Delaware To Receive 290,000 Fast Acting COVID Tests

Dover, DE – As part of the Trump Administration’s comprehensive national effort to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and to assist the nation’s Governors in doing so, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is sending 290,000 state-of-the-art Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 point of care antigen tests to the State of Delaware. The rapid point of care tests, which can diagnose coronavirus infection in as little as fifteen minutes, will be distributed at the discretion of Governor Carney to support testing K-12 students, teachers, nursing home patients and staff, higher education, critical infrastructure, first responders, and other priorities as he deems fit.

The Trump Administration has shipped over 23,000 COVID-19 rapid tests directly to congregate care settings such as Delaware nursing homes, assisted living facilities and to historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the state. As of October 26 86,000 BinaxNOW tests have been shipped to Delaware.

“To facilitate the continued re-opening of Delaware 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. “Distributing these rapid tests directly to states is consistent with the Trump Administration’s successful, ongoing approach of testing the right person, with the right test at the right time, is working and the effort will continue until the pandemic is under control.”

Giroir pointed out that testing does not substitute for avoiding crowded indoor spaces, washing one’s hands, or wearing a mask when not able to physically distance. “Combining personal responsibility with smart testing is a foundational pillar of the Administration’s national testing strategy.”