Large cities are exploding with coronavirus cases, but the White House has decided that the rapid testing machines should be sent somewhere else.
According to the Washington Post, "some White House officials want to ship many of the tests, which were approved Friday and can deliver results in five to 13 minutes, to areas where there are fewer cases, such as rural states and parts of the South."
But officials in hard-hit and more populated states need help now and are quickly running out of resources.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) said during an MSNBC interview Wednesday that the major reason her state has plateaued in cases is that they're not getting test kits from the CDC that they were promised.
Some officials in more populated states are "arguing that delays in test readings have sidelined many first responders and health-care workers and made it harder to isolate the most contagious patients."
During a meeting with the White House Coronavirus Task Force Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence and others talked about sending the rapid test machines to areas where there were few cases, two sources familiar with the meeting confirmed.
The White House claimed they need "to figure out the spread in places where we don't quite understand it now," according to a source present. The final decision was, "Let's send it to the South and low-density areas."
The states begging for help are reminiscent of the Hurricane Katrina survivors creating HELP signs on their roofs begging to be rescued. Perhaps the White House would change their tune if Michigan residents sent their own videos holding up their "SEND KITS" signs. Sadly, states may have to stoop to that level if they ever expect to get what they need.