After Gaps in U.S. Testing Draw Criticism, Officials Ramp Up Screening

[beijingwalker]

After Gaps in U.S. Testing Draw Criticism, Officials Ramp Up Screening
Washington State reported a sixth death from the virus, and a new case in New York suggested that the illness was spreading locally.
March 3, 2020, 9:55 a.m. ET

Governments seek to cushion social and economic impact of the virus.
With the virus continuing to spread to more countries on Tuesday and epidemics in Iran, Italy and South Korea showing no signs of slowing, governments worked to devise plans to combat the pathogen without causing widespread social disruption and economic upheaval.

In the United States, where there are now more than 100 confirmed cases in 15 states and six deaths linked to the virus, the Trump administration sought to project an image of control even as concerns emerged about early missteps, including defective diagnostic kits and highly restrictive rules for administering the tests, both of which may have contributed to the early spread of the virus.

Officials promised to speed up delivery of testing kits, saying that they hoped to distribute more than a million by the end of the week.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/03/world/coronavirus-news.html

 

[beijingwalker]

CDC drops coronavirus testing numbers from their website
The change comes as testing is expected to expand across the country

By Mary Beth Griggs Mar 2, 2020, 3:06pm EST

A tally of the number of people tested for the novel coronavirus disappeared from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website on Monday. The change was first reported by journalist Judd Legum on Twitter. The disappearance of the numbers comes less than a week after the first cases of the virus with unknown origins were reported in the US. In the past few days, six deaths due to COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, have been confirmed in Washington state.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1234536619270688768

Last week was the first week that six public health labs were supposed to be able to perform their own tests for the virus instead of waiting for results from CDC headquarters in Atlanta. On Saturday, the Food and Drug Administration expanded the ability of local labs and hospitals to perform their own tests. With the newly expanded capacity, the number of people tested is expected to rise rapidly this week, as is the number of confirmed cases in the US.

Previously, the CDC faced backlash from local and state governments that were frustrated by flaws and delays in the CDC-developed test. Many wanted to develop and perform tests on their populations, without having to send samples down to Atlanta. The limited availability of testing has been frustrating to public health experts because it means that getting an accurate picture of how the virus is spreading in the country is extremely difficult. Without a centralized number of tests on the CDC’s website, it’s also difficult for the public to tell how much testing has expanded or how much it will expand in the future.

The CDC’s website still lists the total number of confirmed cases in the US and the total number of “presumed positive” cases in the US. The latter are cases that have tested positive for the new coronavirus at public health labs across the country, but that haven’t been confirmed by the CDC. The CDC’s website now says “States are reporting presumptive positive cases independently; their case counts are the most up-to-date.”

The CDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/2/2...esting-numbers-website-disappear-expansion-us