A top health official in the Trump administration pushed back on the assertion that confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States remain low simply because few people have been tested for the virus.
Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said in a phone call with reporters Friday that cases were low because of actions the U.S. government had taken to limit travel.
“We aggressively controlled our borders, and therefore slowed the entrance of the virus in the U.S.,” she said. When asked why other countries such as China and South Korea had administered tens of thousands of tests, she said it was necessary there because their “epidemiological situation is different than in the U.S.” In the U.S., only 500 people have been tested.
The test the government created has been faulty, making it harder to quickly test people for the coronavirus, which has spread to more than 82,000 people globally.
“This has not gone as smoothly as we would’ve liked,” Messonnier acknowledged about the testing kits.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has prioritized testing people who traveled to areas of the U.S. where the virus is circulating, as well as those testing negative for the flu but who have symptoms of fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. In recent days, the CDC added the criteria that doctors should test for the coronavirus if they have suspicions a patient might be infected.
At least 46 people that the U.S. government rushed back to the U.S. have the virus and are being treated. Outside of those cases, 12 people who traveled to Wuhan, China, where the virus originated, have tested positive after returning to the U.S. Two additional people who were infected were spouses of those who traveled, and only one has what is called “unknown origin” of the virus, meaning doctors are puzzled about how she became infected.
That patient may represent the first instance of “community spread,” indicating the virus is resting on surfaces and spreading through the air to other people. Increasing testing could help catch cases that might otherwise not be detected, particularly given that many of the infections appear to have only mild symptoms.
The hospital involved in the latest California case, U.C. Davis Medical Center, accused the CDC of holding up testing for that patient, but Messonnier said the CDC learned of the cases on Sunday and asked to receive specimens for testing that same day.
She warned that officials expected more cases would come as a result of people coming in contact with the California patient, including among family members and healthcare providers who cared for the patient.
Earlier this week, Messonnier warned that the virus would eventually reach the U.S. in larger numbers and that people should prepare for potentially severe disruption. On Friday, she stressed that the U.S. was in good shape.
“The risk to the American public is low, and we are doing everything we can to keep it low,” she said.
