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Indonesia deploys coronavirus breath analyser at train stations

WION Web Team
Jakarta, IndonesiaUpdated: Feb 03, 2021, 08:32 PM IST
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Photograph:(Reuters)

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A similar breath test for COVID-19, SpiroNose, developed by a Dutch health technology company, is being rolled out in the Netherlands to speed up its testing process.

Indonesia has launched a Covid screening programme at train stations using a breath analyser, known as GeNose.

The breathalyser has been developed by the University of Gadjah Mada (UGM), which says it detects the reaction between the coronavirus and body tissue in the respiratory tract with at least 95 per cent accuracy. Subjects are required to blow into a bag and the result is available in just two minutes.

A similar breath test for COVID-19, SpiroNose, developed by a Dutch health technology company, is being rolled out in the Netherlands to speed up its testing process.

GeNose underwent clinical trial at a Yogyakarta hospital in May 2020 and was approved for distribution in December. It differs from the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab tests and the rapid tests that extract blood with a prick of the finger.

Indonesia has so far 1.1 million infections and over 30,000 deaths.

The machine is sold at 68 million Indonesian rupiah ($4,850).

Those with positive readings are required to undergo a confirmatory PCR test.