New test for COVID-19 costs just $20, gets results in 10 minutes

MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee company has built a unique way for you to get a COVID-19 test. 

"This product could be a game-changer on several different fronts," said Hank Kohl of MPE Incorporated.

The coronavirus test of the future will not require sticking something up your nose. Instead, get ready to feel a stick.

"Currently, we're addressing COVID with inexpensive, rapid, tests such as these ones," said Alexander Kempe of Novir.

It looks like a pregnancy test. But instead, it detects COVID antibodies in your blood.

"The testing strategy that has been deployed so far has been driven from the lab," Kempe said.

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Designed by a company called Novir, the new test is being built by a Milwaukee-based manufacturer called MPE Incorporated. On Wednesday, Sept. 2, roughly 130 employees were getting their fingers pricked to see if they are clear to work.

"We are able to bring that manufacturing process into what we already had existing, and rapidly deploy," Kohl said.

In order to take a standard COVID test, you drive to a clinic, get the test done, wait a couple of days, and it can ultimately end up costing a lot of money. This new COVID test costs $20 dollars at retail, and it only takes ten minutes to get you your results.

"This can be used in the home, only a few months from now, and we're working on trying to get that through," Kempe said.

While it will be a few months before Novir is approved for use at home, it has been cleared for use at work. Learn more about Novir by CLICKING HERE.