Non-university research institutions in Saxony provide Covid19 test capacities

Science Minister Sebastian Gemkow commends strong community engagement

The non-university research institutions in Saxony are at the service of health protection and support the evaluation of Covid19 tests. Several research laboratories are currently being prepared for this. Prof. Friedemann Horn is coordinating the project with other partners. The expert works at the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI) in Leipzig and has created a network with other research institutions in close cooperation with the Leipzig University Hospital. The laboratory network also includes the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ) and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, which has mobilized employees to provide support.
The operation of the laboratories for the analysis of corona tests is currently being ramped up. In the middle to the end of the month, several thousand tests per day should be able to be carried out here - in addition to the tests that are currently being evaluated in university clinics and at the Saxon State Research Institute. These capacities must be maintained if significantly more people than before are to be tested for infection with the corona virus. The chains of infection can be better understood and the course of the epidemic can be better assessed the more people are tested.

Science Minister Sebastian Gemkow said:
»I am extremely grateful for the great commitment of the non-university research institutes. You will make a decisive contribution to ensuring that Saxony has sufficient capacity to test a large number of people every day to determine whether they have been infected with the corona virus or not.«

Source: SMWK press release from April 07.04.2020th, XNUMX