COVID-19: UpdateU.S. COVID-19 Total Tops 700,000; Cases Spike in Russia, Parts of Asia

Published 20 April 2020

As COVID-19 cases in the United States passed 700,000 yesterday, researchers published early findings that suggest, as expected, the disease is more widespread than case numbers reflect. And in international developments, outbreak totals climbed in parts of Asia, including Japan, Indonesia, and Singapore, as well as in Russia. U.S. cases reached 726,645 cases, with nearly 39,000 deaths. The global total stands at 2,310,572 cases from 185 countries, with 158,691 deaths. Testing issues continue to hobble state’s plans to ease off stay-at-home orders, while the American Association for Clinical Chemistry in a statement yesterday said supply chain issues, such as personal protective equipment, swabs, and reagents are obstacles to scaled-up testing.

As COVID-19 cases in the United States passed 700,000 yesterday, researchers published early findings that suggest, as expected, the disease is more widespread than case numbers reflect.

And in international developments, outbreak totals climbed in parts of Asia, including Japan, Indonesia, and Singapore, as well as in Russia. U.S. cases reached 726,645 cases, with nearly 39,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins online dashboard. The global total stands at 2,310,572 cases from 185 countries, with 158,691 deaths.

States Press Feds for Testing Fixes
Testing issues continue to hobble state’s plans to ease off stay-at-home orders, and yesterday at a White House briefing, President Trump said the administration will be sending 5.5 million swabs to the states, though he signaled the governors have the capacity to provide them, CNN reported. And in an interview with PBS, Vice President Pence said the administration is focusing on expanding unused capacity at labs.

Meanwhile, the American Association for Clinical Chemistry in a statement yesterday said supply chain issues, such as personal protective equipment, swabs, and reagents are obstacles to scaled-up testing and that the White House is in the best position to coordinate resources, the Washington Post reported.

CIDRAP reports that yesterday, 130 Republican House members had a conference call with Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and other officials, and aired questions about testing and supply shortages, but federal officials reiterated that it’s up to state and local officials to obtain supplies from manufacturers, according to the Post report.

Meanwhile, Democrat lawmakers who had a conference call with Pence yesterday also focused their concerns on testing issues, but some voice frustration with unclear answers and the continued assumption that states are responsible for unraveling the testing problems, according to the CNN report.

In another testing related development, contamination at a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lab delayed the distribution of COVID-19 tests to states, the Washington Post reported yesterday. Citing scientists with knowledge of the situation and federal regulators, the report said cross contamination probably stemmed from assembling chemical mixtures in a lab space that handled synthetic coronavirus material, a practice that didn’t follow CDC procedures.