President Releases Plans to Ramp Up Testing Capacity

April 28, 2020

Late yesterday, President Trump unveiled a testing overview and testing blueprint for Opening Up America Again. The documents were developed to facilitate states’ development and implementation of robust testing plans and rapid response programs described in the President’s Opening Up America Again Guidelines.

The blueprint calls for a partnership between federal, state, local, and tribal governments, along with the private-sector and professional associations, to create the capacity for as many as two million tests per week, by the end of May, so states can test at least 2.6% of their populations per month.  So far, more than 5.4 million coronavirus tests have been conducted across the U.S., according to the Trump administration.

Dovetailing on President Trumps’ announcement, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its guidance, updating testing priorities for patients with suspected COVID-19 infection. The revised guidance outlines people who are deemed high priority and people who are deemed priority.