China in an embarrassing situation as Spain returns its faulty Coronavirus test kits that China had supplied. The local news agencies reported the quickest test Coronavirus screening kits China provided to Spain and the Czech Republic are defective.
“First they send us the virus, then they sell us the medications to stop it and then defraud us. It’s great for China,” said a guest in a panel discussion on a broadcast on the Spanish TV channel La Sexta.
Spanish medical researchers analyzed the 9,000 kits China issued last week. They stated that the probability of detecting the virus is 30%.
“They are useless,” said Victor Jimenez Cid, a senior professor in microbiology at Madrid’s Complutense University. An effective test must have a 70% to 80% probability of detecting the virus, Cid said.
According to the local Czech news, this month, China shipped up to 80% faulty mobile quick Coronavirus research kits. In 10 or 15 minutes, the tests show results, but they are typically (inaccurate) than other tests. The nation now tends to focus on conventional laboratory experiments, where they conduct around 900 a day, due to the extreme error rate. The conventional testing takes four hours to portray results.
The Health Ministry of the Czech Republic spent $546,000 for 100,000 test kits while the Interior Ministry paid for the remaining 50,000. The Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Jan Hamacek, found many of the samples faulty. He blamed it on incorrect methodologies.
“In my opinion, this is not about some scandalous revelation, it is not working,” Hamacek said.
According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais, Italy tested for the virus with purchased quick test kits from Chinese company ‘Bioeasy’ and diagnosed only 30% of virus cases correctly.
Spain’s Head of Center for Safety Warnings and Emergencies, Fernando Simón, said SSIDCM checked the 9,000 test kits. The center instructed the Spanish Society of Infectious Disease and Clinical Microbiology to carry out studies. The studies show a huge risk of error and, therefore, test kits should not be used.
The Chinese embassy tweeted, “Shenzhen Bioeasy is not allowed to market products and is not among the “recommended suppliers” list which China provided to the Spanish government by its trade ministry.” Spain’s Health Ministry stated the EU Quality Control Agencies accepted Bioeasy goods. The requirements of this study, at least the lot which was issued, do not conform to the certificates of the EU standard.
On Friday, Spain’s health officials desperately needed supplies and protested it was not working. A Chinese corporation promised to replace thousands of faulty Coronavirus test kits.
According to the Health Minister, Salvador Illa, the first shipment of 640,000 test kits had “insufficient capacity” to accurately identify sick patients. Reuters cited the Chinese research kit manufacturer, Shenzhen Bioeasy Technology, attributed the incorrect findings to a failure to obtain or use samples properly.
Bioeasy’s failed test kits were a devastating drawback for Spain’s health authorities. They are battling to contend with far more than 64,000 COVID-19 cases and over 4,900 deaths.
-International