President Donald Trump suggested to governors during a conference call Monday that since he "hasn't heard about testing in weeks" the problem with a lack of testing kits for coronavirus is no longer an issue.
But governors on the call did not agree, The New York Times reported.
"Literally we are one day away, if we don't get test kits from the CDC that we wouldn't be able to do testing in Montana," Democratic Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, can be heard saying on a recording of the conversation.
Bullock says officials in Montana are trying to do "contact tracing," where people are tracked down who have come in contact with those who have tested positive. But that has been hampered, he said, because "we don't have adequate tests."
Trump told Bullock that Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Health's Allergy and Infectious Diseases, could get back to him, but then added, "I haven't heard about testing in weeks. We've tested more now than any nation in the world. We've got these great tests and we're coming out with a faster one this week. I haven't heard about testing being a problem."
Washington's Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee told CNN on Sunday, "We have a desperate need for the testing kits," and last week Virginia's Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam said his state was short of testing materials, the Times reported.
Later Monday at the White House daily coronavirus task force briefing, Trump unveiled a new five-minute test from Abbott Laboratories, saying, "The numbers have been incredible in testing, but in the days ahead we're going to be going even faster."
The U.S. has tested more than 1 million samples, Trump said, "a milestone in our war against the coronavirus," Trump said, and is testing 100,000 per day, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said.
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