Three types of testing kits used to check for coronavirus

There are three types of testing kits to check for coronavirus infection at various stages of the epidemic, said the head of the national coronavirus task force, General Major Ventsislav Mutafchiyski at a briefing in the Council of Ministers, attended by PM Borissov, Deputy PM Timislav Donchev and Interior minister Mladen Marinov on March 27.

Prof. Mutafchiyski presented a graph showing at what stage the third type of testing method would be applied to predict how the infection would develop.

He explained that according to the WHO and SDS Atlanta, the only reliable way to detect COVID is through a real time PCR test which takes time and requires special equipments and well-trained staff.

There is no other method that has proven more reliable That is why it is reflected with the red line and the curve of the epidemic in Bulgaria is descending.

He said that in Bulgaria, with laboratories working at full capacity, about 1,000 - 1,200 cases can be tested per day, which means that we will need about 30,000 testing kits per month. The cost will be 930,000 BGN per month, he said.

The second way to detect the virus is using a fluorescent immunochromatographic test, based on an antigen on the surface of the virus.

"These tests will allow fast testing and detection of infected ones. Between 10,000 and 20,000 can be done per day. The cost will be about 10 million BGN if 300,000 tests are done per month," Mutafchiyski said.

When the epidemic has reached its peak, it will be time for antibody-based tests. They can detect how many people have contracted the disease without knowing it. The plan for that stage is to do about 40,000 tests per day, which will cost about 20 million BGN per month.

Interior Minister Mladen Marinov said that that since the introduction of the measures aimed to limit the spread of the virus, the Ministry of Interior together with the health authorities monitors the observance of the imposed quarantine of persons who return from abroad and those who have been in close contact with confirmed coronavirus cases.

He specified that there are currently more than 200 pre-trial proceedings initiated by the competent prosecutor's offices. "We are still working to ensure that these measures are complied with, because the task force also says that it is the most basic thing that slows the spread of the virus," the minister added.

He explained that there are currently over 24,000 quarantined people, the larger number of whom are in Sofia and other major cities - Varna, Plovdiv, Bourgas, Veliko Turnovo.