Adm. Brett Giroir, the U.S. coronavirus “testing czar,” on Tuesday said a new target of getting states to test 2% of their residents per month is a minimum “floor” and that many states will exceed that total.
“The 2% really is sort of a minimum floor — there are many states that want to do 4%, 6%, 8% every month. … We have the supply chains figured out,” said Adm. Giroir, assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services. “We know what we can supply the states, so we really are much more sophisticated.”
The White House on Monday released new testing guidelines with a goal of expanding capacity in concert with the states and getting at least 2% of residents tested per month.
Some experts have said the U.S. should be testing at least 1% of the country’s population per week — or more — to truly get a handle on the scope of the virus.
It’s estimated that there have been more than 5.5 million tests conducted in the U.S.
“This is a massive amount of tests, and in many states we’re going to be doing 4%, 5%, 6%, 8%, according to the state guidelines,” Adm. Giroir said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “We know for a fact that we can supply those states with the full supply chain — the swabs, the media, the testing capability — to achieve those goals.”
He also said particularly in the summer, which is outside of flu season, testing isn’t everything.
“So tests are absolutely important — they’re critical, they will be expanded dramatically as we reopen, but it’s not the only tool we have in the toolbox,” Adm. Giroir said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.