Trump Admin Coronavirus Coordinator Says Less Than 2 Percent Testing Positive for Illness
Dr. Deborah Birx, the Trump administration’s coronavirus response coordinator, said Friday that only 1 to 2 percent of Americans being tested for the illness are showing positive.
Birx’s comments came during a news conference from the White House, which included members of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force as well as business leaders who are helping with the nation’s response.
Trump declared a national emergency at the event, which frees up additional federal money to be distributed to the states and localities dealing with the coronavirus outbreak.
The president announced that the CEOs of Walgreens, CVS Pharmacy, Walmart and Target, who were on-hand, have all agreed to allow drive-thru coronavirus text locations in their stores’ parking lots.
This is an impressive roll-out by @realDonaldTrump of CEO’s of major companies coming together to fight the coronavirus -while declaring a national emergency. The markets jumped 800+ points since this news conference started. A nation fighting a problem together–IS the message
— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) March 13, 2020
The drive-thru tests will be set up at “critical locations” around the country identified by public health officials, Trump said.
“We don’t want people to take a test if we feel that they shouldn’t be doing it,” he explained. “We don’t want everyone running out and taking it. Only if you have certain symptoms.”
Birx said that the nation’s largest medical testing laboratories — LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics — have been engaged in testing for the coronavirus across the country.
“I want you to know in South Korea they did have large number of tests available over the last several weeks,” Birx said.
“Their positivity rate is between 3 and 4 percent.”
In other words, of all the people being tested, 3 to 4 percent are found to have the coronavirus.
“With LabCorp and Quest’s expanding testing, their positivity rate is between 1 and 2 percent,” Birx noted.
This is what an aggressive response looks like.
Amb Deborah Birx: President Trump ordered an “entire overhaul” of “inadequate” existing virus testing approach.
pic.twitter.com/FcLDh7UxaR— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) March 13, 2020
According to Birx, Roche Holding AG received Food and Drug Administration approval for a new, faster testing system, “moving from request to development to approval in record time.”
The doctor said the federal government plans to set up a coronavirus screening website.
According to Business Insider, the website is being developed by Verily, a sister company of Google and will go live on Sunday night.
People can go to the website and fill out a screening questionnaire. The site will initially be available only to those in the San Francisco area, though Verily has plans to expand coverage.
If those filling out the form are found to have symptoms of the disease or risk factors, they will be directed where they can go to receive a drive-thru test.
The results will be available in 24 to 36 hours.
Trump offered words of encouragement regarding the coronavirus outbreak, saying, “This will pass through, and we’ll be even stronger for it.”
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