Trump officials unsure how many people tested for coronavirus
Top federal health officials on Saturday said they don't know how many people in the U.S. have been tested for coronavirus or how many will need to be in the coming weeks.
The health officials, in an untelevised briefing at the White House, also defended President Donald Trump's claim on Friday that anyone seeking a test can get one, even as state officials voice frustration with the availability of tests.
Federal government labs have tested specimens for 1,583 people, but the Trump administration does not have figures for the numbers of people tested at state and local labs, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn told reporters. They said said that 5,861 specimens have been tested across the country, but it's not clear how many people that translates to because each test requires multiple specimens and people get multiple tests.
The administration has previously struggled to communicate how many tests have been conducted. Azar last Sunday said more than 3,600 people had been tested, but two days later Anne Schuchat, a top CDC official, testified in the Senate that more than 3,000 specimens had been taken from 500 people a fraction of what Azar claimed.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-officials-unsure-how-many-people-tested-for-coronavirus/ar-BB10SYy6?li=BBnb7Kz
If this didn't involve people dying their incompetence would be funny. Unfortunately that's not the case.