Feasibility and utility of rapid antigen testing for COVID-19 in a university residence: a cross sectional study

Wong, S.; Romney, M. G.; Haase, K.; Matic, N.; Ranger, M.; Dhari, R.; AFfleck, F.; Tan, E.; Ndateba, I.; Tobias, E.; Saewyc, E.; Schwandt, M.; Sin, D.

Importance: Understanding feasibility of rapid testing in congregate living setting provides critical data to reduce the risk of outbreaks in these settings. Objective: Use rapid antigen screening to detect SARS-CoV-2 in an asymptomatic group of university students and staff. Design: Cross-sectional Setting: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Participants: Students and staff living or working in congregate housing. Intervention: Health care professional administered rapid antigen test Main Outcomes and measures: Use of BD Veritor rapid antigen testing and asymptomatic participants experiences with rapid testing Results: A total of 3536 BD Veritor tests were completed in 1141 unique individuals. One third of participants completed between two to four tests and 21% were screened five or more times. The mean number of tests completed per person was three. The mean length of time between those who had more than one test was seven days. There were eight false positives and 25 PCR confirmed COVID-19 positive individuals identified through this work. All individuals reported having no symptoms that they attributed to COVID-19. Almost all (n=22, 88%) COVID-19 positive cases were found in male participants. A total of 86 additional students from multiple different student residences (n=9) were asked to self-isolate while they waited for their COVID-19 diagnostic test results. An average of seven additional students positive for COVID-19 living in congregate housing were identified through contact tracing by finding one positive case. Conclusions and relevance: Rapid testing is a relatively inexpensive and operationally easy method of identifying asymptomatic individuals with COVID-19.