- On June 30, the federal government plans to end funding and support for 13 coronavirus testing sites in five states, Talking Points Memo and CNN reported.
- The decision could especially harm Texas. The state has seven of those test sites and this week saw a record daily increase in new cases.
- President Donald Trump has backed comments that he wants to slow down evidence, arguing that widespread testing causes the US outbreak. USA It seems worse than that of other countries.
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On June 30, the US federal government. USA It plans to stop funding and supporting 13 coronavirus testing sites in five states, according to reports from Talking Points Memo and CNN.
The 13 affected sites are in Texas, Illinois, New Jersey, Colorado, and Pennsylvania. The federal government established them at the start of the outbreak to expand testing capabilities and take some of the burden off local and state governments.
Funding for these test sites is due June 30 and federal officials are said to have decided not to extend it.
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The reports come after President Donald Trump said over the weekend that high numbers of US infections. USA They were the result of widespread testing, adding that he had asked officials to start reducing the tests in response.
In a later tweet, he added, “Cases are increasing in the United States because we are testing much more than in any other country.”
“With smaller tests we would show fewer cases!” Trump tweeted.
—Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 23, 2020
While the USA USA They have conducted more coronavirus tests than any other country, lagging behind in terms of per capita coronavirus testing. According to Worldometer, countries like Iceland and the United Kingdom have evaluated more people per capita than the USA. USA
Texas would be perhaps the state most affected by the federal government’s decision. It is home to seven of the 13 affected sites and this week saw a record daily increase in new cases.
Rocky Vaz, the director of emergency management for the city of Dallas, told Talking Points Memo that he requested an extension of the test sites but was rejected.
“They told us very clearly that they were not going to extend it,” Vaz said.
Vaz said the city would likely need to hire private contractors to replace federal testing sites.
“The staff, the site, the tents, the generators, the kits, the lab work, the patient notification, all of that,” Vaz said. “These things cost money.”
