In a bid to open up Australia's borders as soon as possible, Aussie researchers have created a 15-minute COVID-19 test, which may just provide the interim solution for those pesky border restrictions across the country.
It has even been suggested that it may slowly be trialled as an option for allowing international travel to resume.
Scientists from the University of Technology in Sydney have developed the sensitive saliva test which can pick up fragments of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in less than fifteen minutes.
The prototype is set to be manufactured over in Perth, and will cost less than $25 a pop.
Although the test is getting everyone excited about possibly breaking down those hard borders (we’re looking at you, W.A), researchers have said the test can also be used to screen incoming international travellers, help reduce (or even eliminate) quarantine and also be used in hospital, aged care and employment settings.
Lab trials on the live virus will be beginning before Christmas, though no word on how long the trial period will last and the tests will be rolled out.
Dr Dayong Jin, one of the leading researchers at the university, said in a statement released Monday that the test is ‘sensitive enough to detect the presence of as little as a trillionth of a gram of SARS-CoV-2 viral fragments’.
“A person with COVID-19 may be contagious 72 hours before starting to show symptoms,” he added. “With the sensitivity of our optical technology, we aim to identify the viral protein in saliva from asymptomatic but already infectious patients”.
“This would allow for much more effective contact tracing and rapid discovery of pockets of disease before it is transmitted to others.”
Fingers crossed our borders are down before Christmas, we have a hankering for a holiday (and we’re sure we’re not the only ones!)*.
*We obviously support any necessary border restrictions, and encourage everyone travelling or planning travel to do so responsibly.