What you need to know about Rapid Antigen Test Kits
While vaccines play an essential role in preventing the spread of SARS-Cov-2, they are not the only precaution to take. In order to keep your staff and customers safe, it is now more vital than ever before to take every precaution you can. Rapid Antigen Test Kits are a quick and easy way to ensure that your staff are not infected, in as little as 15 minutes.
If a member of staff doesn’t have symptoms, then they could unknowingly spread the virus to other staff, customers and vulnerable people. An undetected infection within a business could have severe consequences. Not just due to the risk of spreading the virus, it could also lead to shutting down, lack of staff and clusters within a community.
The Australian Government has promised to curb widespread lock downs as vaccine targets are reached. In some cases, fines may be applied to businesses that don’t follow guidelines. By testing staff regularly, you are able to catch any asymptomatic infections before they reach a larger population.
PCR tests are able to detect the smallest traces of the virus, however results can take a few days. This is why PCR results require potential cases to isolate until they receive results. Rapid Antigen Tests are more readily available and far more time efficient than PCR tests.
While all industries need to take the risk of contamination seriously, it is more vital for those working within the care industry in order to avoid infecting vulnerable people.
Used alongside PCR testing, Rapid Antigen Tests can help to reduce the strain on healthcare workers who are taking and testing PCR samples.
RAT kits are a safety precaution that will detect most cases of the virus. This allows for early detection, and even the prevention of businesses needing to close their doors.
Rapid Antigen Test Kits have been used within Australia, by industries such as health care and aged care, since the Therapeutic Goods Authority (TGA) approved legal supply for clinical use in 2020. Self-testing later become available in 2021.
While Australia has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, public health officials are still calling for caution. For businesses within the care industry, setting up a RAT system within your business now, will protect staff and the community along with providing peace of mind.
15-Minute Rapid SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Test kits allow for rapid, chromatographic immunoassay for the qualitative screening of SARS-CoV-2 antigens present on human nasal, nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swab specimens. Results are available within 15 minutes. Kits are rapid, convenient and easy to use.
Each kit includes 20 x Sterile Swabs, 20 x Specimen Extraction Tubes, 20 x Extraction Buffers, 20 x Test Cassettes and 1 x Tube Holster.
Please note that negative test results do not exclude infection with COVID-19, so face masks, social distancing and good hygiene practice must be maintained. Positive test results or symptomatic persons require immediate confirmatory testing with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.
