COVID-19: Japan is set to approve its first coronavirus antigen test kits

Japan has made plans to see to the approval of its first coronavirus antigen testing kits on Wednesday.

According to a health ministry official, the move is in line with the plan to boost the number of diagnostic tests available to battle the pandemic.

Fujirebio, a subsidiary of Japanese diagnostics and laboratory testing service provider Miraca Holdings, last month applied for government approval for its antigen kit.

So far, Japan has reported about 16,680 confirmed infections.

The Antigen tests scan for proteins that can be found on or inside a virus. They typically test a sample taken from a nasal cavity using swabs. The tests can detect the virus quickly but produce false negatives at a higher rate than the currently dominant PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, tests.

Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told parliament on Friday that antigen tests, once approved, will likely be used to supplement PCR tests.

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