Smart terminals speed screening for COVID-19

Smart terminals for reading nucleic acid codes have been put into operation in the Longgang district of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, aiming to boost efficiency of sampling.

It takes only four seconds using a smart terminal to complete a nucleic acid sample, according to medical staff in the Nanwan subdistrict of Longgang.

The terminals, equipped with high-definition code-scanning and test tube slots, will enable medical staff to complete a test with a single person, which greatly reduces the cost of sampling.

The sampling process by the intelligent terminal can also avoid errors introduced by human factors under traditional manual scanning, according to the medical staff.

Usually, a person needs to have his or her nucleic acid code scanned before testing. The terminals have been introduced at three testing sites in the Nanwan subdistrict and Nanxin community in Longgang and will be expanded to other areas.

Shenzhen reported 50 new locally transmitted confirmed cases and 21 asymptomatic carriers on Sunday, the local health authorities said.