Quick Covid test before

Outward Bound students in Marlborough are among the first to try rapid antigen testing for Covid-19.

Yesterday afternoon the December intake of 100 students arrived at the Anakiwa campus, where they were greeted with a karakia and welcome ceremony, and a swab up the nose.

But there was no three-day wait for these test results – they were rapid antigen tests, meaning results took only 10 minutes to come through.

Arrotex Pharmaceuticals had supplied Outward Bound with some of the first rapid antigen tests in the country, so the outdoor education charity could continue in confidence offering courses to students.

Arrotex New Zealand general manager Colin Armstrong was a supporter of Outward Bound, and said young people needed access to experiences like Outward Bound now more than ever.

School director Hamish Reid said the tests were an efficient safeguard against Covid-19 getting into the campus and causing any closures.

A typical student would spend three weeks in very close proximity to 13 other watchmates, doing activities such as sailing, rock-climbing and swimming, as well as sharing a cabin, when they weren’t sleeping outdoors.

‘‘So these tests will helps us add another layer of protection . . . and I think we’re fortunate to be able to roll it out so soon.’’

Sarah Hogg, 21, of Dunedin, winced as she swabbed her nostrils thoroughly, but said it was still preferable to the normal Covid swab, which went much further up the nostril.

‘‘It was fine, it was easy – it was very pleasant,’’ she said.

Adam Scammell, 18, also of Dunedin, said the swab was ‘‘interesting’’. ‘‘Well, it was something different,’’ he said.

The non-profit organisation relied heavily on donations and had closed during alert levels 3 and 4. One of those lockdowns meant students had to go home halfway through their course, Reid said.

‘‘And in level 2 we had to change what we do, and that’s meant a lot more work for us, and a slightly different experience for the students . . . and we couldn’t accept students from regions still in alert level 3. That’s been really frustrating for those students.’’

So the move into the Covid-19 Protection Framework was also great timing, Reid said.

‘‘The tests do two things for us: it gives us a lot more certainty when people have just arrived that they’re all safe ... and it also gives us the ability to screen out things that can be challenging,’’ Reid said.

Students often arrived with hayfever symptoms at this time of year, and under normal Covid-19 protocol they would have to take a Covid test and then isolate