The Ministry of Health of Singapore has announced the launch of swab test kits for inbound travellers that can diagnose Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The Ministry of Health of Singapore has announced the launch of swab test kits for inbound travellers that can diagnose Coronavirus (COVID-19) within hours.
The first such swab test kit has already been used at the Airport. As a safety measure, all the visitors with fever or respiratory symptoms have to undergo the diagnosis.
A statement from the Ministry of Health, Singapore read, “The Covid-19 swab test kit deployed at checkpoints allows us to … extend testing to lower-risk, symptomatic travellers.”
It further added, “The added precautions we are taking will help to reduce the risk of imported cases in Singapore.”
The new swab test kit comes at a time when doctors worldwide are struggling to design tests that can offer an early diagnosis of the Coronavirus. Developed by the Home Team Science and Technology Agency, a statutory board formed under the Ministry of Home Affairs of Singapore in collaboration with Veredus Laboratories, the kit shows result in 3 hours.
Once a swab is taken, it is sent to a laboratory where the genetic information of the sample is extracted and copied millions of times so that scientists can more easily detect and identify the virus. According to researchers, these swab test kits are 99% accurate and deliver quick result as compared to hospitals, which usually take 7 hours. The Ministry of Health has not yet disclosed the price of the kit, but the regular diagnosis conducted at hospitals cost around U.S. S$270 (U.S.$ 195). However, it must be noted that, as of now, the diagnosis is being done for free.
The kits are a part of measures implemented by Singapore in what they call a “new phase” of the city state’s fight against the coronavirus. The first phase revolved around dealing with the imported cases from Mainland China. In the second phase deals, border controls will become less effective because you cannot identify a clear epidemic centre outside Singapore anymore.
As of now, there have been 117 cases of COVID-19 in Singapore. Of this, 81 have recovered. Besides, Singapore has also announced to amend its Environmental Public Health Act to introduce mandatory cleaning standards pertaining to disinfection of “high contact areas” as well as pest and waste management. The new requirements will be implemented by the National Environment Agency, which will start with higher-risk premises with high footfall and vulnerable occupants, such as preschools, care homes for the elderly, and hawker centres.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources – Masagos Zulkifli said, “Although Singapore is generally considered a clean and green city, we want to further step up cleanliness and hygiene standards in all facets of our lives, and make these our new norms beyond the immediate Covid-19 situation.”
For the records, a research team from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has already developed a portable detection device that can help in detecting the deadly Coronavirus in 40 minutes. Simultaneously, University of Macau has also developed a kit that can detect the virus in less than 30 minutes, even at early stages of infection.
Globally, more than 3,401 people have died of this COVID-19 and 99,701 infected cases. Of these 3,401 deaths, 3042 have happened in China, 148 in Italy, 124 in Iran, 42 in South Korea, 10 in the United States (U.S.),7 in France, 6 each in Japan and cruise ship Diamond Princess, 3 in Spain, 2 each in Hong Kong, Australia and Iraq and 1 each in United Kingdom (U.K.) Switzerland, Netherlands, Thailand, Taiwan, San Marino and Philippines.
