Senegal working on $1 testing kit for Covid-19, say reports as number of cases in Africa cross 22,000

The African nation of Senegal is working on a testing kit which is going to be cost-effective, yet efficient in fight against Covid-19.

The researchers in Senegal are drawing upon their experience in dealing with Ebola to develop this kit which will cost $1, according to reports in African media.

These researchers say the kits used for testing dengue and other types of fever can be modified to test for Covid-19, which has wreaked havoc around the world.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that more than 70 types of vaccines are in the works across the world as the world races to find a cure to the disease which has affected more than three million people and causes over 2,00,000 deaths.

Geneva-based Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics has listed all the testing kits being developed by different organisations across the world. The list, it says, is not comprehensive, but contains 200 names which are available in the public domain.

There are 735 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Senegal and nine deaths, according to World Health organisation (WHO).

Africa has so far recorded 22,239 positive cases of Covid-19, according to WHO. From zero case on March 1, the continent saw over 1,000 daily Covid-19 positive cases in the last few days of April.

Based on a provisional modelling, the WHO had said earlier this month that coronavirus cases in Africa could shoot up to 10 million within three to six months.

The worst affected country in the continent is South Africa. However, infections there have slowed after it began a strict lockdown, but other nations - like Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Algeria - have seen higher than average fatalities.

The WHO is working with authorities there to improve patient care and reduce fatalities.