Reuters

In an attempt to trace those infected with Coronavirus quickly, countries including Germany, The United States, Canada, and Italy are turning to faster and cheaper antigen tests all over the world.

On Tuesday, Germany recorded an increase of 4,122 patients to its total number of 329,453 patients. The country has reportedly secured 9 million so-called antigen tests per month, only at a price of $5.90 each

The United States and Canada are also buying millions of tests, as is Italy, whose recent tender for 5 million tests attracted offers from 35 companies.

The alarming rise in new infections globally has health officials desperately pursuing more options as the winter influenza season looms.

The World Health Organization reported more than 2 million new cases last week, bringing the total worldwide to 37 million, with more than 1 million deaths from COVID-19.

“These point-of-care tests could make a big difference,” Reuters quoted Gerard Krause, epidemiology department director at Germany’s Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research as saying.