The Facts on Coronavirus Testing

In the wake of an increasing number of new coronavirus infections in the U.S., federal officials have provided confusing and sometimes contradictory statements about the number and availability of tests to diagnose the new respiratory illness.

President Donald Trump claimed on March 6 that anyone who “wants a test can get a test,” while Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar said in a television interview the same day that there “is no testing kit shortage, nor has there ever been.”

Contrary to both men, we were told by the Association of Public Health Laboratories on March 9 that although things had improved since a week ago, “demand for testing is greater than the tests available.”