COVID-19: Testing capacity collapses in Hungary, process could take up to two weeks

Some people have to wait more than a week for their test results

, a GP tried to calm down a patient that was wating to get the results of a COVID-19 test back for five days.It takes several days until paramedics come to collect a sample, it is not uncommon that the patient either recovered or had to be taken to hospital by the time the results are received. 

The waiting time for coronavirus test results (and the collection of samples) has been getting longer ever since the outbreak. Paramedics are under extreme pressure and by now not only them but laboratories have also become overwhelmed. The situation is particulary hard since the government capped the price of tests at HUF 19,500 apiece, as the move has prompted numerous private health companies to exit this segment or limit or suspend their sampling activity. 

The maximum number of tests performed per day just cannot go over 10,000-12,000, while the waiting lists just get longer as the number of suspicious cases keep on rising. This is why testing and test results cannot keep track of and reflect the actual spread of coronavirus in the country.  

According to newly adopted procedural rules, GPs may label suspicious cases as confirmed COVID-19 cases even without testing. Hence, the wating lists will be shortened, but the problem will not go away. Experts cannot stress strongly enough the importance of testing and the isolation of positive cases in order to keep the spread of coronavirus in check. Hungary is among those few countries in Europe where only those get tested that show COVID-19 symptoms, while most countries have adopted open public testing policies, i.e. they test even asymptomatic people. 

Putting a cap (HUF 19,500) on the price of coronavirus tests has only exacerbated the already strained situation. While the cabinet aimed at making access to tests easier (the cheapest test previously cost about HUF 30,000), the measure proved to be counterproductive. 

The private [health care] market has just collapsed due to the regulated price

, a private GP and occupational physician told Portfolio, warning that 

from now on the operation of companies is also at risk because they will also get the results back slowly on suspicious cases or on potential intra-company hotspots.

A lot of businesses paid for testing from their own pocket rather than to wait for the state machinery to sluggishly shift into first gear or for the quarantine period of the suspicious employee to be over. If several workers drop out at once, these companies could be facing serious production issues. As most COVID-19 cases have not been detected by authorities (note that there are about 14,000 active cases and over 200,000 infected people in reality) corporates had to stay very alert. In the case of symptomatic employees who did not have to be tested by authorities under the current protocol it was particularly important to get test results back as soon as possible. But now, due to the withdrawal of private health service providers and the end of testing capacities they will have to wait for up to two weeks for results, so this is becoming a less viable option by the day. 

If you could not afford a HUF 30,000 test then HUF 10,000 less will not make much of a difference, but the lost testing capacities will be painful and every related process will slow down, the physician said.

The soonest one can get an appointment for COVID-19 testing at the largest private medical service provider is seven days, and it promises the results five days after collecting samples. In other words, it takes about as long to get tested and receive the results (from private labs) as the duration of a quarantine. 

A normal day-to-day operation of businesses is also threatened by a new procedural order. It stipulates that if a person was in contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case they cannot get out of the mandatory 10-day quarantine even with two negative PCR tests as before. The argument behind this controversial measure was that contacts (who are potentially coronavirus carriers) are barred this way from spreading the virus (by travelling on public transport, for instance), which sounds kind of a lame excuse. This will not only keep a lot of people out of work, but also further reduce the number of tests performed and make it more difficult for authorities to have an accurate view on the severity of the epidemic. 

A lot of businesses may be paralysed by "losing" employees for such an extended period. They will temporarily drop out either due to a 10-day quarantine or because it could take even longer to get test results back. 

It is evident that local businesses will be affected negatively by the disappearance of testing capacities that should be increased significantly instead. If the general objective (which should a common goal considering what happened during and in the wake of the lockdown in the spring) is to prevent the resurgence of the coronavirus epidemic from dealing a staggering blow to our everyday lives and the economy, it is clear what the focus of attention and financial resources should be: testing, testing, testing!

Cover photo: Getty Images