Singapore approves Covid breath test with one-minute result

A staff member demonstrates the usage of Breathonix breathalyser test kit that works much like a standard breathalyser test that police might use to see if an erratic driver is drunk. A person blows into a one-way valve mouthpiece, and compounds in the person’s breath are compared by machine-learning software to the sort of breath signature expected from someone who’s Covid-positive. — Reuters

A breath test designed to detect Covid-19 and give accurate results within one minute has been approved for use in Singapore, the National University of Singapore said in a statement.

The test, developed by NUS spin-off startup Breathonix, works much like a standard breathalyser test that police might use to see if an erratic driver is drunk. A person blows into a one-way valve mouthpiece, and compounds in the person’s breath – think of it as a breath signature – are compared by machine-learning software to the sort of breath signature expected from someone who’s Covid-positive.