Government Is Buying Massive Numbers of Accurate, Cheap Covid Tests Anyone Can Do

United States Makes $231.8 Million Deal With Australian Company 

$30 home COVID test is said to be 96% accurate, takes 15 minutes. (Photo, Ellume)

Testing To Become Quick & Easy

As businesses, families and schools move forward into 2021, the ability to test for the Covid-19 virus is rapidly becoming cheaper, easier, more accurate, and faster. Waiting for hours in a long line of cars for a Covid test (followed by days of waiting before you're notified of the results) should become a thing of the past within just a few months from now. 

 

On a practical level, quick testing will improve the economy. For example, it will allow much higher passenger confidence if everybody takes a 15-minute Covid test before boarding an airplane to come to Alaska. 

 

It will also be helpful convincing people to go on cruise ships, which have a known track record of Covid transmission.   

 

Test Will Send Accurate Results To Your Cell Phone In 15 Minutes
...To Be Made In USA

The United States Government has opened the door to home testing for COVID-19 by committing funds to a fast, reliable testing system. The Defense Department has contracted with an Australian firm to construct a manufacturing plant in the U.S. that will produce over 500,000 home use tests per day. The company, Ellume, announced the deal on Monday, February 1st, 2021.

Tests will be available for $30 or less and will use a short nasal swab. The system uses a  digital analyzer and is linked to a smartphone app. 

A total of 8.5 million tests will be provided to the U.S. federal government, and the Australian company will deliver 100,000 tests a month to the United States until the manufacturing facility is finished in America, Ellume said.

The Australians say that when it is fully operational, the U.S. facility will produce up to 19 million tests per month. The first shipments of tests will come to America this month, in February.