Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) is speaking out about President Donald Trump claiming to be unaware of the latest coronavirus testing shortage.
On Tuesday, Hogan appeared on CNN’s “New Day” where the host played Trump’s audio from the governors’ call on Monday. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (R) could be heard expressing concerns about the coronavirus testing kit shortage.
In fact, Bullock described Montana’s shortage as being “one day away” from not being able to continue testing during the phone call. Trump insisted he had not heard of any testing problem.
Hogan was asked his opinion of Trump’s assertion. He agreed with Bullock saying there is “no question” more tests are needed.
“There’s no question that the federal government and all of the states believe that we need more testing,” Hogan said, adding, “This is something that we’re talking about on a daily basis with the administration and with all of our fellow governors.”
Check out Hogan’s interview below:
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“There’s no question this is a pinch-point,” Hogan said of testing, supplies, materials, personal protective equipment (PPE), and ventilators. “Everybody in America knows we don’t have enough of these things.”
Hogan was also asked about the importance of testing and how it impacts his ability to aid Maryland residents.
“Without tests, we really are flying blind” about hotspots and mortality rates, and equipment such as ventilators “are becoming … certainly as important as the testing,” Hogan said.
Additionally, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) spoke with CNN on Tuesday, where he talked about the state’s possible peak being between mid-April and mid-May.
DeWine said, “Part of this is driven by the fact that we don’t have widespread testing.”
See DeWine’s comments below:
The governors’ comments come just one day after Trump’s call with several rural governors. Bullock even noted that he has had supply orders canceled which has made it even more difficult to assess the problem.
“Basically, we’re getting our orders canceled — that’s for PPE, that’s for testing supplies, that’s for testing equipment,” Bullock said. “So, while we’re trying to do all the contact tracing, we don’t have adequate tests to necessarily do it.” (quote pulled from the IJR article sourced above.
Despite the governors’ concerns, Trump denied knowing there were problems with testing, as IJR reported.
“But, I haven’t heard about testing being a problem,” the president said.
Listen to the audio below:
As of Tuesday afternoon, there were at least 177,000 positive coronavirus cases nationwide.