Testing Could Unlock A Return To Normal Life, But Obstacles Persist

Testing is the key that will unlock normalization for millions of Americans.

It's the doorway between the disaster response mode of the pandemic and confidence about returning to work, school and life. And it's also still apparently weeks or more away from scaling to a level that will make a big difference for most people in most places.

Precisely how far away isn't clear, although President Trump and a pageant of guests attempted on Monday to sell the idea that victory is just around the corner.

The president, public health officials and a coterie of Big Business leaders said at the White House that sometime soon, testing throughput in the country could double or better, although they didn't say exactly when nor assess how much normalcy that might buy for how much of the United States.

The White House did unveil what it called a blueprint for state, local and private sector authorities to get from here to there.

Vice President Mike Pence acknowledged that progress hadn't gone as swiftly as he and other administration heavies promised in an earlier briefing.

But Pence also said the work is being executed now and that there's enough testing capacity today for the small number of states closest to proceeding through the first of the federally prescribed "phases" to get out of disaster mode and back to whatever comes next.