The United States has conducted approximately 51.7 million tests of Covid-19 and has recently conducted an average of approximately 770,000 tests per day, according to Admiral Dr. Brett Giroir, deputy secretary of health at the US Department of Health and Human Services.
There is currently a national positivity rate of 9.08% in the past seven days, he said during a briefing with journalists on Thursday.
“We are all very concerned about the outbreaks that are occurring across the country,” Giroir said, adding that they are particularly concerned about California, Arizona, Texas and Florida.
But, Giroir said that public health measures are beginning to make a difference.
“We are making progress,” said Giroir. The positivity rate is starting to level off, he said, and in some cases, it is starting to drop. The seven-day moving averages of cases are starting to drop, he said.
“No one is declaring victory over this,” added Giroir.
Giroir said that facial masks, physical distancing and good hand hygiene are important, especially at critical points that are experiencing an increase in cases. Hot spots require 90% or more of people to wear masks, he said. That, combined with the closure of bars and indoor dining, is “essentially the equivalent of shutting down the entire economy.”
Covid-19’s response team in the past two weeks has gone to 19 locations. The government is also sending teams to help with testing in nursing homes and opening a surge test site in Miami, Giroir said.
In tests: Giroir said the government wants to reduce test response time as much as possible and that pooled tests could help improve efficiency by 20-30% in laboratories. The government will also prioritize certain areas. It will put point-of-care tests in nursing homes that will improve response time there and better protect vulnerable populations.
There are currently 654 point-of-care testing machines in nursing homes. Over the next two to three weeks, the government will send an additional 1,700.
Giroir also said his department is working with manufacturers to better understand their production schedules for August. He expects around 51 million tests to be available, half of which will be used for point-of-care testing.
In September, there should be 65 million tests. Giroir said some of the other test supplies will remain “tight” as long as there is infinite demand.
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