Israel has signed a NIS 90 million ($25 million) deal with Chinese firm BGI to procure equipment that will allow it to increase its daily capacity to perform coronavirus tests to at least 10,000, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
As of Tuesday, 9,248 Israelis have been diagnosed with the virus, which has so far claimed 65 lives. Some 770 Israelis have recovered from it.
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According to the ministry, the new equipment will be installed in six laboratories over the next few weeks. It will be used alongside Israel's current testing facilities.
BGI's website describes it as a global genomics company based in Shenzhen, China, with clients in over 66 countries.
Video: Defense Ministry
The new equipment is designed to perform polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to directly detect viral nucleic acids indicative of COVID-19. BGI's tests have been used widely in China, and are being distributed to over 50 other countries and regions, the firm said.
BGI says its equipment delivers test results in three hours. The testing kits also come equipped with a supply of reagents necessary for the chemical analyses of the tests. Israeli laboratories have nearly run out of these materials, something that has hampered their operations.
According to Channel 12 News, the number of tests conducted in Israel on Tuesday fell under 2,000, far below the goal of 30,000 daily tests ordered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu two weeks ago.
Over the past week, the Health Ministry did not release official testing numbers.
