Covid Screening Progress in NJ

Two new technologies being deployed in New Jersey as part of the fight against the coronavirus could boost those testing numbers enormously if they can perform. One comes out of a Rutgers University research center that uses a laboratory technique to make millions of copies of the COVID-19 nucleic acid. It can perform 10,000 tests a day using high-throughput, automated equipment. But instead of using nasal and throat swabs to obtain viral material, the analysis can be performed on saliva samples obtained by spitting into a tube — a far easier way to collect samples without relying on health care workers. Saliva testing would be a new development and would allow testing without the need of a medical provider to take the sample. RUCDR has also submitted an emergency use authorization request for a saliva collection method that will allow for broader population screening. Another is a test developed by Abbott Laboratories that its makers say can detect the COVID-19 virus in as little as five minutes.