China's BGI donates Huo-Yan Air Laboratory to Thailand

On September 19, 2022, Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health, Dr Satit Pitutecha, Deputy Minister of Public Health, Dr Supakit Sirilak, Director General of the Department of Medical Sciences and other leaders received a Huo-Yan Air Laboratory (with three cabins) donation from the Mammoth Foundation – represented by the BGI Genomics International Management Team – to the Department of Medical Sciences of the Ministry of Public Health to help Thailand in battling against COVID-19 and other epidemic diseases that threaten public health.

The Huo-Yan Air Laboratory is a complete, high-throughput nucleic acid testing platform developed by China-based BGI Genomics in response to COVID-19. It is a mobile laboratory equipped with medical waste management system, real-time PCR detection equipment, nucleic acid detection equipment, etc. This mobile laboratory can be ready in only 24 hours. A functioning integrated electrical system and ventilation system can analyze more than 5,000 samples every day, which serve the purpose of targeted screening and rapid deployment. Currently, 102 Huo-Yan Air Laboratories have been built in 38 countries and regions around the world.