Looks like a rapid action COVID-19 test could be the key to unlocking international travel and honestly open my mouth and swab me down because I will be on that first plane outta here.
According to Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, administering this 15 minute COVID-19 test pre-flight will allow for overseas travel to start sooner than we imagined, even before any sort of vaccine arrives.
Speaking to an aviation conference yesterday, Joyce hoped that the rapid antigen test shows a “reason to be optimistic” in the face of an uncertain future in international travel.
“There are some great developments in testing that could resolve the issue of people needing to go into quarantine,” Mr Joyce said at Wednesday’s CAPA Australia Pacific Aviation Summit, according to Executive Traveller.
According to Joyce, these tests mean that there could be “no need to be in quarantine at the other end” when you travel.
Rapid antigen tests, also known as BinaxNOW is an antigen test that detects a specific viral protein from SARS-CoV-2. Sure it doesn’t require a lab or a machine for processing, but it is also less sensitive compared to the current testing method, which is universally considered the gold-standard way to detect COVID-19.
Although these 15-minute tests sound like a dream, negative results may still need to be backed up by a PCR test, which is the one we all know and love, (thank you swab for exploring the crevices of my brain.)
Mr Joyce has suggested that Qantas airlines may resume international travel in July 2021, with a trans-Tasman bubble becoming available earlier if possible.
Sweet frost of Reykjavík here I come.
