NC to receive millions of rapid COVID-19 antigen tests
By WECT Staff | October 26, 2020 at 5:23 PM EDT – Updated October 27 at 12:00 AM
RALEIGH, N.C. (WECT) – North Carolina will receive 3.15 million Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 point of care antigen tests from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for distribution by the state.
The rapid point of care antigen tests can diagnose coronavirus infection in fifteen minutes.
“To facilitate the continued re-opening of North Carolina schools, businesses and economy, the Trump Administration has prioritized scaling up the state’s point of care testing capacity by making this $760 million national investment in BinaxNOW tests,” said Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brett Giroir, MD.
As of October 26, over 1.32 million point of care antigen tests have been shipped to North Carolina; to date, these have been distributed to counties with a positivity rate greater than five percent. The state recommends focusing the tests on schools and high-risk congregate settings.
In August, over half a million of these tests were issued directly to congregate care settings in North Carolina.
Copyright 2020 WECT. All rights reserved.
