Thai researchers are working on a sweat-based mobile virus detector, which they recently tested on shopkeepers at a Bangkok food market.

According to local scientists, armpit sweat may include subtle indications of COVID-19 infection.

"From the samples, we found that people infected with COVID-19 secrete very distinct chemicals," Chadin Kulsing from Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University said. "We used this finding to develop a device to detect the specific odours produced by certain bacteria in the sweat of COVID-19 patients.

Subjects are asked to place a cotton swab beneath their arms for 15 minutes before it is placed in a glass vial and sterilized with UV radiation.

The technician then draws a sufficient quantity of the sample with a suction hose and pressurizes it into the analyzer to check the results. The collection of the sample takes 15 minutes, and the findings are ready in 30 seconds.

Kulsing, who claims the test is 95% reliable, expects it will be used as a low-cost alternative to more expensive swab tests that require lab processing.

It is, however, still in the early stages of development, and the research behind it has yet to be published or peer-reviewed.

The researchers adapted a technology commonly used to detect toxic chemicals in the environment.

Sweat tests were approved by Bangkok market vendors, who said they were much more comfortable than nostril swab testing, Channel News Asia reported.

Thailand, which is in the midst of its third and worst COVID-19 wave, reported 16,000 new cases on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases documented since the pandemic's inception to approximately 1.34 million.

Meanwhile, Thailand's government has outlined new plans to reopen the economy following a further drop in coronavirus infections.

Travel restrictions for international tourists are expected to be eased in Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, with the government wagering that this will help boost economic growth.

Beginning in October, Thailand intends to improve access to popular tourist locations such as Bangkok and Pattaya.

The government may possibly lift the state of emergency at the end of this month, with the Covid-19 outbreak already showing symptoms of subsiding, according to Natthapol Nakpanich, Secretary-General of the National Security Council.