(Yicai Global) Aug. 5 -- China has developed a rapid Covid-19 test kit that can deliver results in just half an hour, a senior official at the Ministry of Science and Technology said today.

Technical advances in the nucleic acid diagnostic tests have made it possible to shorten the time needed to process samples and to enhance the accuracy of the results, said Bao Xianhua, director of the MOST’s Achievement and Regional Department.

The virus detection rate is now around 95 percent and waiting times have been reduced to about one hour, compared with four hours previously. One rapid test kit only needs 30 minutes, he added.

Editor: Kim Taylor