Coronavirus: More, Faster Tests, & Re-Using Masks

Coronavirus: More, Faster Tests, & Re-Using Masks

NFK Editors - April 2, 2020

This article is the second in a series about different ways people are working hard to help bring the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic under control.

Companies around the world are working quickly to help solve problems created by the new coronavirus, COVID-19. Recently, two big problems have been that there aren’t enough tests and that there aren’t enough masks.

It is very important to be able to test quickly whether someone has COVID-19. Test results can help doctors figure out how to treat a patient, and whether they need to be isolated.

It’s very important to be able to test quickly whether someone has COVID-19. Test results can help doctors figure out how to treat a patient, and whether they need to be isolated. Above is a kit used to test for COVID-19 in the US.
(Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.)

More importantly, when health experts know that someone has the disease, they can try to trace back, to find and help other people that person came in contact with. This can help to limit the spread of the disease.

Getting clear numbers of how many people have the disease also helps scientists predict how the virus might spread, and figure out the best ways to fight it.

Around the world, most countries haven’t been prepared to do enough tests. Germany can now test 500,000 people a week. The US has only recently tested 1 million people in total. Above, a drive-through testing station in Germany.
(Source: Henning Schlottmann [CC BY-SA], via Wikimedia Commons.)

But around the world, most countries haven’t been prepared to do enough tests. Even when tests did become available, they had to be sent off to a laboratory. It can take days to get the results back. In the US, the average wait time is still four to five days.

Many companies have been working hard to produce more tests. They’ve also been working to produce faster tests. A US company called Abbott Laboratories has been given permission to begin producing machines that can tell in about 15 minutes whether someone has the coronavirus or not.

A US company called Abbott Laboratories has been given permission to begin producing machines that can tell in about 15 minutes whether someone has the coronavirus or not. The machines, called ID Now (above), are small enough that they can be moved easily.
(Source: Abbott Laboratories.)

The machines, called ID Now, are about the size of a toaster – small enough that they can be moved easily. And best of all, the test materials don’t have to be sent off to a lab. The whole test happens on the machine.

Other companies in the US and Australia have created similar tests. One of the problems with these tests is that they only catch patients who have had the coronavirus for several days, and miss people who just got the disease.

With Abbott’s new machine, the test materials don’t have to be sent off to a lab. The whole test happens on the machine. One problem with these tests is that they only catch patients who have had the coronavirus for several days.
(Source: Abbott Laboratories.)

Early testing in the US was slowed because of strict government rules about what tests were allowed. These rules were designed to protect people. Normally, medical equipment and methods must be very carefully tested.

But the coronavirus crisis is so severe that governments are now agreeing to new ideas with less double-checking than usual. One area where this is true is in the re-using of protective gear like masks and gowns.

Because so many people have the coronavirus, supplies of medical gear like masks are running very low. Masks are generally used once and thrown away.

The US government has agreed to allow a special cleaning system made by a company called Battelle. The system can clean up to 80,000 masks a day so that they can be re-used. Each mask can be re-used up to 20 times. Above, masks ready to be cleaned.
(Source: Battelle.)

Now the US government has agreed to allow a special cleaning system made by a company called Battelle. The system can clean up to 80,000 masks a day so that they can be re-used. Each mask can be re-used up to 20 times. This will make the current supply of masks last a lot longer.

Two of Battelle’s machines are in use in Ohio. More machines will be sent to New York, Seattle, and Washington, DC.

NewsForKids.net has these COVID-19 resources:
• Overview of COVID-19
• Coronavirus Words Explained
• Collection of our articles on COVID-19
• Regular, detailed COVID-19 updates

Check Yourself

0/4

1. The article names two things that there aren’t enough of. What are they?

2. Testing people quickly for COVID-19 helps health experts control the spread of the disease.

True   False

3. The new machine from Abbot Laboratories can give test results in 15 minutes. What's one problem with it?

test materials need to be sent to a labit's too bigit's hard to moveit only works on people who've had COVID-19 for several days

4. Battelle created a cleaning system that allows people to re-use masks up to _______________ times.

How can early testing help prevent the spread of viruses like COVID-19?

ResetSources

www.theguardian.com
www.npr.org
www.theverge.com
www.msn.com
www.news.com.au
www.vox.com
www.npr.org
www.usatoday.com
en.wikipedia.org

Share:

Scientists have created the first gene-editing medicine made for a single patient. The patient – a young baby who was sick because of a problem with his DNA – is now greatly improved, and is expected to go home soon.

Doctors Say Vaccines Key to Fighting US Measles Outbreak

NFK Editors - Mar 18, 2025

The US is facing a serious measles outbreak, with over 300 cases reported across 14 states so far this year. That’s more cases in the first three months of 2025 than in all of last year. The rise in measles cases is connected to a drop in vaccination rates.