By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews 

On Sunday, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) reported fifteen additional COVID-19 cases and 10 deaths. They note not all of these reported individuals have been hospitalized or have died in the past 24 hours. Some patients are reported later.

This brings the country totals to 43,995 confirmed COVID-19 patients, including 5680 deaths.

Last Tuesday, the Serology Task Force of the National Coordination Centre for Testing Capacity – a partnership between RIVM National Institute for Public Health and the Environment  , hospitals and laboratories – has collected research results on rapid diagnostic tests from independent Medical Microbiology Laboratories. The preliminary conclusions show that none of the rapid diagnostic tests (‘point-of-care tests’ or POCT) that were examined meets the requirements for individual patient diagnostics.

Based on the WHO advice not to use serological rapid diagnostic tests for human testing, and on the preliminary data collected in medical microbiology labs in the Netherlands, the Task Force advises against the use of rapid diagnostic tests. The test results are not reliable. The percentage of false positive and false negative results is too high.

The Task Force advises against the use of rapid diagnostic tests or self-tests. Users may become unnecessarily worried, or they may be wrongly reassured.