What does a COVID positive rapid test look like? It takes 15 minutes to find out!

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What does a COVID positive rapid test look like?

Pink blotting disappears after 15 minutes: The rapid test takes a full 15 minutes for the pink blotting to disappear. In the photo, below, the top test is COVID positive (red arrow). This test was left, prematurely, by a visitor who then entered resident space.
Positive line is quite faint: The faint positive line doesn’t usually appear until the pink blotting disappears. The test on the bottom has not finished its 15 minutes as there is still pink blotting.
Why wait full 15 minutes? After dropping the drops on the test, it does take 15 minutes to see the pink blotting disappear. The key to protecting our residents is to wait the full duration of the test to catch the positive test.
A moment in time: A rapid test does not provide a definitive answer as to whether or not an individual is COVID positive. Rather, it provides an answer to whether or not they are COVID positive at the time of the test. The result is dependent on the viral load within that individual at the time of testing.
For example – a resident was with relatives overnight. Upon returning, they took a rapid test and the test was negative. The next day, they were informed that a relative was COVID positive during their visit. They took another rapid test (24 hours after the first one) and found that they, too, are COVID positive.
Rapid tests are working to provide safety: Rapid tests are detecting COVID positive visitors and staff each day on our campus. The results don’t “last” for days and must be done again each time there will be contact with a resident.
How to implement in Independent Living? For those who are providing support for residents in Independent Living, we will need to find a workable system to ensure tests are available for you to do in order to add this layer of safety to their lives.
Would you take a supply and do them prior to arriving? One idea is to provide you with a supply of rapid tests that you can do at home prior to arriving to visit your loved one.
Other ideas? We are open to ideas that will help us to implement this layer of protection without diminishing the support that residents receive from their essential visitors.
Omicron could be very different… We are aware that once Omicron enters our apartment buildings, it will be challenging to stop the spread as it is the most transmissible of all the variants.
THANK YOU! Thank you for your ideas and your faithful care for your loved one(s) in this challenging time.
Provide any feedback to connect@mennoplace.ca