SALEM, Ore. — The White House told governors their leadership is critical in testing for the coronavirus, providing a map showing that Oregon is among four states with the lowest testing capacity in the United States.
Oregon, Montana, Oklahoma and Maine are able to test fewer than 30 in 1,000 people a month, according to an email sent Monday by the White House coronavirus task force.
The states with the highest monthly testing capacity — more than 90 in 1,000 people — are Wyoming, Utah and Vermont, the email said.
Rapid and efficient testing is needed to identify where the virus is emerging and allow authorities to track people who may have been exposed, according to the email, which Democratic Gov. Kate Brown’s office released after a public records request by The Oregonian/OregonLive. Testing also gives states a tool as they decide when and how to start lifting stay-at-home orders.
The White House email “demonstrates clearly what we have been telling them for weeks: We need additional testing capacity, and we are dependent on the federal government to provide us with the testing materials we need,” said Charles Boyle, Brown’s spokesman.
“We are asking the administration, again, to give us a clear answer about what testing supplies they can send to Oregon, and when we can expect to receive them,” he said.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, said the email doesn’t answer governors’ “repeated calls” to address a lack of supplies.
“We cannot unlock the full capacity of our labs without additional testing supplies and infrastructure from the federal government,” Inslee said.
The White House email acknowledged those shortages.
“We are working together to address the issues that have been raised from technical support, to insufficient laboratory personnel, to insufficient funding, to swabs, transport media, tubes, extraction reagents and test kits,” it said.
