A project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) will provide at-home coronavirus testing kits to the people of Seattle.
Folks worried they may be infected with COVID-19 can simply swab their nose and return the sample for analysis.
Results, expected within two days, are shared with local health officials, who will notify those who test positive, according to a report by The Seattle Times.
Infected patients can answer questions online about their movements and contacts, making it easier to locate other possible cases, identify hot spots, and track the virus’ spread.
Most importantly, at-home tests will reduce the need for sick people to visit a doctor’s office, lowering the chance of exposing others.
There is no clear timeline for the project launch, the Times said, citing software upgrades and other finishing touches ahead of an expected “crush” of requests.
“Although there’s a lot to be worked out, this has enormous potential to turn the tide of the epidemic,” Scott Dowell, leader of coronavirus response to the Gates Foundation, told the newspaper.
Known for fighting disease and epidemics worldwide, the BMGF has (so far) committed more than $100 million to the global coronavirus response effort—including $5 million for the greater Seattle region.
Since the first U.S. case of novel coronavirus was detected in Washington early this year, the state has emerged as an epicenter of viral activity.
The King County public health center has officially confirmed 71 cases (including members of Amazon and Facebook’s workforces) and 15 deaths, as of Saturday. But estimates put the actual number of infections in the area around 600.
“The COVID-19 epidemic reminds us that infectious disease respects no boundaries, and no community is immune to the threat of a global pandemic,” Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman said in a statement.
“We can, however, take steps to mitigate [its impact] in Seattle and around the world,” he continued. “And we are ready to support these efforts here in our home community.”
Identified in December, novel coronavirus was linked to a wholesale animal and fish market in Wuhan. Symptoms include fever, cough, and trouble breathing (which are also handily associated with chest infection, bronchitis, pneumonia, and a number of other diagnoses).
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