Only 5,000 Americans Have Been Tested For The Coronavirus So Far

Despite vows to drastically expand coronavirus testing, federal and state public health authorities have tested only 4,987 people for the coronavirus as of Tuesday morning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and numbers provided by all 50 states.

That count includes people tested by the federal government and by state laboratories. Because those laboratories may not always report people who tested negative for the coronavirus, the true number of people tested is probably somewhat higher.

That number stands in stark contrast to the promises made by leading members of the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force, who have variously asserted that 75,000 people would be tested by last week’s end and that laboratories across the United States would have the capacity to conduct 1.5 million tests by the beginning of this week.

Neither claim appears to yet be close to realized, angering some Washington lawmakers. “We are in a crisis, and there are questions about our preparedness and ongoing response efforts,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said on Tuesday morning. “I’m very concerned — and, I think, we all are — about our nation’s capabilities for coronavirus. Other countries have been testing thousands of people for weeks, but the U.S. is woefully behind the curve.”

DOJ says ‘no basis’ for civil rights investigation into Minneapolis ICE officer killing

GOP senator suggests Fed chair Powell resign now to dodge potential criminal indictment

House Democrats Flip, Join Republicans to Overturn Biden-Era Regulation

Minneapolis-area leaders condemn ICE, call for removal amid Trump deportation campaign

Suspected Venezuelan gangster in Portland CBP attack tied to shooting at apartment complex: police

Trump Issues Stern Mandate, Tells Tech Titans They Will Not Run Up American Utility Bills

Johnson: ‘No boots on the ground’ for Trump’s Greenland acquisition plans amid military speculation

Trump flips off Ford factory worker who yelled ‘pedophile protector’

Rubio says US can’t return 137 deported Venezuelans due to ‘delicate’ negotiations with Maduro’s successor

11 House Dems buck party to side with Republicans in reversal of Biden-era shower regulation

College basketball player gunned down on Nashville freeway, police hunting for suspects

‘Dilbert’ Creator and Right-Wing Commentator Scott Adams Dies at Age 68

Iran goes dark as regime unleashes force, cyber tools to crush protests

Afghan illegal immigrant who stabbed sister for being ‘bad Muslim girl’ arrested by ICE agents in New York

Lawmakers warn Philly officials against prosecuting ICE agents: ‘That’s not how America works’

The nation’s ability to test for the coronavirus was hampered early on because a test created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was found to have a contaminated reagent, meaning that one of its three markers — the one that would indicate a person was not infected — was not operational.

The CDC eventually corrected that error but also had to grapple with the fact that by keeping the coronavirus tests within its own purview, it was severely limiting the numbers who could be tested. It has since allowed private and university laboratories to conduct testing, while also vowing to stock public health labs with sufficient quantities of the coronavirus test.

Still, the lag is evident, robbing epidemiologists of precious days as they seek to contain the spread of the disease.

Private laboratories are expected to intensify their own testing efforts, but as of Monday morning, Mark S. Birenbaum, who heads the National Independent Laboratory Association, said he was uncertain of how many of his members had begun to test for the coronavirus.

“Many have not,” he wrote in a text message.

CDC spokesman Richard Quartarone said that as of Monday evening, the Atlanta-based public health agency had tested 1,707 people. On March 3, that number had been 1,200 people, which means the CDC has tested 507 people in the last week, or about 72 per day.