PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon Health Authority has been notified it will receive a shipment of coronavirus testing devices designed to give positive results in as little as five minutes, and negative results in 13 minutes.
The state will receive 15 devices, with 100 cartridges per device, said Lauren Wirtis, spokeswoman with the Oregon COVID-19 Joint Information Center.
It is not clear when the devices will arrive or how they will be distributed.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization to Abbott Laboratories to begin using the device, which is about the size of a toaster. The ID NOW device is designed for urgent care facilities and doctor’s offices without complex lab testing.
The new technology comes as testing capacity expands in Oregon. 14,868 people had been tested for coronavirus in Oregon as of April 1, according to the OHA. 14,132 of those tests had come back negative.
Last month, Oregon struggled to get widespread testing off the ground.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown promised to ramp up testing after the state reached an agreement with a private lab and help from the federal government.
OHA data suggests that statewide testing has increased in recent weeks.
Several drive-thru testing sites have opened in the Portland-metro area, including a location at Ron Tonkin Field in Hillsboro.
The Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center test site is by appointment and only available for Virginia Garcia patients.
A similar site was temporarily set up in North Portland. One Medical, a national technology-enabled primary care practice opened a drive-thru site in a church parking lot.
“I think for now we do have capacity to test, especially for those folks that need to get testing done,” said Dr. Natasha Bhuyan of One Medical.
The One Medical drive-thru site is only for those who have an appointment and deemed at high risk for coronavirus.