Belgrade, Serbia - April 27, 2020 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of medical worker sending testing samples to lab
2. Clock showing 21:02
3. Various of medical workers in lab
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Terence Xiong, vice president, BGI Group (starting with shot 3):
"This laboratory today detects the coronavirus, COVID-19. But it can easily be transformed into a laboratory detecting other pathogens, like flu or other viruses or even other pathogens."
5. Various of medical workers in lab
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ana Dordevic, team leader, Fire Eye Lab:
"They are not afraid of the virus. Actually, they don't have much reason to be afraid of the virus because the people behind me are dressed in something called BSL3 or Biological Safety Level 3. It is the level of their protection, so they are absolutely protected from any possibility to be contaminated with the virus."
7. Various of medical workers in lab
8. Medical worker getting bags from window, taking report from printer

China-aided coronavirus testing labs in Serbia are conducting 3,000 tests per day, greatly improving the country's COVID-19 testing capability.

It's late at night in Belgrade, but medical workers are still hard at work, bringing in samples to test for COVID-19.

They're being analyzed at the state-of-the-art laboratory, donated by Chinese companies and individuals.

Dubbed Fire Eye, it is the biggest lab in the Balkans capable of detecting COVID-19. It can process up to 2,000 samples a day, nearly doubling the combined testing capacity of all labs in Serbia.

The second testing lab donated by the Chinese is located in the southern town of Nis. It can handle up to 1,000 samples a day. The tests are around 95 percent accurate.

"This laboratory today detects the coronavirus Covid-19. But it can easily be transformed into a laboratory detecting other pathogens, like flu or other viruses or even other pathogens," said Terence Xiong, vice president of the BGI Group, the world-leading genomics research institute and service provider from China, which established the lab.

The BGI Group was on the frontline of COVID-19 detection in central China's Wuhan City -- the hardest-hit Chinese region by the epidemic, establishing the biggest testing labs in the city and setting up labs in many other countries.

The firm's scientists are working with a group of Serbian medical researchers. Behind the tightly sealed windows, contamination is almost impossible.

"They are not afraid of the virus, actually they don't have much reason to be afraid of the virus because the people behind me are dressed in something called BSL3 or Biological Safety Level 3. It is the level of their protection, so they are absolutely protected from any possibility to be contaminated with the virus," said Ana Dordevic, team leader of the Fire Eye Lab.

Serbia had reported 8,275 coronavirus cases and 162 deaths by Monday. Serbian officials said the country's outbreak has peaked. But as lockdown measures are eased, widespread testing and screening remain key to preventing a second wave.