DURBAN - Faster Covid-19 test kits will arrive in the country next week cutting down the wait for results from up to 24 hours to just 45 minutes, says Gift of the Givers Dr Imtiaz Sooliman.
South Africa currently has a confirmed case count of 1380 covid-19 infections.
He said currently, The Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests were being used in South Africa, which is a method of detection before the patients experience any symptoms.
“Once this happens then there will be more stock available in the country. So we can have two systems of testing. The second one will be exactly the same test but there is an additional supplier,” added Sooliman.
He said the main advantage of the new kits would be its speed.
"The PCR test has a turnaround time of 24 hours but in most cases because of demand, it is taking eight days. The new turnaround time will be 45 minutes. The advantage of which is that we could conduct at least 50 tests per hour,” said Sooliman.
The Gift of the Givers has also announced an expansion of testing sites. They currently have four sites and are expecting to open up another seven by the end of the week.
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