New test can increase corona testing capacity

A new test could significantly increase the capacity for corona testing and thus reduce the risk of infection.

The drug company Roche is behind the new so-called cobas sars-CoV-2 analysis, which has now been approved in the USA.

The test can be used in markets that accept the CE mark, and Norway is therefore covered.

Oslo University Hospital (OUS) has a test machine in use already and will get another one a week. One will also end up in Ahus and maybe one in Stavanger, reports the Norwegian Public Health Institute (FHI) to NTB.

The capacity will thus increase considerably, since each machine can conduct 1,440 tests a day.

At Ahus, about 500 samples are analyzed daily, says Diagnostics and Technology Director Janne Pedersen to NTB. She points out that although the new Roche instrument could theoretically take 1,400 samples a day as well, this will probably change in actual operation.

“Therefore, it is difficult to predict the effect with new equipment. Still, we expect capacity growth and release of staff from today’s analytics platform, which could be prioritized for tasks that are now being ignored,” she says.