Faroes’ testing advantage due to major issue with fishing
A GROUP of islands with a similar population to Guernsey holds the record for Covid-19 testing rates after converting a fisheries lab into a testing centre early in the pandemic.
The Faroe Islands had tested 5,152 people by Wednesday, nearly 10% of its estimated 52,100 population, compared to Guernsey’s 2%.
At Thursday’s press conference, the Director of Public Health said that the Faroes was one of the jurisdictions, along with Germany and South Korea, which it was keeping an eye on.
The self-governing archipelago used contract tracing to isolate anybody who came into contact with a positive case and thus far has not suffered any deaths related to Covid-19.
Community seeding on the Faroes seems to have been stopped in its tracks, with no new cases recorded on Wednesday and 131 of the 184 cases completely recovered at the last count.
The success could allow schools to reopen later this month as long as the pandemic is kept under control.
The island’s ability to deploy rapid testing was fuelled by serendipity and adaptability in equal parts.
An infectious viral disease tore through the islands’ salmon industry 20 years ago and they have regularly tested their stock ever since.
These infectious salmon anaemia testing facilities were repurposed by scientist Debes Christiansen to facilitate hundreds of Covid-19 tests a day.
Dr Christiansen had purportedly warned the islands’ government of the Covid-19 threat as early as January and, without his foresight and the benefit of existing facilities, the islands would have had to follow a similar path to Guernsey to establish on-island testing.
At Guernsey’s current testing rate of about 50 a day, it would take nearly three months of testing before the island could reach the 10% achieved by the Faroe Islands. However, antibody testing could drastically shorten this timeline if a test deemed reliable enough is found.
Guernsey has arguably matched the Faroe Islands when it comes to adaptability in other avenues.
The Bailiwick has, at large, followed lockdown advice, according to the Civil Contingencies Authority, and an army of volunteers have helped look after the vulnerable or those who are self-isolating.
Other contributions, such as the collaboration between Guernsey Seaweed and the Channel Islands Liquor Company to produce hand sanitiser and Intersurgical’s 24-hour shifts creating ventilator parts, demonstrate Guernsey’s dedication to overcoming the pandemic.
Perhaps most importantly, the island’s medical director, Dr Peter Rabey, has said that the hospital is quiet, including the intensive care unit, indicating that, thus far, the authority’s strategy to flatten the curve and relieve pressure on the Bailiwick health service seems to be working.
