SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): Singapore has the capability to do tens of thousands of Covid-19 tests daily, industry players said, noting that increased testing could be a key enabler for the country as it looks to gradually lift the circuit breaker measures.
"We are in a good position to do mass testing," Dr Ong Siew Hwa, director and chief scientist of home-grown biotech firm Acumen Research Laboratories , told The Straits Times.
PCR tests detect genetic material of the coronavirus from a sample and can tell if a person is currently infected. The company has developed three types of test kits. The latest two types, which test for relatively stable genes in the virus that are less likely to mutate, separately received provisional authorisation from the Health Sciences Authority in March and early this month.
She also stressed that reagents, the chemicals needed for analysis, should be produced locally, as global shortages would happen in times of crisis. "We hope to be able to contribute to this national effort -- to let the science, data and technology guide our decision-making."
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