President Donald Trump officially unveiled on Monday a new “blueprint” for expanding coronavirus testing capacities as states begin to reopen businesses.
The president, speaking to reporters in the White House rose Garden, that “our blueprint establishes testing platforms to detect local outbreaks and conduct contact tracing.”
“We have it all,” Trump stated. “We are deploying the full power and strength of the federal government to help states, cities, to help local government get this horrible plague over with and over with fast.” (RELATED: Trump Administration Doesn’t Want Businesses To Be On The Hook In Coronavirus Liability Suits — But How Will They Actually Be Protected?)
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Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force’s response coordinator explained that the plan features three core elements:
- Robust diagnostic testing plans
- Timely monitoring systems
- Rapid response programs.
“The blueprint lays out roles and responsibilities to enhance our partnership between the private and public sector, bringing together state and local governments with the federal government to make sure we can accomplish and achieve our core principles and objectives,” she added.
“We will be able to supply every state with supplies and tests they need to dramatically increase the number of tests we have done to this point,” Adm. Brett Giroir also told the gathered group of reporters. “To give you an idea, the supplies we will be providing to states, the minimum we are supplying, will be doubled in that month than the Republic of Korea has performed in the four months until now, accumulated.”
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 27: U.S. President Donald Trump walks out before the daily briefing of the coronavirus task force in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. Today’s task force briefing is the first since Friday after not holding any over the weekend. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Trump held a conference call with state governors earlier on Monday during which he previewed the guidelines.
The new plan comes roughly two weeks after the White House delivered its three-phased plan to reopen the economy to each of the 50 states. The second two phases of the plan all require strict monitoring of populations returning to work in order to stem the resurgence of coronavirus.
Trump emphasized Monday that he wants businesses to reopen as quickly as possible before clarifying they need to do it “safely.”
According to the Vice President Mike Pence, 5.4 million coronavirus tests have been performed in the United States, more than double the number performed in any other country