Arizona to Test 250,000 First Responders, Healthcare Workers for COVID-19

(Reuters) - Arizona on Tuesday said it would provide coronavirus antibody tests for 250,000 health-care workers and first responders in the largest such testing in the United States to date.

The blood tests show who has been exposed to the novel coronavirus and successfully built immunity, the University of Arizona, which will produce and carry out the tests, said in a statement. 

With experts saying that up to 50% of people exposed to COVID-19 experience few to no symptoms, determining who has developed virus-fighting antibodies is critical to restarting social interaction, said Dr. Michael Dake, senior vice president for the University of Arizona Health Sciences.

"We're going to be the largest and certainly the first to undertake a statewide testing of all healthcare workers and first responders," Dake, who is overseeing production of the tests, said on a conference call.