A new home test can tell whether you’ve got the flu or the coronavirus.

With cases of coronavirus steadily escalating during the traditional flu season, the Food and Drug Administration has authorized the first at-home test that can distinguish between the two viruses.

Early symptoms of infection with the coronavirus are easily mistaken for the flu. The new test offers a safe and convenient way for people — especially those at high risk from the coronavirus who may be afraid to go to a clinic — to test themselves at home.

The F.D.A. on Friday granted the test, the RC COVID-19 +Flu RT-PCR Test, made by Quest Diagnostics, an emergency use authorization.

“With the authorization of this test, the F.D.A. is helping to address the ongoing fight against Covid-19 while in the middle of the flu season, which is important for many, including the most vulnerable of Americans,” Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, the agency’s commissioner, said in a statement.

The test “allows patients to continue to quarantine while awaiting results,” he said. “This efficiency can go a long way to providing timely information for those sick with an unknown respiratory ailment.”

Adults over 18 with respiratory symptoms can obtain the test with a prescription from a health care provider. They swab themselves and mail the samples to Quest Diagnostics via an enclosed FedEx bag.

But the test may produce negative results if the specimen is not collected properly, the agency cautioned.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the flu vaccine for anyone older than six months.

— Apoorva Mandavilli The New York Times