THE UNITED STATES HAS BUILT THE WORLD’S LEADING CORONAVIRUS TESTING SYSTEM

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 11, 2020 THE UNITED STATES HAS BUILT THE WORLD’S LEADING CORONAVIRUS TESTING SYSTEM “We built the most advanced and robust testing anywhere in the world, and we’ve done more testing than any country anywhere in the world.” – President Donald J. Trump   PROVIDING TESTING RESOURCES: President Donald J. Trump is working tirelessly to ensure that every State, territory, and tribe has the resources they need to meet their testing goals. The Administration is sending $11 billion to help States, territories, and tribes meet the testing goals set out by their Governors and tribal leaders. The Federal Government will be sending approximately 12 million swabs to States over the course of May to supplement private sector resources. President Donald J. Trump is also working to ensure manufacturers are producing enough testing supplies – such as reagents and extraction kits – to support our robust testing system. The Administration has partnered with leading retail companies as well as local independent pharmacies to increase access to testing for Americans in more communities. By the end of this week, more than 300 retail testing sites will be operational to serve Americans in 47 states and D.C., prioritizing access in underserved communities. LEADING THE WORLD IN TESTING: As a result of President Trump’s leadership, the United States has become the world’s leader in coronavirus testing. President Trump revolutionized our testing system and, in partnership with Governors, scaled up testing across the country to unprecedented levels. More than 9 million tests have now been completed in the United States – by far the most in the world – and this number will soon surpass 10 million. Last week, as many as 314,000 Americans were tested a day. The United States is testing more than every country on Earth, including South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Italy. In May, every single State will be able to test more people per capita than South Korea has tested per capita in four months since the outbreak began. DEVELOPING NEW TESTS: President Trump has led an unprecedented effort to quickly develop more innovative, high-quality, and reliable tests. The Trump Administration is leveraging the power of the private sector to accelerate research and development of innovative diagnostic tests. Already, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted 92 emergency use authorizations for coronavirus tests – more authorizations than for H1N1, Avian flu, MERS, Ebola, Enterovirus, and Zika combined. The FDA’s quick authorization of tests created by companies such as Roche, LabCorp, Abbott Labs, and many others have greatly increased America’s testing speed and capacity. These efforts have allowed Americans to receive testing results in as little as five minutes, or collect a sample for a test within the comfort of their own homes. New antibody tests, antigen tests, point-of-care nucleic acid testing, and genomic sequencing technologies are under development, which will enhance our coronavirus monitoring efforts.