Foment del Treball and Banco Santander have allied to promote the Rapid Antigen Test Detection Plan, a public-private collaboration project that aims to facilitate the arrival of antigen tests to the largest possible number of essential and third sector workers. The objective is to facilitate the rapid identification and isolation of close contacts. The Generalitat also participates in the DetecTAR plan.
Specifically, priority is given to carrying out tests on personnel from companies in the meat sector, including slaughterhouses, and on workers who provide care and home assistance services to the at-risk population. The performance of these rapid tests can cover between 1,500 and 1,800 workers.
For them to be taken into account by the public health system, antigen tests must have a sensitivity greater than 90% and a specificity greater than 98% during the first seven days of symptoms of the disease to be used in people with symptoms.
Thanks to the agreement between Foment de Treball and the Departament de Salut, the necessary rapid tests for the development of the project have been mobilized.
Collaboration with ACRA and FECIC
To reach the workers who are in charge of care, the collaboration of the Associació Catalana de Recursos Assistencials (ACRA) is available. ACRA groups 70% of companies and entities in the elderly care sector.
For workers in the meat sector, the collaboration of the Federación Empresarial de Carnes e Industrias Cárnicas (FECIC) is available. The business organization represents the interests of companies in the meat sector at a national level.
Both ACRA and FECIC have provided a list of SMEs with work centers in Catalonia that operate in these sectors, respectively.
The test is performed by QuirónPrevención
QuirónPrevención will be responsible for collecting samples, with duly accredited healthcare professionals in its extensive network of centers and delegations in Catalonia, covering the entire geographical scope of the project. Workers will have to travel to the QuirónPrevención center closest to their workplace or residence.