UK to Introduce COVID-19 Test Next Week That Can Determine Infection Within 90 Minutes

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Starting next week, the UK will introduce a test that can determine COVID-19 and flu infection status within 90 minutes.

On the 3rd (local time), according to The Times and others, the UK government plans to conduct rapid sample testing called 'Lam PORE' primarily in nursing homes and laboratories starting next week. Currently, the UK's COVID-19 testing capacity is about 220,000 tests per day, and the government aims to increase this to 500,000 tests per day by autumn.

The new testing method, developed by Oxford Nanopore, a spin-off company from Oxford University, can detect both pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic cases of COVID-19.

The UK government plans to initially introduce 500,000 test kits and add millions more within the year. Additionally, starting in September, 5,000 DNA testing devices will be deployed to hospitals affiliated with the National Health Service (NHS). These DNA testing devices analyze samples collected through the nose on-site without sending them to a laboratory, determining COVID-19 infection status.

The Times explained that with rapid sample testing and DNA testing devices, COVID-19 infection status can be known within 90 minutes.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said, "Millions of new COVID-19 tests will provide results on-site within 90 minutes," adding, "This is expected to help quickly break the chain of COVID-19 infections."

Furthermore, since the new testing method can also detect flu and other illnesses, it is expected to be very useful ahead of the winter flu season.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.