12el Periòdic d’Andorrawww.elperiodic.ad DIMARTS, 10 DE JULIOL DEL 2018

Tema del dia CONEIXEMENT SOBRE L’ÚS DE LES TECNOLOGIES el Periòdicd

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E N G L I S H E D I T I O N T U E 9

12el Periòdic d’Andorrawww.elperiodic.ad DIMARTS, 10 DE JULIOL DEL 2018

Tema del dia CONEIXEMENT SOBRE L’ÚS DE LES TECNOLOGIES el Periòdicd

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orr

axxel Periòdic News

E N G L I S H E D I T I O N T H U 2 3

The StopLab located in the Santa Coloma Fire Station increased its work capacity yesterday. Since its launch

last Thursday, only one team, con-sisting of two professionals, had be-en activated to carry out the tests. But since yesterday, there has been a second area that doubles the at-tention span of the StopLab.

According to StopLab coordina-tor Juanjo Barrio, the procedure is very quick, as «the sample has be-en collected and processed in less than five minutes.» In fact, at noon yesterday, around 12.30 pm, a hun-dred tests had already been carri-ed out.

All people who come to the cen-ter to take the test do so by appoint-

EL PERIÒDIC / L.L.

33 Un infermer recull les mostres per analitzar d’un home.

The FireLab StopLab doubles the test capacity to 240As of yesterday, there is a second team with two professionals who collect and process the sample procedure

The most common profile is that of the person who has visited places with certain case indices

EL PERIÒDICANDORRA LA VELLA

@PeriodicAND

OPERATION AT FULL CAPACITY

ment and respect the established hours, an important issue to ensu-re the operation of the service and avoid queues. The procedure and distribution of the space is similar to that established with antibody testing, with groups of workers spread across tables. On this occa-sion, only two professionals make up each team, a body nurse in char-ge of collecting the samples and another firefighter who processes the data on the computer. «Each ta-ble has the capacity to do 120 tests a day, so from now on, we can do 240,» Barrio stressed.

TMA tests, which are performed at the barracks, consist of a thro-at smear that is reserved in a tube. This is identified with a bar code to be sent to the laboratory, where it is analysed using machines provi-ded by Grífols. The result is obtai-

firmation.The main motivation for people

with TMA is caution. That is, the most common profile among tho-se who have undergone this volun-tary test is the person who has tra-velled and visited areas where coro-navirus cases are occurring. There are also people who come to the Sto-pLab for attending parties where they could not keep their distance.

MORE PROTECTION FOR PROFESSIONALS / The FireLab StopLab is dedicated so-lely to TMA tests, although, as indi-cated by the centre’s coordinator, «if a medical authority requires it, we can also carry out a PCR test», as they also have the necessary tools. As Barrios explained, compared to antibody tests, the nurse who co-llects the samples «needs to be pro-tected more because he is much

33 While screening tests loo-ked for antibody residues with a small blood sample, PCR and TMA tests make the detecti-ons through the genetic materi-al. But apart from the technical issues, the difference between one test and the other is its pro-cedure. Thus, while a TMA requi-res only a throat smear, PCR re-quires a double smear on the no-se and throat. In any case, this is a painless procedure that can be annoying.

The difference between PCR, TMA and antibody tests

EL PROCEDIMENT

One nurse collects the sample while another firefighter processes the data, so the equipment is set upa

more exposed.» And it is that the professionals have to approach the face of the users to do the smear, moment that the person can react coughing with the procedure of the same test.

For this, nurses wear a double mask, two pairs of gloves and gog-gles. In addition, in the case of the outer glove, it is discarded together with the packaging of the kit with the obtaining of each sample.

For now, firefighters working on the tests have no forecast of how long the StopLab will last. In fact, the establishment of this space is one of the main lines of action of the Executive in order to control and monitor the new cases of the Covid-19 that were detected last Monday, July 13, when the head of government, Xavier Espot, and the minister of health, Joan Martínez Benazet, announced that the will was to increase the capacity for di-agnosis. In this way, they wanted to go from doing 800 weekly PCR and TMA tests to doing 2,000. In additi-on, they also keep the CAP de la Sar-dana, which is closed for the rest of the procedures, as a point to collect samples.

The Fire StopLab is open Mon-day through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. People interested in taking the test should make an appointment by calling 821955. H

ned in just 24 hours, and if it is po-sitive, the person is contacted and told how to proceed. If no commu-nication is received after the day, it means that the result is negative. In this case, you can consult the refer-ring doctor to receive the final con-

el Periòdic Newswww.elperiodic.ad el Periòdic NewsTHURSDAY, 23 JULY 2020 13

The new public procure-ment law that the Gover-nment intends to enter into parliamentary pro-

ceedings after the summer will favour the competitiveness of Andorran companies, as it will be approved by European legis-lation. This is what the manager of the CEA, Iago Andreu, says: «If it is done well, it will be an op-portunity for Andorra, because the Andorran legislation will be equated with that of the rest of European countries, which are articulated through directives, which means that the state has more room to contract services. However, the ease with which Andorran companies can expand into Europe, and European com-panies can set up in the Princi-pality, will depend directly on the association agreement. «But what it’s all about is vindicating the professionalism and talent that exists in the country,» An-dreu said.

Although the text is still being drafted, the manager of the CEA said that the confederation will ask that, in parallel, work be do-ne on a national specifications. «The specifications are the rules that say how to make a public tender and sometimes the rules are not included in the law, but in practice it is as important the law as the regulations that deve-lop it,» he claimed. Andreu, ad-ding that administrative conces-sions must also be regulated by economic criteria. In this sense, he recalled that awards «as com-mon as those of public transport or garbage collection could be made more transparently, with a clear law that does not give ri-se to interpretations such as the current one,» which dates from 9 November 2000 and «is obsole-te and has many shortcomings.»

Also, and in addition to the administrative concessions, An-dreu asked «not to forget the concessions of public domain or land», which include, among many others, the ski sector or the development of an energy policy,

TONY LARA

33 Una obra en construcció a Escaldes-Engordany.

The new public procurement law will favour Andorran competitivenessThe text will be approved in the European legislation that offers more margin to the State at the time of agreeing services

EL PERIÒDICESCALDES-ENGORDANY

@PeriodicAND

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS

«The law must serve to highlight the experience of companies that are already in Andorra and know the market»

Iago AndreuCEA MANAGER

in which the involvement of the private sector is crucial.

AVOIDING INTRUSION / Another goal of the new law will be to prevent intrusion, not so much in the strict sense of the word, but in-to «intrusions that really aren’t.» As an example, Andreu showed purchases of services by the Ad-ministration from foreign com-panies, when there are compani-es in the country that can offer the same services. «This is not in-trusion, but the law must serve to enhance the experience of com-

33 With the aim of recovering the lost months of confinement, the Acoda proposed last month, and as an exceptional and vo-luntary measure, that during Au-gust construction continue to work. A measure very well re-ceived in the sector, although the majority «remains in expec-tation». Acoda’s manager, Mò-nica Dalmau, despite not being able to quantify the companies that would have taken advanta-ge of this option, acknowledged that «each company has its own circumstances» and «many ha-ve decided to compensate for the days of confinement as a holiday». Others have negotia-ted unpaid leave with their em-ployees, but in general «there is a will to continue» which, as Dal-mau recalled, «it will depend on the regrowth.»

Construction will begin in August

panies that are already in Andor-ra. Nor it is protectionism or na-tionalism; it is simply wanting to have the guarantees of a good ser-vice that a company that already knows the market in which it has to operate will offer. It has to be prioritized, «said the manager.

As for literal intrusion, that which corresponds to «com-panies that are doing a job for which they are not qualified or are found irregularly in the co-untry,» Andreu clarified that the current law already offers the ap-propriate mechanisms to com-bat it and it is «a subject that does not concern us.»

Finally, the new legislation should specify the link between the agents involved, if the Go-vernment and the comus are cur-rently clearly part of it, there are more doubts about public and parapublic entities. «Public pro-curement must give tools to com-panies, such as legal security, but also to the Administration so that it can always hire the best option, and not the cheapest,» concluded the CEA manager. H