Govt approves another three Covid-19 test kits

THE Government has approved another three Coronavirus (Covid-19) antigen rapid test kits for use in Papua New Guinea (PNG).
National Pandemic Deputy Controller Dr Daoni Esorom said the three kits were Singclean Antigen RDT, Lookspot Antigen RDT and Flow Flex Antigen.
“These kits are particularly for the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) CoV-2 screening and diagnosis.
“Quality diagnosis of diseases is crucial as it ensures appropriate clinical intervention is administered but equally crucial is having the testing kit that is validated for use in PNG,” he said.
“This ensures the diagnosis is reflective of the true status of the patient. Validation was undertaken by the Central Public Health Laboratory last year.
“The new kits are in addition to BioPen Antigen RDT Kits that was initially approved by the National Control Centre (NCC) for Covid-19 testing in the country in 2020.
“We now have four approved Covid-19 test kits in the country.
These are the only approved kits approved for Covid-19 testing.
He said the Singclean antigen test kit (Colloidal Gold) manufactured by Hangzhhou Singclean Medical Products Co Ltd was a solid phase immunochromatographic assay for the rapid, qualitative detection of antigen of Covid-19 in human saliva.
“Lookspot Antigen RDT test detects the nucleocapsid protein from SARS-CoV-2 in nasal swabs from suspected Covid-19 patients in the first eight days of the symptom.
“It delivers results in five to eight minutes.
“This rapid test kit is a smartphone-based diagnostic device with a lateral flow immunoassay developed from Laipac, an internet medical developer.”