Rapid tests - results not to be reconfirmed

[Paphos Life]

The Health Ministry will no longer reconfirm through PCR tests any positive cases found through rapid tests.In statements to an ANT-1 program, the Health Ministry's spokeswoman said that since most rapid tests results, approximately 97-98%, are reconfirmed through PCR tests, the Ministry decided not to reconfirm them but consider them as confirmed cases directly....

Read the article and chat about it below...

[Dominic]

Remember, some people were saying that the rapid tests were pointless. Clearly they weren't.

[Lofos-Jan]

Lloyd they didn’t double count them. The antigen tests were not included in the figures until they had been retested with a PCR test and added the following day. The numbers were separately reported but not counted in the official figures for each day. They have now decided not to follow these up with a PCR test and to officially count them as they are. This will result in one particularly high number day (today).

Jeanne

[galexinda]

One person has died and 751 people have tested positive for coronavirus, the health ministry said on Monday, the first time it was announcing combined PCR and rapid test results.

Of the total, 449 were from rapid tests. Earlier on Monday, the health ministry said that because of the high level of accuracy of the rapid antigen tests, these will henceforth be included in results and will not require verification by PCR.
https://cyprus-mail.com/2020/12/28/coro ... new-cases/

[Dominic]

Lloyd they didn’t double count them. The antigen tests were not included in the figures until they had been retested with a PCR test and added the following day. The numbers were separately reported but not counted in the official figures for each day. They have now decided not to follow these up with a PCR test and to officially count them as they are. This will result in one particularly high number day (today).

Jeanne

I think HiC might be referring to this site:

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

A while ago I looked on it and they were recording the PCR tests and the antigen test positives announced each day. This was inflating the total, because the positive antigen test results would then appear as a positive PCR test a few days later.

I guess the most important figure to pay attention to is the death rate. You can't really record that twice. Also, it won't be affected by the amount of tests done on a particular day.