Adm. Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services, on Monday said everyone who needs a coronavirus test will be able to get one this week.
“Everyone who needs a test can get a test this week — if you’re hospitalized, if you’re a health care worker, if you’re elderly and have symptoms — but we’re not to the stage where tens of millions of people can get tests,” Adm. Giroir, M.D., said on NBC’s “Today” show.
He had been asked about a new inspector general’s report that said hospitals have indicated they’re struggling with a “severe shortage” of testing kits.
“There’s no question that testing is tight, but there are enough tests out there for people who need the test to get the test — again, another million-plus tests this week,” he said.
“We are not going to have tens of millions of tests this week, but we will have a million-plus tests, plus all the thousands of hospitals who do their own tests,” Adm. Giroir said. “That should be sufficient to take care of the load we’re going to see this week.”
Officials have warned that this week could be the worst yet for many parts of the U.S. in terms of coronavirus hospitalizations and coronavirus-related deaths.
“For New York and New Jersey and Detroit, this week is going to be the peak week,” he said. “Other cities, like New Orleans, will come a little later. … We’ll see some rolling peaks across the country as the next few weeks unfold.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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