How a rapid Covid tests that gives results in just 15 minutes could finally be the key to Australians going on holiday again - but there's one thing that has experts worried
A cheap 15 minute finger prick Covid test could be rolled out in Australian airports and hotels by September, giving millions the chance to return to overseas holidays.
New Zealand medical company Orbis Diagnostics and French augmented reality firm IDEMIA said they were in talks with Australian health ministers.
The test can tell whether someone is able to fight coronavirus because they have been vaccinated or have built up antibodies from a previous infection.
But some scientists fear such tests, already deployed in the UK and across Europe, give out false positive results.
A high volume and low cost 15 minute finger prick Covid test could be rolled out in Australian airports and hotels by September
The test would tell whether a person is immune to coronavirus after receiving a vaccine or because they were previously infected
The test could help governments ease travel restrictions, allowing immunised Australians to travel internationally more easily - with the test given out at airport arrivals and departures.
'Rapid point-of-need testing for immunity can enable a return to safe and quarantine-free international travel', said Orbis co-founder Professor Cather Simpson.
Orbis said the test could be operated by non-technically qualified staff in airports, hospitals and other key entry points.
Some researchers have warned the rapid finger-prick testing may not be wholly accurate.
A study published in the British Medical Journal claimed similar tests often brought up false positive results.
Despite this, the tests have already been rolled out in the UK and Europe for many months.
'We expect the tests to be used first in quarantine facilities in one or several states in Australia before then moving into the airports,' IDEMIA managing director in Australia and NZ Xavier Assouad told the Australian.
'We expect this to be used not just on arrivals for inbound passengers but also on departures.'
The test, which draws a small prick of blood, can produce results within five to 15 minutes.
The test could help governments ease travel restrictions, allowing immunised Australians to travel internationally more easily - with the test given out at airport arrivals and departures .
Approval for the test would have to go through Australia's national cabinet.
IDEMIA and Orbis said they were in talks with several state health ministers and had contacted Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly.
Orbis said the companies had also submitted a plan to the New Zealand government to undergo a testing program.
Australians have been warned they may be robbed of overseas holidays until the majority of the country has been vaccinated - which could take as long as a year, with not a single jab yet given out.
Rapid airport tests would allow the government to be assured that any arrival into the country was vaccinated - a stipulation of entry previously flagged by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
The international borders have been closed since March 20 to stop the deadly respiratory virus being imported in from overseas.
New Zealand medical company Orbis Diagnostics and French augmented reality firm IDEMIA, which is developing an app to go with the test , said they were in talks with Australian health ministers
Rapid airport tests would allow the government to be assured that any arrival into the country was vaccinated - a stipulation of entry previously flagged by Prime Minister Scott Morrison . Pictured: Passengers waiting to check into an Emirates flight from Sydney on January 19, 2021