Zhuhai's first virus-detecting nucleic acid test base came into use at Renmin (People's) Hospital on Oct 19 and can handle up to 390,000 samples in 24 hours. The base is supplemented by a COVID-19 Mobile Laboratory and Biosafety Level-2 (BSL-2) Medical Test Vehicle.

The 400-sqm (478-sqyd) base on Kangning Road in Wanzaisha of Old Xiangzhou is equipped with 12 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) extraction apparatuses and 15 amplifiers. It can typically process 13,000 nucleic acid samples daily and reach 39,000 per diem samples at full capacity.

In emergencies, the base can test up to 390,000 ten-in-one samples during 24 hours for large-scale screening. Satellite bases have also been established at the Hengqin New Area and Gaolan Port Economic Zone branches of Renmin Hospital.

The base will greatly increase local nucleic acid test capability and prevent resurgence of the pandemic in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, claimed Xu Chaolong, director of the Zhuhai Health Bureau. 

COVID-19 Mobile Laboratory (L) and BSL-2 Medical Test Vehicle (R) [Photo by Cheng Lin / Guanhai App] 

The COVID-19 Mobile Laboratory was developed by Tsinghua University, the National Engineering Research Center for Beijing Biochip Technology, and CapitalBio Technology.

The mobile vehicle has an enclosed automatic nucleic acid test system that integrates all experiment procedures. It can be applied in complex environments such as exit-entry frontier inspection, as well as surgeries and treatment for cerebral stroke and myocardial infarction during the pandemic.

Utilization of cutting-edge equipment such as a throat swap sampling robot, virus inactivator, and 5G-based reporting system allows nucleic acid tests to be completed in 45 minutes -- more than three times faster than normal.

In addition, the BSL-2 Medical Test Vehicle developed by Gree Xinhui New Energy can process more than 2,000 samples daily. It adopts a domestic sample preparation system with high-throughput extraction, mobile detection, and automatic dispensation for fast and zero-contact testing of bulk samples.

Designed for work involving agents of moderate potential hazard to human and the environment, layout of the ventilated 5G-controlled vehicle provides cloth-changing, buffering, reagent preparation, sample processing, and amplification analysis function places. There are also reserved interfaces for real-time 5G transmission of test data.

The COVID-19 Mobile Laboratory and BSL-2 Medical Test Vehicle complement each other in test quantity and speed, said Lu Ligong, president of Renmin Hospital.