Voice of America
20 Sep 2020, 23:35 GMT+10
The United States set a one-day record with over 1 million coronavirus diagnostic tests being performed, but the country needs 6 million to 10 million a day to bring outbreaks under control, according to various experts.
The country performed 1,061,411 tests on Saturday, according to data from The COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-run effort to track the outbreak.
The record comes after testing fell for several weeks.
The United States tested on average 650,000 people a day in the week ended Sept. 13, down from a peak in late July of over 800,000 people a day.
Since the start of the pandemic, testing shortages have hampered efforts to curb the spread of the virus.
At one point during the summer, Houston residents lined up in cars and waited hours for tests, even sleeping in their vehicles overnight. Miami saw similar lines.
Once tested, people may have to wait up to two weeks to learn if they have the virus, which has killed nearly 200,000 Americans and infected more than 6.7 million. Such delays defeat the purpose of trying to prevent further infections.
In March, President Donald Trump said "anyone who wants a test, gets a test." That goal has yet to be achieved.
At the heart of the crisis is a reliance by labs on automated testing equipment that locks them into using proprietary chemical kits and other tools made by a handful of manufacturers.
The Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization to several saliva tests, which require no swabs and use readily available reagents.
The United States has also authorized pooled testing, a method that tests samples from several people at once and can expand testing capacity.
However, pooled testing is only more efficient in areas with limited outbreaks. In mid-September, 27 of 50 states had positive test rates above 5%, according to a Reuters analysis, including South Dakota at 17%.
The World Health Organization considers positivity rates above 5% concerning.
Get a daily dose of Entertainment Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Entertainment Sun.
More InformationMOSCOW, Russia: This week, Russia became the first country to officially recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan since...
CAIRO, Egypt: This week, both Hamas and Israel shared their views ahead of expected peace talks about a new U.S.-backed ceasefire plan....
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Trump administration has made public a visa decision that would usually be kept private. It did this to send...
MADRID, Spain: Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota and his younger brother, André Silva, have died in a car accident in Spain. Spanish...
LONDON, U.K.: An unrelenting heatwave sweeping across Europe has pushed early summer temperatures to historic highs, triggering deadly...
President Donald Trump's plans to build a space-based Golden Dome missile defense shield have drawn immediate criticism from China,...
(New York) - China's government has erased Hong Kong's freedoms since imposing the draconian National Security Law on June 30, 2020,...
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 6 (ANI): The tragic Air India crash in Ahmedabad last month has left many shaken, including actor...
Rio de Janeiro [Brazil], July 6 (ANI): BRICS member nations have called on advanced economies and the international financial system...
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 6 (ANI): Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh turned 40, and wishes poured in from fans and celebrities...
Rio de Janeiro [Brazil], July 6 (ANI): The Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) of the BRICS nations have voiced 'serious...
New Delhi [India], July 6 (ANI): The 1023rd meeting of the Academic Council (AC), University of Delhi was held under the chairmanship...