MGI COVID-19 Container Lab Put to Test, Safeguarding the World Figure Skating Championships

STOCKHOLM,April 13,2021 -- The weeklong ISU World Figure Skating Championships (the Championships),an Olympic qualification event,were held in Stockholm,Sweden in late March. The world's top figure skaters from around the world had travelled to Sweden to compete for the title of world champions. The event was the largest sporting event in the country since COVID-19 pandemic.

The stakes remained high for such an international sporting event as the trajectory of rapidly rising cases and deaths continued in many regions in the country. The national authority took extra measures to manage the largest crowd since pandemic. MGI's innovative COVID-19 Container Lab,a mobile COVID-testing solution specifically designed for fast mass testing,was put to "test",providing COVID-19 testing for all the participants attending the Championships. All travellers,including athletes and their staff members,needed to present a negative COVID-19 result no more than 48 hours prior to travelling to Stockholm and a further test upon arrival. Three positive cases were identified to date during a round of testing within the competition bubble.

According to Medical,the official appointed testing service provider,ten (10) people were working around the clock on site to perform the tests. It was estimated that approximately 2,500 tests would be performed during the 1.5-week-event.

The mobile laboratory,built in a 12-meter shipping container,consists of three maincabins including reagent storage,sample preparation,and testing.The state-of-the-art Biosafety Level 2 laboratory is capable of processing 3,000 patient samples per day. The automation system,including sample scanning,transfer and viral RNA extraction,eliminates the risk for the laboratory technicians getting infected during the process. The easy-to-use system only requires three technicians to manage the entire workflow,whilst a traditional pathology laboratory would need a dozen technicians to process the same number of samples.

The modular laboratory solution is particularly useful for the mass testing applications,such as the airports,ports,and train stations where high volumes of travellers need to get tested for COVID-19. Christian Lund,Medical's project coordinator said,"it usually takes about 48 hours to get the results but thanks to this system we can promise to our customers to deliver results in 4.5 hours."

The fast turn-around makes it possible for the health authority to manage the crowds safely and efficiently. The Sweden Container Lab system,supplied by MGI Latvia,MGI's European research and development base,was delivered to Stockholm in late January.

MGI(MGI Tech Co.,Ltd.),a member of BGI Group,is committed to enabling effective and affordable healthcare solutions for all. Based on its proprietary technology,MGI produces sequencing devices,equipment,consumables and reagents to support life science research,medicine and healthcare. MGI's multi-omics platforms include reagents,medical imaging,laboratory automation and genetic sequencing. MGI's mission is to develop and promote advanced life science tools for future healthcare. For more information please visit MGI website or connect us on Twitter or Linkedin.