United States President Donald Trump announced that the federal Government will begin distributing millions of rapid coronavirus tests to states this week.
He is urging governors to use them to reopen schools for students in kindergarten through to the final year of secondary education.
The move to vastly expand US testing comes as confirmed new Covid-19 cases remain elevated at more than 40,000 per day and experts warn of a likely surge in infections during the colder months ahead.
It also comes just five weeks before the November election, with Trump facing continued criticism for his handling of the crisis.
Giroir demonstrates the new Abbott rapid #COVID19 test @WhiteHouse -- 100 million of which are shipping out nationwide. It looks easy and fast, but how sensitive & specific is it? No data regarding its accuracy.... https://t.co/jUfJQYTwXu
The tests will go out to states based on their population and can be used as governors see fit, but the Administration encourages states to place a priority on schools.
A senior Administration official with knowledge of the plans told AP that 6.5 million tests will go out this week and that a total of 100 million tests will be distributed to governors over the next several weeks.
The official said the Administration is emphasising testing in schools because it's important to the physical, social and emotional development of students to be back in classrooms to the degree that's possible.
So, after reading the Times article, which makes it sound like Trump is on the edge of financial ruin, and Dan Alexander's piece for Forbes about how he's probably not, it seems like the situation boils down to this: (1/4)https://t.co/UNUHBBIvCp
The Abbott Laboratories tests would allow teachers, for example, to be tested on a weekly basis, or for parents to know whether their symptomatic child has Covid-19, the official said.
In some cases, states could undertake some baseline surveillance, like testing a proportion of students per week or per month to make sure that the incidence of Covid-19 is low.
The tests will come from a previously announced supply of 150 million ordered from Abbott. The company's rapid test, the size of a credit card, is the first that does not require specialty computer equipment to process. It delivers results in about 15 minutes.
Rapid, convenient testing is considered essential to reopening the US economy. But the effort has been plagued by problems since the earliest days of the outbreak.
