Uzbekistan reports new coronavirus cases

Five more people in Uzbekistan have tested positive for Covid-19, taking the number of infection cases across the country to 55.

Report informs, citing RIA Novosti, that according to the Health Ministry, the first case was recorded on March 15, when a woman was confirmed as having the virus upon return from France. On Tuesday, infection scores surged to 50 people.

The good news is coming from China. The country has already lifted a two-month quarantine in the province of Hubei, the epicenter of the outbreak.

Meanwhile, Singapore has developed a rapid test that can tell if a person has Covid-19 in as little as five minutes, according to The Straits Times.

Professor Jackie Ying, who heads the NanoBio Lab at the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*Star), said that, when approved, this would be about the fastest test out there for Covid-19.

They hope to submit the test for approval in a month. The test looks for the genetic material of the virus in a patient's secretions collected from a swab.

This sample is then put in a portable device that will give the result in about five to 10 minutes, using an extremely rapid amplification method that they have named Cepat.

As the pandemic grows, the spotlight is increasingly falling on testing as a way to contain the spread - for the lack of it has potentially been hiding a large number of cases.