Scientists in China have reportedly developed a rapid test that can detect the 2019-nCoV coronavirus in less than fifteen minutes. A small, important breakthrough that will hopefully help stem the tide of infection.
Experts from a technology company based in Wuxi in eastern Jiangsu Province, China, in collaboration with the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, developed the rapid test kit starting planning less than ten days ago, second Xinhua news agency.
The test takes between 8 and 15 minutes to produce a result and was put into production at the current rate of 4.000 kits per day. The city of Wuxi government is investigating the possibility of further increasing production.
Needless to say, the first batch of kits has already been distributed to the front lines in the epicenter of the epidemic, Wuhan, Hubei province.
A good thing at a time when things are going badly
On the worst day since the spread of the Coronavirus began, with over 10.000 confirmed infections, the development of this diagnostic tool can be a message of hope.
The death toll from the virus continues to rise, as does the infection rate worldwide. Yesterday, Italy with 2 confirmed infections, and the United Kingdom with 2 others also confirmed the first cases of the disease, joining more than 15 other countries in the world that have already registered sick people (in the USA a case of direct transmission has also been ascertained).
To date, around 213 have died from coronavirus infection and more than 10.000 others have contracted the disease. And they are only very “official” and very provisional numbers.
