The new prices virus

Stock markets and oil prices plunged Friday over fears of a new coronavirus variant that scientists warn could be more infectious than the Delta strain and more resistant to vaccines, potentially dealing a heavy blow to the global economic recovery. The Dow saw its worst drop of the year as Wall Street indices plunged and the dollar floundered, while haven investments such as the yen and Swiss franc rallied.

US crude oil prices tumbled more than 13 percent and the main international contract lost nearly 12 percent, which CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson attributed to "concerns that this new mutation could add to the pressure on demand.

Fears of the new variant have already led several countries in Europe and Asia, including the US, to ban or sharply limit travel from southern Africa. Share prices of airlines and tourism groups dived, while there were big losses also for energy groups. On Wall Street, the carnage included a 2. Europe's main equity markets ended the day lower as well, with the FTSE shedding 3.

Justin Tang at United First Partners said that while the latest news was worrying, "the world has gone through this before" with the Delta variant, adding that governments were more adept at knowing how to deal with the situation. Germany's BioNTech said it was studying how well the coronavirus vaccine it developed with US drugs giant Pfizer protects against the new variant. Have a tip? Tell us at nj. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

All rights reserved About Us. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. See the next section for more information and links to the states currently providing free at-home COVID tests. The Biden administration is working on launching a website where anyone will be able to order test kits for free, though it has yet to make the site public. However, starting Saturday, insurance providers will be required to reimburse customers for test kits purchased.

Washington, DC, is making at-home tests available for pickup at area libraries while other cities, such as New York and Boston , are distributing them to local health clinics.

Massachusetts and Connecticut both recently announced ambitious plans to distribute millions of tests, but hit supply-chain snags: The hold-up in Massachusetts forced some schools to delay reopening after the holiday break, according to WCVB in Boston. After a rough start, Connecticut has picked up the pace, delivering 1.

Rapid antigen tests are generally much cheaper than home collection tests. Home collection tests -- which require a nasal swab or saliva sample to be sent to a lab for analysis -- cost much more than the rapid antigen tests and require a much longer waiting period to get results.

But the "molecular" tests are considered far more accurate than antigen tests. The extreme shortage of kits has led some to resell them on platforms like Craigslist, eBay, Facebook, Instagram and even TikTok, often at an inflated price and with fraudulent merchandise.

Facebook's parent company, Meta, told CNN Business it prohibits the sale of test kits on any of its platforms. Antigen tests can be taken at home and return results in about 10 to 15 minutes. PCR tests are more accurate but require lab work and generally don't provide results for at least 12 hours or even up to 5 days.

Both tests typically use nasal swab samples, though some collect saliva: PCR tests administered by a professional may require a nasopharyngeal sample that involves a much deeper nostril swab. Rapid antigen tests usually require swirling a swab in the nostril less than an inch deep. PCR tests amplify genetic material from the collected sample up to a billion times to detect even the slightest amount of COVID genes, making them highly accurate.

Rapid antigen tests simply detect the presence of COVID antigens -- the substances that prompt your immune system to create antibodies -- and work much like home pregnancy tests. Because rapid tests are simply looking for the existence of antigens, they work best when someone is symptomatic.

Rapid antigen tests are less successful with early infections and asymptomatic cases. The risk of a false negative is much higher with a rapid test than a false positive. The type of test you choose will mostly depend on your situation. Do you need results right now, and are willing to risk less accuracy?