Heathrow Airport offering coronavirus tests that give results within an hour

Europe's busiest airport is now offering $100 coronavirus tests that give results within an hour The tests at London Heathrow are on offer to passengers flying to Hong Kong and Italy, which require proof of a negative test result on arrival. YahooNews

Passengers at Europe's busiest airport, London Heathrow, can now take a $100 rapid COVID-19 test if they're flying to Hong Kong and Italy, which require proof of a negative test result on arrival.

From Tuesday, passengers at Heathrow Airport can pay £80 ($104) for the tests, which guarantee results within an hour.

British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Cathay Pacific will be the first airlines to offer the tests, which are only available for passengers leaving the UK.

Flyers book a Lamp (Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification) test online ahead of time, and take it before checking in at two of the airport's four terminals. 

The test is "not as sensitive" as the lab-processed PCR test commonly used by the UK's health service, Collinson, the company behind the scheme, said in its press release.

Passengers have their nose and throat swabbed, and the samples are processed on-site by biotech company Prenetics.

Lamp tests might be able to detect patients immediately after infection, before symptoms are displayed, Collinson added, but this is "unsure at present." ...