{"id":3001,"date":"2020-03-09T12:01:37","date_gmt":"2020-03-09T12:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.geek.com\/featured\/-1819995\/"},"modified":"2020-03-09T12:01:37","modified_gmt":"2020-03-09T12:01:37","slug":"bill-gates-foundation-to-provide-coronavirus-home-testing-kits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/2020\/03\/09\/bill-gates-foundation-to-provide-coronavirus-home-testing-kits\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill Gates\u2019 Foundation To Provide Coronavirus Home Testing Kits"},"content":{"rendered":"

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COVID-19 (via Johns Hopkins Medicine)<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

A project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) will provide at-home coronavirus testing kits to the people of Seattle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Folks worried they may be infected with COVID-19 can simply swab their nose and return the sample for analysis.<\/span><\/p>\n

Results, expected within two days, are shared with local health officials, who will notify those who test positive, according to a report<\/a> by The\u00a0<\/em><\/span>Seattle Times<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most importantly, at-home tests will reduce the need for sick people to visit a doctor’s office, lowering the chance of exposing others.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is no clear timeline for the project launch, the <\/span>Times<\/span><\/i> said, citing software upgrades and other finishing touches ahead of an expected “crush” of requests.<\/span><\/p>\n

“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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Known for fighting disease and epidemics worldwide, the BMGF has (so far) committed more than $100 million to the global coronavirus response effort\u2014including $5 million for the greater Seattle region<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

The King County public health center has officially confirmed 71 cases (including members of Amazon<\/a> and Facebook’s<\/a> workforces) and 15 deaths, as of Saturday. But estimates put the actual number of infections in the area around 600.<\/span><\/p>\n

“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.<\/span><\/p>\n

“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.”<\/span><\/p>\n

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).<\/span><\/p>\n

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