Federal funding for testing facilities is being pulled on Friday, even as cases continue to rise

[left-of-center2012]

Source: Daily Kos

On March 13, Donald Trump came to his daily coronavirus rally appearance with company. With a great deal of inappropriate closeness and hand-shaking, Trump brought forth executives from Walgreens, Target, Walmart, and CVS, with a promise that, across the nation, the parking lots of these companies’ stores would soon be filled with drive-through testing locations to identify and isolate those with COVID-19. Of course, this was the same press conference where Trump announced a website under development by “1700 engineers at Google” which would would quiz Americans on their symptoms and pair them with the appropriate test facility.

The website didn’t exist. And by April 1 the grand total of drive-through testing facilities in the parking lots of these companies’ stores came in at five. And those five offered testing only to first responders and healthcare workers, not the general public. But it doesn’t matter now, because Trump is pulling the funding for those sites—and for every other drive-through testing site.

Testing and isolation remains the only way to combat the spread of novel coronavirus until a vaccine becomes available. But Trump seems determined to destroy both aspects of the only workable solution. Not only has he been pushing for an end to social distancing guidelines and a reopening of many businesses, Trump is also pulling federal funding for testing sites.

As NPR reports, federal funding for testing sites will end on Friday. That includes sites in some of the hardest-hit areas of the country that are engaged in testing thousands of Americans. Come Friday, federal funds—and federal contracts—will be withdrawn, leaving states and localities without the materials or labs necessary to conduct and process the tests.

Read more: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/9/1935815/-Federal-funding-for-testing-facilities-is-being-pulled-on-Friday-even-as-cases-continue-to-rise

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A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services claimed that “many” of the 41 affected sites would be “transitioning” to state-run sites, but didn’t say how many, or even how that was possible.

[gibraltar72]

1. Adequate testing would be a disaster.

For Trump.

[OMGWTF]

2. True! A lot of people are now dying at home but we'll never know if it was Covid-19

BECAUSE THERE IS VERY LIMITED TESTING. Why do Republicans want to kill us? Why?

[barbtries]

9. i don't know, but my foxbot co-worker

reminded me yesterday about how deer experience a population crash when their environment is no longer able to sustain growth. apparently he's unbothered by the death and suffering we're all staring straight in the face right now. he certainly is not aghast at the murderous incompetence displayed by the trump administration. No, he's more upset that if his 88-year-old father who has been diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer and gets covid before he dies it will be counted as a death due to the coronavirus. I told him to insist that he include his father's previous diagnosis on the death certificate.

so i guess that's why. they've done some kind of calculation that tells them their chances of getting and keeping permanent one party rule is to just make sure MORE PEOPLE DIE.

[keithbvadu2]

3. Trump thinks low numbers make him look good.

Trump thinks low numbers make him look good.

[DENVERPOPS]

6. Exactly, well said

no tests? no problems!

Watch out America, we are about to see an even bigger shit show than the last three years.......

[barbtries]

10. that doesn't explain

his willingness to let the deaths pile up.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

19. Size of obituary columns in newspapers don't lie. Relatives dying at home can't be covered up. . nt

[olddad65]

4. Just more of Trumputin's cheap imitation of Hitler

[turbinetree]

5. Just another smoke and mirror tactic by the BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS administration................

I see the death and infection model is going to be worse than this crime family wants the masses to believe...............a lot worse.........................

November 3, 2020 cannot get here fast enough...................

[jalan48]

7. K & R

[McKim]

8. I Am Suspicious

I am suspicious when I see Trump and business “leaders” shaking hands and standing close together. I suspect that they all have had a plasma infusion from the blood of a recovered person. They are way too confident. It would not surprise me if they had very special health care!

[LiberalArkie]

14. Or young blood transfusions.

[Doodley]

11. This would bring down any other president.

[ashredux]

12. Well, well, this make a lot of sense....NOT!

[Botany]

13. They want to kill us

End of story. If we wait until we see the symptoms of C-19 then we have 2 weeks to spread the
disease when we have no symptoms.

[ffr]

15. Ostrich

Beware any findings, any results, any recommendations from republicans. Your interests are not first on their list of priorities.

[lark]

16. He keeps proving me right when I say he's killing us on purpose.

He doesn't want us tested, doesn't want us safe, wants us to return to work with zero data collection or any stipulations at all, just come back. He knows this is the way to 1 - improve the economy which is all he & the oligarchs care about 2 - ensure a massive recurrence of the virus, killing who knows how many of ten of thousands of people, 3-possibly destabilize the election

[Judi Lynn]

17. What's next? The end of autopsies? n/t

[Bernardo de La Paz]

18. How much money was spent on this aborted program? Was this the plan all along?

Your work product doesn't get audited if you don't actually produce anything.

Who actually got money for this?

The citizens of the US are making great sacrifices. They must not have to sacrifice oversight.