The city of Detroit began testing its first responders, bus drivers and health care workers for COVID-19 on Thursday, using new rapid testing kits that produce results in about 15 minutes.

Detroit is the first city in the country to begin using the kits from Abbott, a global health care company based in Lake County, Illinois, Mayor Mike Duggan has said.

The innovative testing kits will allow quarantined police officers and other first responders who test negative to return to work faster. Otherwise, they would have had to remain quarantined while waiting days for test results.

"This is the game changer we have been waiting for," Duggan said Thursday at his daily media briefing.

The city spent $377,049 on Abbott testing kits, instruments, control swabs and bar code readers, according to the city's purchase order dated March 29. The purchase order did not specify quantities for the equipment, but a Duggan spokesman said the city bought 5,000 kits.

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The rapid test kits are part of Detroit's massive testing effort to contain the spread of COVID-19. Metro Detroit is among the country's hardest-hit regions. The city, as of Thursday, had 2,860 positive cases and 97 deaths. Hundreds of police officers have been quarantined and 91 members of the department, as of Wednesday, have tested positive.

Abbott specializes in diagnostics and medical devices. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on March 27 approved the use of Abbott's ID NOW platform to detect COVID-19. The devices are about the size of a toaster.

Duggan spokesman John Roach said he does not yet know whether the city is planning to buy more rapid testing kits to use on residents.

The equipment is useful in outbreak hot spots, Robert Ford, Abbott's president and chief operating officer, said in a statement released upon the FDA's approval.

"With rapid testing on ID NOW, health care providers can perform molecular point-of-care testing outside the traditional four walls of a hospital in outbreak hot spots," Ford said.

A company spokeswoman reached on Thursday confirmed only that the rapid testing equipment had been shipped to Detroit.

Detroit continues to offer drive-through testing for residents and others who have a doctor's prescription at the State Fairgrounds site near 8 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue. About 600 people were tested on Wednesday. Duggan said daily testing could reach 1,000 residents.

The city is in talks with local transportation services to arrange rides for Detroiters who don't have a car. A deal could be reached by Friday, Duggan said.

"We're going to keep going until we get everybody in this city to have equal access to testing," he said.

The city's coronavirus website has more information about how to get tested and how to find a doctor accepting new patients, those with and without insurance.

Contact Joe Guillen: jguillen@freepress.com