States will soon be able to screen people for coronavirus with tests that previously only the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been able to use.
The CDC announced Thursday that it has begun sending test kits to about 200 state and local labs as well as to 200 international labs. State labs did not have access to the tests, which can provide results in a matter of hours, until the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency declaration Wednesday that state health experts could use them.
“Distribution of these diagnostic tests to state laboratories, U.S. government partners and more broadly to the global public health community will accelerate efforts to confront this evolving global public health challenge,” CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield said.
States will now be able to screen and diagnose people without having to wait for CDC data. While only 12 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the United States, the virus has spread quickly. Of the six cases in California, three were reported in a single day.
Health officials have also confirmed that the virus can spread from person to person. In fact, two of the three new cases in California are a husband and wife from northern California. One had recently traveled to China and got the other sick. About one week ago, the CDC reported the first case of person-to-person transmission, in which a woman in Chicago with the coronavirus got her husband sick.
“The novel coronavirus is a serious public health concern. However, the risk to the general public in California remains low,” said Dr. Sonia Angell, California Public Health Department director. “We have had only one case of person-to-person transmission here, and it was from a traveler to China to a spouse. Both are in stable condition.”
The number of cases has surpassed 28,000 worldwide, and about 560 people in China have died.
