A hospital in southern France is now testing a new test that can determine in just seconds whether a patient is infected with the coronavirus or not.

The device has been tested in a hospital in Lyon for three months and is entering its second phase of testing. It has so far been put to the test by dozens of patients, including around 20 who carried the virus.

An official told Reuters that the device is comparable to a breathalyzer, since the patient is only asked to blow into a tube. The device then analyzes the molecules collected and provides a response within seconds.

The device could be fully functional by the end of the year.

An expert who helped develop it, however, warned that the machine, in its current form, would be too expensive to consider large-scale deployment. If the technology proves its worth, we could on the other hand consider a second or a third more affordable version.