[Coronavirus] S. Korea sends 51,000 coronavirus sampling kits to United Arab Emirates

By Park Sae-jin Posted : March 17, 2020, 15:37 Updated : March 18, 2020, 08:27

[Yonhap Photo]

SEOUL -- SEOUL -- South Korea has sent 51,000 coronavirus sampling kits to the United Arab Emirates, the presidential Blue House said, correcting its earlier announcement.

The presidential Blue House originally announced on Tuesday that 51,000 COVID-19 test kits were sent as emergency exports to the Middle East country. A total of 17 countries have made official requests for South Korean test kits

A Blue House spokesperson explained that a coronavirus diagnosis kit pack consists of two types of kits, a sampling kit and a test kit. The spokesperson said sampling kits were exported to the UAE.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has adopted a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for quick and accurate screening. The method amplifies a specific DNA sample, requires a small number of samples, and yields results in six hours.

However, it normally takes about a day to receive the test results as health officials screen some 100,000 a day.

 
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