Emirates opens major new coronavirus test processing lab
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has opened a huge laboratory in the Abu Dhabi emirate town of Masdar to test tens of thousands of COVID-19 tests every day to combat the spread of the virus, which has already killed tens of thousands and infected hundreds of thousands worldwide.
The new research and testing infrastructure will enable a more rapid response to the coronavirus outbreak by accelerating the diagnosis and detection of cases with symptoms of having contracted the virus, as well as speeding up the discharge of recovered patients and the identification of those close to being infected and high-risk groups.
The genome research entity BGI and the Abu Dhabi-based technology company of Grupo 42, which is in charge of the project, explained this work developed by the new laboratory; which is capable of performing tens of thousands of RT-PCR tests per day, being the first in the world of this scale to be operational outside China.
The laboratory demonstrates the joint commitment of G42 and BGI to the UAE authorities in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Located in Masdar City, it was quickly built and commissioned by G42 and BGI in just 14 days, providing an immediate solution to the need for expanded testing of COVID-19 in the Emirates and applying China's experience in managing the coronavirus crisis on the ground to reverse the situation.
Peng Xiao, CEO of G42, highlighted the importance of this facility: “This high performance laboratory provides the scale needed to enable everyone in Abu Dhabi and the UAE to have access to the most reliable PCR tests, provided by G42 in partnership with BGI”. “We are grateful for the support of the UAE leadership in protecting the health and welfare of the country's residents against this pandemic,” said Peng Xiao.
“In these challenging times, we feel compelled to leverage our experience, technological resources and international partnerships to provide rapid and accurate testing capabilities on a massive scale and to strengthen law enforcement-led detection efforts,” added the G42 CEO.
Importantly, the laboratory is using BGI's RT-PCR diagnostic kits to detect SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease. It is the only RT-PCR diagnostic equipment that has received approval from China (NMPA), Europe (EC-IVD), the United States (FDA) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
G42 and BGI, whose partnership began in December 2019 with the announcement of the Population Genome Programme by the Abu Dhabi Department of Health, are leading the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. From the production of COVID-19 diagnostic kits to the supply of thermal sensors and medical goods, the two companies are deploying their expertise and technologies in support of international health authorities while creating effective prevention and detection protocols.
Wang Jian, co-founder and chairman of the BGI Group, praised the joint cooperation in tackling the scourge of the coronavirus: “Together with our G42 partners, we can bring the world's best technology and experience in combating global health threats to help the people of the United Arab Emirates and beyond”.
The laboratory prioritizes testing within the UAE but could expand to receive samples from neighbouring sites. The developers and researchers also plan to implement an advanced system to monitor virus mutations and improve the ability to detect new pathogens in the future with high-throughput sequencing.
For its part, the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention has recently published data on the number of tests for COVID-19 conducted throughout the country at a level that places the Emirates with the second highest density of tests in the world in relation to the total population. Working along these lines, a network of test centres is being set up across the nation and each will perform 600 tests a day. The UAE will have the highest number of tests in the world per capita thanks to the new processing capacity.
In addition, thousands of workers are being tested twice a day as part of the Emirates' preventive program for mass detection and containment of the spread of the coronavirus, according to a ministerial resolution issued March 29.
