A test kit that detects COVID 19 and seasonal influenza, manufactured by Fujirebio Inc. Provided by Fujirebio Inc. The health ministry approved a test kit that can detect COVID 19 and seasonal influenza, as an over-the-counter OTC medical product.
The kit, manufactured by Fujirebio Inc., allows testers to swab the mucous membranes in the nasal cavity with cotton buds.
It will then show whether the testers are infected with the novel coronavirus or influenza in 20 minutes.
It will be available on the internet and in pharmacies.
This is the first time that a kit that tests for both COVID 19 and influenza has been approved as an OTC medical product in Japan.
Fujirebio says it will start selling the test kit to the public as soon as the preparations finish.
The test kits are already supplied by the company to hospitals and other medical institutions.
The kit will be sold to people who can get the directions that pharmacists will provide in person or via email.
Pharmacies with brick-and- mortar stores will be allowed to sell the kit online.