The test was developed by A*STAR and Tan Tock Seng Hospital of Singapore and is the first diagnostic to be deployed in Singapore’s hospitals since the beginning of the outbreak.
The test is a real-time PCR assay called A*STAR Fortitude 2.0, based upon a nasopharyngeal swab from patients and is being manufactured by MiRxes, a Singapore-based diagnostics company.
MiRxes has stated that it has manufactured over 100,000 tests and shipped around 20,000 tests to regional hospitals. So far, Singapore has had 110 confirmed cases of the virus but no disease-associated deaths.
