5/16/2021 Divisions over rapid antigen testing to reopen society this summer | Ireland | The Times

MENU sunday may 16 2021

CORONAVIRUS | LONG READ Divisions over rapid antigen testing to reopen society this summer

Lidl is selling the tests in their thousands and festivals plan to use them to keep revellers safe. But officials have urged the public not to purchase them, Julieanne Corr reports

The harpist Brid McGowan took centre stage yesterday as the Wild Roots festival in Co Sligo carried out the first practical demonstration outlining how outdoor festivals could be run during the pandemic BRIAN FARRELL

Julieanne Corr Saturday May 15 2021, 12.01am BST, The Times

Share Save

he use of antigen tests in reopening Irish society this summer has been met with mixed views since their arrival on https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b4a7d5dc-b4c7-11eb-a3e9-2089e10cf05c?shareToken=f6298e60c640fb95e9674e55977e3a7b 1/8 5/16/2021 Divisions over rapid antigen testing to reopen society this summer | Ireland | The Times T supermarket shelves last week. Lidl, the German budget supermarket, is selling the kits in packs of five for €24.99. Tony Holohan, the chief medical ocer, and Philip Nolan, a member of the National Public Health Emergency Team, have been critical of the rapid testing tool after about 10,000 kits were sold within hours.

While acknowledging that antigen tests are not 100 per cent accurate, some businesses still believe they will be useful in helping them to reopen safely. Among these is Wild Roots, a new music and performing arts festival on the shores of Lough Gill in Co Sligo. The three-day festival, which will include performances from the Kaiser Chiefs and Damian Dempsey, said it planned to use the tests on its 8,000 attendees in mid- August.

McGowan took a rapid antigen test before performing live on stage during yesterday’s demonstration BRIAN FARRELL

Orla Buckley, the festival’s director, said an o-site testing facility would be set up near the grounds, where an AI-powered rapid antigen technology would be used to test revellers upon entry. The tests will cost €15 per person and can be booked online in advance. “We’ve partnered up with InnovateOut [a company that distributes the tests],” she said.

“Their tech is quite advanced as a computer system reads the results and they’re of a higher quality than the standard antigen test. Obviously the vaccine rollout is currently taking place but realistically not everyone is going to be vaccinated by the end of https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b4a7d5dc-b4c7-11eb-a3e9-2089e10cf05c?shareToken=f6298e60c640fb95e9674e55977e3a7b 2/8 5/16/2021 Divisions over rapid antigen testing to reopen society this summer | Ireland | The Times the summer. We looked into this a lot last year and we know a lot of people are against antigen testing, but it is definitely the quickest way to go.”

Buckley said that asking people to provide a negative PCR test prior to entry would not be feasible given the attendance numbers. “Asking them all to go and get a negative PCR test would not work on top of all the other people that would be looking for them at the same time for other reasons,” she said. “It would put a lot of pressure on the system and they’re also more expensive.”

All Together Now, a music festival at Curraghmore Estate in Waterford, is scheduled to go ahead between July 30 and August 1. James Reynolds, owner of Pod Festivals, is optimistic. “The issue with antigen testing is that we’d have to set up an on- site testing facility which would be a logistical nightmare, but the tests will potentially have a role,” he said.

Lidl is selling rapid antigen test kits in packs of five for €24.99 SAM BOAL/ROLLINGNEWS.IE

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b4a7d5dc-b4c7-11eb-a3e9-2089e10cf05c?shareToken=f6298e60c640fb95e9674e55977e3a7b 3/8 5/16/2021 Divisions over rapid antigen testing to reopen society this summer | Ireland | The Times “Ideally, presenting a negative PCR test would be a better option. We will have to test all our sta regularly as well so antigen tests could have a role there. We’re currently looking at all the options of how we can provide a safe environment. Queuing to get tested before entry could create a problem with social distancing.”

Vida Care, a company that oers PCR and antigen testing services to both businesses and individuals, said many workplaces believed that vaccination, testing and public health restrictions would co-exist for another 12 months. Conor Kelly, its chief executive, said about 300 companies had signed up. “Some are interested in doing daily testing, others weekly testing, or just having standby testing regimes ready to go,” he said.

SPONSORED

“We oer an online booking [system], a healthcare professional to administer the tests professionally [in the workplace], an email of the results and a consultation service; which all costs €39 per person, per test.”

Kelly said the tests were administered at separate bays in the workplace and results usually took 15 minutes. “In the event of a positive test, we do an on-the-spot PCR test,” he said. “Antigen testing is very strong at picking up symptomatic people. You’ll know very quickly if somebody is positive and then they’re immediately isolated.”

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b4a7d5dc-b4c7-11eb-a3e9-2089e10cf05c?shareToken=f6298e60c640fb95e9674e55977e3a7b 4/8 5/16/2021 Divisions over rapid antigen testing to reopen society this summer | Ireland | The Times

All Together Now, a music festival in Waterford, is set to go ahead between July 30 and August 1 AERIAL.IE

Richard Grogan, an employment law solicitor, said employers were entitled to introduce antigen testing into their workplace. “An employer will put in place reasonable measures to protect the health, safety and welfare of their sta,” he said.

“At present, they do not have the right to discipline sta members for not wanting to take an antigen test. I think antigen testing is as important a principle as washing your hands or wearing a facemask, it’s another tool, but we have a government that is incapable of coming out and giving clear and precise rules for fear of anybody not liking what they say. There needs to be a very clear and definitive statement on this.”

Grogan said that there were also data concerns when it came to testing employees. “There’s a data issue with excluding people from being tested on the basis that they’re vaccinated as now you’re allegedly identifying people who have been vaccinated. It’s absolutely crazy” he said.

“Let’s take a workplace with ten people and the employees point out that two people aren’t getting the antigen test every day, so therefore they must be vaccinated. [This creates a data issue] as now personal information related to them has been given to other people. So for data reasons the employers may very well have to say to the person who has been vaccinated, ‘just so that we don’t have an issue, do you mind taking the antigen test too?’”

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b4a7d5dc-b4c7-11eb-a3e9-2089e10cf05c?shareToken=f6298e60c640fb95e9674e55977e3a7b 5/8 5/16/2021 Divisions over rapid antigen testing to reopen society this summer | Ireland | The Times

Tony Holohan, the chief medical officer, urged the public not to purchase rapid antigen tests, saying he was “very concerned” about them LEAH FARRELL/ROLLINGNEWS.IE

JP Scally, chief executive of Lidl Ireland, said the supermarket’s tests, which were produced by Boson Biotech, a Chinese company, were almost 99 per cent accurate in detecting if somebody had the virus. Scally believed the tests had an important part to play in the reopening.

Speaking at a press briefing last week, Holohan urged the public not to purchase the tests. “I’m very concerned about these tests. Supermarkets are free to sell what they sell, but it’s [about] what could happen,” he said. “Individuals could get inappropriate reassurance that they’re safe, when they’re not.”

In a retweet of a Lidl post advertising the antigen tests and barbecue supplies, Nolan said the tests would not keep the public safe. “Can I get some oil with that?” he wrote. “It makes for a great salad dressing with a pinch of salt and something acerbic. Stay safe when socialising outdoors over the next few weeks. Small numbers, distance, masks.”

Other experts expressed dierent views. Liam Fanning, a professor in molecular virology at University College Cork, said that antigen tests should be made available in all Irish supermarkets, pharmacies, dentists and GPs. “The wider these are available, the better — they should be made available everywhere and anywhere,” he said.

“If you were having a group of people over to the house [when permitted under public health guidelines], you could ask your guests to take the tests from Lidl before entering your house. If they turned out reactive, well, then they would return home and refer themselves to their GP for a test. People should consider using them anywhere that they’re going to meet other individuals.”

Tomás Ryan, an associate professor of biochemistry at Trinity College Dublin, said the tests were useful in high-risk environments such as schools, meat plants and other factories, as well as airports. “Ireland has been very slow to bring them into use,” he said.

Ryan believed clearer messaging was needed from health ocials on the use of the tests and their limitations, describing Holohan’s comments as patronising. “[His comments] basically https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b4a7d5dc-b4c7-11eb-a3e9-2089e10cf05c?shareToken=f6298e60c640fb95e9674e55977e3a7b 6/8 5/16/2021 Divisions over rapid antigen testing to reopen society this summer | Ireland | The Times have decided that we shouldn’t be using them [the tests] in that context [individual testing] and they don’t want to have to explain why,” Ryan said.

He added: “I [also] do not at all endorse Philip Nolan’s comments. I think that Professor Nolan’s comments were irresponsible and I think he was speaking outside of his brief.”

PAID PROMOTIONAL LINKS Promoted by Dianomi

A perfect Now is a Transform How climate pension? Great Time your risk is The AIC Invest in the to Invest in company moving the Cloud/CybersecLuratiitny into an AI- goalposts for Revolution withA tmhiesrican first leader emerging Fund Mining with this market Rize ETF LatAM new investors INVESTOR program. Aviva Investors HBS Executive Related articles

Lidl antigen tests should be available everywhere, says UCC expert

Antigen tests should be made available in all Irish supermarkets, pharmacies, dentists and GPs, a leading virologist has... May 12 2021, 12.01am BST Julieanne Corr

CORONAVIRUS 300,000 rapid antigen tests to be rolled out

More than 300,000 rapid antigen tests will be rolled out by a pharmaceutical company this month as businesses prepare for a... April 12 2021, 12.01am BST Aoife O’Brien

CORONAVIRUS | Q&A What is the best way to get the border open?

France and the UK have begun negotiations about reopening the border between the two countries and whether it is possible to... December 22 2020, 12.00pm GMT Tom Whipple, Science Editor

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b4a7d5dc-b4c7-11eb-a3e9-2089e10cf05c?shareToken=f6298e60c640fb95e9674e55977e3a7b 7/8 5/16/2021 Divisions over rapid antigen testing to reopen society this summer | Ireland | The Times

 BACK TO TOP

GET IN TOUCH

About us Contact us

Help The Times Editor

The Sunday Times Editorial Complaints Place an announc

Classified advertising Display advertisin

The Times corrections The Sunday Time

Careers

MORE FROM THE TIMES AND THE SUNDAY TIMES

The Times e-paper

Times Currency Services

Times Print Gallery

Times Crossword Club

Times+

Times Expert Traveller

Schools Guide

Best Places to Live

Sportswomen of the Year Awards

Podcasts

© Times Newspapers Limited 2021. Registered in England No. 894646. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF.

Privacy & cookie policy Licensing

Cookie settings Site map

Topics Commissioning terms

Terms and conditions

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b4a7d5dc-b4c7-11eb-a3e9-2089e10cf05c?shareToken=f6298e60c640fb95e9674e55977e3a7b 8/8