‘RAPID PACE’

FDA to Roll Out Faster Coronavirus Tests by March 30

The agency said the new tests can provide results within hours, rather than days, and can be conducted at point of care.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced on Saturday that it will distribute faster coronavirus diagnostic tests by March 30 that will provide results within hours. The tests, which can be conducted at the point of care, were manufactured by Cepheid in California. Current coronavirus tests are sent to a lab to determine results for the virus, which can take days. “With new tools like point-of-care diagnostics, we are moving into a new phase of testing, where tests will be much more easily accessible to Americans who need them,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement. “With the development of point of care diagnostics, Americans who need tests will be able to get results faster than ever before. More and more options for reliable, convenient testing are becoming available at an incredibly rapid pace, thanks to the hard work of our FDA team and the ingenuity of American industry.”