To Speed Coronavirus Treatment, Some Mass. Scientists Are Designing Faster Tests

“It’s a rapid test like a pregnancy test,” he says. “This would probably be an oral swab of some kind. Anyone can do it, and it’d be really cheap as well.”

While the CDC test kit works by searching for the presence of the virus’ genetic code, Sia’s test strips would detect viral proteins. If the virus is in someone’s oral swab, then those viral proteins would react with a chemical in the test strip, and a line would appear on the paper.

https://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2020/02/28/coronavirus-diagnostic-testing