ARAUCO PROVIDES HIGH TECHNOLOGY EQUIPMENT FOR EARLY CORONAVIRUS TESTING

This contribution is part of the COVID-19 Emergency Strategy implemented by ARAUCO, which involves actions in Sanitary Prevention, Early Testing, Medical and Educational Support.

 In order to accelerate early detection of Covid-19 in Chile’s Bío Bío Region, ARAUCO, through its Bioforest Research Center, provided equipment that specializes in early testing for the virus.

An RNA extraction robot allows testing wait periods to drop from 3 to 4 days to a maximum of 4 hours, by processing 96 samples in two hours, almost 5 times more than the current systems actually being used.

This action is part of the COVID-19 Emergency Strategy implemented by ARAUCO, which aims to safeguard the health and safety of its employees, their families and the communities where the company maintains operations.

“As a company we believe that cooperation between different actors is essential in a global emergency of such magnitude. That is why we have provided the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Science and Technology all our capacity in terms of laboratories, technical equipment and expert staff, to increase the diagnostic capacity during the coronavirus emergency”, said Charles Kimber, ARAUCO’s Senior Vice President for Commercial and Corporate Affairs.

Sergio Giacaman, Intendant of the Bío Bío Region, appreciated the contribution during this health emergency. “We’ve said that we’ll beat Covid-19 together, and not just with words. This week we have seen businesses, universities and other institutions come forward to contribute to the public health system in this time of need, whether to provide infrastructure for social-sanitation areas, medical care or equipment for ICU beds. The technology that ARAUCO is contributing is tremendously valuable, because it allows us to increase our capacity for more testing in less time, and we appreciate it”.

This new equipment, which includes a nucleic acid (DNA/RNA) extraction robot and a UV chamber, will be managed by expert personnel of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Concepción. The vice dean, Liliana Lamperti, reported that the equipment is in the process of being installed and implemented, and will increase daily capacity from 200 manual extractions to 800 automated samples.  They are currently waiting for the reagents required to detect coronavirus genetic material and are in the process of obtaining it from different public and private institutions.

Last, Kimber added, “At ARAUCO we’ve focused specially on establishing and strengthening several measures to protect the health of our employees, contract workers and their families. As a company, we have a fundamental responsibility to the social and economic development of the localities and regions where we are present, and we’re working to contribute in the best way”.

Equipment features

QIAcube HT System (96) is a DNA extraction robot.

It can process 96 samples in two hours, almost five times more than the systems currently in place, which are able to process 20 samples in that same amount of time.

Emergency Strategy

The COVID-19 Emergency Strategy implemented by ARAUCO involves actions in Sanitary Prevention, Early Testing, Medica and Educational Support.

 Sanitary Prevention

• Initiatives for the mass sanitization and fumigation of public areas using water trucks and the forestry squad firefighting trucks. These actions have already been performed in Ránquil and Cañete and will be implemented next week in Curanilahue and Los Álamos, among other communes that will be informed shortly.
• Provision of healthcare products such as thermometers, face masks, gloves and alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

Early Testing

• In addition to the early detection equipment that will be managed by the University of Concepción, ARAUCO’s Research Center, Bioforest, will supply its teams and researchers who will be assisting in diagnostic work.

Medical Support

• Agreement with health authorities and Arauco municipal authorities to fund 50% of a field hospital that will be installed in that commune for the emergency.
• Provide physical infrastructure in four regions to contribute to the emergency (healthcare service, storage and distribution).

Educational Support

• Through the Arauco Educational Foundation, support communities in the design of plans to maintain education continuity.
• Gather experiences and identify resources for students’ learning.