Right now if you want to test if you have the coronavirus that has been spreading like wildfire, you will need to go to a hospital to get checked out. However, the problem that we’re seeing is that sometimes hospitals aren’t keen on testing every patient that walks through the door, simply because there aren’t enough kits.
Also, because some of the symptoms of the coronavirus are pretty generic and similar to the flu, it would be a waste of a kit only to find out that the patient has the flu and not the virus, where the kit could be used on someone with more obvious signs. However, the good news is that home testing kits are coming soon.
Thanks to the Gates Foundation, they have funded a project that will create kits that can be used to test for the virus at home. These kits will return the results in 1-2 days, and if tested positive, will be shared with local health officials who will then notify the person. Patients will also be able to fill up online forms where they can answer questions about their whereabouts and contacts, which in turn will make it easy for health officials to track down others they might have been in contact with.
That being said, it is unclear when exactly it will launch, but when it does, it should help to provide a pretty big boost in helping people at home diagnose themselves without having to go to a hospital.
Filed in . Read more about Coronavirus, Covid-19 and Health. Source: seattletimes