Health Minister Stephen Donnelly advises people to ignore negative antigen test results irishmirror.ie - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from irishmirror.ie Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
EXPLAINER
Snake oil or a key tool to help get people back to work – What’s the fuss with antigen tests?
11 May 2021, 7:30
SNAKE oil that won’t keep you safe or a key tool in getting people back to work in the pandemic?
Antigen tests have been called a lot of things recently and the Government is doing little to clarify the situation.
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NPHET s Professor Philip Nolan referred to the tests as snake oil and claimed the tests will not keep you safeCredit: PA:Press Association
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Tanaiste Leo Varadkar believes antigen tests will help get people back to work but warned they should not be used for safer socialisingCredit: PA:Press Association
What is an antigen test?
There are two types of testing for Covid-19, or SARS-CoV-2. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test is the most accurate and is the one used by the HSE to determine if a person is positive for the virus. With this test a swab is taken from the back of the nose or throat.
It is then sent to a laboratory which identifies if the virus is present at a genetic level. This requires specialist equipment and is time-consuming but has a high degree of accuracy.
Antigen tests are much quicker - results can be back within 30 minutes. The swab taken from the nose or throat is put into a solution that will release proteins from the virus. That protein can then be detected by a change of colour on an indicator.
Updated: 11 May 2021, 20:03
A FURTHER nine Covid-19 deaths have been confirmed in Ireland.
The Department of Health has also announced 379 new cases this afternoon.
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Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health gave an update on the exit pandemic planCredit: PA:Press Association
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A man walks his dog past a sign encouraging social distancing in Dublin s Phoenix ParkCredit: PA:Press Association
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Of the cases notified today, 77 per cent are under 45 years of age and the median age is 29-years-oldCredit: PA:Press Association
To date, there has been a total of 4,929 Covid-19 related deaths and 253,567 confirmed cases of the virus in Ireland.