The global death toll from COVID-19 has surpassed 30,000, according to John Hopkins University, as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention issued a travel advisory for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, where the coronavirus outbreak has hit the U.S. hardest.
A new 15-minute coronavirus test is on its way to doctors’ offices and hospitals now, officials announced at Sunday’s White House Task Force briefing.
Admiral Brett Giroir said that Abbott Laboratories will be providing 50,000 of the tests per day, starting April 2.
Giroir said that “18,000 of these little toaster-sized machines” are in doctor’s offices and hospitals now.
He also said that the test is performed with a self-nose swab, unlike the less comfortable tests that require a swab to go far up the nasal passage.
As of the close of business Saturday, 894,000 coronavirus tests has been performed in the U.S., Giroir said.
