The Trump administration said Monday it is distributing $11 billion for states to ramp up coronavirus testing “at a dramatic scale” and vowed to meet governors’ demands for the supplies they need to collect specimens.
Congress approved the money for COVID-19 diagnostics in a coronavirus relief package known as the CARES Act.
The country is now “in a place where everyone has what they need,” a senior administration official said, pledging to send enough swabs and other supplies to meet each state’s testing quota in May.
Officials highlighted the total number of U.S. tests performed — about 9 million, the most of any country — and said states should prioritize vulnerable populations, including staff and residents at nursing homes and workers at the meat-processing plants that Mr. Trump ordered to remain open.
The Food and Drug Administration also approved an antigen test that can detect the virus’s proteins in a person’s nose.
Officials said that within “a couple of weeks,” the Quidel Corporation will put 300,000 tests on the market every day, meaning there will be 9 million more tests in circulation per month.
President Trump is defending and promoting his pandemic response amid complaints he is prodding states to reopen their economies without giving them adequate support or guidance.
Widespread COVID-19 testing is considered the critical piece in reopening America amid the pandemic, which has infected over 1.3 million people and killed nearly 80,000 in the U.S.
The diagnostics root out who is carrying the disease — especially those who don’t show symptoms — and make sure they are isolated for a sufficient period instead of spreading it around.
Recent cases of COVID-19 at the heavily secured White House, however, threaten to undercut Mr. Trump’s push to get American life back to normal.
One of Mr. Trump’s valets, a Navy employee, tested positive and so did Katie Miller, spokesperson for Vice President Mike Pence.
Top government officials involved in the pandemic response are self-isolating at home as a precaution because they were potentially exposed during White House meetings.
