Goa to conduct rapid antigen detection test

The Goa government will soon start conducting rapid antigen detection test for COVID-19 diagnosis, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Monday. He said 2,000 of total 8,000 residents of Mangor Hill have been tested so far. Goa's COVID-19 case tally stood at 1,761 with seven deaths as on July 5..

The Goa government will soon start conducting rapid antigen detection test for COVID-19 diagnosis, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Monday. He said the testing will begin from the worst-affected Mangor Hill area in Vasco town.

It is a test on swabbed nasal samples that detects antigens (foreign substances that induce an immune response in the body) that are found on or within the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The chief minister, however, didn't clarify whether the test will be conducted only for residents of Mangor Hill containment zone or for high-risk contacts of the infected patients.

Sawant has ruled out immediate possibility of de- sealing Mangor Hill area, saying the infection is still spreading in the locality. "We have decided that people from a containment zone can get themselves tested for COVID-19, and if their test is negative, they can move out of that zone to join offices.

"However, they will not be allowed to re-enter the containment zone and have to stay outside it," the CM told reporters at Porvorim after addressing a review meeting. He said 2,000 of total 8,000 residents of Mangor Hill have been tested so far.

Goa's COVID-19 case tally stood at 1,761 with seven deaths as on July 5..