S.Korea widens public access to virus self-test kits amid surge

SEOUL: South Korea granted conditional approval on Friday that will allow the public to use two coronavirus self-test kits for the first time, as a surge in infections has rekindled calls to step up testing.

The decision comes as South Korea grapples with a nationwide rise in cluster infections, spurring authorities to urge tougher enforcement of distancing rules to avert a fourth wave of the pandemic. The makers of the kits, SD Biosensor Inc and Humasis Co Ltd , were given three months to provide further clinical trial data on self-testing as a condition of the approval, the drug safety ministry said in a statement.