#private pcr test

[i-still-mask-because]

i still mask because i have conditions that share symptoms with covid, and i cant afford to get tested (rapid test or pcr) every time i have a single symptom (also covid spreads when your asymptomatic, i dont want to spread illness when im feeling fine either)

Hey anon, thank you for sharing! You're absolutely valid and right!

And just in case you or anyone else that sees this isn't aware, I would encourage you to reach out to your local mask bloc and/or covid action group to inquire if they have any free rapid tests (and free masks) that they're able to give out!

Free PCR testing for the public should be a right though regardless, so I encourage everyone to sign this petition to Congress and the CDC, urging them to 1) make free PCR tests available for all, and to 2) demand the CDC to get back to tracking and reporting COVID transmission.

[globaltravelclinics]

Travel Covid Testing Services at Global Travel Clinics

Travel covid testing is a vital step towards safe travel. Global Travel Clinics offers both PCR and antigen tests to satisfy your travel needs. Book a test and have your results quickly, so you can easily comply with travel regulations. Use reliable covid testing to protect yourself and others.

[conceptodiagnostics]

3 Benefits of Corporate Covid-19 Testing

Coronavirus is a respiratory disease brought about by SARS-CoV-2. Most patients contaminated with Covid report gentle to direct side effects and recuperate with the Private Pathology Laboratory in the UK. Nonetheless, patients with previous medical conditions like hypertension, disease, and diabetes might encounter unfavorable impacts. In any case, note that anybody can get the infection, become sick or even kick the bucket, no matter what their age.

 When can you use Corporate Covid-19 testing?

You ought to get tired or Book a Covid-19 Travel Test from the Clinic of the UK, assuming you experience any side effects of Coronavirus, regardless of whether you have gotten every one of the essential antibodies.

Note that Covid spreads rapidly and effectively, even before seeing any side effects. Thusly, the sooner you know whether you have the infection, the better since you can detach it and lessen the possibility of spreading it to other people.

Once in a while you might test negative for the infection yet feel unwell, demonstrating a bogus negative. In such a situation, you ought to disengage and contact your primary care physician to examine your side effects. Nonetheless, assuming you test positive, you should promptly detach and contact your Private Blood Tests Clinic in the UK to begin the treatment plan.

According to Diagnostic Centre in UK, you ought to do a test following five to seven days on the off chance that you are immunized against the infection. Furthermore, if you're not immunized, you ought to get a test. Given below are the 3 Benefits of Corporate Covid-19 testing:

1.    Ensures Successful Detachment

There are various difficulties confronting the battle against the spread of Covid. Luckily, medical services suppliers can utilize fast testing from the Corporate Coronavirus Testing of the UK to analyze whatever number of Coronavirus cases would be prudent before the infection spreads to the more extensive populace.

2.    Simple to Utilize

You don't need to be a clinical expert to do a quick Coronavirus test. You can do it with your family utilizing a home Coronavirus test pack.

3.    Mitigates Financial Effect

With fast testing, people presented with the infection accept their test results within a couple of hours, implying that they don't need to disengage for a long time or miss various business days as they hold back to accept their experimental outcomes. For more information visit the Private Pathology Laboratory in the UK.

 It can be concluded that Patients go through analytic tests from the Diagnostic Centre in the UK to affirm the presence of Coronavirus respiratory sickness. At the point when patients test positive for a fast antigen test, they are disengaged and begin treatment right away.

 Also Read: What Is So Fascinating About the Covid-19 Antigen LFT Test?

[lotus-tower]

Safety for the rich Ordinary people have zero clue just how many tools the rich are using to avoid this virus. The rich are photographed without masks during public appearances, giving the public the impression that it��s safe to ditch masks. But what we don’t see are all of the precautions being taken behind the scenes. Nasal photodisinfection Celebrities are using hospital-grade technology to photodisinfect their nostrils. KISS’s manager, Don McGhee, talked about the band’s use of nasal photodisinfection in an interview, saying, “Without this, we wouldn’t be on the road.” The technology, called Steriwave, has been used by hospitals to reduce infections in surgery patients for more than a decade and is now available commercially—for a very high cost. Event Scan & Covid prevention companies [...] And they are paying for it. The rich CEOs of these major companies and rich government officials are getting everyone PCR (or LAMP) tested before their big corporate parties, screening all their guests beforehand, and taking Covid very seriously—while telling their low-level employees to return to the office. Far UV-C The schools, workplaces, and homes of the rich are being outfitted with special UV lights that kill viruses in the air—including Covid-19. Far UV can continuously and autonomously eliminate over 90% of pathogens in the air (and on the exposed surfaces) of an enclosed room. These high-tech lights cost thousands of dollars. [...] LAMP Testing Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) testing may be the “better sibling of PCR testing” and is being used by the rich to rapidly diagnose Covid-19. [...] Fancy private schools, like this one (whose tuition fees are $17,664—$18,900 annually) are requiring all visitors to submit samples for LAMP testing—in addition to daily testing of students, teachers, and families, requiring high-quality masks, cleaning the air, serving outdoor lunches, and a lot more.   When you're seeing photos of maskless rich people gathering together, it may look like they aren’t taking any Covid precautions. But the reality is: they've all tested beforehand. They’ve hired private companies to screen their guests, using multiple layers of protection. They are not taking any chances with this virus, because they know it’s extremely serious and nothing like the flu.

-The Pandemic Isn’t Over: The rich know it. You should, too.

[liminalweirdo]

"Are your nostrils photodisinfected? Is your workplace outfitted with the best air purifiers and Far UV lights on the market? Have your friends and coworkers been PCR tested today? Do you have a driver who wears a mask around you, a watch on your wrist that knows you’re sick before you feel anything, a trained dog to sniff the crowd of people you’re about to join? Are your kids in private schools with upgraded ventilation systems? Do you have access to the best doctors and plenty of paid sick leave? No, of course not. So I have to ask: why have you ditched your mask?"

[vomitdodger]

The feds do not have the right to go test healthy herds. But the states do, if sufficiently encouraged. Today Massachusetts brought down the hammer.

You can find ANYTHING with a properly chosen PCR test and enough iterations (cycles). Massachusetts admits it in today’s letter: there are NO sick cows. NO sick humans. But we need the damn virus! We can’t play the Biosecurity game or give out the vaccines without a virus!

The MDAR claims it will provide results quickly when it receives them from “the lab.” Did no one tell MDAR that any results at the state level will need to be verified by a federal USDA lab, so there are two labs that may be involved, and everyone will just have to live with USDA’s results? No private labs are allowed to perform a verification.

Again, no cows are sick. No humans are sick. No one has caught bird flu from food, ever.

There is NO evidence farm workers wearing PPE or keeping flocks indoors protects farmers or birds from anything.

If there was no PCR test we would not know this disease exists. There have been 9 confirmed human cases in the US in the last 2.5 years and before that, none. There are 5 other possible cases that probably tested negative, which is why CDC has not confirmed them. In the entire USA. None went to the hospital and none died.

[drdemonprince]

Coming to terms with having long COVID has fucked up my slut game so bad. I need to avoid reinfection 2000% but I am so horny. Do you or any of your followers have ideas about navigating COVID safer hookups. I know some people just mask but my brain tells me that isn't enough? Like what if a condom isn't enough to stop it either? Idk what to do. I cannot accept celibacy. Please send warm wishes of future orgasms.

You probably already know what I'm going to say, but: outdoor cruising, car play with the windows open, and solo hookups. Remember that air filtration actually matters a whole hell of a lot more than masking (and masking doesn't necessarily work all that well in the absence of air filtration/ventilation). Some cruising events at bars and dungeons do encourage masking, require testing, and use air filters, so search your local community for those or think about collaborating with others to hold such events. I think the strictest protocol you could probably go for is to require a potential hook up to send you a negative PCR before coming to your (ventilated or air filtered) home, and perhaps even asking them to mask when possible, or booking an outdoor site such as a house with a big private yard and hooking up there. But there are no guarantees that doing everything "right" will prevent infection, illness is not moral, and many of the measures a person can theoretically take to mitigate risk are practically inaccessible for a variety of reasons, including finances. Do what you can live with, and take risks you can accept the potential consequences of.

[autisticadvocacy]

ASAN is deeply troubled by reports made by The Washington Post this Tuesday that the CDC is planning to change its COVID-19 isolation guidelines. ASAN condemns the potential new guidelines, which would remove the five-day isolation period currently recommended after a positive test for COVID-19. Instead, people with a positive test result would not need to isolate if they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without the aid of medication. 

ASAN has spoken repeatedly on the failures of the US government to respond adequately to COVID-19. Despite the ongoing pandemic, the end of the public health emergency and subsequent Medicaid unwinding have been devastating to the disability community and other marginalized communities. Efforts to encourage adherence to masking guidance and improve indoor air quality have been underwhelming. Through their actions, the CDC and US Government as a whole have indicated the strategy to combat COVID-19 is seemingly a vaccine-only response, but, with adult uptake of the latest bivalent booster being only 21.9%, even these efforts are beyond inadequate. 

This change is particularly alarming given who is likely to be among the most impacted. Changing the isolation window disproportionately exposes and affects vulnerable populations such as disabled and immunocompromised people, older adults, and other high-risk groups. These guidelines would increase COVID-19 exposure and make people at high risk of poor outcomes from COVID-19 less safe in a range of public and private spaces. 

Asymptomatic spread remains a serious concern with the latest variants. Reduced access to at-home and PCR testing since the end of the public health emergency contributes to transmission. Removing the isolation window adds increased pressure to return to school and work while potentially infectious. This will disproportionately affect individuals with hourly jobs that must be performed in person and families with children that are lower-income and families of color, as many communities aggressively enforce truancy laws against these households. Counting on the availability of treatments like Paxlovid as a mitigation strategy is highly inequitable as racial and ethnic disparities in outpatient treatment of COVID-19 remain prevalent. An approach to COVID-19 that accepts widespread and repeated infection leaves the most vulnerable among us unprotected. As we have seen throughout the pandemic, it has also led to the emergence of new variants, putting our communities at additional risk. Each repeated infection increases an individual’s likelihood of developing Long COVID, a potentially lifelong disability with limited treatment options. 

The CDC has continually failed to take into account disabled people when making COVID-19 policies and regulations. The CDC is moving in the wrong direction by reducing COVID-19 isolation periods. Instead, it should release improved guidelines to promote masking and increase availability, accessibility, and understanding of vaccines, testing, and treatment. States and the federal government also must address the continued effects of the pandemic and the end of the public health emergency on health care access and home and community based services, make investments in improving indoor air quality and preventing and treating Long COVID, and address the economic and human impacts of this crisis. ASAN condemns the possible shortening of isolation guidelines and will continue to hold the federal government accountable for protecting the public from the ongoing risk of COVID-19.

[eliotquillon]

Would you write any flirtatious chase-cameron banter? Preferably set at a late night in the hospital after everyone's gone home and they're stuck doing labs, looking after a patient and they're a teensy bit delirious so it's weirdly also very honest and vulnerable.

anon i bet you thought i forgot about this req didn't you. NEVER FEAR. this actually took me a while to figure out what to do with (i love writing banter but flirtatious banter is scary especially for a 'new' fandom) (i still consider myself new to this fandom) but here we go. set vaguely during a non-specific part of fwb era--if pressed i'll say between 3x15 and 3x16, but the details are not relevant lol:

House, of course, leaves PPTH at 5pm on the dot with strict orders to keep running lab stains and PCR tests on their latest patient until they get a positive result. “Not like you three have anything better to do,” he calls over his shoulder, while Foreman rolls his eyes and Chase tries to catch Cameron’s eye. She’s not paying attention–too busy adjusting her glasses tiredly while she peers into a microscope, hair ruffled in a way that reminds him of her rolling out of his bed that morning–and Chase tells himself he’s not disappointed. They’re not together. It’s just sex. It shouldn’t matter that they had half-formed plans to get Indian takeout and play a drinking game while watching old episodes of General Hospital together that was almost definitely going to lead to–

“Alright, I’m out,” Foreman declares at midnight. “This isn’t fair, I wore the beeper last night. One of us needs to be awake for the differential tomorrow.” “Nice excuse,” Chase mutters darkly. “You mind bringing us up some coffee from the cafeteria before you go, Judas?”

“That’d be great,” Cameron adds, all faux-earnest charm, and Foreman actually has the grace to look a little bit guilty at that. He leaves the coffees on the lab benches–definitely not best practice, but nor is making three overworked doctors run labs all night–and leaves with the promise to relieve them at 6am if they come up with no further answers. Chase, of course, doesn’t believe him for a second, but this seems to pacify Cameron; she shoots him a suspiciously sunny smile, and wishes him good night.

As soon as Foreman’s out the door, she says, “And then there were two.” “And then there were two,” Chase echoes, eyeing her warily from where he’s waiting for the centrifuge to recalibrate. “Not quite what I meant when I asked if you wanted to hang out tonight.” That’s usually how they put it, in public–do you want to hang out later? Wanna grab some dinner? It’s really more for Chase’s sanity than Cameron’s; she seems unusually blasé about the whole friends-with-benefits situation, which is fine, honestly, but is it so crazy to just want to keep things to themselves for a while? To not want the hospital gossip mill offering their opinion on what is, objectively, a private decision between two consenting adults? And it’s not like Chase knows how to phrase it any other way. Cameron, if she had her own way, would keep being forthright about it: want to have sex later? Cool. Collected. And it isn’t that Chase has an issue with it, exactly. It’s just as she said it would be, after all. No strings attached. Easy peasy. But there’s just something so clinical about it. It feels strange, especially from Cameron, who he always assumed would be the flowers-and-dinner type.

“We could,” Cameron says now, pushing back her chair and spinning to face him. “If you wanted.” “You don’t mean,” Chase starts, fighting his flush at the thought of Cameron and sex and the fucking pathology lab, and Cameron grins from ear to ear.

“Hang out,” she finishes, simple and guileless. “I guess we’re doing it anyway, right? No harm in taking a quick break to chat.”

“That is not what you meant,” Chase accuses. God, she would probably kill him for thinking it, but there really is something beautiful about Cameron in the lab. Even when she’s exhausted and frustrated there’s a part of her that just lights up when given a microscope and a set of slides, like she’s some overeager freshman biology major donning a lab coat for the first time. It’s lit up right now: in the slightly manic gleam in her eye, in her rolled-up sleeves, in her glasses set half-askew on the edge of her nose. “Anyway, we don’t have time to chat. Unless you’re planning on being trapped in here with me all night.”

“And that would be so terrible,” Cameron hums, dangling her legs invitingly. She’d kill him for thinking this, too, but at this precise moment she seems so…normal. Not normal as in ordinary, quotidian, but normal as in not a woman with dead-husband-levels of hang-ups around relationships; normal as in the kind of woman Chase thinks he knows how to flirt with. It’s an illusion, but it’s almost like he could step right between the open vee of her legs and grin down at her teasingly, and almost like she would let him. 

Not that he wants to. Not that she would let him. It’s just sex. Just convenience. Just…microwave pizza.

“So very terrible,” Chase agrees, turning back to the centrifuge so he doesn’t have to keep looking at her and thinking about it. “Good thing we’re not actually locked in together.” “That could probably be arranged,” Cameron says. He can’t see her anymore, but he imagines her smiling again, polishing her glasses on the edge of her coat and her bangs falling into her eyes, the way she looks at him sometimes when they’re walking out to her car together on the way out of work and their fingers accidentally brush together and Chase can pretend that she’s thinking about holding his hand. He thinks that’d be nice, sometime. Just holding Cameron’s hand–not out of any hidden romance, but just for the sake of it. He knows her hands so well, the cracked-dry knuckles and fingertips from scrubbing them multiple times a day and the faintly oily, lavender-scented sheen of her hand cream that always sticks to her palms, and she always holds his face, his shoulders, his hips, but never his hands. “Get someone to call in a bomb threat.” “Call in our own bomb threat,” Chase raises weakly.

“Pretend I’m holding you hostage.” “Hey, why are you holding me hostage?” Chase demands, glancing at her over his shoulder in an accusatory fashion. “I’m the man!”

“I’m a femme fatale,” Cameron smirks, “and you were the one who said we didn’t have time to chat.”

Their pagers go off then; their patient is coding. By the time she’s stable, House is harassing them via speakerphone about test results and his latest epiphany, and it’s like the hours in the lab never really happened. By the time Foreman slinks back in, arguably in a worse mood after two hours’ sleep than he’d be if he’d never slept in the first place, the silly lab banter has entirely slipped from Chase’s mind while Cameron gnaws frustratedly on her bottom lip, and he isn’t thinking about it at all.

Honestly. He isn’t.

[tiktaalic]

I hope these questions don't annoy you, but whats it like working in a lab?

I'm considering the same career path cause I really like my lab classes so far

Not annoying! from what ive seen there are 3 or so types of labs, which are labs in the hospital, which are obviously a faster pace (did half of my preceptorship in one), reference labs, which get a fairly high volume since they're doing testing everybody's sending out for (did other half of my preceptorship in one), and privately owned labs which pick up samples from clinics urgent cares nursing homes etc (both of my jobs have been with private labs).

I like it! It's very routine. I have my set of tasks i do when i clock in and my set of tasks i do at the end of the night and in between I'm just sticking samples on the machines and releasing results. and there is imo enough variation to it to keep it interesting - troubleshooting failed qc, or double checking criticals, or having to do manual difs. if you're liking undergrad lab work I'm assuming you're doing stuff like pcr and gels and micro plates? which is a lot of what molecular departments do in a lab besides micro which is micro. I currently work in the core portion of a lab, which is hematology, coagulation, urinalysis, and chemistry. You really only break out the microscope for urinalysis and hem. we have a micro department that handles all the cultures, and a molecular department that does molecular testing. lots of labs have small micro factions and do lots of micro send out instead. the last lab i worked at did that. the hospital i did my preceptorship at would do plating, but then send all the plates out to be read and send out all the blood culture tubes to be cultured elsewhere. the lab I'm currently at does most cultures in house.

re: education to work in a lab you have to be ASCP certified. After I got my biology degree, I enrolled in texas tech's CLS certification program, which was 3 semesters of classes (preceptorships were the majority of the coursework the last semester). I didn't mind doing it because I was a fresh graduate and I didn't want to Career Hunt or go to grad school. so 3 sems to get a guaranteed job sounded great to me. Since I had my bio degree, I had most of the baseline credits out of the way. chem biochem ochem cell bio genetics etc etc. And the 3 sems I did were lab specific courses like blood banking, clinical chemistry, molecular methods, immunology, phlebotomy, lab management, clinical micro and hematology. there are tons of post bachelor's cls programs, and tons of them are delivered online so that you can chip away at it part time while working.

A nice thing about it is that you can get work literally anywhere. I moved to a town with a population of 90k. Applied for 3 jobs as a brand new graduate. and got 3 offer letters. the payscale's pretty variable, depending on where you are, but it is nice to know that i'm certified in like. 47 states and could get some sort of job in any of them no problem. i think once you've been certified a year you can get cali state certification, which is the route a lot of people go since cali is on the high end of the pay scale. it'll depend on what the lab you're at is like, obviously, but it is pretty difficult to get day shift positions since what a lot of places do is open internal applications for any night/evening shift people who want to move up. I work an evening shift of 2pm to 11pm and i really like it. A very common complaint i see is that there's no like... career ladder. if you're a bench tech. you're a bench tech. which sometimes gets parlayed into section leader, or section manager, but that's a years of experience thing.

My plan is to work in the same place for a couple of years so I feel more experienced, and then to take a few travel contracts which are shorter term higher pay. again, they're available pretty much anywhere, but sometimes the tradeoff is lower compensation or a worse shift or being in the middle of nowhere america. but i think it'll be fun to get paid to bop around the country for awhile. I like my job and I like that it's very secure, but I do plan to go back to school for Something Else at some point and probably shift careers. My review: good thing to do in your twenties! good thing to have under your belt in general. very dependable.

if you have other questions in general or about anything I said you can 100% msg me! Ik I had a lot of trouble finding info when I was looking into this as an undergrad

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Retrospective epidemiologic and genomic surveillance of arboviruses in 2023 in Brazil reveals high co-circulation of chikungunya and dengue viruses

Background

The rapid spread and increase of chikungunya (CHIKV) and dengue (DENV) cases in Brazilian regions in 2023 has raised concerns about the impact of arboviruses on public health. Epidemiological and genomic surveillance was performed to estimate the introduction and spread of CHIKV and DENV in Brazil.

Methods

This study obtained results from the Hermes Pardini (HP), a private medical laboratory, and the Health Department of Minas Gerais state (SES-MG). We investigated the positivity rates of CHIKV and DENV by analyzing the results of 139,457 samples tested for CHIKV (44,029 in 2022 and 95,428 in 2023) and 491,528 samples tested for DENV (163,674 in 2022 and 327,854 in 2023) across the five representative geographical regions of Brazil. Genome sequencing was performed on 80 CHIKV and 153 DENV samples that had been positive for RT-PCR tests.

Results

In our sampling, the data from CHIKV tests indicated that the Northeast region had the highest regional positivity rate in 2022 (58.1%). However, in 2023, the Southeast region recorded the highest positivity rate (40.5%). With regard to DENV, the South region exhibited the highest regional positivity rate in both 2022 (40.8%) and 2023 (22.7%), followed by the Southeast region in both years (34.8% in 2022; 21.4% in 2023). During the first 30 epidemiological weeks of 2023 in the state of Minas Gerais (MG), there was a 5.8-fold increase in CHIKV cases and a 3.5-fold increase in DENV compared to the same period in 2022. Analysis of 151 new DENV-1 and 80 CHIKV genomes revealed the presence of three main clusters of CHIKV and circulation of several DENV lineages in MG. All CHIKV clades are closely related to genomes from previous Brazilian outbreaks in the Northeast, suggesting importation events from this region to MG. We detected the RNA of both viruses in approximately 12.75% of the confirmed positive cases, suggesting an increase of co-infection with DENV and CHIKV during the period of analysis.

Conclusions

These high rates of re-emergence and co-infection with both arboviruses provide useful data for implementing control measures of Aedes vectors and the urgent implementation of public health politics to reduce the numbers of CHIKV and DENV cases in the country.

Read the paper.

[globaltravelclinics]

Pre-Travel Covid Test: Ensure Safe Travels

A pre-travel Covid test is essential for safe travel. Many countries require a negative result before entry. Book your test today for quick and easy results. Be safe and worry-free when traveling with a Pre-Travel COVID test.

[jerirose]

HEALTH UPDATE

So back in April I posted this and it's been a really long time with no updates and I apologise for that, it's been a time(tm). But I finally have one for you. Firstly, thank you to everyone that shared that page and helped me save up the funds for my Cardiac Assessment. I privated the posts a while ago when the funds were raised, so that people wouldn't feel the need to donate since the goal was met. Unfortunately the original date had to be pushed back due to not quiet having enough of the funds at the time. (I hadn't raised enough and my disability allowance had been cut off whilst some changes were being made) However, a new date was set and that date is for tomorrow, the 17th July, and I was able to raise all the funds/put enough into savings once my disability allowance started up again. This past weekend I was made aware that the tests will take apox. 4 hours and I am NERVOUS. I'd also like to apologise for my inactivity over the last several months, Long Covid is tiring and I've been very slow at doing art until this recent surge (who knows how long it'll last for lol). I also have been battling covid for the last month and a half basically, which really sucks when you don't leave the house LOL. I caught it from my stepmum, who brought it home with her (she's a carrier) before my parents went away on holidays at the start of June, that one lasted 2 weeks AND I'm just getting over a different strain that my dad brought home from their holidays, for the last two weeks. haha 😅 Y'all, I really wish people took covid more seriously and masked. Both my recent Covid tests came up negative on the rapid flow tests, but having a doctors visit last Friday confirmed both, just something to keep in mind! He told me 95% of people going into the hospital atm with covid are testing negative on the rapid tests but positive on pcrs, which are hard to get done! These last two rounds of Covid have proper flared up my chest pains again, badly, and I'm really scared that they've done more damage. But I guess only time will tell. Anyways, I just wanted to update you all on how things have been going and I really do appreciate your kindness, patience and support, especially over the last year and a half where I've not been regularly chucking out art as fast as I used too!

[beardedmrbean]

Hong Kong is to scrap its Covid Vaccine Pass scheme, Chief Executive John Lee has announced on Wednesday, meaning proof of vaccination will no longer be required to enter key venues. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests for international arrivals will be scrapped, though unvaccinated non-residents will still be denied entry.

The health authorities will also stop requiring close contacts of Covid-19 patients to undergo isolation, will axe the group gathering limit of 12 people and lift venue capacity limits. All relaxations will kick on on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the city will maintain the outdoor mask mandate as it prepares to resume quarantine-free travel with China in mid-January despite a rampant outbreak sweeping the mainland.

Hongkongers will no longer have to provide proof of vaccination when entering restaurants or other businesses, Lee told the press. The current measure requires eligible residents aged 12 or above to receive at least three doses of a Covid-19 vaccine before they can enter a host of businesses. Children as young as five have to be at least double-jabbed.

In addition, Lee said people will no longer have to undergo isolation at home if they are found to be close contacts of Covid-19 patients. But they are still required to undergo tests by themselves for at least five days.

Measures still in place include the mask mandate, isolation orders for Covid patients, daily rapid testing for students and teachers, a ban on unvaccinated international arrivals, and a ban on eating on ferries.

Lee said the adjustments were based on the wide vaccination coverage of residents and the fact that over 2.5 million were infected in previous outbreaks. He said Hong Kong already had a “relatively wide and comprehensive anti-epidemic barrier.”

The city’s children and elderly are nevertheless lagging behind in terms of vaccination coverage. As of Tuesday, only 78.4 per cent of eligible children between three and 11 are at least double jabbed, and 69.8 per cent of those aged 80 or above had two or more doses of vaccine.

‘No rational scientific argument’ for masks

Hong Kong authorities have been pressured to further relax its anti-epidemic measures as mainland China rapidly drops its once-stringent Covid-19 restrictions following nationwide protests earlier this month.

A lawmaker urged the local government to scrap all measures listed under the city’s disease control legislation, such as the mask mandate, vaccine pass, and group gathering limit.

Health chief Lo Chung-mau cited experts in saying masks must stay: “In order to prevent citizens from suffering the dual infection of Covid-19 and winter influenza… and to protect the healthcare system, the government decided to maintain the mask-wearing requirement.”

David Owens – a doctor and honorary clinical assistant professor in family medicine at the University of Hong Kong – told HKFP that the changes were to be welcomed: “[I]ndeed if Hong Kong had been making decisions on the basis of science and population health the changes could and should have been made months ago.”

He added: “Whilst I understand the arguments for masks there is no rational scientific argument for mask mandates, especially outdoors, at this stage of the pandemic”

Quarantine-free travel with mainland

The city’s government also told local media on Tuesday that it is hoped to see quarantine-free travel between Hong Kong and the mainland resumed by mid-January, after China announced that it will drop quarantine requirements for arrivals from January 8.

Health chief Lo told the press on Tuesday that Hongkongers will have priority in accessing health resources and vaccines as the border reopens. Non-residents receiving jabs from private healthcare providers will not affect the government’s supply of vaccination for residents, said the health secretary.

Meanwhile, other countries are planning to tighten their borders for arrivals from China. On Tuesday, Japan announced that it will require all Chinese arrivals to undergo Covid-19 tests upon their arrival, starting on Friday. Arrivals – including from Hong Kong and Macao – will also be limited to four airports only.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said it was “difficult” for them to grasp China’s situation, as “the information on infections differs between the central and regional governments, as well as between the government and the private sector.”

Meanwhile, the US is considering restrictions on arrivals from China.

[homehealthcarehub101]

Home PCR Tests: A Closer Look at the PCR Test At Home Dubai Option

The COVID-19 pandemic sparked major growth in the development and usage of diagnostic and antibody tests that patients can self-administer from home. Home PCR tests in particular enable private, convenient detection of active coronavirus infections. For those wondering whether accurate PCR Test At Home Dubai kits are available, exploring the leading options provides helpful guidance.

How Do Home PCR Tests for COVID-19 Work?

The PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technique is the gold standard for directly detecting the presence of the COVID-19 virus from respiratory samples. Home PCR test kits allow patients to collect their own nasal or saliva samples and perform the PCR assay without visiting a clinic.

PCR tests work by identifying the specific genetic material of the COVID-19 virus. Users collect a sample, mix it with chemical reagents, and insert the solution into the test kit for analysis. Results are displayed indicating whether viral genetic material was detected based on any color change reaction on the test strips.

Kits include step-by-step instructions to ensure patients perform the easy, quick tests properly using non-invasive nasal swabs or saliva collection. Many provide results within 10-30 minutes.

Here is a video from MedCram Youtube Channel about At Home Rapid COVID 19 Tests and False Positives (Coronavirus Antigen Tests). Watch the video

Benefits of At-Home PCR Testing

Here are some of the major advantages of having access to accurate home PCR tests for COVID-19:

Convenience: Test from the privacy of your residence without traveling to clinics.

Speed: Get results rapidly within minutes rather than waiting days for lab tests.

Self-Administered: Users can collect their own sample comfortably rather than relying on technicians.

Affordability: Individual kits are very competitively priced.

Detection Reliability: PCR technology directly identifies viral presence with high accuracy.

Ease of Use: Tests have simple, straightforward instructions for patients of all ages.

Infection Verification: Confirms active infections unlike antibody tests.

Having the option to privately, quickly, and accurately test for possible COVID-19 infections at home provides significant peace of mind during the pandemic.

How Reliable Are Home PCR Tests?

Many people reasonably wonder whether DIY home PCR test kits can match the reliability of lab-based PCR tests. The good news is that leading home PCR kits on the market have very high accuracy.

Most kits have published sensitivity and specificity above 90% when compared to lab PCR tests. High quality home tests analyze samples using comparable PCR methodology and match labs in detecting positives and negatives.

Furthermore, unlike Rapid PCR Test At Home kits some vendors offer, full home PCR tests analyze the sample through many amplification cycles to maximize accuracy. With good sampling collection, top home PCR kits offer laboratory-grade results conveniently at home.

Leading Home PCR Test Kit Options

For those exploring PCR Test At Home Dubai choices, here are some of the top-rated home PCR kits to consider:

Cue Health PCR Test: Cue offers an FDA-authorized home PCR test delivering highly accurate results in 20 minutes with nasal swab samples.

Lucira Check It PCR Test: This is a single-use PCR kit with 98% validated accuracy that provides molecular-level detection from nasal samples in 30 minutes or less.

Ellume COVID-19 Home Test: This over-the-counter home kit uses a mid-turbinate nasal sample and provides an amplified PCR digital reading of positive or negative in 15 minutes on a connected analyzer.

Pixel by LabCorp PCR Test: Pixel is a monitored at-home nasal PCR test analyzed through LabCorp with over 98% accuracy returning results within 1-2 days.

Doximity's Covid-19 PCR Test: Doximity partners with qualified labs for monitored video-observed PCR testing with 97%+ accuracy and results in 24 hours.

All these options allow for convenient, accurate at-home COVID-19 testing using PCR with trusted partners. Kits can be purchased online and shipped directly to your home in Dubai.

When Are Home PCR Tests Recommended?

The CDC recommends utilizing home PCR tests in situations such as:

If you have any symptoms of COVID-19. Home testing allows quick confirmation.

After exposure events to quickly check for possible infection.

Before visiting individuals at higher risk for severe illness.

Before travel or group events for added assurance.

For frequent screening in schools or workplaces.

Even fully vaccinated individuals should test if they experience COVID-like symptoms or have a known exposure. Home PCR tests make quick detection fast and easy.

Home PCR Tests Offer Accuracy and Convenience

High quality Home PCR Tests have become an important tool in the fight against COVID by making reliable diagnostic testing accessible outside of clinics. There are excellent PCR Test At Home Dubai options available matching the standards of lab PCR sensitivity and specificity. Home PCR kits allow people to conveniently and confidently check themselves for possible COVID-19 infections from the privacy of home. As the technology continues advancing, home collection PCR will likely take on an increasingly vital role supporting public health and safety.

[darthteeth]

hi hi if you're taking a covid test u should swab the back of your mouth rather than your nose! anecdotal evidence has led to studied evidence that most tests (antigen and pcr) don't pick up mutated strains when testing nose swabs but mouth swabs can detect it faster. i hope you get the care you need!

Oh no im getting a covid test done TO me in a private clinic(if i manage to get the money that is🥴)so i have no control of whether it's gonna be the nose or my mouth but so far they always go for the nose,btw is pcr the one where they also draw ur blood?that's no longer available in private clinics here only in public ones but like u cant just walk in and ask for it im pretty sure they will just turn you down 😔