Governors Hide COVID-19 Testing Kits from Feds
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N95 Mask, Photo by Michael Swan
UNITED STATES, Maryland - The COVID-19 epidemic has many people feeling confused and overwhelmed, and the government's handling of the situation is not assuring. While the state governors try unsuccessfully to procure medication, often by negotiating directly with overseas manufacturers, American citizens pin their hopes the latest snake-oil promises. Amid this pandemic, it is ludicrous that toilet paper and meat have become iconic symptoms of scarcity.
It is into this miasma of uncertainty, the ideas which arose from the first constitution and the "Articles of Confederacy" have reasserted into the national discourse. The lines of demarcation between the federal and state governments have increasingly become amplified, with each fighting about the right way to proceed in keeping the nation's people and economy safe.
Many speculate that it is due to the economy's current state, that the president's administration is too focused on reopening America to the public and less concerned with the public's health. According to BBC News, investors are worried about the negative impact the Coronavirus pandemic on the nation's economic growth. More than 30 million people are seeking work, and unemployment hit a record high since the start of the lockdown, oil prices have crashed to a 21- year low and U.S. oil prices have turned negative for the first time.
Though all of these are genuinely frightening, experts are still reluctant to "reopen" America. Why? Because people will die. Many Americans have started to think of this as having to pick a side between saving their fellow Americans' lives and saving the country's economy. Several experts, however, feel that it is imperative for both that we keep strict lockdown orders—others state that reopening should be a slow process with mass testing to keep everyone safe. Testing has been minimal, however. Many people who exhibit symptoms are routinely denied testing until their symptoms are dire due to the lack of supplies.
It is because of this lack that Republican Governor of Maryland Larry Hogan, who has recently secured 100,000 COVID-19 tests from South Korea, has deployed the national guard and the state police to protects these tests which he has stored at an undisclosed location. Though to some, this may sound like extreme caution bordering on paranoia; Governor Hogan cites the recent seizure of N95 masks in Massachusetts as justification.
Earlier this year, Governor Charlie Baker, of the State of Massachusetts spent approximately three million dollars on N95 masks for care workers and first responders. The federal government unexpectedly seized these at the port of New York, and this was the first sign that something was amiss. In fact, according to USA TODAY, Marketwatch, EMS1, and WLRN, the federal government had also seized millions of masks ordered by Delaware and Florida.
After losing the first shipment, Governor Charlie Baker bought more masks, which he arranged to have flown them directly into the State of Massachusetts, using the New England Patriots' private plane. While in Maryland, Governor Hogan is still putting together a plan on how to use his new kits best. He announced in a press conference that the kits would be distributed to nursing homes and assisted-living areas and other Virus "hot spots," including an outbreak in a poultry plant on the Eastern Shore.
Once these hotspots have been taken care of, the governor hopes to start then testing about 10,000 people per day to safely and responsibly end the strict quarantine orders.
Two private labs have been contracted to support Maryland's state lab with processing the test swabs from the kits once they reach prearranged distribution centers. Because of the seizures, and the ubiquitous unavailability of test kits, hoarding has come under some scrutiny. Some people question why the governor is hoarding the kits with armed guards, and others yet are perplexed as to why he felt the need to purchase the tests internationally. However, FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, also bought millions of dollars of tests from two South Korean companies.
According to the Washington Post, U.S. manufacturers have been able to produce and ship tests by the millions. However, some government officials admit that there have been shortages in the supplies necessary to perform the tests, like cotton swabs, which Eric Blank, the Association of Public Health Laboratories' Chief Program Officer, refutes.
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