Quick Coronavirus Test Rolls Out on Wednesday

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A quick, 5 minute test for the coronavirus developed by a U.S. laboratory will begin shipping on Wednesday according to company officials.

Abbott Labs plans to begin churning out 50 thousand tests a day, beginning April 1st. The test uses a normal swab to detect evidence of the coronavirus genome, in as little as 5 minutes. A full analysis to rule out any infection, could take place in just 15 minutes according to the lab.

Abbott already has 18 thousand machines that process the test in place in hospitals and clinic across the U.S. and plans to produce more of the portable 7 pound devices. The rollout of tests will target the hardest hit areas of the nation, including emergency rooms, urgent care clinics and doctors offices.

The Abbott genome test is just one of several that are being put into production under emergency approval from the Food and Drug Administration.