As the demand for PCR tests increases due to the rapid spread of infection with the new coronavirus, companies that analyze collected samples to determine whether they are positive or negative are responding by increasing the number of personnel and taking a 24-hour system.
PCR tests are conducted free of charge at medical institutions and venues prepared by prefectures, and some people receive them at their own expense. As the infection spreads rapidly, the number of tests per day was 300,000 nationwide last month. The number of days is increasing rapidly, such as the number of days exceeding the number.
The company in Yokohama City receives requests from medical institutions in Aomori and Okinawa prefectures as well as the Kanto area, and uses a dedicated machine to judge whether the sample is positive or negative.
This company can analyze up to 8900 cases a day, and in principle, the results are reported to medical institutions by noon the next day.
However, there were times when more samples were brought in, and in some cases the results were delayed by about a day.
For this reason, we are responding by gathering employees from other departments and taking a 24-hour system from the beginning of this month.
Yu Miura of the Institute of Health Sciences said, "We are barely able to deal with this situation. If the number of samples increases, we may not be able to return the results the next day."