Montgomery County has drastically reduced the time required to receive COVID-19 testing results by using a small diagnostic company that recently entered the nutritional DNA field, writes Jason Laughlin for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The equipment and tools Mako Medical Laboratories uses to test DNA for nutritional recommendations are also used to test for the coronavirus. With plenty of available capacity, the company has promised the county it would provide them with results within 36 hours. So far, it has been averaging a 12-hour turnaround.

The fast return of these results could be a huge asset in Montgomery County’s ability to perform contact tracing and ensure that asymptomatic people are not spreading the virus, according to Valerie Arkoosh, Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners and physician.

“This is why we went with them,” she said. “They indicated to us their intention was to get us results the next morning.”

County commissioners approved the contract with Mako for up to $16 million for a year. The number is an overestimation, based on the assumption that everybody tested will not have health insurance.

Read more about the testing at The Philadelphia Inquirer by clicking here.

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