WHO announces Covid-19 rapid tests for low and middle income countries

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WHO announces Covid-19 rapid tests for low and middle income countries

Tue, 2020-09-29 18:18 — mike kraft

WHO announces Covid-19 rapid tests for low and middle income countries The World Health Organization has announced an agreement to make rapid Covid-19 tests available to lower and middle-income countries across the world. Amanda Watts, CNN CNN

(CNN)The World Health Organization has announced an agreement to make rapid Covid-19 tests available to lower and middle-income countries across the world.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general said, "a substantial proportion of these rapid tests - 120 million - will be made available to low and middle-income countries. These tests provide reliable results in approximately 15 to 30 minutes, rather than hours or days, at a lower price, with less sophisticated equipment."

Tedros said during a Monday news conference that these "vital" tests will help expand testing in remote areas, "that do not have lab facilities or enough trained health workers to carry out PCR tests."

He added: "High-quality rapid tests show us where the virus is hiding, which is key to quickly tracing and isolating contacts and breaking the chains of transmission. The tests are a critical tool for governments as they look to reopen economies and ultimately save both lives and livelihoods."

Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund said the tests are hugely valuable as a complement to PCR tests but warned that they are not "a silver bullet."

"Although they're a bit less accurate - they're much faster, cheaper, and don't require a lab," he explained. "Being able to deploy quality antigen RDTs, rapid diagnostic tests, will be a significant step forward in enabling countries to contain and combat Covid-19," Sands added.

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