Diagnose COVID-19 in 45 minutes

Washington : The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorised the first-ever rapid test that can diagnose COVID-19 disease in 45 minutes.

California-based company Cepheid is manufacturing the rapid test kits which would start shipping in the coming week, reports CNN.

"An accurate test delivered close to the patient can be transformative -- and help alleviate the pressure that the emergence of the 2019-nCoV outbreak has put on healthcare facilities that need to properly allocate their respiratory isolation resources," Dr David Persing, chief medical and technology officer at Cepheid, was quoted as saying in the report late Saturday.

More than a quarter of Americans are under a semi-lockdown under orders from governors of five states. According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, the confirmed cases of new coronavirus in the US reached 26,747 on March 22, with 340 deaths. Only China and Italy have higher levels of coronavirus cases than the US now.

China has also started the first phase of a clinical trial for a novel coronavirus vaccine, records show, as the world's scientists race to find a way to combat the deadly pathogen.

The Chinese effort began on March 16 -- the same day as the US announcement -- and is expected to continue until the end of the year, according to a filing in the country's Clinical Trial Registry, dated March 17. Volunteers of the COVID-19 phase one trial have already started receiving the vaccine.