By Micah Maidenberg

Becton, Dickinson & Co. said Monday federal health regulators have signed off on its rapid test for Covid-19 under a special program designed to speed approvals of such products.

Becton said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency use authorization for a point-of-care test for Covid-19 that delivers results in 15 minutes.

The test, Becton said, can be used on its BD Veritor Plus System, a device that provides test results and is targeted for healthcare providers, lab workers in physician offices and others in the health sector.

Other companies with medical device businesses also have received permission under the FDA's emergency use program for point-of-care tests designed to detect Covid-19 on their diagnostic systems, including Abbott Laboratories.

Becton said its BD Veritor system, a bit larger than a mobile phone, is currently in use in more than 25,000 locations.

The company expects to have capacity in place to produce two million of the Covid-19 tests per week by the end of September.

The tests will offer "results in real-time at convenient locations like retail pharmacies, urgent care centers and doctors' offices," said Dave Hickey, president of Becton's integrated diagnostic solutions business.

On Sunday, more than 49,000 people in the U.S. contracted the coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com