In Melbourne, schools have re-opened fully with requirements for regular state-sponsored Covid-19 rapid antigen testing and masks indoors, along with use of air purifiers andoutdoor learning spaces.
One of our weekly family rituals now includes antigen testing on Thursday and Sunday evenings. The boys treat the process as a race to see whose test develops the control (C)line first. It is a nice way to destigmatize an otherwise daunting reality, that we live in timesof constant Covid-esque danger. Seeing the ‘C’ line reassures me that we ran the testcorrectly, then 15 minutes later, the lack of a test (T) line allows me to breathe an invisible sigh of relief.
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Dr Khayriyyah Mohd Hanafiah
Dr Khayriyyah Mohd Hanafiah is an honorary fellow at Macfarlane Burnet Institute (Melbourne, Australia) and an alum of the Young Scientists Network-Academy of Sciences Malaysia. She is active in science communication and infectious disease biomedical research. She was the first female Asian champion of FameLab, the world’s longest running science communication competition, in 2018. The writer’s views are her own.
