The White House on Monday said America’s coronavirus-testing is in far better shape and the administration is ready to work with governors to meet their diagnostic demands, pledging to “dramatically” increase the number of tests performed across the nation.
The guidelines are designed to help states and grease the path to reviving their economies amid the pandemic.
Members of the coronavirus task force said they will marshal the public and private sector to expand rapid testing at places like CVS and Walgreens, tap unused lab capacity and make sure governors have the supplies they need, such as swabs, to check people for the virus.
The guidance also calls for identifying new clusters of cases, isolating people who might have been exposed and expanding the use of “serological” tests that check for antibodies, signaling a more collaborative effort than previous calls for governors to figure out a way forward.
“We’re deploying the full power and strength of the federal government help states, cities,” Mr. Trump said from the White House Rose Garden. “We want to get our country open. The testing is not going to be a problem at all. In fact, it’s going to be one of the great assets we have.”
Mr. Trump said there’s “a hunger for getting our country back, and it’s happening.”
“The testing is not going to be a problem at all,” he said. “In fact it’s going to be on the great assets we have.”
The president said the nation grieves, however, for those it has lost, as U.S. cases of COVID-19 neared 1 million and the death toll exceeded 55,000.
“Things are moving along — really a horrible situation that we’ve been confronted with but they’re moving along,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump pointed to corporate efforts as a sign of progress in the fight. For instance, CVS President and CEO Larry Merlo said it is expanding its testing operation, which checks 35,000 per week, at the start of May. It will start testing operations in up to 1,000 pharmacies, using its drive-thrus and parking lots.
The administration has faced criticism for early stumbles in testing and its failure to meet prior benchmarks for expanded testing. Vice President Mike Pence said the gap between promises and results was due in part to the gulf between having the tests and being able to process them.
The U.S. has performed 5.4 million tests, or far more than any other nation, Mr. Trump boasted Monday.
