A United States-based lab, Abbott Laboratories said it has released a test that confirms the presence of 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the body in as little as five minutes.
The firm stated this in a statement on Friday.
According to the statement, the test also confirms if a person does not have the virus in about 13 minutes.
Abbott Laboratories disclosed that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued emergency authorisation to allow the firm to make the test available for medical personnel from next week.
It said that the test is the size of a small toaster and uses molecular technology, and is so small and portable it can be used in almost any health-care setting.
President and Chief Operating Officer, Robert Ford said, “The COVID-19 pandemic will be fought on multiple fronts, and a portable molecular test that offers results in minutes adds to the broad range of diagnostic solutions needed to combat this virus.”
He added that the test’s small size means it could be deployed outside the traditional four walls of a hospital in outbreak hotspots.
He added that the firm is working with the FDA to deploy it to virus epicentres.
Vice President of Research and Development at Abbott Diagnostics, John Frels said the medical-device maker plans to supply 50,000 tests a day starting April 1.
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