Finland scoffs at WHO's coronavirus testing protocol, suggests organization doesn't understand how pandemics work
A senior Finnish health official has dismissed a World Health Organization (WHO) advisory to test as many people as possible for coronavirus, arguing that such a measure would be completely illogical when combating a pandemic.
Finland's head of health security, Mika Salminen, took aim at the notion that stopping the spread of Covid-19 requires testing on a mass-scale.
"We don't understand the WHO's instructions for testing. We can't fully remove the disease from the world anymore," she said, adding: "If someone claims that, they don't understand pandemics."
Citing limited supplies, Finland has narrowed coronavirus testing to high-risk individuals and medical workers. Salminen told local media that screening for the virus should be done where it will be "effective," not simply "where there is concern" about the respiratory disease.
Also on rt.com Сhina reports record number of imported Covid-19 cases from US & Europe as global death toll exceeds 10,000"Those who may be sick at home do not benefit from testing," she said.
The Finnish health official noted that administering the test drains valuable medical resources and personnel from those who need it most.
Finland has 400 confirmed cases of coronavirus but no reported deaths, according to a tally compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
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