Rapid Bedside COVID-19 Test Gives Results In Two Hours, Not Twenty

A new, rapid, bedside test for COVID-19 delivers results in less than two hours.

UPI reports a new study says such a quick turnaround means appropriate treatment can start earlier for those already hospitalized because of their symptoms. The standard COVID-19 test swabs the patient's nose and uses polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, technology.

It typically takes over 20 hours to produce results.

The longer patients have to wait for results, the longer COVID-19 positive patients remain in non-COVID wards.

That furthers the spread of the disease.

The British researchers say the point-of-care test was more than 99% accurate at correctly identifying those positive for the novel coronavirus.