The Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) has developed a molecular test kit named SARS-COV-2 Isothermal Molecular Assay (SIMA) to produce Covid-19 test result in less than 40 minutes.
The minister of state for health, Olorunnimbe Mamora, made this known on Tuesday at the bi-weekly Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 briefing.
Mr Mamora said compared to Reverse Transcription- Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) which is currently the main source of testing in the country, SIMA is faster and cheaper.
“It is the SARS-COV-2 Isothermal Molecular Assay (SIMA) which can be performed by low skilled personnel with minimum training,” Mr Mamora said.
According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the country has recorded “58,647 cases of COVID-19 while 49,937 have recovered with 1,111 fatalities as at Tuesday.
