BGI's COVID-19 Test Laboratory At The Airport Secures Route Between Ethiopia And China

Fast and accurate test labs at international terminals offer a new solution as airports continue to be a focal point in the global spread of COVID-19.

Shenzhen / PRNewswire / - From April to August 2021 , the BGI's COVID-19 testing lab helped 5,500 Chinese travelers fly safely from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. In April, the BGI, in cooperation with Ethiopia Airlines, set up the "Huo-Yan" laboratory, a COVID-19 test laboratory, at the airport for passengers flying to China only flight was suspended.

The pre-flight screening test procedures developed by the laboratory meant that fewer containment measures were required at the destinations.

The laboratory provides fast and accurate nucleic acid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and antibody tests to passengers at the airport. The laboratory can test up to 400 samples in three hours and 5,000 samples per day, reducing the inconvenience of departing and transit at the airport for passengers.

The laboratory is helping to ensure that fewer cases are brought in from outside the country. The passengers must first go into quarantine. You are only allowed to go on board if both the nucleic acid PCR test and the antibody test for COVID-19 are negative.

Since the lab started its work, the number of positive cases detected on arrival has fallen sharply. So far, no flights between Ethiopia and China have been suspended, so this connection is the only direct flight from the African continent to China that has operated continuously during this period.

"From April 21 to August 31, the lab examined more than 5,500 passengers on 19 flights to China ," said Chen Songheng, director of the Huo-Yan laboratory in Ethiopia.

BGI has set up more than 30 "Huo-Yan" laboratories with partners in over 80 countries and regions. By providing solutions on a platform with precise, efficient tests, the laboratories play an important role in the global fight against COVID-19 Pandemic.

BGI is a leader in innovative development in the fields of genomics and life sciences. Through its integrated model, it combines industrial development, training and research in compliance with international bioethical protocols. It uses future-oriented findings from integrated omics research in areas such as medicine, health care and resource protection and offers state-of-the-art bioscientific instruments and devices developed in-house as well as technical support and solutions. Its goal is to revolutionize the current health system in the direction of precision medicine and health care.

www.bgi.com