As the number of Covid-19 increases around the world, the Singapore government is leaving no stones unturned, and are stepping up measures at our borders.
To make this process swifter, new Covid-19 test kits will be used at Singapore’s checkpoint, from Thursday (5 Mar).
The test kits will be far more efficient than its counterparts used in hospitals, guaranteeing results within 3 hours.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), the new test kit is a joint-collaboration between folks from the Home Team Science & Technology (HTX) and Verdus Laboratories.
Apart from delivering results within such a short period of time, it also boasts an accuracy of more than 99%.
The new test kit was first announced back in late Jan. They planned to make the test kit “commercially available” by Mar 2020.
The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has given the test kit provisional authorisation and can now be used directly by laboratories or hospitals to test patients.
Swab samples obtained from Singapore’s checkpoints will be brought to HTX’s lab located in Pasir Panjang.
A team of 20 scientists will work on rotation at the facility which can test up to 200 samples per day.
If a sample tests positive, the Ministry of Health will be informed.
From Wednesday (4 Mar), all travellers entering Singapore with a fever and/or respiratory symptoms would be required to undergo a Covid-19 swab test.
This applies to those who do not meet the clinical suspect case definition.
Travellers will be allowed into Singapore after the swab test. However, they will be advised to avoid contact with other people.
They will be informed of their test results within 6 hours. Those who test positive will be brought to a hospital in a “dedicated ambulance”.
Kudos to the folks at HTX and Verdus Laboratories for the ground-breaking invention, which allows our healthcare workers to detect Covid-19 at an earlier stage.
We hope this will prevent any Covid-19 patients from spreading the virus to others they come into contact with and allow the authorities to ringfence the spread.
Featured image adapted from LinkedIn.
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