Radio Taiwan International
Date:\ 009 March, 2020
By: Leslie Liao

Taiwan’s top research institute has developed a new test for COVID-19 that cuts the time from four hours down to 15 minutes. What’s more: they developed the test in just 19 days.

Two lines on a strip of paper may not seem particularly extraordinary, but it could be the key to containing the COVID-19 outbreak. This new rapid diagnostic test can detect the virus in just 15 minutes.

This new breakthrough comes from Taiwan’s top research body: Academia Sinica. But the organization’s president, James Liao, says that the test is not ready for the public just yet. That’s because Taiwan has a low number of COVID-19 cases, which means they haven’t been able to assess the accuracy of the test.

Researchers developed the test months ahead of schedule. In just 19 days they managed to synthesize an antibody that can identify the new coronavirus.    [FULL  STORY]