Media Coverage

President Trump claimed again on Friday that anyone who needed a coronavirus test “gets a test.” But from Washington State to Florida to New York, doctors and patients are clamoring for tests that they say are in woefully short supply, and their frustration is mounting alongside the growing number of cases around the country.[CR-LF][CR-LF]In California, where thousands are being monitored for the virus, only 516 tests had been conducted by the state as of Thursday. Washington health officials have more cases than they can currently process. And in New York, where cases have quadrupled this week, a New York City official pleaded for more test kits from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

New Hampshire’s state laboratories are able to do more coronavirus testing after receiving additional supplies from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state Health Department said Friday.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The supplies will allow the laboratories to test an additional 200 people, the department said.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Also, Quest Diagnostics, the world’s largest diagnostic testing provider, is expected to make testing available to patients through their healthcare provider as of Monday, the department said.

In a press conference late on Friday, Vice President Mike Pence said that the government will finally have the capacity to provide over 1 million tests for the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Joined by representatives of the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the vice president detailed the continuing efforts from the White House to coordinate a response to the spread of the coronavirus.

In a growing sign of how coronavirus is disrupting California, Stanford University said Friday night that it will move classes online for the final two weeks of the winter quarter.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Stanford also said large events would be "canceled or adjusted."[CR-LF][CR-LF]"The university is actively monitoring the local and global health situation and is taking precautionary measures in an effort to help limit the spread of infection," officials said in a statement.

Coronavirus testing capacity in Connecticut will grow significantly in the coming days with two private labs initiating testing, a move that is likely to help identify positive cases in the state.[CR-LF][CR-LF]By Monday, two companies — LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics — will be processing coronavirus tests in their Connecticut laboratories, the companies said Thursday. The state public health lab in Rocky Hill is currently the sole testing provider in the state.[CR-LF][CR-LF]That means possibly dozens or hundreds of tests a day will be processed in Connecticut, up from a maximum of about 20.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Connecticut has one confirmed case of COVID-19. On Friday night, officials said a New York nurse working at Danbury and Norwalk hospitals has tested positive for the virus.

As coronavirus continues its spread across the U.S., public health officials are racing to make more test kits available and laboratories are working around the clock to test for the virus that has killed more than a dozen people in the U.S. and infected more than 230. The federal agency in charge of testing efforts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is under fire for what one top national health official told CNN Friday were "missteps" that slowed efforts to contain the virus.

Three states now require insurers to limit out-of-pocket costs related to coronavirus testing, and more may soon jump on board. Tests administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for COVID-19, the disease caused by a new virus called SARS-CoV-2, are free. But many patients still face bills from related doctor’s appointments and hospital visits.[CR-LF][CR-LF]In Florida, a patient reported a staggering $3,270 bill after getting tested to see if he had COVID-19. A blood test confirmed he just had the flu, but then he was stuck with the bill; his catastrophic insurance plan refused to cover the balance, according to the Miami Herald.

The United States "desperately" needs more tests to screen for the new coronavirus, a public health expert told Congress on Friday.[CR-LF][CR-LF]"Testing capacity is not currently adequate, and we need more," said Dr. Lisa Maragakis, senior director of infection prevention for the Johns Hopkins Health System and an epidemiologist. "We need this as soon as we can have it."[CR-LF][CR-LF]Maragakis' remarks were part of a briefing on Capitol Hill by five experts from Johns Hopkins, which has been tracking the international outbreak.

The Trump administration has faced criticism over the availability of coronavirus test kits in the United States. Vice President Mike Pence has said any American would be able to get tested for the disease it causes, COVID-19 — but acknowledged this week, as the government raced to distribute tests, that the capacity wasn't there yet.[CR-LF][CR-LF]So what should someone do if they want to get tested?[CR-LF][CR-LF]According to the American Hospital Association, people who think they have the coronavirus should call their physician to see if a test is warranted. If so, they will direct you to an appropriate testing site.

The administration is working to quickly expand testing by making the kits more readily available to state and local laboratories across the country as the case count increases, particularly among patients who did not travel to China — the origin of the outbreak — and have no direct link to travelers.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Initially, the government limited the testing to only those exhibiting symptoms of the virus who had also traveled to China. The tests were only being performed in a handful of laboratories in certain states at first.