Currents News Staff
One-hundred-and-fifty million rapid COVID-19 tests are now set to be deployed to all 50 states.
Scott Atlas, White House COVID-19 adviser and doctor says the tests won’t require any kind of machine.
“It’s very rapid,” Scott said. “This is not one of those deep swab things that people are reluctant to use.”
Brett Giroir from the White House Coronavirus Task Force says it will require drops of liquid and shares the process.
“It almost could not be easier,” says Brett. “It starts with six drops of liquid onto a piece of paper … ‘One, two, three, four, five … One, two, three, four, five … into the test, twist it three times. The adhesive is pulled off and you wait 15 minutes and that is the test.”
President Trump said 50 million tests will be sent to communities hit hardest by the pandemic.
“18 million for nursing homes, 15 million for assisted living facilities, 10 million for home health and hospice care agencies,” Trump says, “and nearly 1 million for historically black colleges and universities and also tribal nation colleges.”
Critics say this is only a small step forward.
“It’s probably not enough,” says Ashish Jha, doctor and dean of Brown University School of Public Health. “We need a lot more.”
“I would rather see 150 million a day not a month,” says William Haseltine, president of ACCESS Health International. “We need to be close to a time where everybody in America can have a rapid test for free from the government to test their family.”