Senegal has been hailed as Africa’s coronavirus hero for producing $1 testing kits. Senegal’s Institut Pasteur de Dakar has developed a Covid-19 testing kit that costs $1 and can deliver results in about 10 minutes. Citizens can be tested whether they show symptoms of the deadly disease or not. The country has also developed $60 3D printed ventilators.
This is why SENEGAL is trending incase you are wondering… pic.twitter.com/OWCw2HSsd3
— Fatima Yerima Askira (@Fatiskira) April 26, 2020
The testing kit was developed in collaboration with Mologic, a British biotech company. The Covid-19 test kits which won’t be ready for distribution until June can be used at home for a simple test using the saliva or a blood sample of the individual. Similar to how a pregnancy test kit works, a bloodline appears to indicate the presence or absence of the COVID-19 antibody.
Also Read: Why Emmanuel Adebayor won’t donate to Togo’s coronavirus fight.
Despite the country’s low budget for health, Senegal has recorded the highest recovery rate in Africa so far and the 3rd in the world. It has 671 cases, 283 recoveries and 9 deaths. It has also become the first country to make an order for Madagascar’s Coronavirus medicine, Covid Organics.