Singapore Approves Covid Breath Test With One-Minute Result

A breath test designed to detect Covid-19 and give accurate results within one minute has been approved for use in Singapore, the National University of Singapore said in a statement.

The test, developed by NUS spin-off startup Breathonix, works much like a standard breathalyzer test that police might use to see if an erratic driver is drunk. A person blows into a one-way valve mouthpiece, and compounds in the person’s breath -- think of it as a breath signature -- are compared by machine-learning software to the sort of breath signature expected from someone who’s Covid-positive.