Mar 09, 2020 10:51:00

The Gates Foundation will soon provide `` a test kit that can check for new coronavirus infection by yourself ''

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation , a charitable endowment founded by Microsoft co-founder and former chairman Bill Gates and wife Melinda, will provide ' New Coronavirus Testing Kit ' in Seattle, USA within weeks The local newspaper Seattle Times reports.

Gates-funded program will soon offer home-testing kits for new coronavirus | The Seattle Times
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/gates-funded-program-will-soon-offer-home-testing-kits-for-new-coronavirus/

According to the Seattle Times, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's new coronavirus test kit uses a swab in the nose of a suspected person to take a sample and send it to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's laboratory in Seattle. When you send it, you will know the test result within 1-2 days after sending it. The test results are automatically shared with the Seattle health authorities. If you have a new type of coronavirus infection (COVID-19) , you can use your online form to answer questions such as your own activity history and contact information, and send information at home to prevent the spread of the new type of coronavirus. It can be provided while staying.

'We are currently only able to handle 400 tests per day at this time, but in the future we will only be able to handle one more,' said Scott Dwell, leader of the New Coronavirus Control Division at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We will be able to handle thousands of inspections a day. ' Regarding the timing and area of the test kits, “The project is proceeding as quickly as possible, but it is uncertain when the test kits will be available.” “At the time of launch, the service area is limited to Seattle, We will expand to the whole state after that. '

King County, Washington, including Seattle, has 71 cases and 15 deaths as of March 7, 2020. King County is thought to have a large number of potential infections, and Trevor Bedford of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center said that the actual number of infections was about 600 as of March 5.

Estimated . Dowell said that the number of potential infections could increase to 30,000 by the end of March, and as a countermeasure, `` identify people infected with the virus and safely isolate it. It is important to treat. ' He emphasized the need for specific required test kits for infected individuals.

This test kit was provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which provided $ 20 million (about 2.1 billion yen), a study by the University of Washington investigating how infectious diseases such as influenza will spread Based on the project '

Seattle Flu Study '. The test methods for infectious diseases developed in this study will be useful for the new coronavirus test kit.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's new coronavirus test kit is not available to all Seattle citizens, and you must first answer questions about your medical condition online. The system allows a test kit to be requested only after it is determined that the patient may be infected with the new coronavirus. After the request, the test kit will arrive at home within two hours.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced on February 5, 2020 that it would contribute up to $ 100 million (approximately 10 billion yen) for the detection, isolation, and treatment of new coronavirus countermeasures. The company announced that it will make an additional $ 5 million (about 520 million yen) on April 4. The Seattle Times reports that the Foundation has used most of the additional funding to develop the test kit. 'There is still a lot to be solved, but this test kit has the potential to change the spread of the new coronavirus,' said Dwell.