A staff checks the nucleic acid test kit at the plant of Luoyang Ascend Biotechnology Co., Ltd in Luoyang, central China's Henan Province, March 4, 2020. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese test kit suppliers are working overtime to expand production in response to surging demand from overseas markets, including the US and Australia, where the COVID-19 pandemic continues to worsen driven by the Omicron variant.

With urgent export orders, some domestic producers are working around the clock and will implement stay-up policies during the upcoming Chinese New Year to get much-needed kits to people on the other side of the world, companies told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Hangzhou Clongene Biotech Co, a test kit supplier based in East China's Zhejiang Province, saw inquiries and orders jump after getting TGA approval on January 7, which allows it to export to Australia.

Although the company's daily production capacity is enough for 5 million people, up 10 times from about year ago, it is facing production limits and may expand further, Yang Yajie, a marketing manager, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Australia relies heavily on test kits from China. According to the official website of Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), the Australian government has approved a total of 22 household rapid antigen test kits, of which 16 are produced by Chinese companies.

Amid high demand, some local supermarkets in Australia have applied purchase limits of "one pack per transaction," according to media reports.

While Australian media expressed concerns that supplies may be tight if Chinese plants close during the Chinese New Year holidays, which start on January 31 and ends on February 6, several Chinese firms told the Global Times on Wednesday that they will continue to operate even during the holidays.

The Hangzhou-based company has more than 800 workers and 15 sets of automation equipment, which are in use around the clock.

"Our workers will not go back home and they will work extra hours during the holidays," Yang said.

Explosive orders, logistics hurdles and other factors are posing challenges for deliveries, and Yang said the company may use charter flights.

Amid a surge in overseas orders, Shenzhen-based genomics giant BGI Group is preparing to produce more, and its production cycle is about three weeks, the company told the Global Times on Wednesday.

BGI is cooperating with Australian public and private laboratories to provide reagents and consumables for timely nucleic acid detection. So far, nucleic acid kits shipped overseas are not affected by logistics delays, the company said.

Regarding the current shortage of rapid antigen test kits in Australia, Reuters previously reported that on Monday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison admitted in his speech that due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, the Australian government is dealing with soaring hospitalizations and a shortage of home testing kits.

Surging orders from the US have also tightened the production schedule, given that the US government is buying 1 billion at-home COVID-19 test kits.

A source at Sansure Biotech, a domestic testing kit maker in Changsha, Central China's Hunan Province with clients from around the world, including the US, told the Global Times on Wednesday that it has built up inventories ahead of the holidays.

"We now have two shifts covering 24 hours a day, and we're hiring more production workers," the person said.