By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Scientists from the three principal public universities in Costa Rica, the University of Costa Rica, the Technologic University and the National University, completed the first prototype of saliva tests for a speedy diagnosis of COVID-19.

After almost a month of investigation and the support of more than 20 specialists, the scientists begin with the verification phase of the saliva tests they are developing for the fast diagnosis of COVID-19.

With the use of synthetic genes also designed by the scientists, the preliminary results obtained so far are successful, according to the scientists.

“The first results show that in vitro tests using synthetic genes achieved a sensitivity of 94.4 percent in the ability of the test to detect the disease. It also has a specificity level of 100 percent in the case of applying the test to healthy individuals,” German Madrigal, director of the Institute for Pharmaceutical Research said. “The percentages obtained are very high and mean that the test has great potential to improve the diagnosis of COVID-19.”

Intending to carry the validation tests, the scientists designed synthetic COVID-19 genes and artificial saliva as a first step to counteract the results with the standard test known as Polymerase chain reaction, PCR.

The most common test is the PCR, which is a process that amplifies (replicates) a small, well-defined segment of DNA hundreds of thousands of times, creating enough of it for analysis. Samples can be obtained by a nasopharyngeal swab (or nasopharyngeal culture) for collecting nasal secretions from the back of the nose and throat.

If this new test successfully passes the following two stages that are still pending, it is expected that within a few months the university will share with Social Security, the Ministry of Health and any company that wishes to produce the tests.

The country will have an additional resource to the standard test for the diagnosis of COVID-19 with 70 percent less cost, the scientist said in the statement.

The speedy and efficient detection of COVID-19 is vital for health authorities, due to the increase in virus contagions in the country.

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GENEVA – Tentative signs of recovery are emerging in global labour markets, following unprecedented disruption in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest report from the International Labour Organization.

New annual estimates in the seventh edition of the ILO Monitor: COVID-19 and the world of work confirm the massive impact that labour markets suffered in 2020. The latest figures show that 8.8 percent of global working hours were lost for the whole of last year (relative to the fourth quarter of 2019), equivalent to 255 million full-time jobs1 . This is approximately four times greater than the number lost during the 2009 global financial crisis.

These lost working hours are accounted for either by reduced working hours for those in employment or “unprecedented” levels of employment loss, hitting 114 million people2 . Significantly, 71 percent of these employment losses (81 million people) came in the form of inactivity, rather than unemployment, meaning that people left the labour market because they were unable to work, perhaps because of pandemic restrictions, or simply ceased to look for work. Looking at unemployment alone drastically understates the impact of COVID-19 on the labour market.

These massive losses resulted in an 8.3 percent decline in global labour income (before support measures are included), equivalent to US$3.7 trillion or 4.4 percent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Impact by groups and sectors

Women have been more affected than men by the pandemic’s labour market disruptions. Globally, employment losses for women stand at 5 percent, versus 3.9 percent for men. In particular, women were much more likely than men to drop out of the labour market and become inactive.

Younger workers have also been particularly hard hit, either losing jobs, dropping out of the labour force or delaying entry into it. The employment loss among youth (15-24 years old) stood at 8.7 percent, compared to 3.7 percent for adults. This “highlights the all too real risk of a lost generation,” the Monitor says.

The report shows the uneven impact on different economic, geographic, and labour market sectors. It highlights concerns of a “K-shaped recovery,” whereby those sectors and workers hit hardest could be left behind in the recovery, leading to increasing inequality, unless corrective measures are taken.

The worst affected sector has been accommodation and food services, where employment declined by more than 20 percent, on average, followed by retail and manufacturing. In contrast, employment in information and communication, and finance and insurance, increased in the second and third quarters of 2020. Marginal increases were also seen in mining, quarrying and utilities.

Looking ahead

While there is still a high degree of uncertainty, the latest projections for 2021 show that most countries will experience a relatively strong recovery in the second half of the year, as vaccination programmes take effect.

The Monitor puts forward three scenarios for recovery; baseline, pessimistic and optimistic. The baseline scenario (which draws on International Monetary Fund forecasts from October 2020), projects a 3 percent loss of working hours globally in 2021 (compared to Q4 2019), equivalent to 90 million full time jobs.

“The signs of recovery we see are encouraging, but they are fragile and highly uncertain, and we must remember that no country or group can recover alone.”

Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General

The pessimistic scenario, which assumes slow progress on vaccination in particular, would see working hours drop by 4.6 percent, while the optimistic scenario forecasts a 1.3 percent decline. This would depend on the pandemic being under control and an upsurge of consumer and business confidence.

In all scenarios the Americas, Europe and Central Asia would experience around twice the working hour losses of other regions.

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