Self-swab testing for coronavirus to be implemented this week, HHS assistant secretary says
From CNN's Jacqueline Howard
After the US Food and Drug Administration approved the use of self-swab testing for the novel coronavirus, it will be implemented this week, said Adm. Dr. Brett P. Giroir, assistant secretary for US Department of Health and Human Services during a White House press conference Sunday evening.
It was a very big thing that the FDA approved last week and it will now be implemented this week," Giroir said.
With this approval, people with suspected coronavirus can use a foam swab in their nose to collect a nasal sample that they then would put in a plastic bag and submit for testing.
Self-swab testing not only could be more comfortable for the general public, but Giroir said that it also eliminates the need for health care workers to change their personal protective equipment each time a test is performed.
"Instead of having a provider stick this all the way in the back of your nose, that's uncomfortable but it also requires PPE changes every time it's done," Giroir said.
"This not only increases the speed but it eliminates all those changes of PPE," Giroir said. "So we will be implementing that this week, which will increase speed but also save our precious resources as we build them up in the stockpile and out to hospitals."
