The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is giving authorization to Rutgers University to use the first saliva test to detect coronavirus. The patient spits into a tube for the test. This matters because it's expected to decrease the risk of exposure for healthcare workers who currently take swabs from a person's throat for a sample.
But it could also increase the number of coronavirus screenings. The FDA says the new testing method should only be done under healthcare supervision and not at home. The tests will first be available in New Jersey at hospitals associated with Rutgers and for Middlesex County residents at a drive-thru testing facility in Edison starting today.
Meanwhile...Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley says intelligence has been looking into rumors that COVID-19 was started in a Chinese lab, but so far it’s believed the coronavirus is natural. He said intelligence officials were interested after hearing those rumors and began investigating. Milley says that so far the evidence is inconclusive, but it appears not to have started in a lab.
Where does the United States stand with COVID-19? At last check, there are more than 609-thousand cases across the United States – with just over 26-thousand patients succumbing to the illness – though nearly 50-thousand have recovered. Globally, the numbers stand at just over 1.9-million people infected by the virus – with more than 126-thousand dead. On the plus side, more than 493-thousand have recovered. And in case you’re curious? Just over 3.1-million Americans have been tested.
Source: The Scientist