Trump insists testing capacity adequate
WASHINGTON: Under fire for inadequate coronavirus testing across the country, United States President Donald Trump insisted yesterday that enough testing was available to allow more Americans to safely return to work even as the
White House, perhaps the world’s most secure workplace, scrambled to stem further infections in the West Wing.
‘‘It’s the hidden enemy. Things happen,’’ Trump said at a Rose Garden news conference when pressed about how the virus had breached his inner circle, despite safeguards unavailable to most Americans, including daily testing for the president and his top aides.
The president announced a plan to distribute $US11 billion approved by Congress last month to support testing efforts by states, with an emphasis on residents and staff of nursing homes, which have suffered the brunt of deaths in the pandemic. Nearly half of California’s Covid19 deaths so far are in eldercare facilities.
‘‘If someone wants to be tested right now, they will be able to be tested,’’ Trump claimed, a boast that is untrue in many communities. Roughly 9 million tests have been conducted since the crisis began, far short of what public health experts say is necessary to track and contain the coronavirus.
Admiral Brett Giroir, who leads the Administration’s testing efforts, offered a more modest promise.
‘‘Everybody who needs a test can get a test,’’ he said, with a focus on those who suffer symptoms or come into contact with infected people.
Trump’s hourlong news conference marked his latest effort to convince nervous Americans that it is safe to begin easing restrictions on commerce and public gatherings. Infections continue to rise or plateau in much of the country, and the death toll over the last two months has passed 80,000.
The message was particularly discordant as the White House became a cautionary tale about the difficulty of containing the virus. One of Trump’s military valets and a spokeswoman for Vicepresident Mike Pence have both tested positive in the last week, raising questions about how lessprotected Americans can stay safe.
For the first time, the White House ordered all who work in the building to wear masks except at their desks, and top aides, including Jared Kushner, Trump’s senior adviser and soninlaw, and Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services, wore them to Trump’s outdoor news conference.
Trump, who has refused to wear a mask, did not.
Polls show that more than half of Americans are not confident it is safe to end the lockdowns and return to work, despite the economic carnage. —
❛ It’s the hidden enemy. Things happen