Rapid tests for coronavirus, which can produce results in less than an hour, will allow Americans to attend packed sporting events in time for the fall soccer season, a senior U.S. health official said Thursday.
“We want to see Americans have a chance to have some normal experiences of enjoying life,” said Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, during a coronavirus hearing with the Subcommittee on Work Assignments, Health and US Senate Human Services, Education and Human Services Related agencies. “I think this should be possible.”
Sports fans and athletes around the world have been frustrated by the canceled games, as public health officials urge event-based companies to temporarily shut down as the coronavirus is rapidly spreading across the globe. world. As of Thursday, the virus has infected more than 10 million people and killed at least 516,970, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Collins told lawmakers that US health officials are preparing a point-of-care coronavirus test that can give results within an hour and be administered at sporting events.
“And I think the general sense is for athletic teams, you really need to know that, otherwise you’re going to have an outbreak that will wipe out the entire team,” he said.
Collins’ comment came weeks after White House coronavirus adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci expressed doubts about the National Football League he will play this year.
The NFL is reportedly optimistic: It may start its 2020 season amid the pandemic.
“Unless the players are essentially in a bubble, cut off from the community and testing themselves almost every day, it would be very difficult to see how football can be played this fall,” Fauci told CNN last month. “If there is a second wave, which is certainly a possibility and would be complicated by the predictable flu season, football may not happen this year.”
Scientists say the virus can be spread through respiratory drops that are passed when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It can also be spread on surfaces such as airplane seats and tray tables. Scientists and public health officials fear that fans in an enclosed space may be a breeding ground for the virus.
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