NEW ORLEANS – A new testing lab at Tulane Medical Center promises to drastically shorten the amount of time patients have to wait to get results after taking a coronavirus test.

The new test uses a saliva and mucus samples to determine whether or not the person is infected. Results can come back in as little as four hours, according to Tulane.

“You want to know as soon as possible whether a patient has COVID or not,” Tulane Medical Center Laboratory medical director Dr. Byron Crawford said. “You want to get those who test negative out as soon as possible, otherwise it ties up physicians, health care workers and PPEs.”

The tests are run on a Cobas 6800 analyzer, a new device the FDA approved last month with an emergency rush authorization. 

Up to 200 tests per day can be processed. The test is available only to patients at Tulane Medical Center and University Medical Center.

“Hospitals need in-house testing to manage patients admitted with presumptive symptoms of COVID-19,” Crawford said. 

The Tulane University School of Medicine, the LSU School of Medicine, Tulane Medical Center, LCMC Health and Roche Diagnostics collaborated on creating the lab and the testing procedure and the materials needed to complete the tests.

Governor John Bel Edwards said the new lab at Tulane Medical Center has already helped clear up a backlog of commercial tests statewide, contributing to a massive jump in completed tests between April 1 and April 2.