Thursday, November 5, 2026

Israel deploys robots for COVID-19 test

Testing process will be shortened from eight to four hours.

• November 2, 2020
Covid-19 test kits
Covid-19 test kits used to illustrate the story (Photo Credit: Christopher Furlong)

Israeli health authority on Monday launched a new robot-aided COVID-19 test.

With the integrated robotics, the Israeli-developed PCR testing process will be shortened from eight to four hours.

In current PCR tests, it takes about an hour for the sample to be transferred to another test tube, whereas in the new test a robot will transfer the sample to the next stage within five minutes.

The next steps will be shortened from about 6.5 hours in total to less than four hours. Finally, processing and deciphering the data will take about 10 seconds.

The new testing system will be put into operation in hospitals and laboratories across Israel within a few weeks, according to the health ministry. 

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

Nigerian Bar Association

States

Independence: NBA urges Nigerians to expect better future

The NBA said that ordinary Nigerians should be deriving benefit from the subsidy removal rather than hardship.

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Police

NationWide

Tinubu govt promises to improve police welfare, infrastructure

President Bola Tinubu’s government has pledged to prioritise police infrastructure and personnel welfare to improve service delivery and ease officers’ hardship.

Governor Ron DeSantis

World

Midterm election results not acceptance of Democrats but rejection of Republicans: DeSantis

“This was not a positive view of the Democrats,” said Mr DeSantis. “This was a rejection of Republicans in Washington.”

Abuja

AFD seeks stronger partnership with Nigeria to boost economic growth

Christophe Lecourtier, CEO of AFD, says the agency seeks to strengthen France’s cooperation with Nigeria to promote growth and advance shared interests.

World

NASA satellite crashes back to Earth after failed rescue attempt

A research satellite has fallen back to Earth after a rescue mission by the U.S. space agency NASA failed.

Economy

Bank collapse sparks financial, political crisis in Paraguay

The collapse of one of Paraguay’s largest banks has triggered a financial and political crisis, with millions of customers fearing for their savings.

World

240 million Nigerian adolescents, others worldwide report no active days in one week: WHO

The World Health Organisation says about 240 million adolescents worldwide reported no physical activity on any day last week, raising concerns about young people’s health.