YOKOHAMA: The Kanagawa Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Japanese government-affiliated research institute Riken said Thursday that they have developed a technology to detect the COVID-19 novel coronavirus in only 10-30 minutes.

Yuji Kuroiwa, governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, eastern Japan, told a news conference the same day that he will seek special state support so that the new technology, which is still in a research phase, can be used widely.

The polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, test method, which is widely used at present, takes one to two hours before results become available.

The newly developed technology is at least on par with PCR in terms of the accuracy of test results, according to the prefectural institute and Riken.

The institutes confirmed the validity of the new method using COVID-19 samples collected from people who were on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which has been quarantined at the port of Yokohama in the prefecture. Hundreds of people aboard the ship have been found infected with the virus originating in China.

The institutes will conduct further research on the new technology as regulatory approval as an external body diagnosing medicine is required for putting it into practical use.

"We've taken a step toward practical use" although the work is still in an early stage, said Kengo Usui, who leads Riken's unit developing the new technology.

JIJI Press