Norwegian Politics, PC Test | Baard had to pay more than 4,000 before starting the trip abroad:

The requirements of the corona tests create challenges for travelers to more exotic regions.

– When I was going to Kenya this fall, I was lucky to escape on the boat. Another friend was rejected and sent to the test station in Gardermoen. Barard Johansson tells Netavisen that the person in question has seized the plane, screaming loudly.

Johannessen has heard of several similar cases.

Many places in the world today, regardless of vaccination status, require submission of a negative PCR test for admission.

The highest level is the RT-PCR test, which stands for “reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction”.

– Does not make sense

– The problem is that the test result – which can be downloaded from Helsenorge.no – says nothing about it being an RT-PCR test. I also do not receive a signed certificate with this information. That’s despite the fact that it’s actually a real RT-PCR test, he says.

Johansen himself called the lab and they confirmed that this was a RT-PCR test.

– In private clinics, the same test is performed and analyzed by the same laboratories. You can also download these test results at Helsennorge.no.

– The difference is that private actors print an additional certificate where the doctor agrees that this is a RT-PCR test. He points out that this happens automatically without me being in contact with the doctor.

At the same time, it becomes very expensive for individuals or families who have to go to private clinics.

– It can cost up to 2500 kroner for a single test. When a family of 4 comes with a municipality test result and they are asked to take new tests for 10,000 kroner, it creates an incredibly stressful situation if you don’t get on the plane.

– That’s so stupid

– What has happened over the past six months is that many travelers have noticed that the test result from Helsenorge is not certified. Private clinics are located in major cities, and many have to travel to Oslo where they spend a night or two. It is a waste of time and costs thousands of dollars. It has become a good store.

Johansen himself came to Thailand after an arduous journey.

– It cost me 4200 kr for the hotel and a RT-PCR test before starting the trip at all, for a hotel without breakfast. It is time consuming and expensive.

Johansen adds, “If I had known this, I would never have traveled.”

This time, Johansen underwent tests both in the hospital in Kristiansand and in a special player in Oslo. He wanted to test whether he had boarded the plane with the municipal test, but at the same time he protected himself by having a special test in his pocket.

At the airport, just before he boards the plane, he tells Nettavisen that his hypothesis is correct again.

– The test I had at Kristiansand Hospital on February 21 was not approved, as expected.

It’s an unknown doctor’s testimony from February 22 at the private clinic that saved the Norwegian’s trip.

– This is completely meaningless by the authorities. Both tests are identical “Us-SARS-CoV-2 RNA”. Had ‘RT-PCR’ and passport number been added, the test result from Helsenorge would have been approved. I seize public resources. He points out that this has become very stupid.

Johansen wonders why the municipal respiratory clinics can’t do the same. Many Norwegians could have saved thousands of kroner and a lot of despair.

– People come with good RT-PCR tests at the airport, but they’re told they don’t hold up. This is an unnecessary use of community resources.

The online newspaper saw the test results from the tests, the additional certificate and the Corona certificate from Johansen.

Leaving is not important to our national fight against infection

The Norwegian Directorate of Health emphasizes that there is no difference between the PCR test in municipalities and the PCR test in individuals.

The PCR tests you get in the municipality or in the private sector are based on the same analysis technology, reverse transcription (RT) PCR. So there is no difference between the PCR tests that are done in the municipality where the tests are analyzed in large laboratories (mostly in hospitals, Dr. Forrest or Unilab) or individuals who can use the same laboratories or have installed their own analysis units for PCR analysis. . Some private players can submit tests where test results are available within a few hours, Svein Lie tells Nettavisen.

The Norwegian Directorate of Public Health states that the content of what is documented on certificates, whether it is called PCR or RT-PCR, is identical.

– The difference depends on the shortcut used. PCR is a common term for a test that is also referred to as RT-PCT or also NAAT according to the PCR method.

Municipal responsibility for testing is aimed primarily at the need to control the infection situation in Norway.

The municipality is recommended to offer the test upon departure, if they have the ability to do so, in which case they will make it at cost. There is nothing to prevent them from specifying that the PCR response can also be called the RT-PCR response. Li points out that the departure test was mainly conducted by private suppliers because the departure test is not important for infection control at the national level.

Correction: When the article was published, it was emphasized that the acronym for RT-PCR is “real-time polymerase chain reaction”, but the acronym is “Reverse transcription of polymerase chain reaction”.