|
 Breathonix, a spin-off company from the National University of
Singapore (NUS), said it is now working with the health ministry to
run a deployment trial of the technology at one of the city-state's
border points with Malaysia.
The breath analysis will be carried out alongside the current
compulsory COVID-19 antigen rapid test.
The tests would be sold for between S$5-S$20 ($3.76-$15.03) each,
depending on the number purchased, said a company representative.
The breath test achieved more than 90% accuracy in a Singapore-based
pilot clinical trial, the company said last year.
The Health Sciences Authority's website confirmed the approval,
which the company said was the first such system to secure
provisional authorisation in Singapore.
The system uses disposable mouthpieces and is designed to ensure
there is no cross-contamination. After blowing into the device, the
technology assesses the chemical compounds of the breath to
determine whether or not a person is infected.
Any individual screened as positive will need to undergo a
confirmatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) COVID-19 swab test, the
company said.
[to top of second column] |
 Breathonix said it is in
discussion with several local and overseas
organisations to use the system, citing strong
commercial interest. Other countries, including
Indonesia and the Netherlands, have rolled out
similar breath tests.
After recording almost zero or single-digit
daily coronavirus tallies locally for months,
Singapore has seen the number of infections grow
recently and include variants such as more
contagious strains first detected in India.
Singapore, which reported 24 locally transmitted
COVID-19 cases on Monday, has re-imposed for a
month the toughest restrictions on social
gatherings since exiting a lockdown last year in
a bid to contain the outbreak.
($1 = 1.3307 Singapore dollars)
(Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan and Chen Lin in
Singapore; Editing by Ed Davies)
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