What a Terrible Time to Cut Federal Funding for Coronavirus Testing
Social distancing seems to be working. Experts have revised the projected American death toll from coronavirus, down from 82,000 deaths by August to a still massive 60,000. But there&aposs still bad news to come. The U.S. is expected to have the highest death toll in the world in less than a week. Louisiana had a record-high 70 deaths on Tuesday, then again on Wednesday. New York hit its own daily high of 770 deaths this week. Nationwide, there are now 432,000 confirmed cases and 14,808 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins. And many labs set up to test for new cases are overwhelmed with patient samples and, in some cases, cripplingly short on supplies.
Widespread testing—a critical tool in fighting a pandemic—is still one of the biggest problems the country faces. But instead of expanded testing, the White House is taking the opposite approach. On Friday, the federal government will cut support for testing sites nationwide, forcing many cities and states to shut down some sites, according to NPR.
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In a statement to NPR, a Health and Human Services spokesperson downplayed the change, saying, "Many of the Community-Based Testing Sites (CBTS) are not closing, but rather transitioning to state-managed sites on or about April 10." But state-managed sites may not be equipped to handle the overflow of patients. Dr. Valerie Arkoosh oversees a CBTS in a Philadelphia suburb that has managed to test up to 250 people a day, and without federal support, that site will have to shut down. Arkoosh told NPR, "I am understandably disappointed that the supplies and federal contract for lab testing is ending just as we are heading into the surge here in southeastern Pennsylvania."
While previous administrations tried to organize a coordinated response to pandemics, the Trump administration has tried to shift responsibility to states, creating a state of chaos and confusion. Trump ignored warnings from his own advisers that a pandemic was likely, then waited almost two months after the first confirmed U.S. case before ordering any protective masks or ventilators. Trump later blamed governors for not being more prepared. And when some states have managed to get their hands on equipment without the Trump administration&aposs help, the federal government started confiscating those shipments with no explanation.
In fact, the White House seems extremely worried about overreacting to the coronavirus outbreak. According to The New York Times, government officials are even concerned about acquiring too many ventilators—a life-saving machine that&aposs in short supply and high demand in hospitals nationwide—because they might be left with an "expensive surplus" if fewer people than expected become dangerously ill.
But it&aposs difficult to know what the bare minimum will be until long after the pandemic is over. South Korea, for example, has made a shocking discovery: Coronavirus is reappearing in some patients even after they appear to be cured. It&aposs only been observed in 50 people so far, but health officials only worked this out because the government there has chosen to continue testing people even after they were quarantined. South Korea was already the gold standard for an effective national response to the outbreak, processing as many as 20,000 tests a day. To date, the country only has 204 deaths. But they achieved that because South Korea&aposs top priority has been getting the public health crisis under control with a comprehensive and coordinated federal effort, rather than nickel-and-diming every step of its response.
Originally Appeared on GQ
