1600 Daily The White House • September 29, 2020 President Trump announces massive Coronavirus testing expansion

 

The White House • September 29, 2020 President Trump announces massive Coronavirus testing expansion America has already conducted far more Coronavirus tests than any other nation on Earth—more than the entire European Union and more than all of Latin America combined.   Now, President Trump has announced that his Administration will distribute 150 million rapid, point-of-care Coronavirus tests in the coming weeks. This action will more than double the total number of tests already performed in the United States.    WATCH: President Trump announces massive testing expansion   “Fifty million tests will go to protect the most vulnerable communities, which we’ve always promised to do, including 18 million for nursing homes; 15 million for assisted living facilities; 10 million for home, health, and . . . hospice care agencies; and nearly 1 million for historically black colleges and universities,” the President said.   Another 100 million rapid tests will be given to states and territories to support efforts to reopen their economies and schools as quickly and safely as possible.   “We are now at an inflection point in testing,” President Trump said. The United States now has the capacity to run, on average, 3 million tests per day. That number doesn’t include “pooled testing,” which could multiply that figure several times.   Vice President Pence said he believes an announcement about a Coronavirus vaccine will come soon after yesterday’s historic milestone.   “It’s a testament to great companies like Abbott Laboratories and the thousands of employees who, Mr. President, I know have literally worked around the clock since those early days in this pandemic, when you brought in the greatest research companies in America,” the Vice President added.    Mississippi Governor: “This is a game-changer.”    WATCH: President Trump’s full Rose Garden announcement Trump Administration leads effort to correct headstone of first woman ever to vote in America   Today, National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien accompanied White House staff and a delegation from Utah to pay respects at the gravesite of Seraph Young Ford. On February 14, 1870, after the Utah Territory extended voting rights to women, Ford became the first female to cast a ballot in an American election. Ford was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, and for years, the name on her headstone remained spelled incorrectly. Working with Arlington National Cemetery officials, the Trump Administration corrected her headstone this year—coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment, which guaranteed women’s suffrage. “The determination and spirit of the leaders of the women’s suffrage movement continues to inspire the fight for greater rights for all,” O’Brien’s statement reads. Read the full statement from National Security Advisor O’Brien. Photo of the Day President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence give remarks during an update on the nation’s Coronavirus testing strategy | September 28, 2020