OPN_200314-Corona1
LAKE SUCCESS, NY - MARCH 11: A lab technician Northwell Labs begins semi-automated testing for COVID-19 at Northwell Health Labs on March 11, 2020 in Lake Success, New York. An emergency use authorization to the FDA allows Northwell to move from manual testing to semi-automated. Andrew Theodorakis/Getty Images/AFP Image Credit: AFP

Dubai — Saudi Arabia signed a deal worth SR995 million with China to conduct nine million COVID-19 tests.

The agreement was signed by the Saudi National Unified Procurement Company (NUPCO), and China’s BGI Group. People's Republic of China, represented by.

The agreement provides for the conducting of nine million COVID-19 tests, and includes the provision of the necessary devices and supplies. The contract includes 500 experts, specialists, and technicians to conduct the tests

This agreement follows the directives of King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, and as a result of a phone call with the Chinese president.

The agreement includes the construction of six large-scale laboratories in a number of areas in Saudi Arabia, including a mobile laboratory with a capacity of 10,000 tests daily.

The Chinese group will also train Saudi cadres as well as conduct, verify and ensure the quality of tests for eight months.

The contract also includes the conducting of 50,000 tests per day to diagnose COVID-19 cases, and the conducting of comprehensive community testing.

Also included are the analysis of the genetic mapping of a number of samples in the kingdom, and analysis of the community's immunity mapping of 1,000,000 samples; these activities will have the greatest impact in supporting the management of the country's plans to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.