The Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency authorization to the country's first COVID-19 breathalyzer test.

John Redmond is with InspectIR Systems, one of the cofounders of the test. Redmond says it works is by taking a medical analysis of a person's breath through a one-time-use cardboard straw. The process was demonstrated virtually at the company's headquarters in Texas on Thursday.

The COVID breathalyzer test, which is administered by a licensed health care professional, takes about three minutes for results. According to FDA, the device had a 99.6% accuracy rate in determining negative covid results and 91.2% rate for positive cases.

However, for positive results the FDA recommends following up with a PCR test.

Redmond says the device will likely be used to test in indoor venues, public housing and other populated areas.

The company is now working on distributing its COVID breathalyzer, which it says could take several more months to hit the market.