The Trump administration announced that federal funding and support for 13 coronavirus testing sites will end on June 30th even as the confirmed cases have spiked mainly in the American South and West.
What We Know:
- The 13 testing sites are spread across five states: Colorado, New Jersey, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Texas and were set up early during the outbreak to provide more testing and much-needed relief for hospitals. Colorado and Pennsylvania have one; New Jersey and Illinois have two; and there are seven in Texas, which has record numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases and climbing.
- A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson told NBC News the federal government is instead “broadening its community testing support to a more sustainable model, specifically: continued support of retail and pharmacy partnerships in more than 600 locations and offering COVID-19 testing at over 1,300 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) nationally.”
- This week, the U.S. broke its highest record with a surge of over 36,000 new coronavirus cases reported in one day. The average of new infections in 33 states is now higher than it has been in the past two weeks. For the first two months of the outbreak, the highest numbers were coming out of New York, but in the last two weeks, Texas and Florida are among the highest.
- The reports to end federal funding come after President Trump said over the weekend that he ordered a slow down of testing because more testing would mean more positive cases.
- “With smaller testing we would show fewer cases!” Trump tweeted.
Cases are going up in the U.S. because we are testing far more than any other country, and ever expanding. With smaller testing we would show fewer cases!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 23, 2020
- In a testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he disagrees with the president’s comments. “It’s the opposite. We’re going to be doing more testing, not less,” said Fauci, who has played a key role in the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic.
The administration has not said if there are plans to extend the federal funding and support for the 13 testing sites, after today’s record surge of coronavirus cases.
