Coronavirus: controversy over the lack of screening tests in the United States

Text by: RFI Follow

Experts denounce the delay with which the tests were made available and the procedure that must be applied in order to be able to submit to them. In a speech he devoted to the coronavirus, Joe Biden, the candidate leading the race for the Democratic nomination, spoke of a colossal failure, but the American president, him, assures him that all is well.

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With our correspondent in Washington, Anne Corpet

In the United States, a doctor cannot administer a screening test without the prior authorization of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. A procedure that works according to the American president. " Frankly, the tests go smoothly if you go to the right place, in the right agency, you get a test Said Donald Trump.

But many health professionals dispute the choices of this federal agency. People suffering from coronavirus symptoms were refused testing at the start of the epidemic because they were not returning from a country at risk.

30 million Americans do not have health insurance

“ The system is not really armed for what we need now. It's a fail. We are not organized so that people can easily access the tests as in other countries, "admitted the director of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, before the Congress on March 11.

The other problem is the cost of these tests, especially for the 30 million Americans who do not have health insurance. It can reach several hundred dollars. Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nomination candidate demands free testing. “ The failure of administration with screening is colossal. It is a failure in planning, direction and execution, ”he said.

According to the latest data from the Center for Disease Control published on Monday, 8,554 tests have been performed in the country. This is 22 times less than in South Korea, which announced its first case of coronavirus the same day as the United States.

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• United States
• Coronavirus
• Donald trump
• Health and Medicine