On Saturday, the Federal Drug Administration approved a breakthrough saliva-based COVID-19 test capable of providing results within mere hours.
The Yale School of Public Health has come up with a test known as SalivaDirect. The newly developed test reduces turnaround times for results and should be available within weeks.
“This new development in diagnostic testing will provide us with lab results within a few hours,” said MLW’s chief medical physician Dr. Nelson Sweglar. “This particular test is going to help contain the spread and allow for rapid tracing and isolation in a more realistic manner.”
“We have been expecting this for a few months,” said MLW CEO Court Bauer. “This is going to dramatically change our ability to restart the league and assure the health and well-being of our athletes, staff and crew.”
Partially funded by the NBA, Yale’s SalivaDirect test has been used in the NBA’s bubble league this summer as a case study for the test. The results have proven the test to be highly sensitive, highly accurate (95%) and enabled the NBA to thrive in its restart.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg. We expect in a few months we will be able to receive results within around 30 minutes, perhaps without a lab being involved,” continued Dr. Sweglar.
SalivaDirect is expected to be available to MLW and other sports leagues within weeks.
As for MLW’s restart, Bauer remains cryptic albeit increasingly optimistic, “Stay tuned but we’re very close. Very.”
