More residents will be able to have themselves tested at the laboratory as the UAE government aims to conduct tens of thousands of tests for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
The facility located in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi was launched by Group 42 (G42), a technology company based in Abu Dhabi, and global genomics leader BGI.
The laboratory is capable of processing thousands of real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests per day and is reportedly the first of its kind outside of China.
“This high throughput lab provides the scale and firepower to enable all people in Abu Dhabi and the UAE to access the most reliable PCR tests, which are also provided by G42 in partnership with BGI. We thank the UAE leadership’s support in protecting the health and wellbeing of the country’s residents against this pandemic,” said Peng Xiao, CEO of G42.
“In such challenging times, we feel compelled to leverage our expertise, technological resources and international partnerships to bring rapid, accurate testing capabilities on a massive scale and bolster the detection efforts led by authorities,” he added.
With the capacity of the laboratory, health officials would be able to adapt to a rapid response to the virus outbreak by accelerating the diagnosis, identification of suspected cases, the release of recovered patients, and the screening of close contacts and high-risk groups.
The laboratory will be using BGI’s RT-PCR diagnostic kits for the detection of the virus that causes COVID-19, the SARS-CoV-2. The facility is the only RT-PCR diagnostic kit with approvals from China (NMPA), Europe (CE-IVD), the US Food and Drug Authority and the World Health Organization.
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