ANNAPOLIS — President Donald Trump's administration is sending 1,820,000 State-of-the Art BinaxNOW tests to Maryland.
The rapid point of care tests, which can diagnose coronavirus infection in as little as 15 minutes, will be distributed at the discretion of Governor Larry Hogan to support testing K-12 students, teachers, nursing home patients and staff, higher education, critical infrastructure, first responders, and other priorities as he deems fit.
The Trump Administration has shipped over 136,000 COVID-19 rapid tests directly to congregate care settings such as Maryland nursing homes, assisted living facilities and to historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the state.
As of October 26 over 531,000 BinaxNOW tests have been shipped to Maryland.
“To facilitate the continued re-opening of Maryland schools, businesses and economy, the Trump Administration has prioritized scaling up the state’s point of care testing capacity by making this $760 million national investment in BinaxNOW tests,” said Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brett Giroir, MD. “Distributing these rapid tests directly to states is consistent with the Trump Administration’s successful, ongoing approach of testing the right person, with the right test at the right time, is working and the effort will continue until the pandemic is under control.”
Giroir also pointed out that testing does not substitute for avoiding crowded indoor spaces, washing one’s hands, or wearing a mask when not able to physically distance.
