핀란드, 코로나19 검체 한국까지 보내서 검사...왜? 직접 듣는 배경과 과정

Numerous countries have been seeking help from South Korea to fight their own coronavirus outbreaks.
We reported last week that a private healthcare provider in Finland asked South Korea to test their samples due to the country's lack of testing capacity.
It's a first for South Korea to test samples from overseas.
Our Choi Jeong-yoon went to the Seoul-based lab in question to see how the tests are done and the story behind the cooperation.
This box contains hundreds of specimens collected from suspected COVID-19 cases in Finland.
"They said they could only hold up to 1500-2000 tests a day, which is very very small in number. For SCL we can test about 3000 tests for one single day."
Flying over seven-thousand kilometers, samples are hermetically sealed in a temperature-controlled package.
Each sample is placed in small test tubes and then a chemical reagent is added so the gene can be amplified.
Holding 94 specimens, a real-time polymerase chain reaction machine makes genetic copies from each sample...so even a miniscule amount of the virus can be detected.
The real-time PCR technique shows graphs of three specific genes.
If all three of them rise sharply, it means the sample is positive for COVID-19.
This entire process, from taking samples from the box to sending the results to Finland online, takes just six hours.
"Planning to test more COVID19 samples from the hospital in Finland, the SCL is pushing to develop a faster, more accurate testing system. The aim? To take Korean researching capacity to the next level and create a new paradigm in the global bio industry. Choi Jeong-yoon, Arirang News."