, told AFP a spokesperson.
One hour from the Austrian capital, the Burgenland region has already ordered 35,000 tests.
Even if the risk of contamination is lower in toddlers, the variant initially detected in England affects both children and adults, according to experts.
The objective is therefore to "monitor infections" and to offer "a judicious alternative" to invasive samples from the nose and throat, explain the regional authorities.
Letters have been sent to parents informing them that free tests will be provided three times a week, and the response has been quite positive.
"It makes sense to have stricter controls in the education sector," said Dominik Krotschek, father of a three-year-old boy.
"It's really not a problem: we did it again today and it worked well," he says, a little disappointed however that the tests look more like a "big cotton swab" than a candy in tantalizing colors.
Foodies will have to pass their turn: these tests are sugar-free and devoid of any flavor.
© 2021 AFP