Prenetics, Prudential, and Others Launch Project Screen – a Non-Profit Initiative Providing a Who-Approved Solution to Get Tested and Diagnosed for COVID-19 From Home in Hong Kong

To test 100,000 individuals with transparent pricing and subsidies for healthcare workers

Leading genetic testing and digital health company Prenetics (also known as CircleDNA) announces the launch of Project Screen by Circle – the initiative is backed by philanthropic and operational support from a consortium of industry leaders, including Prenetics, Prudential Hong Kong, Xcelom, Mason Supreme Healthcare, hpa SOCIAL, Beyond Ventures and Pickupp.

Project Screen is driven by a duty of responsibility, to signify a collective response and commitment to the increased need for testing in the community. Project Screen has set out to make RT-PCR COVID-19 testing easy, safe and accurate.

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Transparent Pricing. Zero Profit

Project Screen, in efforts to provide everyone in the community accessibility to WHO-approved RT-PCR COVID-19 testing is operating to only cover costs with zero profit. Full transparent pricing is listed below in HKD:

Sample Collection Kit – $53
Delivery Fee – $30
Sample Pick-Up Fee – $130
Lab Fees – $429
Operations – $257
Health Professional Oversight – $50
Credit Card Transaction Fees – $36
Total – $985

HKD $300 Subsidy, for up to 30,000 Healthcare Workers, by Prudential Hong Kong

Frontline workers at the heart of the pandemic are helping to keep Hong Kong healthy and safe. To show support and even greater accessibility for their constant sacrifice, Prudential is subsidising HKD $300 per test, up to 30,000 COVID-19 test kits, for healthcare workers and their families. This means that local first responders, doctors, nurses and any healthcare worker and their family members in Hong Kong will only pay HKD $685.

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Collaboration with Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) to develop new protocol for Whole Genome Sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 virus

In a collaboration effort between Prenetics and the CUHK Biomedicine Sciences team led by Professor Stephen Tsui, the team will develop new protocols for rapid and accurate whole genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2. The findings will subsequently be utilized for public health control of the COVID-19 outbreak by patient clustering and contact tracing when community spread begins to prevail. It will also lead to a greater understanding of the disease that will allow Hong Kong to respond to the pandemic and to ultimately save lives.

Testing Capacity of up to 3,000 Daily

By leveraging off Prenetics existing ISO-15189:2012 accredited laboratory, Project Screen can process up to 3,000 WHO-approved RT-PCR COVID-19 samples daily. It is set to have an initial ramp-up period of 1,000 tests daily and within weeks can expand up to 3,000 samples daily. Project Screen aims to serve individuals, healthcare workers, hospitals, private clinics, and employers in Hong Kong.

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