Americans are waking up to the reality that yesterday saw the pandemic’s largest daily increase in new confirmed cases since the novel coronavirus first landed on American shores. As the pandemic worsens, Trump is trying harder to hide it. He intends now to close federal funding for Covid-19 testing in five states.
Politico Reported yesterday that “the federal government is ending its support for 13 drive-thru coronavirus testing sites on June 30, urging states to take over their operations—even as cases spike in several parts of the country.”
Seven of these sites are reportedly in Texas where daily cases and hospitalizations are spiking at record levels. The other testing sites that are set to lose federal support are in Colorado, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and New Jersey.
We’ve heard President Trump say for a while now how he desires to slow down Covid-19 testing. “Cases are going up in the U.S. because we are testing far more than any other country, and ever expanding. With smaller testing we would show fewer cases!” he once tweeted.
At his Tulsa rally on Saturday, Trump remarked that he instructed his people to “slow the testing down please.” The White House in response attempted to downplay the remark, even suggesting the president was kidding. But asked about it later, Trump said “I don’t kid.”
Trump’s Tulsa remarks have ostensibly become policy. It continues the Trump doctrine of thinking about the right thing to do and doing the complete opposite. Not even MAGA hat wearing buffoons think a reduction in Covid-19 testing is the way to solve the pandemic. The polls show it.
In response to this news, Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, ranking member of the Senate Health Committee, demanded that Trump immediately overturn his plan to end federal support for testing sites.
“The pandemic is clearly getting worse in states nationwide—and instead of trying harder to stop it, President Trump is apparently trying harder to hide it. It’s completely unacceptable that while billions in federal dollars Congress passed to support testing sit unspent, this administration is closing testing sites in states where new Covid-19 cases are rapidly on the rise.” Murray said.
The pandemic is hitting the United States harder than before the shut down and the Trump White House is doing what it can to make matters worse. The mortality rate is still lower than during its peak in April. That trend will change however in the coming weeks as hospitals reach capacity.
Come July 4th, few people will be celebrating.
