A drone carrying nucleic acid samples in Liantang, Luohu District, departed from Luohu Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital on Monday afternoon and arrived at a medical test center in Buji, Longgang District, in 13 minutes.
The samples in temperature-controlled boxes were rushed for tests at one of the centers of Luohu Hospital Group.
Sun Xizhuo, president of the medical group, said, “The use of drones races against time in nucleic acid sample transportation in the fight against COVID-19.” Sun added that the drones have played an important role in delivering samples since they were deployed in the fight against the pandemic a year ago.
Luohu Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital and its test center is about 13.5 kilometers in distance.
A road trip generally takes about one hour; but by air, the 10.3-kilometer distance can be covered in 13 minutes.
Luohu Hospital Group manages five hospitals and 39 community health centers across the district. However, with its testing center in Buji in Longgang District, a large number of samples are needed to be transported there every day.
The drone can carry 10 kilograms or a maximum of 800 tubes of samples and operates 24 hours a day.
The test center has deployed 120 employees for tests, sample analysis and information uploading to ensure results are sent in a timely manner.
In another development, employees whose work was disrupted by COVID-19 prevention and control measures such as quarantine for treatment or medical observation should be paid as usual, according to Shenzhen Human Resources and Social Security Bureau when elaborating the regulations of Guangdong Higher People’s Court and Guangdong Provincial Human Resources and Social Security Bureau.