Coronavirus latest: South Korea approves test for both Covid-19 and flu, Cambodia’s Hun Sen may require quarantine

South Korea’s new test, which targets genes specific to Covid-19 and seasonal flu, will help ‘reduce the burden of medical workers’, says an official

Meanwhile, Hungary’s foreign minister has tested positive for Covid-19 in Thailand, where he arrived a day after meeting Cambodian premier Hun Sen

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A worker sprays disinfectant to help curb the spread of the coronavirus in Seoul. Photo: AP

Published: 10:38pm, 4 Nov 2020Updated: 10:37pm, 4 Nov 2020

Health officials in South Korea have approved a new test designed to detect both Covid-19 and seasonal influenza from the same samples, which would help prevent disruption at hospitals as the pandemic stretches into the flu season.

The country has struggled to stem the coronavirus, which some experts say could spread more broadly during cold weather when people spend more time indoors.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Wednesday reported 118 new coronavirus cases, most of them in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area. The national caseload is now at 26,925, including 474 deaths.

People have been increasingly venturing out in public after the government eased social distancing restrictions last month to support the weak economy.

“Despite efforts by health authorities to trace contacts and suppress transmissions, such efforts have been outpaced by the speed of viral spread,” senior Health Ministry official Yoon Taeho said during a virus briefing.

The new test, which targets genes that are specific to both Covid-19 and seasonal flu, is an evolved version of PCR tests that are used to detect Covid-19 from samples taken from noses or throats. Laboratories use machines to amplify genetic materials so that even tiny quantities of the virus can be detected.

The illnesses are hard to tell apart by their symptoms, so having a diagnosis for both in three to six hours “would be convenient for patients and also reduce the burden of medical workers”, Yoon said.