New gargle method covid test

Special Desk

Canadian province has launched a new gargle method for students ages 4 to 19, a relief from the icky swabs and uncomfortable Covid-19 tests.

The manner it works is simple. This is a new saline gargle. Put a little bit of normal saline, so sterile water, in your mouth and swish it around a little bit and spit it into a little tube to collect it for sampling. Sample will still have to be taken to a lab for processing but the test does not have to be administered by a healthcare professional.

“It is first of its kind in the world,” said Dr Bonnie Henry, BC’s provincial health officer, talking to the media. BC Centre for Disease Control says the new test is just as accurate as tests using a nasal swab and is much easier to administer for children.

The announcement comes at a time when testing is in high demand: Canada has seen a doubling of new daily cases in the last month. And while experts are still looking into the role children play in Covid-19 transmission, a recent report suggests they can — and do — spread the virus, even when they have mild or no symptoms.

BC public health officials say they compared test results in both children and adults and found the rate of Covid-19 detection was very similar between the nasal swab and the new gargle test. BC is prioritizing children for the new test but hopes to expand to adults in the coming weeks.

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Canada’s positivity rate remains at 1.4% as testing ramps up, but public health officials are worried cases are rising too quickly to adequately test, contact trace and isolate positive cases.