A 60-second COVID-19 breathalyzer test is provisionally approved in Singapore

Singapore skyline.
(Image credit: TOH TING WEI/AFP via Getty Images)

A new 60-second coronavirus breathalyzer test has been provisionally approved for use alongside antigen rapid tests in Singapore, reported Reuters on Monday.

The test, which was developed by National University of Singapore "spin-off" company Breathonix, can detect COVID-19 infection in under a minute with "more than 90 percent accuracy," a Singapore-based clinical trial found. Users blow into a disposable mouthpiece, where software then "assesses the chemical compounds of the breath" for infection, writes Reuters. Positive tests are later confirmed with a follow-up polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab test.

The start-up is "now working with the health ministry to run a deployment trial" near the border, Reuters reports. Breathonix is the first breath test to gain provisional clearance in Singapore, and will sell for $3-15.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

These 60-second tests could be "key" in re-opening and revitalizing Singapore's travel sector, which has "slowed to a crawl during the pandemic," writes Bloomberg.

More at Reuters.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.