Japanese medical equipment manufacturer Shimadzu Corporation on Monday announced the sale of testing kits for detecting the coronavirus on surfaces such as doorknobs, keyboards, monitors and other devices
TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th February, 2021) Japanese medical equipment manufacturer Shimadzu Corporation on Monday announced the sale of testing kits for detecting the coronavirus on surfaces such as doorknobs, keyboards, monitors and other devices.
"The two main transmission paths for the novel coronavirus are considered to be via droplets or contact. Until now, however, it has been very difficult to determine its presence [on a surface] via PCR by taking a sample with a cotton swab due to its small concentration on surfaces. The new kit consists of a special concentrate and reactive agent, which you use by simply wiping an object's surface with a cotton swab, available everywhere, and putting it into a liquid," the company said in a statement.
The developers claim that the creative agents allow determining the virus' presence with the PCR test in 100 minutes.
A kit for 100 tests is expected to cost approximately $2,600, not counting taxes.
According to various studies, the coronavirus remains on plastic surfaces for up to 72 hours, up to 48 hours on steel surfaces and up to 24 hours on cardboard ones.
