Test kits for detecting novel coronavirus are now urgently needed for epidemic prevention and control efforts. [Photo provided to China Daily]

New test kits for detecting novel coronavirus will display results within just 15 minutes and are now undergoing clinical trials, the Hefei National High-tech Industrial Development Zone recently announced.

The new test kits were developed through cooperation between biotech company Huapei, based in the zone, and Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing.

Coronavirus testing is essential to epidemic prevention and control efforts, as it directly affects the efficiency of work related to quarantine, diagnosis, and treatment.

Previous techniques for detecting the novel coronavirus are time-consuming and costly, and have an accuracy rate of just 30 to 50 percent. They are increasingly failing to meet the needs of those fighting against the virus.

The new kits are much simpler, quicker, more flexible, and more efficient.

Fan Chuanhua, general manager of Huapei, said the new detection techniques they employed in the kits allow for up to 80 to 120 tests per hour and will help hospitals and other places in the fight against the novel coronavirus.