A new testing facility for COVID-19 has been opened on Dubai-Abu Dhabi border. Located at the last exit on Sheikh Zayed Road, before the Ghantoot checkpoint, this facility can provide test results within five minutes for a price of AED 50. This means that people travelling between the two emirates, who were required to take a coronavirus test before the journey, will no longer need to do so and will be screened on entry. A spokesman of Abu Dhabi Media Office said, “A negative result will allow entry to Abu Dhabi, while a positive result will lead to further testing.”
Abu Dhabi Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Committee officials have said motorists and passengers who take the test will be given a certificate to confirm a negative result. Those who test positive for coronavirus will be asked to return home and avoid contact with other people.
The low-cost, efficient and non-invasive testing technology, being used by the new facility, has been developed by QuantLase Imaging Lab, which is part of International Holdings Company. Lasers are being used by the facility as part of the Diffractive Phase Interferometry (DPI) procedure to track COVID-19 infections quickly.
According to a news report in The National, the research team lead at QuantLase Imaging Lab, Dr Pramod Kumar said the new test combines precision, speed and scale. He said, “The device is suitable for use not only in hospitals and public places such as cinemas and shopping malls, but with a little hands-on training it can be used for in-house testing and monitoring.”
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DPI is said to be an important development in tackling the spread of coronavirus as it will help with mass testing and early detection of the infection. More testing stations using this breakthrough technology will be established in the upcoming weeks.