#covid-19 testing

[horrorandhalloween]

[midnightfunk]

[indelicateink]

Trump administration pushing to block new money for testing, tracing and CDC in upcoming coronavirus relief bill

White House posture angers some GOP senators who are trying to include billions of dollars in the bill

Washington Post, July 18, 2020

The Trump administration is trying to block billions of dollars for states to conduct testing and contact tracing in the upcoming coronavirus relief bill, people involved in the talks said Saturday.

The administration is also trying to block billions of dollars that GOP senators want to allocate for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and billions more for the Pentagon and State Department to address the pandemic at home and abroad, the people said.

The administration’s posture has angered some GOP senators, the officials said, and some lawmakers are trying to push back and ensure that the money stays in the bill. [...]

President Trump has repeatedly questioned the value of conducting widespread coronavirus testing, arguing that if there were fewer tests conducted, the number of infections would be lower. Coronavirus infections and deaths are on the rise in many states.

The administration is also seeking to zero out $10 billion in new funding for the CDC in the upcoming bill, while slashing spending for the Pentagon and State Department related to foreign aid, the person said. Trump has been skeptical of State Department spending and foreign aid generally, but it was unclear why the Trump administration would seek to block money for the Pentagon for a variety of coronavirus-related expenses such as reimbursing contractors for providing paid leave to employees.

A White House spokesman declined to comment.

[nowthisnews]

The WHO recently approved a rapid diagnostic COVID-19 test that can deliver results within 15 to 30 minutes — and millions will be sent out to low- and middle-income countries

follow @nowthisnews for daily news videos & more

[contemplatingoutlander]

Phoenix Mayor Says FEMA Refused to Help With Testing

Assessing the virus’s real death rate could offer clues on what to expect next. Data shows how much harder the pandemic is hitting Black and Latino Americans.

WILLFUL NEGLECT? FEMA says they are “getting out of the testing business” in the middle of a pandemic!

With FEMA’s latest response to Phoenix we once again we see the Trump administration’s refusal to have the federal government provide sufficient COVID-19 testing for cities and states. One has to wonder if this is part of a plan to repress accurate U.S. COVID-19 case number information. Doing so purposefully would be willful neglect because sufficient testing has been proven to save lives.

“Mayor Kate Gallego of Phoenix said on Sunday that with cases and death counts soaring in Arizona, testing sites in her city and surrounding Maricopa County are overwhelmed, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency has rebuffed her pleas for help.

“She raised the issue on the ABC program ‘This Week,’ saying that it ‘feels like they’re declaring victory while we’re in crisis mode.’

“In an interview later in the day, Ms. Gallego, a Democrat, said she had been trying since April to get more testing resources for Phoenix, both from FEMA and from the private sector. But testing, she says, remains woefully inadequate, especially for those who lack health insurance.”

“’We are the largest city not to have received this type of investment,’ Ms. Gallego said, noting that FEMA had set up testing sites in Houston, Los Angeles and elsewhere....

“An aide to the mayor said that FEMA had responded to the city’s most recent request by saying the agency was ‘getting out of the testing business.’ Maricopa County officials were told the same thing when they asked FEMA for help, the mayor said.”

[emphasis added]

Since Arizona is the number 2 state for baby boomer retirees (a vulnerable population for COVID-19) one has to wonder if part of the lack of response by FEMA to Phoenix (compared to other cities) since APRIL (before FEMA decided to get “out of the testing business”) is further evidence  that the Trump administration might have been trying for some time to deliberately keep down the number of reported COVID-19 cases.

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photo source (before edits): The New York Times

[intelligentliving]

Helsinki Airport Starts Using Dogs To Detect Covid-19 In Pilot Program

In April, U.K. researchers were training dogs to detect the scent of COVID-19, hoping they could help stop its spread. Now, four Covid-19 sniffer dogs have begun work at Finland’s largest airport, Helsinki airport, in a state-funded pilot program which will last four months. Finnish researchers hope the scheme will...

[emtpaul90]

[eilitintheheartland]

Free Covid testing across the state of Missouri

Hey Missouri! This is a link to register for free COVID testing all across the state of Missouri between Jan 12 and Jan 29. This is open and free to all Missouri residents.