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.”

‘Stop, Stop, Stop, Stop’: Watch Beyonce’s Alarmed Response After Concert Stunt Goes Awry

Bessent says DOGE, not Musk, was popular in taunt of ex-Trump adviser’s new ‘America Party’

Tennis Legend Rips Into Hollywood’s ‘Johnny Come Lately’ After He Attacks JK Rowling

ICE Facility Attacked, Officer Shot: Trump Admin Vows ‘Zero Tolerance’ Response

Jewish group slams Democratic NYC mayoral hopeful over ‘sick’ mockery of ‘sacred’ traditions

NYC mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani’s professor father claimed Hitler inspired by Abraham Lincoln

NY Dem says he ‘disagrees’ with Mamdani, makes comparison to Trump

Camp Mystic director dies while trying to save kids during Texas flooding

Unprecedented Texas Flood Devastates Locals, Death Toll Climbs to 59 in Just One County

Johnson says megabill will be ‘jet fuel’ for economy; teases 2 future bills within next year

Trump spending cuts, his approach to climate change attacked as catalyst of catastrophic Texas flooding

Meet the Future of the Democratic Party: A Deep Dive on Zohran Mamdani

Mother Nature steals the show as lightning sets off Florida fireworks display

‘Pride’ Group Founder Hounded JK Rowling Over Men in Women’s Sports: Now He’s in Jail for Child Sex Crimes

Red states consider ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ spinoffs as WH urges them to follow DeSantis’ lead: ‘Lots of bears’

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.