Feds sent 102,000 virus tests to Texas. More are coming.
As state lags in virus exams, some officials call for more aid even as restrictions loosen
WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump says his administration is working to rapidly expand coronavirus testing so the country can reopen, data provided by the White House show that so far, about 102,000 tests have been sent to Texas.
That’s roughly a third of the tests administered in the state, which has ranked second to last in the nation in per-capita testing.
Providing the tests is one part of the federal response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Texas that the White House detailed for Hearst Newspapers as Trump pledges to double the number of tests his administration is distributing.
It comes as the president pushes back on criticism that he hasn’t done enough to help states combat the outbreak, especially when it comes to testing, which health officials say will be a central need as states including Texas begin to reopen.
Trump said Monday that testing for the disease has started to “absolutely skyrocket” and “will be doubling again very shortly.”
“We’re deploying the full power and strength of the federal government to help states, cities, to help local government get this horrible plague over with and over with fast,” Trump said.
The response includes millions of face masks, hundreds of thousands of gowns and more protective equipment sent from the national stockpile, as well as billions in funding authorized by Congress
But for many local officials in Texas, it all comes back to testing — much more is needed, they say, especially as Gov. Greg Abbott moves to reopen parts of the state economy Friday.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has said the city needs to be able to administer between 3,000 and 5,000 tests per day — at least three times the rate at which it now is testing.
“I know people want to open up. I got that,” Turner said Monday. “What is very, very important is the testing. That determines where this virus is and how prevalent it is and whether or not we’re getting our arms around this virus … it’s the testing for the city of Houston that we will continue to focus on.”
Abbott has called for Texas to up its testing to 30,000 a day as he allows his stay-at-home order to expire Friday — that’s more than twice as many as the 14,000 tests that currently are given in the state per day, on average.
Texas needs to be conducting 44,200 tests per day to reopen by the Harvard Global Health Institute’s recommendations,
according to three Rice University professors. The state’s oneday high so far is 17,469.
Dr. John Hellerstedt, who leads the Texas Department of State Health Services, said this week that the federal government has committed to “solving some of the supply chain problems that have been limiting some of our ability to test” and the state is ready to increase testing.
As of Tuesday morning, Texas had administered 300,384 tests. The federal government had sent Texas material for about 102,000 tests, according to the federal data. Most of those tests were sent to nine federally supported community-based testing sites, including four in the Houston area, one in San Antonio and one in Austin.
The Food and Drug Administration has issued 70 emergency authorizations for new tests, including eight for serological tests, which can determine whether someone has recovered from the virus and possibly developed immunity to it.
The administration says federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have “surged millions of new tests and supplies to hospitals, the Indian Health Service, and other testing locations across the nation.”
On the other hand, the administration has stressed that the federal government is only one source of testing, and says it has worked to make it easier for private companies to produce and administer tests as well.
Trump this week said pharmacies are starting to give tests on-site, which he said “is a very big deal.” He said his administration last week gave governors the names and addresses of private labs where they “could find additional tests.”
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“I know people want to open up. I got that. What is very, very important is the testing.”
Mayor Sylvester Turner
“Testing is not going to be a problem at all — in fact it’s going to be one of the great assets we have,” Trump said.
So far in Texas, testing has lagged behind the rest of the nation. Twenty-six states in the U.S. are testing at least twice as many people per capita — in some cases six times more — a Hearst Newspapers analysis published April 11 showed.
Lawmakers from both parties agreed more are needed. Congress
last week passed a spending bill that included $25 billion to boost testing efforts in the states.
“Every voice that I have heard across the nation is begging for tests, asking for more tests and asking the question why they have to wait and why they don’t have the tests,” said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston. “You open the country, and every scientist and doctor says you have to have a testing protocol, so you’re testing at least all those people who are going to be encountering people. Have we tested our postal workers? Have we tested our deliverers? Have we tested our restaurant workers?”
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, said the Alamo City is projected to reach the peak of new cases next week.
“Yet today, the Trump and Abbott administrations are testing way fewer Texans than the more than 45,000 daily tests recommended by public health doctors,” he said. “Do President Trump and Gov. Abbott really want people going to the movies this Friday night?”
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said the administration has “taken important steps to provide Texas with the support and resources it needs to combat this crisis” and he’s “confident that Texas is moving in the right direction.”
“But more is needed, and our work is far from over, especially when it comes to ensuring we have enough testing, a critical part of reopening our economy and helping Texans safely return to work,” Cruz said.
Abbott on Monday said retail businesses, restaurants, movie theaters and malls across the state will be allowed to reopen May 1 at no more than 25 percent capacity and more businesses could be allowed to open midMay.
Houston-area health agencies Monday detailed plans to step up COVID-19 testing, focusing on nursing homes and areas with majority-minority populations, communities that have been disproportionately affected by the virus. The city opened one new testing facility this week and the county opened two.
“We need more testing,” said Dr. David Persse, the health authority of the city of Houston. “That’s how we get ahead of the virus. Right now we’re still chasing the virus.
“People who are well-meaning, feeling totally normal are spreading the virus unknowingly. Every one of us should get tested.”