The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is funding a project to deliver coronavirus testing kits to people's homes in Seattle and report the results immediately to healthcare professionals.

According to the Seattle Times, test results based on the nasal inhaler will be known within two days and health officials will be notified immediately if positive samples are available.

If the test is positive, the infected person will be asked to answer questions through an online survey to provide health professionals with information about his or her contacts.

“Although there’s a lot to be worked out, this has enormous potential to turn the tide of the epidemic,” Scott Dowell, who leads the coronavirus response at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation told the Seattle Times.

There is still no clear timetable for the launch of the project, as the foundation must complete the development of the assistive software and prepare a final questionnaire for those to be tested. According to Dowell, the foundation will be able to provide up to 400 coronavirus tests a day.

In an email to Fast Company, the organization clarified: “Our team has and will continue to actively explore ways that we can contribute to local response through the application of the study. While we’re working quickly with our partners to determine what’s possible, details of this support have not yet been finalized.”

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