Yesterday, Donald Trump announced his “plan” to reopen the country. In doing so, Trump attempted to shift blame for any resurgence of coronavirus to the states by letting states decide when to reopen their economies. As Trump pushes to reopen the economy, he is doing so at the expense of public health.
While Trump urges states to open their economies, a new Washington Post report has detailed just how adamantly Trump is refusing to increase testing for coronavirus, a step that experts across the board agree is absolutely crucial before the economy can start functioning again.
Here’s a look at Trump’s refusal to do his job despite calls from public health experts and elected officials’ calls to increase testing:
A New Washington Post Report Reveals Trump Not Focusing On Testing To Reopen Country
One Trump Adviser Said Trump Was Determined To Reopen The Economy, And Testing Was “Just Not His Primary Thought.”
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“Yet Trump routinely brags about how many tests already have been completed and complains about dire economic projections. The president is ‘determined to reopen the country. Testing is just not his primary thought,’ according to one of his advisers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid.” [Washington Post, 4/16/20]
Trump Has Been Unwilling To Invoke The Defense Production Act To Dramatically Increase The Number Of Tests Produced.
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“The government has been unable to compel test manufacturers to dramatically increase the number of tests produced, and Trump has been unwilling to invoke the Defense Production Act for that purpose. States are also still struggling with acute supply shortages for tests, including swabs and reagents, that Washington has not addressed.” [Washington Post, 4/16/20]
While Trump Refused To Use His Existing Authority To Increase Production Of Tests, The Trump Administration Abandoned Talks Of Testing Most Workers Before Reopening The Economy, Citing A Lack Of Tests.
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“For the last several weeks, health and other administration officials had been discussing having most workers tested for the virus before they returned to work, both to protect businesses afraid of becoming the sites of large outbreaks and to quickly identify and isolate infected people to prevent another wave of cases. But in the last few days, the strategy has morphed to prioritizing four key groups: health-care workers, food safety workers, those in nursing homes and people with chronic diseases — which would still amount to testing millions of people. The new strategy was driven by a realization that it would be impractical to test everybody, as well as a lack of available tests, said a senior administration official involved in the strategy.” [Washington Post, 4/16/20]
But Experts Agree That The United States Must Drastically Increase Testing Before Reopening The Economy
Former National Healthcare Preparedness Program Official Dan Hanfling Believes U.S. Testing Remains Far To Small To Consider Reopening The Economy.
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“The percentage of the U.S. population that has been tested for COVID-19, about 1 percent, remains far too small to consider going back to normal routines, said Dr. Dan Hanfling, who worked in the National Healthcare Preparedness Program during the Obama and Trump administrations. ‘I don’t think we’re near it. I don’t think we’re close,’ Hanfling said. Hanfling welcomed the guidelines issued Thursday and said the language was ‘appropriately cautious.’ But he said the recommendations are “highly dependent” on diagnostic and antibody tests’ being available. ‘And we must recognize that both testing capacities currently remain limited,’ he added.” [NBC News, 4/17/20]
Dr. Ashish Jha, Director Of Harvard Global Health Institute Says The U.S. Will “Need Federal Coordination And Federal Strategy” On Testing To Reopen The Economy.
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“It’s not going to be solvable by letting the market sort itself out or letting every state and company compete with each other,” Jha said. “You really are going to need federal coordination and federal strategy.” [Washington Post, 4/16/20]
Dr. Ashish Jha, Director Of Harvard Global Health Institute Estimates That The United States Should Be Testing About 500,000 People A Day.
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“The single most important tool we’ll need is an extensive testing infrastructure… Testing on this scale—about 500,000 people daily—is well within our capacity.” [Forbes, Dr. Ashish Jha, 4/8/20]
Infectious Disease Modeling Expert Dylan George Says The U.S. Is “An Order Of Magnitude Off” From Where It Should Be On Testing.
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“We are an order of magnitude off right now from where we should be,” said Dylan George, an expert in infectious disease modeling who advised the administration of President Barack Obama in combating the Ebola epidemic. “Testing is the perpetual problem here.” [NBC News, 4/17/20]
Harvard Epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch: Testing Is Too Behind To Know When Social Distancing Restriction Should Be Lifted In The United States
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“Testing is still too behind to know for sure when restrictions should be lifted in the United States, Harvard epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch told the USA TODAY Editorial Board on Wednesday.” [USA Today, 4/8/20]
Columbia University National Center For Disaster Preparedness Director Irwin Redlener: “Without Having A Lot More Capacity To Do Rapid Testing, It’s Not Easy To See How We’re Going To Start Going Back To Work.”
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“Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, told me the United States should be testing between 750,000 and 1 million people a week. ‘We’re not even close to that,’ Redlener said. ‘Without having a lot more capacity to do rapid testing, it’s not easy to see how we’re going to start going back to work.’” [Washington Post, 4/15/20]
NBC News: “Even The Most Conservative Recommendations… Call For At Least Doubling The Current Level Of Testing Now And Tripling It By The Fall.”
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“Experts disagree about how many tests would be required to get a handle on the outbreak, but even the most conservative recommendations from former officials like Scott Gottlieb — head of the Food and Drug Administration until last year — call for at least doubling the current level of testing now and tripling it by the fall.” [NBC News, 4/17/20]
In A White Paper For Harvard, Microsoft’s Divya Siddarth And E. Glen Weyl Estimated That The U.S. Needs To Test Millions A Day Before Reopening The Economy.
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“Other experts, like Divya Siddarth and E. Glen Weyl of Microsoft, say testing needs to ramp up to millions a day, to reach about 2 percent to 8 percent of the population, or even to tens of millions a day.” [NBC News, 4/17/20]
Four Main National Estimates From Harvard, AEI, CAP, And Nobel Prize-Winning Economist Paul Romer Estimate The U.S. Needs To Be Testing Between 2.6 Million And 160 Million People A Week.
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“There are at least four main national estimates, or potential benchmarks, that have been put forward: We summarize these in the table below and also include the share of the U.S. population that would need to be tested under each model (in a given week). As the table indicates, the models vary in their weekly testing target from 2.6 million to 160 million, accounting for 0.8% of the population for the lowest bound estimate to half of the population in the highest.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, 4/17/20]
Elected Officials On Both Sides Of The Aisle Say More Testing Is “Key” To Reopening The Economy
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC): “There Are Parts You Could Safely Begin To Reopen The Economy, But The Real Key Is Mass Testing. You Have To Have Mass Testing.”
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“The key to opening up the economy is mass testing,” Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), a Trump confidant. “There are parts you could safely begin to reopen the economy, but the real key is mass testing. You have to have mass testing. It has to be science-based.” [Washington Post, 4/16/20]
Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) Said The “Plain Reality” Was The Federal Government Had To Partner With States To Increase Testing.
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“‘It is the single best tool to inform decisions and to calibrate all of this,’ New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) said Thursday of testing. ‘This has to be figured out. I understand that this is a problematic area and the federal government’s not eager to get involved in testing. I get that, but the plain reality here is we have to do it in partnership with the federal government.’” [Washington Post, 4/16/20]
Governor Larry Hogan (R-MD) Said That Now Would Be The “Worst Possible Time” To Reopen The Economy And Said States Must Increase Testing Before Reopening.
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“Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) stated in no uncertain terms on Thursday that reopening the economy right now during the COVID-19 outbreak really isn’t an option, despite President Donald Trump’s wishes. ‘It’d really be the worst possible time for us to try to put more people out there and endanger them,’ the governor said during an interview on NBC’s ‘3rd Hour of TODAY.’ … However, there are several ‘building blocks’ that all the states need to attain before they allow non-essential businesses to reopen, according to Hogan: Increased testing, the ability for health experts to do contact tracing, procuring all the PPEs that medical professionals need and ensuring the hospitals have the overall capability to handle the outbreak.” [Talking Points Memo: 4/16/20]
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN): “It Is Really Hard For People To Know If They Can Go Back To Work Or Customers Can Go Into Stores Unless We Have That Testing.”
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“‘You don’t have to be an infectious disease doctor to figure out that the testing is going to be the gateway to making people feel safe and comfortable going out and reopening the economy,’ said Klobuchar, who was among several senators who raised the issue on a conference call Thursday with Trump. ‘It is really hard for people to know if they can go back to work or customers can go into stores unless we have that testing.’” [Washington Post, 4/16/20]