What are at-home COVID-19 tests and why are they in such high demand overseas?

Brisbane-based bio-tech firm Ellume has just landed a $302 million contract with the United States to ramp up production of at-home COVID-19 tests.

The deal between Ellume and the US Department of Defense includes the purchase of 8.5 million COVID-19 tests, to be distributed throughout the United States.

The company, based at Richlands in Brisbane’s south-west, has focused its efforts on the US because of the country’s skyrocketing infection rates and the clear need for access to wide-scale at-home testing that yields rapid results.

So what are these tests and why are they in such high demand overseas?

How do these test kits work?

The kit comes with instructions for people to swab themselves and it is far less invasive than the so-called…