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Photos: South Korean production lines pump out coronavirus test kits

More than 100 workers in white protective suits staff the production lines of SD Biosensor in South Korea, where machines pump out novel coronavirus (COVID-19) test kits at the rate of 2.5 per second. SD Biosensor began developing its tests in January, and the South Korean government issued an emergency authorisation for their use in just two weeks, expediting a clinical trial process that usually takes a year to complete. Nearly 120 countries are now seeking to secure test kits that could be crucial to anti-virus efforts.

Updated on: Mar 29, 2020 1:51 PM IST

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Devices used in testing for COVID-19 novel coronavirus are checked on a production line as they are prepared to be included in testing kits at the SD Biosensor bio-diagnostic company near Cheongju, south of Seoul, South Korea. Every few seconds, a batch of white plastic cases shoots along a conveyor belt, kits destined for export around the world as the global pandemic sends demand soaring. (Ed Jones / AFP)

Updated on Mar 29, 2020 1:51 PM

Devices used in testing for COVID-19 novel coronavirus are checked on a production line as they are prepared to be included in testing kits at the SD Biosensor bio-diagnostic company near Cheongju, south of Seoul, South Korea. Every few seconds, a batch of white plastic cases shoots along a conveyor belt, kits destined for export around the world as the global pandemic sends demand soaring. (Ed Jones / AFP)

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Staff members prepare diagnostic components to be used in COVID-19 testing kits on a production line. SD Biosensor is one of five South Korean companies whose COVID-19 diagnostic tests are being used in the country, where a huge “trace, test and treat” effort appears to have brought the epidemic under control. (Ed Jones / AFP)

Updated on Mar 29, 2020 1:51 PM

Staff members prepare diagnostic components to be used in COVID-19 testing kits on a production line. SD Biosensor is one of five South Korean companies whose COVID-19 diagnostic tests are being used in the country, where a huge “trace, test and treat” effort appears to have brought the epidemic under control. (Ed Jones / AFP)

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The factory is ramping up production of kits that could be crucial to the world’s anti-virus efforts. It is now making 350,000 tests a day -- almost as many as the South has used in the entire outbreak so far -- up from 20,000 in January. (Ed Jones / AFP)

Updated on Mar 29, 2020 1:51 PM

The factory is ramping up production of kits that could be crucial to the world’s anti-virus efforts. It is now making 350,000 tests a day -- almost as many as the South has used in the entire outbreak so far -- up from 20,000 in January. (Ed Jones / AFP)

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Staff members walk past a machine dispensing COVID-19 antigen and antibody diagnostic membrane. Managers plan to start 24-hour operations next month, taking daily output to more than a million. “Treatment for the virus begins with accurate diagnosis,” company vice president Park June told AFP. “I have been in the diagnostic industry for 35 years and never I have felt such a strong spotlight on our work,” he added. (Ed Jones / AFP)

Updated on Mar 29, 2020 1:51 PM

Staff members walk past a machine dispensing COVID-19 antigen and antibody diagnostic membrane. Managers plan to start 24-hour operations next month, taking daily output to more than a million. “Treatment for the virus begins with accurate diagnosis,” company vice president Park June told AFP. “I have been in the diagnostic industry for 35 years and never I have felt such a strong spotlight on our work,” he added. (Ed Jones / AFP)

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Staff members prepare components for the kits. The company is already exporting to eight countries including Germany, Iran, India and Italy, and is in discussions with around 60 more, led by the United States -- which has now confirmed more cases than anywhere else in the world. (Ed Jones / AFP)

Updated on Mar 29, 2020 1:51 PM

Staff members prepare components for the kits. The company is already exporting to eight countries including Germany, Iran, India and Italy, and is in discussions with around 60 more, led by the United States -- which has now confirmed more cases than anywhere else in the world. (Ed Jones / AFP)

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Staff members restock a machine with components. Park June, vice-president of the company, anticipates Washington’s Food and Drug Administration will grant his firm an emergency use authorisation next week, and expects the US will become its “biggest export market”. (Ed Jones / AFP)

Updated on Mar 29, 2020 1:51 PM

Staff members restock a machine with components. Park June, vice-president of the company, anticipates Washington’s Food and Drug Administration will grant his firm an emergency use authorisation next week, and expects the US will become its “biggest export market”. (Ed Jones / AFP)

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More than 100 workers in white protective suits staff the production lines, where machines pump out the tests at the rate of 2.5 per second. SD Biosensor began developing its tests in January, soon after the virus first emerged in the China’s Wuhan. The South Korean government issued an emergency authorisation for their use in just two weeks, expediting a clinical trial process that usually takes a year to complete. (Ed Jones / AFP)

Updated on Mar 29, 2020 1:51 PM

More than 100 workers in white protective suits staff the production lines, where machines pump out the tests at the rate of 2.5 per second. SD Biosensor began developing its tests in January, soon after the virus first emerged in the China’s Wuhan. The South Korean government issued an emergency authorisation for their use in just two weeks, expediting a clinical trial process that usually takes a year to complete. (Ed Jones / AFP)

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COVID-19 novel coronavirus testing kits are packaged on a production line. Speed was a key factor in the South’s rapid scaling-up of its testing programme -- a result of its painful experience in dealing with the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak, when 38 people died. (Ed Jones / AFP)

Updated on Mar 29, 2020 1:51 PM

COVID-19 novel coronavirus testing kits are packaged on a production line. Speed was a key factor in the South’s rapid scaling-up of its testing programme -- a result of its painful experience in dealing with the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak, when 38 people died. (Ed Jones / AFP)

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Nearly 120 countries are now seeking to secure South Korean-made tests, a foreign ministry official told the Yonhap news agency on Friday, either as purchases or humanitarian aid. Seoul was prioritising the US, United Arab Emirates and Indonesia, he said. (Ed Jones / AFP)

Updated on Mar 29, 2020 1:51 PM

Nearly 120 countries are now seeking to secure South Korean-made tests, a foreign ministry official told the Yonhap news agency on Friday, either as purchases or humanitarian aid. Seoul was prioritising the US, United Arab Emirates and Indonesia, he said. (Ed Jones / AFP)

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COVID-19 novel coronavirus testing kits ready to ship. “The country on which we put the foremost priority is the US,” the ministry official added, “as there has been a spike in new infections there, and President Donald Trump has also made a request to us himself, while the US has not barred the entry of our citizens and struck a currency swap deal with South Korea”. (Ed Jones / AFP)

Updated on Mar 29, 2020 1:51 PM

COVID-19 novel coronavirus testing kits ready to ship. “The country on which we put the foremost priority is the US,” the ministry official added, “as there has been a spike in new infections there, and President Donald Trump has also made a request to us himself, while the US has not barred the entry of our citizens and struck a currency swap deal with South Korea”. (Ed Jones / AFP)

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