Vice President Mike Pence said on Tuesday that health authorities are issuing new guidance to ensure that anyone can be tested for the novel coronavirus that has killed nine people in the United States.
Pence, who briefed reporters in the White House briefing room for the second day running, flanked by health officials on his coronavirus task force, said some laboratories were only testing in more serious cases of illness.
The misunderstanding illustrates the public information challenges faced by the Trump administration as it faces a looming health crisis, with plunging markets and panicked buying as consumers stock up on essentials.
“We’re issuing new guidance, effective immediately, from the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] that will make it clear that any clinician on health authority can administer the test,” he said.
Pence was speaking on the day that three more deaths were announced and financial markets continued to dip amid fears that the world was only at the start of a major health emergency.
Pence repeated pleas that members of the public refrain from buying face masks, which were needed by healthcare workers.
“The American people do not have to buy masks,” he said.
His task force is due to meet chief executives from the airline industry on Wednesday to discuss the sharing of information that might help track infected patients.
Pence said enough kits to test one million people will be shipped imminently, with manufacturers promising to step up production so that one million people could be tested each week.
So far, all coronavirus deaths have occurred in Washington state, which has recorded 27 cases in two counties.
At least 108 cases have been diagnosed in the U.S., and more than 92,000 people have been infected worldwide.
The growing numbers have sparked a surge in efforts to mitigate the impact to health and to the economy.
A $7.5 billion bill to fund the government’s emergency response is working its way through Congress and may be ready for Trump to sign by the end of the week.
The Federal Reserve announced on Tuesday it was cutting interest rates by half a percentage point.
“We have seen a broader spread of the virus. So, we saw a risk to the economy, and we chose to act,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said.
