Dr. Colm Henry:

All new testing is always being evaluated. The problem is that many of the tests that come forward have been validated on very small groups of people. It is true that antigen testing can be carried out quickly but it has a low sensitivity. It may have a role in serial testing in lower risk outbreak settings but in Ireland and internationally, the gold standard remains the polymerase chain reaction, PCR, test. It has the highest sensitivity of all tests and we need that high sensitivity to identify people who are carrying the virus, most effectively identify their close contacts and allow for proper public health measures to be put in place.