Washington D.C. Mayor Slams Trump for ‘Throwing Up Hand’ on Virus Testing

Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bower chided the Trump administration over the federal government’s commitment to coronavirus testing, saying, “some things are going out of control with this virus all over the country, and we can’t have our national leadership throwing up their hands.”

Local health officials say there is the capacity in Washington to test anyone who needs a test, and the average turnaround test is approximately four and a half days. Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt, the city’s health department director says the turnaround time for patients in the hospital is less than a day, but the turnaround times at commercial labs can run from 7-10 days.

If you have the desire to get a test, if a health care professional has advised you to get a test, you should quarantine, Nesbitt said.

“So you should already be doing all of the things that if your test came back positive, you should start doing them immediately after you have been tested.”

City officials made the comments on a day when President Donald Trump met with top Republican congressional leaders Monday at the White House on the next COVID-19 aid package.

As the virus worsens and aid is expiring Congress is considering what to do next.

Trump said “good things” were happening. But the administration is stiffening its opposition to more testing money and interjecting other priorities, and that could complicate quick passage.

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