Haikou Airport to open nucleic acid testing lab easing travel

A fixed nucleic acid testing laboratory has been added to the first floor of the T1 terminal of Haikou Meilan International Airport.

At present, the fixed nucleic acid testing laboratory at Haikou Meilan International Airport has begun the equipment debugging stage.

Ouyang Jiemiao, vice president of Haikou Third People’s Hospital, said that the laboratory is expected to be opened by the end of this month, and the maximum daily inspection volume will reach 20,000 people per day.

Using the 10 to 1 mixed inspection method where 10 separate samples are mixed together in a batch and then tested, the maximum daily detection volume can reach 200,000 people per day. The average time for nucleic acid detection takes about 2.5 hours.

According to Qiu Yingqi, a staff member of the Haikou Municipal Health Commission, the laboratory is the first fixed nucleic acid testing laboratory in the country to be set up at an airport.

The construction of the laboratory started on December 4 and it took around half a month to complete the project.

The laboratory covers an area of 227 square meters including a warehouse, a disinfection room, a reagent preparation area, a specimen preparation area and an amplification area.

Each area is in a negative pressure system and is connected to the next through a transfer window. Medical staff can independently carry out various aspects of nucleic acid detection in each area and avoid cross-infection. After the entire laboratory is commissioned, more than 10 medical personnel will be required to operate it.

Ouyang Jiemiao said that “This will effectively improve the nucleic acid detection capabilities at the airport gates and ensure that there are sufficient nucleic acid detection capabilities in the event of emergencies.”