Coronavirus: Bill Gates’ at-home testing programme is already testing 300 people a day

‘There’s a lot that we still don’t know’

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is funding a coronavirus at home test programme for the Seattle area, that is already testing 300 people a day in the city.

The initiative is being used to help researchers understand how the virus spreads through communities, according to CBS News.

The programme, named the Seattle Coronavirus Assessment Network (SCAN), is testing people with or without symptoms, in order to track the virus and provide Covid-19 test results.

SCAN collects information such as age, race and zip code, and the researchers are aiming to find out the effectiveness of social distancing measures and school closures.

If Seattle residents sign up to the scheme, they will be sent a self-swab kit and given access to the SCAN portal, where they will be able to see their results while at home.

In a blog post on his website Gates Notes, that was published on Tuesday, Mr Gates said research alongside testing is needed to help tackle the pandemic.

“In any fight, it’s important to know your enemy. Unfortunately, in our battle against Covid-19, there’s a lot that we still don’t know,” he said.

“More testing, of course, will help us answer them. But with tests in short supply in many parts of the world, including the US, it is impossible to test everyone — at least for now.”

He added that the test has been specifically made for home use, to allow residents to continue social distancing measures and to make sure they do not put others at risk by travelling to a testing centre.

“The key advantage of this at-home testing approach is that people don’t need to go to a clinic, where they risk exposing themselves or others to infection,” he said.

SCAN was developed from a flu surveillance programme that was initially set up in 2018, to help track the spread of respiratory illnesses.

When the first case of coronavirus in the US was detected just outside of Seattle, SCAN was created in partnership with King County’s public health agency to specifically track Covid-19.

The 64-year-old confirmed that the programme is not aiming to replace already existing medical care, but is being used to help research the spread of the outbreak.

Last month, Mr Gates criticised the testing system in the US, and said that getting quick access to a test depends on “who you know.”

“This focus on the number of tests understates the cacophony of the mistakes we have made in our testing system,” he told CNN.

“The access to that testing system is very unequal. The wrong people are being tested and any time you don’t get results in less than 24 hours, the value of the test is dramatically reduced,” Mr Gates said.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now more than 1.3 million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 84,136.