Washington’s U.S. Sen. Murray angered by lack of coronavirus testing, slow results
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray is criticizing the Trump administration for its slow response to the new coronavirus outbreak but hopeful that Congress can offer new funding for health officials and first responders on the front lines.
Murray told The Bellingham Herald in an interview that she was pressing Vice President Mike Pence for accurate information about coronavirus testing kits and when more would be available.
“I am very frustrated at the federal government for its inability to get the testing kits out there,” Murray said.
She said that without facts and direction from the administration, people can’t make decisions that affect their jobs, school and home life.
“Schools are having to guess whether to close or not,” Murray said. “If you’re guessing, you can’t make good decisions about your family, your business, your school.”
Pence, who President Trump appointed to lead the U.S. response, will be visiting Washington state on Thursday, March 5.
Only a doctor or other health-care provider can order the test, based on the patient’s risk factors and symptoms, the University of Washington School of Medicine said in a statement.
Coronavirus is spread through contact between people within six feet of each other, especially through coughing and sneezing that expels respiratory droplets that land in the mouths or noses of people nearby. The CDC says it’s possible to catch the disease COVID-19 by touching something that has the virus on it, and then touching your own face, “but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”
Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath, which may occur two days to two weeks after exposure. The disease is especially dangerous for the elderly and others with weaker immune systems.
So far, more than 94,000 cases have been reported worldwide, with about 3,200 deaths, the vast majority of them in China. In the U.S.,128 cases have been reported, including 10 deaths in Washington state out of 32 reported cases.
Murray said she has had frequent conversations with Washington state officials and also expressed concern for low-wage workers without health care or sick leave.
She told The Herald that the U.S. House is voting on an emergency funding measure Wednesday, March 4, that she believed would reach the Senate on Thursday, March 5.
“The administration had months to prepare for this — and it is unacceptable that people at risk of infection in my state and nationwide can’t even get an answer as to whether or not they are infected,” Murray told the Senate health committee on Tuesday, March 3. “To put it simply, if someone at the White House or in this administration is actually in charge of responding to the coronavirus, it would be news to anyone in my state. And I have been on the phone with officials for days now.”
She expressed outrage for an apparent lack of concern for a U.S. outbreak among administration officials as the virus raged through China.
Murray, the ranking Democrat on the Republican-controlled panel, said her home state of Washington is among the hardest-hit nationwide.
“I’m hearing from people who want to get tested and believe they have been exposed — but nobody can tell them where to go,” Murray told the committee. “I’m hearing that even when people can get tested — and it’s very few — the results aren’t coming back as fast as we’ve been told they would.”
Murray said low-wage workers are in a particular bind during a public-health crisis because they lack health insurance, affordable child care, and paid time off for illness.
“In my home state people are being told to stay home for two weeks if they are sick. There aren’t tests, so they can’t get tested — guess who can’t stay home? If you don’t have child care, if you’re a low-wage worker, if you don’t have sick leave,” Murray said.
This story was originally published March 4, 2020 at 10:34 AM.
