Israel developed 30-second coronavirus breath test

An Israeli firm has developed a coronavirus breathalyser test that gives results in 30 seconds, billing it as a “front line” tool that can help restore a sense of normality during the pandemic. “NanoScent”, the firm making the test kits, said an extensive trial in Israel for the presence of live virus delivered results with 85 percent accuracy, and the product could receive regulatory approval within months.

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NanoScent has been operating for several years, specialising in rapid recognition technology, including for medical purposes.

The test begins with a few short questions about COVID-19 exposure and symptoms, displayed on the phone of the person administering the procedure.

Test subjects then inhale through the nose, hold their breath, close one nostril and exhale through the other, pushing breath through a handheld tube into a small bag called the “Air Trap”.

The tube is then plugged into the “Scent Reader”, a small rectangular device that whirrs softly as it sucks the air out of the bag.

Israel acted early against the virus in March and succeeded in reducing transmission to a trickle by early May, but as the economy has re-opened cases have spiked dramatically.

The country of nine million people has been recording more than 1,000 new cases per day in recent weeks, forcing new restrictions and public anger over the purportedly mismanaged re-opening.