The Ministry of Science and Technology has unveiled an indigenous test kit, RNA Swift, for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, with a view to enhancing capacity and effectively managing the pandemic, The Guardian reports.
During a press conference yesterday in Abuja, the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, stated: “The RNA Swift has amazing precision for the detection of SARS-COV-2, and will be commercially available at a price that places it ahead of competitors in terms of sensitivity and affordability.”
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According to him, the initiative was borne out of the need to test Nigerian farmers and labourers, adding that in the coming months, five million cultivators would be examined from the first 10 million of the tools to be produced.
He described the development as “Nigeria’s gift and contribution to help Africa and the world fight the COVID-19 pandemic.”
