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Written by: Chen Qianting
2020-08-07 19:02
Last update date: 2020-08-07 19:07Hong Kong has ushered in the third wave of novel coronavirus pneumonia since July. Many cases are related to restaurant activities and hospital staff. In mid-July, the government announced that it had commissioned three testing agencies to conduct testing for high-risk groups, including start-ups. Prenetics is the only local company among the three organizations. It was originally specialized in genetic testing. In response to the epidemic, it has launched a new virus nucleic acid test (RT-PCR) service since April.
Prenetics was commissioned by the government to conduct inspections for about 200,000 restaurant employees. The minimum price announced by the government is 300 yuan per inspection, and the purchase involves at least 60 million yuan. Yang Shengwu, CEO of Prenetics, emphasized in an interview that the launch of testing services is not to make money. As a local company, it is responsible to the community. Since the first day of launching the service, it has never increased the price. He expects that next week the number of tests is expected to increase to 30,000 a day, and this week will focus on the tests for market employees.
Prenetics, established in 2014, focuses on genetic testing services. Since the outbreak of the new coronavirus, the company has developed new services. In mid-April, the company announced the launch of new coronavirus nucleic acid testing services at a fee of 985 Hong Kong dollars.
Prenetics lists the price details on the official website, covering the cost of the collection kit of 53 yuan, the laboratory fee of 429 yuan, and the amount required for transportation and operation. Yang Shengwu, chief executive of Prenetics, said that the company hopes to increase price transparency, and has repeatedly emphasized that the introduction of virus detection services from the beginning is not to make money, but to do its social responsibility so that people in need can afford the corresponding tests.
Yang Shengwu revealed that it is expected that the number of tests will be increased from about 10,000 to 30,000 per day in mid-August. (Photo by Gong Jiasheng)
It is expected that by mid-August, the testing volume can be increased to 30,000 samples per day, "four in one" for testing
Yang Shengwu revealed that the current laboratory in Quarry Bay can provide about 10,000 tests per day. From next week, a new laboratory will be added in the same district. A total of about 100 employees will be divided into three shifts. It can operate 24 hours a day, and the amount of material inspection can be increased to 30,000 per day. He continued that the laboratory was accredited by ISO-15189 and the reagents used were purchased from the American company Thermo Fisher. In the past month, five additional testing instruments were purchased, bringing the total to 10. The laboratory uses a hybrid test method to conduct a "four-in-one" test on the samples. If there is a positive result, the four samples will be reviewed separately. It usually takes 24 to 48 hours to complete the report from detection.
Yang Shengwu said that the company originally operated genetic testing. Although it is different from the virus nucleic acid testing currently done, it is supported by suitable machines and complete electronic systems. The team also has medical professors and laboratory personnel to help the company better transform its services into COVID-19. Virus detection.
▼In the third wave, the government has extended the restrictions on gatherings and banned food in the evening market.▼
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Organize virus testing for people arriving in Hong Kong from high-risk areas and outpatient clinics of the Hospital Authority
Entrusted by the government, we need to look back to mid-March of this year. The government contacted Prenetics at that time to learn about their testing capabilities and intends to expand the local testing scale. Prenetics then studied the manpower and testing capabilities. By the time the service was launched in April, daily The number of detections was only a few thousand, and then slowly increased.
On July 14, the government announced the list of contractors who conduct virus testing for high-risk groups, and Prenetics is on the list. Yang Shengwu said that he can be proud of Hong Kong people doing this. Even if the working hours are as long as 15 or 16 hours a day, he also bluntly said "It's okay. Be tight and interesting."
At present, Prenetics conducts virus testing for staff under the FEHD, including about 200,000 restaurant staff and government market staff, and tests for people arriving in Hong Kong from 9 high-risk areas, as well as the daily general outpatient clinics of the HA About 2,400 free tests are also the responsibility of Prenetics.
On July 13, the government announced that it had commissioned two mainland testing agencies to conduct virus testing for high-risk groups. In the list disclosed the next day, Prenetics became the third company selected. (Information Picture/Photo by Li Zetong)
Direct government procurement of testing services involves at least 60 million yuan
The official website of Prenetics states that testing is "non-profit-making," and Yang Shengwu refused to disclose the price at which the government directly purchases its services. According to a statement issued by a government spokesperson on August 5, the cost of purchasing testing contractor services depends on whether it involves door-to-door sample collection and related logistics work. Each testing fee starts at about 300 yuan, calculated at this price. There are 200,000 restaurant employees, and relevant purchases have involved at least 60 million yuan.
In the past few Japanese ports have continuously recorded market-related confirmed cases. Yang Shengwu said that this week will focus on testing for market employees. There is no dead line in the whole plan, but the faster the better. In the long run, we will study whether there will be new technologies that can shorten the test. Time, in order to find the confirmed cases faster.
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