IDNEWSNOW.COM, Jakarta – The Research and Technology Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro on Monday said the government continues to push for the development of the GeNose COVID-19 rapid test that is designed to be able to detect the virus through a subject’s breath.
He asserts that the Gadjah Mada University-developed coronavirus screening method is much more efficient regarding time as the current rapid test equipment used in Indonesia is still based on antibodies.
“The GeNose basically detects the existence of the COVID-19 virus through a person’s breath. This approach can produce screening attempts that are detected quicker,” said Bambang in Monday’s press conference following a limited meeting.
The test equipment is currently tested in its clinical phase at a hospital in Yogyakarta and Bambang claims that the accuracy of the GeNose method can reach 97 percent at a much economical price.
“It wouldn’t take more than 2 minutes after we extract the breath,” said Bambang.
Another method of COVID-19 testing the minister said is being developed is the Reverse Transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) which can produce results under one hour without having to use BSL 2 laboratories.
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