May 10, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Illinois governor: White House has "not delivered" on coronavirus promises

Axios

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that he is not relying on the Trump administration to help his state ramp up coronavirus testing, claiming that there have been "too many situations in which they've made promises not delivered."

Why it matters: In lieu of a national testing strategy, the White House has promoted a plan to work with state governments and the private sector to expand testing, referring to the federal government only as a "supplier of last resort."

The big picture: Pritzker, whose state has reported the fourth-most confirmed coronavirus cases in the country, has been highly critical of the Trump administration. He noted that the federal government has promised to provide a shipment of swabs necessary for increasing testing capacity, but said that in general "we're going it alone."

Pritzker clarified to CNN's Jake Tapper that while Illinois hasn't met the White House's recommendation for 14 days of declining new cases before reopening the economy, that's largely due to an explosion in raw testing numbers.
He also said that the state is working with county health departments to develop a "massive contact tracing effort," viewed by experts as a must-have for reopening while limiting the death toll.

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Illinois governor: White House has "not delivered" on coronavirus promises

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