Governor Andrew Cuomo says a COVID-19 test developed by SUNY Upstate Medical Center has been approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration.

The individual saliva swab test has been used by SUNY to test students across all its campuses.

This test differs from nasal swab tests because people can test themselves on their own by swabbing their mouths with saliva strips.

The FDA's approval of the test will also allow other labs both in New York and nationwide to test patients using this method.

SUNY Upstate has further developed the test into pool testing, which allows for about 10 to 25 tests to be analyzed at once. If the pool comes back positive, the new technology allows for rapid pinpointing of the positive test in the batch.

"From the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, it's been clear that testing is one of the most critical tools we have to slow the spread. The more you test, the more accurate a picture of the state's cases you have," Cuomo said."This is a perfect example of how New York's approach of partnering state institutions with the private sector is paying dividends and helping us fight the pandemic. I want to thank SUNY's talented team that produced this simple, quick and effective solution to conduct more testing, faster. We're glad to see it approved by the FDA and look forward to its use throughout New York and beyond."

"FDA approval of this game-changing COVID-19 test demonstrates the ingenuity of the State University of New York to solve pressing issues," SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras said."With this approval, the innovation developed by Upstate Medical and Quadrant Biosciences will be leveraged on a national scale. This quick, noninvasive testing protocol, which has already boosted SUNY's testing capacity to 120,000 tests per week, will now help communities across the country better pinpoint and contain COVID-19. It's further proof that New York State continues to lead the way in the fight against this vicious virus. I want to thank Governor Cuomo for his unwavering support by fostering public-private partnerships and his continued investment in innovation on our SUNY campuses, both of which helped make this possible."