Prognosis
U.S. to Expand Coronavirus Tests After Delay in Surveillance
- Labs can modify problematic test kits to speed rollout
- California doctors had to wait days before testing patient
Some pedestrians wear face masks in Queens, New York.
Photographer: Chang W. Lee/The New York Times via ReduxThis article is for subscribers only.
U.S. health officials will let state and local health labs modify a test for the coronavirus that has been plagued by weeks of delays, in an effort to better keep watch for cases that may be quietly arising in some parts of the country.
Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration held a conference call Wednesday in which they gave permission for state and local labs to drop a troublesome step in the tests that stopped them from being used, said Scott Becker, CEO of the Association of Public Health Laboratories. Becker’s group represents state and local testing labs.