The United States lacks sufficient coronavirus tests to meet growing demand, said Vice President Mike Pence during a visit to a manufacturer of surgical masks, as he promised to bring the full might of the federal government to bear on the problem.
“We don’t have enough tests today to meet what we anticipate the demand going forward,” he said at a 3M plant just outside Minneapolis.
Pence, who heads President Trump’s coronavirus taskforce, said progress had been made on manufacturing more test kits.
“For those who we believe have been exposed, for those who are showing symptoms, we’ve been able to provide the testing,” he added. “But as more Americans take an interest in this or have concerns about this, we want to make sure they have access to a coronavirus test as well, and we’ve made real progress on that in the last several days.”
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Pence had been scheduled to hold campaign events in Wisconsin and Minnesota on Thursday but abandoned the plan to focus on the coronavirus.
He is due to arrive in Washington state later in the day to meet Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee. They will address a joint news conference amid local criticism of the Trump administration’s response to the virus.
The state is home to 10 of the country’s 11 fatalities from the coronavirus.
On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 149 confirmed and presumed cases across the country.
At the same time, Congress is close to passing an $8.3 billion bill designed to help control the spread of the virus and develop medicines and vaccines.
A Senate vote is due to follow after its passage through the House on Wednesday with a vote of 415-2.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “It’s a serious agreement to meet a serious challenge, and today we will send it to President Trump’s desk.”
