Face of Nation International : Over 178,000 COVID-19 tests have been carried out in Australia and that number is growing rapidly by the day.
The Federal Government has consistently said this testing rate — at approximately 557 tests per 100,000 people — is among the highest in the world.
While the standard testing method is a throat and nasal swab, Health Minister Greg Hunt announced on Tuesday new finger-prick tests will soon be rolled out within GP clinics.
We asked the Department of Health and experts what these new “point-of-care” tests are, and how they differ from the swab tests, which are still in use.
How does the new finger-prick test work?
Mr Hunt confirmed yesterday that “point-of-care” or “finger-prick” COVID-19 tests had been approved in the last several days.
“They will be deployed, which will then allow for greater testing of patients within the general practice setting,” he said. They use a different technique to the PCR tests because they look for antibodies, which are a protein made in your bloodstream to fight infection. The finger-prick test is much quicker — returning results in as little as 15 minutes. They’re also much cheaper.
However, Dr Di Dio cautioned that they’re not as effective and sometimes a PCR test might still be required as well. “The answer to that will depend on a few things, like will we run out of proper PCR tests?” he said. “Or, have so many Australians got it that we can’t afford to wait?” (Source: ABC News – Australia)