Coronavirus: with ‘lollipops’, Austria tests reluctant children for Covid-19
- Youngsters can suck on the test for 90 seconds, dip it in the container, then wait 15 minutes for the results
- With schools and kindergartens reopening, there are fears that more contagious virus variants could spread widely among children
A newly developed, lollipop-shaped coronavirus test is being rolled out in some of Austria’s kindergartens as an alternative for youngsters who don’t take well to throat or nose swabs.
Pupils – a little shy – lined up in one Vienna kindergarten this week to be tested, with the exercise open to the media.
Though children are exempt from many virus measures, there are fears that with schools and kindergartens reopening, the more contagious variant that emerged in Britain and is dominant in several EU countries could spread more widely among young people and children.
This could contribute to another surge in cases and threaten progress with vaccination campaigns.
To “keep track of the infections” and to offer a “sensible alternative to other testing options”, Austria’s Burgenland province has already ordered 35,000 lollipop tests, a spokesperson for the regional government said.
This follows the success of a pilot project with children in some kindergarten and day care centres.
