Mobile nucleic acid testing lab being set up in hospital

Writer: Zhang Yu  |  Editor: Holly Wang  |  From: Shenzhen Daily  |  Updated: 2021-02-02

A mobile laboratory that can process 5,000 nucleic acid tests per day is being set up in Shenzhen People’s Hospital, the hospital said yesterday.

The highly automated lab is mainly responsible for assisting emergent COVID-19 testing in cities outside of Shenzhen, and can be put into use within two hours after receiving emergency tasks, according to the hospital.

In light of the distribution of medical resources, transportation and other factors, the National Health Commission has divided the country into eight regions, selected 100 large public hospitals and centers for disease control and prevention to build public testing laboratories to ensure COVID-19 testing capacity, the hospital said.

Guangdong Province belongs to the sixth region and has seven mobile nucleic acid testing laboratories.

At present, two laboratories are being installed and debugged in Shenzhen. In addition to the one in Shenzhen People’s Hospital, another one is in Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The container-like mobile nucleic acid testing lab in Shenzhen People’s Hospital covers an area of 29.4 square meters. It is equipped with Biosafety Level 2 devices and has three independent spaces for increased nucleic acid tests, according to the hospital.

The lab is also equipped with an independent air conditioning system, air filtration system, negative pressure system and high-pressure sterilization system, which will not cause any pollution to the external air.

The hospital said it will set up a team of 72 medical workers for the lab. After the construction of the lab is completed this week, the mobile lab will be turned into a trailer and arrive at virus-hit areas in the province to immediately carry out nucleic acid testing.