The rod that goes unnaturally far through your nose, the twisting and rooting that lasts far too long, the irritating and often painful feeling. No, we can miss the coronanus test like a toothache.
Perhaps the time will come soon, because a simpler saliva test is on the rise. On Friday, Singapore approved a corona test that only takes saliva with a rod in the throat. Then one should spit in a bowl. Only inconvenience: the rod must be inserted deep into the throat.
The saliva test, which searches for the hereditary material of the coronavirus, was found to be just as accurate as the existing nose and throat test in several control studies. That is a small breakthrough, because until now the saliva test was often less sensitive, because saliva is full of enzymes that break down the hereditary viral material.
Four times the testing
Singapore will use the new test from next year at the international airport. The city-state is gradually opening its borders to ‘safe’ countries and wants to make reception a lot more pleasant for travelers. Moreover, the processing of the saliva test is easier, which, according to the manufacturer Advanced MedTech, can process four times as many tests in the same period compared to the ‘old-fashioned’ PCR test.
With a population of 6 million, Singapore has made a name for itself since the start of the pandemic with a consistent and large-scale testing policy, one of the reasons the virus is under control. There are currently no known local infections. Only 29 people died of corona.
Travelers section welcome
Inbound travelers are now the main threat. Still, Singapore, whose economy is largely dependent on international trade, wants to allow foreigners back in. Travelers from Australia, Brunei, China, New Zealand and Vietnam are welcome. From next week, the Taiwanese will also be added.
The island nation will host the World Economic Forum in May next year. Ideally, visitors would then enter without a mandatory quarantine. A lot of testing is an alternative. And preferably the nose is spared. “Nobody wants a stick to be poked up their nose or the back of their throat,” said Abel Ang, director of the company that developed the tests. “It is a turning point for Singapore as we open up to the world again.”
–
