New type corona PCR test Saliva is also possible as a sample Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare May 12, 16:49
Regarding the PCR test to determine whether or not you are infected with the new coronavirus, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare will additionally allow a method of collecting saliva as a sample. It is expected to be easier than the conventional method and will lead to an increase in the number of tests.
In the PCR test to determine if you are infected with the new coronavirus, doctors etc. wipe the back of the patient's nose and collect samples.
However, with this method, patients tend to cough and sneeze, so it is necessary to take sufficient measures to prevent the risk of infection by doctors, and this was one of the reasons why the number of tests was sluggish.
For this reason, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare will accept an additional method to collect saliva from patients as a sample more easily and will change the manual in the near future.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is proceeding with verification of the sampling method that does not make a big difference in the test results compared to the conventional methods.
The introduction of new methods is expected to increase the number of tests.