It is a big problem that the QR codes in the Coronacheck app are still valid after a positive test. They do it best in Belgium, according to Bert Nesters, head of clinical virology at UMCG.
Meanwhile, our RIVM English equivalent is watching with Argus eyes a new mutation of the Delta variant. AY4.2 mutant. Now responsible for 6% of Covid cases in England. According to Bert Nesters, chief of clinical virology at UMCG, this is not yet a major cause for concern. We also see all kinds of delta variables here in Groningen. We have to keep a close eye on it, there is always the possibility that a variable that becomes dominant will develop very quickly.
Hospital stay
The number of infections and hospitalizations is rising again, but OMT chief Jaap van Dissel said in AD today that closure measures and schools that should close or curfews are not realistic scenarios for next winter. Nesters agrees. “I’m optimistic in the sense that I don’t anticipate lockdown measures. The discussion revolves around how the IC occupancy will go. Those who end up in the hospital are pretty much unvaccinated, there is the problem of aftercare and waiting lists are only increasing. This is where the big challenge lies.”
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In addition, it is of course important that as many people as possible are vaccinated. Nesters thinks we’ve at least identified the problem well. We know exactly where the gaps are: in the Bible Belt. We know how things are at Staphorst and Urk. Therefore, RIVM knows exactly where the problems lie, and should focus on that. This is the job of the government and the RIVM.
QR codes
The main problem Niesters warned about at Telegraaf today is the QR codes in the Coronacheck app that remain valid after a positive test. I was surprised for two reasons. On the one hand, GGD said: The QR code remains green. I don’t understand this advice, because the advice should be to stay home for ten days of quarantine. The other point is that if you go out to eat, for example, you can’t assume that the people around you are protected.
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In Belgium, according to Niesters, they do better with QR codes. The green tick there will be removed if you test positive. The Ministry in the Netherlands says this is not possible in the context of privacy. Privacy is of course very sacred, but you should not continue to use it as an argument every time. The government also has a duty to protect us, and you certainly don’t do it that way.
