(Reuters) – Several major U.S. states are not responding to calls from federal health officials to reduce COVID-19 testing of some who are exposed to the virus, and are contributing to a widespread reprimand from the Trump administration leaders of public health.
Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey and New York are all planning to test asymptomatic people exposed to COVID-19, despite new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ) suggest that such tests may not be necessary.
“Current Texas guidance recommends testing for all close contacts of a confirmed case, as it allows for early case identification among people at higher risk of infection,” a Texas Department of State Health Services spokesman said. in a statement. “At this point, there is no planned change.”
California and New York made similar statements. The Florida Department of Health said asymptomatic testing would continue while the new CDC recommendations were being evaluated, and Texas also said it would evaluate.
The CDC said this week that people exposed to COVID-19, but not symptomatic, may not need to be tested, doctors and politicians shocked and accused asking the guidance was politically motivated.
Even before the CDC guidance, coronavirus testing in the United States had dropped. The United States tested an average of 675,000 people a day last week, from a peak at the end of July of more than 800,000 people a day.
Nationwide, cases have fallen five weeks in a row, but infections are resurfacing in the U.S. Midwest with four states rising overnight in cases on Thursday, when the U.S. death toll rose above 180,000.
The CDC had previously recommended testing of all people who had close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the state of New York would not stick to the new guidance and challenged the assertion that politics played no role in the change.
“This 180-degree reversal of COVID-19 test guidelines is reckless, and not based on science and has the potential to do long-term damage to the (CDC’s) reputation,” Cuomo said in a joint statement with the governors. of New Jersey and Connecticut, who also said their states would not follow the guidance of the CDC.
Admiral Brett Giroir, the Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), said there was no political pressure from the administration. He said testing asymptomatic patients too early could produce false negatives and contribute to the spread of the virus.
CNN and The New York Times reported Wednesday that U.S. public health officials have been ordered by senior members of the Trump administration to continue with the changes.
CDC Director Robert Redfield on Thursday issued a statement saying “anyone who needs a COVID-19 test can get a test,” but “anyone who wants a test does not necessarily need a test.”
Globally, many peoples advocate for early testing. The World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday that sources that allow people exposed to the novel coronavirus to be screened, even if they do not show direct symptoms of infection.
European governments have used broad tests and isolation to control the virus. France, for example, recommends that anyone who thinks they need a test get one and in Germany, people with close contact of 15 minutes or more with a person with COVID-19 are advised to take a test.
Report by Carl O’Donnell; Additional reports by Crispian Balmer in Rome, Matthias Blamont in Paris, Alistair Smout in London and Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt; edited by Peter Henderson and Lisa Shumaker
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