From Florida to Illinois, a demand for more virus tests

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Florida on Monday will begin phase one of reopening, while in Illinois, an ongoing statewide stay-at-home order prompted angry protests last week.

The two states illustrate the divided response to the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.

But despite one state moving toward easing restrictions and another holding the line, both state governors agree one one thing: the need for more diagnostic testing.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) FLORIDA GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS, SAYING:

"We are continuing to stress the need for testing and building a really strong infrastructure."

Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis on Sunday spoke in Daytona beach and said that he's trying to expand testing to pharmacies across the state.

And on CBS News, Illinois Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker said that his state lacked the raw materials needed to perform enough tests.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) ILLINOIS GOVERNOR J.B. PRITZKER, SAYING:

"It's not enough. It's not enough today. But again, as a state, we're having to go out in the market and compete with every other state to get swabs and VTM and reagents. I wish that the White House had stepped up earlier, and I think they still have the opportunity to do so."

The shortage of diagnostic tests has hampered the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 67,000 people in the country and infected more than 1.1 million.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW YORK CITY MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO, SAYING:

"We do not have all the testing capacity we need. This is still one of the biggest problems in this whole horrible crisis we've been through."

New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio on Sunday castigated the federal government for what he called its failure to lead in providing enough coronavirus tests.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW YORK CITY MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO, SAYING:

"We do not have the lab capacity we need to get to the kind of level of testing tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands day, is what we really need. So, this is going to be a struggle."

New York City is the epicenter of the outbreak in the U.S., with more than 175,000 cases and over 17,000 deaths.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP SAYING:

"We've launched the most ambitious testing effort, likewise, on earth."

U.S. President Donald Trump has touted the number of tests as a success.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP SAYING:

"The United States has now conducted more than 5.4 million tests, nearly double the number tested in any other country, more than twice as much as any other country."

But a Harvard University study published last week says that number - roughly five million since the outbreak so far - is the amount needed per day to deliver a "safe social reopening" of the U.S. economy.