President Donald Trump holds a 5-minute test for COVID-19 from Abbott Laboratories. Photo Credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Eleven additional Abbott testing machines were received by the V.I. Department of Health (D.O.H.) on Monday as part of a continuing equipment distribution program from the V.I. Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA) in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Health and Human Services, VITEMA has announced.
VITEMA said Abbott Laboratories received emergency use authorization from the USEDA in March to distribute the testing machines nationwide. The machines are a result of a federal grant awarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at the bequest of VITEMA.
The Abbott testing machines are the fastest available molecular point of care tests, delivering positive results in as little as five minutes, and negative results in thirteen minutes.
“Testing remains a crucial step in controlling the novel COVID-19 pandemic in the territories”, stated VITEMA Director Daryl Jaschen. To date 16,505 of the Virgin Islands population has been tested.
The territory has recorded 16 Covid-19 related deaths to date, according D.O.H. Over 1,444 cases have been confirmed positive, with over 1,000 of those cases being reported by D.O.H. as recovered.
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