UK government looking to identify COVID rapid test kits which deliver results in 20 mins!
Galatta | Sep 03, 2020, 08:08 pm
With a lot of variables still remaining unknown being brought on by the COVID-19 Novel Corona Virus Pandemic, everybody has been looking at researching the Virus and trying to obtain more information to help in controlling the spread! The basic method of controlling the spread of this Corona Virus is in testing and identifying if this Virus is present or not but most rapid test kits in the market, still take quite some time to return the results. With this in mind, the UK Government seems to want to come up with a solution for this. A latest statement by the British government states that they are going to be investing heavily to develop COVID test kits which would return very quick results!
The UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock has stated that the British Government would be injecting a fund of 500 million Pounds through the Department of Health, into trials of rapid Corona Virus test kits. The huge turnaround of the current testing method is considered to be one of the biggest lacunas in the government's efforts to control the spread of the Corona Virus. There are some pilot trials of rapid test kits that scour saliva for identifying signs of the Virus, which are being developed in Salford and Southamptom, which will benefit from this funding from the UK government. Reports also state that there is a Hampshire trial of a more conventional swab test but one that would return results in 30 minutes, which will also be benefiting from this funding.
There are also reports that the government ministers are also looking at speeding up the approval processes for these quick COVID-19 diagnostic tools, to help reduce the time potential patients have to wait to get to know their test results. As of now, only about six out of ten people get to know about their COVID-19 results within 24 hours of them being tested. It is also being reported that almost a quarter of all swab tests, take more than three days to process, which in turn delays the treatment for the positive patients. People undergoing testing at their own houses have to wait for an average of 71 hours to get to know their results. However, government scientists have been calling for test results to be returned within a day to prevent future outbreaks! The Salford trial is expected to invite people from the community to come forward for weekly tests using a new saliva test for COVID-19, which would produce results in less than half-an-hour or an estimated 20 minutes.