Aged care trial to rapid test visitors for COVID-19

Abberfield Aged Care Facility is taking part in a study of a rapid antigen test to identify asymptomatic people with COVID-19.

A residential aged care provider in Melbourne is trialling a 10-minute test for the coronavirus that aims to boost safety for residents by detecting asymptomatic infections.

The month-long trial at Abberfield Aged Care Facility will test the effectiveness of rapid antigen testing as a COVID-19 screening tool for all people entering the facility, such as staff, contractors and visitors, and its ability to detect asymptomatic cases.

The trial, which is expected to commence this week, will use medical device manufacturer Atomo Diagnostics’ rapid antigen test for COVID-19, which can detect acute infection and deliver a result in 10 minutes.

It will compare the results between the rapid antigen test and the polymerase chain reaction test, or PCR, currently used to screen for COVID-19. It will also test the I-dentikey smartphone app to automatically and securely store the results of the rapid test.

General practitioner Dr Henry Konopnicki, who is overseeing the trial, said the technology aimed to minimise COVID-19 risks for aged care residents.

Dr Henry Konopnicki

“We want to prove that this is a quick, reliable, cost effective way [to screen for COVID-19], now that we’re going to be moving from a pandemic to an endemic,” Dr Konopnicki told Australian Ageing Agenda.

Using rapid antigen tests will provide reassurance to the residents, staff, the organisation and families that anyone entering the facility is not asymptomatic with COVID-19, he said.

“Because you get a result in 10 minutes, if it’s negative, it’s going to give us a good sense of security. But if it’s positive, then they need to go off… and go automatically into isolation and get a COVID test,” he said.

The standard PCR test is “the gold standard” but it takes 24 to 48 hours to get a result and is more expensive than this rapid test, Dr Konopnicki said.

“We’re looking at a more cost effective, timely way of screening,” he said.

Atomo Diagnostics’
rapid COVID-19 antigen test

Testing can reduce the risk of an outbreak in aged care facilities, which have several visitors in addition to staff, such as contractors, families and allied health professionals, which increases their risk of COVID-19, he said.

“This is a quick way of minimising the risk, so you can jump on it much quicker. If someone’s positive, we can go to action. You don’t have to wait and quickly do contact tracing.”

Dr Konopnicki hopes the trial will prove rapid antigen tests can help aged care providers protect their residents and prevent outbreaks.

International studies show there is a significant cohort of people with COVID-19 who are asymptomatic, he said.  

Atomo Diagnotics CEO John Kelly said the time and expense of current COVID-19 PCR-exclusive testing protocols limited its effectiveness in settings like aged care.

John Kelly

“Studies around the world show that a significant cohort of people are asymptomatic when infected with COVID-19. This can cause a huge risk of potential infection in high-risk settings such as aged care,” Mr Kelly said in a statement.

“COVID-19 infection concerns have limited family visits to residents in aged care facilities all over Australia, undermining confidence in staff and contractors in entering facilities.”

This policy is failing aged care residents and is out of step with other developed nation’s COVID-19 responses, he said.

Register to receive the results of the trial.

Main image: Abberfield Aged Care Facility

This story has been updated for clarity

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Tags: Abberfield Aged Care Facility, atomo diagnostics, COVID19, dr henry konopnicki, featured, john kelly, rapid testing,

3 thoughts on “Aged care trial to rapid test visitors for COVID-19

  1. An interesting initiative that appears to focus on screening visitors which is essential. However, someone might be able to answer the question: of all the incidents of COVID 19 transmission to residents in care homes in Australia in the past 16 months, how many were as a result of transmission from a COVID positive visitor? By contrast, how many were as a result of transmission from a staff member? The screening of staff should be the primary focus and this test is a welcome addition if it can be used for that purpose

  2. Thank you for your comment. The trial does include staff testing and I have updated the story to clarify this.

  3. A very interesting idea and would really benefit facilities to keep our people safe here’s hoping it will take off soon very interesting and very important for aged care and other facilities

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