Singapore to start mass production of COVID-19 breathalyzers

Mass deployment of COVID-19 breathalyzers that produce results on the spot may soon happen in Singapore, Report informs, citing the Straits Times.

This will facilitate safe travel arrangements and screenings at large-scale events.

The Straits Times has learned that local medtech firm Silver Factory Technology is working with the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), Changi Airport, and security firm Certis to develop the breathalyzers.

Silver Factory's breathalyzer, TracieX, is almost as accurate as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, while taking a fraction of the time - at two minutes - to turn in results.

Compared with PCR tests - the gold standard for testing - the disposable breathalyzer's sensitivity rate so far has been over 95 percent, and its specificity, more than 99 percent.

It is also cheaper, costing around $20 each currently.

Trials have already started in NCID, Changi Airport Terminal 1, and Certis, with more than 400 individuals tested to date, Silver Factory said.

Silver Factory, founded last January as a spin-off from Nanyang Technological University, aims to produce at least 200,000 breathalyzers a month from June this year, potentially ramping up production to two million a month.

The product's cost price is expected to fall once large-scale production commences.