Obama criticized the inadequacy of a strong COVID-19 testing system in the U.S.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Former U.S President Barack Obama lashed out at the current administration for not having an adequate system of coronavirus testing across the country.
• Obama also posted on Twitter that social distancing measures can curb the spread of the virus, but proper nationwide testing for coronavirus is needed to change the current policies.
• According to reports, the U.S. is behind as far as coronavirus testing per unit of population is concerned.

On Wednesday, former U.S President Barack Obama called out the White House’s let-down to set up a proper system of coronavirus testing throughout the country.

Obama sent out his concern via Twitter, and he said while social distancing may have an effect on flattening the curve and can offer temporary relief to the health workers, systematic testing and monitoring of coronavirus cases across the nation are needed to make significant changes in the existing policies.

The former president’s remark was also based on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) call for a massive testing procedure to win the fight against COVID-19 outbreak, noting that social distancing will simply mean delaying the spread.

Because of difficulties encountered earlier by the federal government, the U.S. had a hard time implementing nationwide coronavirus.

It was reported in February that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) disseminated defective and inaccurate test kits. Since then, the U.S. has been trying to catch up with the curve.

In March, coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci told lawmakers in the Congress that the U.S. must accept that it’s falling behind in terms of providing tests for COVID-19.

The inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services said that hospitals in the U.S are facing a severe backlog in medical supplies, and delays in testing kits are a frequent theme.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has derided inquiry by reporters about testing concerns and often made confusing remarks about the availability of kits.

It was only on March 6 when Trump said testing facilities would be available for those who deem it necessary; however, as of Wednesday, the supply remained inadequate.

On Tuesday, President Trump also bragged that the U.S. is outperforming other nations when it comes to conducting coronavirus screening, noting that the administration already completed 1.87 million tests. However, less than 2 million tests out of a population of approximately 327 million people, puts the U.S behind in terms of per person ratio.

As a defense, Trump has frequently put the blame on former President Obama, commenting that the current administration inherited a faulty system. But with COVID-19 coming around only several months ago, it was probably not the case.

A Politico-Morning Consult poll result announced on Wednesday showed that most or 52% of Americans prefer Obama to lead during the coronavirus crisis, while 38% says Trump would be the better leader during these times. 

The latest reports list that more than 12,000 people have died from coronavirus, while around 400,000 individuals are infected by the virus across the U.S.

Source: AOL