Abbott shares climb as US approves 15-minute Covid test        

President Donald Trump wears a face mask as he tours the American Red Cross national headquarters in Washington, Thursday, July 30, 2020. Picture: Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool

A 15-minute Covid test from Abbott Laboratories that will be priced at $5 (€4.25) has been granted emergency authorisation for use in the US, a breakthrough that could ease the bottleneck that has crimped much of the US's testing capacity.

The company’s shares climbed as much as 13% at one stage. The product, dubbed BinaxNOW, works without relying on laboratory equipment at a time when labs can take up to two weeks to produce results. It uses a nasal swab and a small reactive card, and it can be administered by a range of health-care workers, including pharmacists, at almost any location.