Testing refugees in Koksijde and the dangers of an immune passport (photo)

I can get tested for coronavirus. But I do not agree to show the test results to the policeman in order to move around freely. The mayor of Koksijde, Marc Vanden Busche, wants this, but I won’t do it.

Today, refugees in the center of Fedasil Koksijde were offered to undergo voluntary independent testing. Not everyone, but only 40 people, in a small group from each floor of the buildings located there. Everyone came voluntarily. None of them have symptoms - they just want to know.

The testing was organized by Fedasil, and not by the mayor of Koksijde, who only talk on this topic, but did nothing.

Independent voluntary testing in one of the best laboratories in Belgium is very good. No one was forced to participate in testing.

Doctors demonstrated the name of the test they used. This is a PCR test that does not detect antibodies, but the presence of virus at the moment. This is not an express test when the results are known after three hours, but a more serious laboratory test. We will get the results in three days.

Doctors took samples from the nostrils.

By the way, the doctors did not use heavy equipment - only a table and a box with sample containers. If the mayor really wanted to pay for refugee testing (as he told everyone), he would put the same table at the gates of the Refugee Reception Center and offer testing. But that did not happen. Extra evidence, the mayor is engaged in demagogy and deliberately misleads people, exposing refugees to discrimination.

The mayor once put up a large tent at the entrance to the center of Fedasil, but not for testing refugees - but for his comfort and safety when visiting the center yesterday.

But let's get back to today's testing.

The mayor said that the Refugee Reception Center will be blocked by the police, releasing only those who have a negative test result. It turns out that the police will release those few who have passed the test and received a negative result.

And we faced one important question.

In fact, we have come to the conclusion that the so-called “immune passport” is being introduced for the first time in Belgium. Contradictory measure, which is still under discussion. An immune passport is a paper that says that a person is healthy, which means that he can return to work.

The WHO believes that tests are often mistaken, and this is one of the reasons why introducing an immune passport is pointless and dangerous to fight the virus, and will inevitably lead to a violation of human rights. More about this here - https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/immunity-passports-in-the-context-of-covid-19

Yes, testing is often wrong. Someone calls the figure 30%, someone more, someone less. This means that testing is somehow suitable for anonymized statistics, but for an immune passport of a specific living person it is completely unsuitable.

Moreover, the “immune passport” is being discussed as an option for permission to return to work. But the refugees in Koksijde were actually imprisoned - and the mayor wants to use the test results as an “immune passport” for release.

The fantasies of the mayor of Koksijde that test results should be used to limit the freedom of movement of specific people are just the fantasies of the mayor. He is not a virologist and is not guided by the opinion of virologists.

The Belgian government did not introduce any “immune passports”. Parliament did not pass any laws on this.

What can the actions of the mayor be compared with?

I have only one association.

Once upon a time, Jews were allowed to go out only if they had a Star of David on their clothes. They might not have placed a sign on their clothes - but in this case they could not go outside.

Of course, the Jews had to go shopping and other things. Therefore, they sewed on the star of David. Likewise, many tested refugees who need to go outside will show the “immune passport” to the police.

But this does not mean that what is happening is normal. This is lawlessness. This is contrary to common sense and is not a fight against the virus.

Therefore, even if I go through testing and get a negative result, I will never show this paper to a policeman.

I will not participate in this illegal game, which always ends badly. We must be free without any conditions.



Ten reasons why immunity passports are a bad idea - https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01451-0