Austria recently committed to the purchase of rapid tests, while in Canada a program was launched that aims to distribute rapid tests for workplace screening. When a person is infected with Covid-19, the lateral flow device recognizes a Covid-19 antigen that is generated. The next step was running simulations that test what proportion of positive contact cases antigen lateral flow devices would detect. Results indicated that the rapid antigen tests can detect 83 percent to 89.5 percent of infections leading to onward transmission. With the country’s recent surge in cases, the government has been rolling out rapid antigen tests to speed up contact tracing.

Source: Forbes June 01, 2021 12:07 UTC