The Huoyan laboratory in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. (Photo: China News Service/Chen Wen)

The Huoyan, or Fire Eye laboratory dedicated to novel coronavirus nucleic acid testing has raised its capacity from 10,000 samples per day to 20,000 per day in the tough war against the virus, according to the laboratory branch in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province.

The highly automated laboratory was originally built by BGI Genomics in Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. Other labs were soon built in Beijing, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Changsha, Shijiazhuang, and Wuxin. More cities, including Shanghai, are constructing similar ones.

The labs have helped medical institutions and centers for disease control in more than 30 cities and areas across the country.

As of March 2, they have completed 360,000 nucleic acid tests for coronavirus pneumonia patients in China.

The laboratory is also gaining recognition from the international community, with some countries seeking cooperation.

The test reagent produced by BGI group was granted a certificate of sale by the EU on March 1.

As of Monday, orders for the test kit had exceeded 310,000 units across the world, with 26 countries and regions, including Brunei and Japan, having received it.