The tests will go out to states based on their population and can be used as governors see fit, but the Administration encourages states to place a priority on schools.
A senior Administration official with knowledge of the plans told AP that 6.5 million tests will go out this week and that a total of 100 million tests will be distributed to governors over the next several weeks.
The official said the Administration is emphasising testing in schools because it's important to the physical, social and emotional development of students to be back in classrooms to the degree that's possible.
The Abbott Laboratories tests would allow teachers, for example, to be tested on a weekly basis, or for parents to know whether their symptomatic child has Covid-19, the official said.
In some cases, states could undertake some baseline surveillance, like testing a proportion of students per week or per month to make sure that the incidence of Covid-19 is low.
The tests will come from a previously announced supply of 150 million ordered from Abbott. The company's rapid test, the size of a credit card, is the first that does not require specialty computer equipment to process. It delivers results in about 15 minutes.
Rapid, convenient testing is considered essential to reopening the US economy. But the effort has been plagued by problems since the earliest days of the outbreak.
- AP
