8 million tests to fall short of requirement safely reopen the US economy – The Hill

The White House has rolled out steps aimed at increasing testing capacity at the press conference today and the Hill reports that a US health official said that the US will 'easily' conduct 8 million coronavirus tests in May.

However, the Hill notes that this will still fall short of the amount leading health experts say is needed to safely reopen the economy.

Lead Paragraphs

“According to the governors plans for next month, we will easily double that 4 million number,” Brett Giroir, an assistant secretary of Health and Human Services, said during a press conference at the White House.

He said the administration would be sending out more of the key testing items that have been in short supply recently, including 20 million swabs and 15 million tubes needed to transport samples.

However, 8 million tests in May would still fall well short of the amount leading health experts say is needed to safely reopen the economy.

Key notes

• Harvard researchers said last week that at least 500,000 tests per day, or about 15 million tests per month are needed.
• Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, recently said the country's needs are “closer to” 3 million tests per week, or about 12 million per month.

Market implications

The mood has been upbeat at the start of this week on the notion that some nations, and some parts of the US, will be easing self-distancing measures with a view to getting businesses back to work. The US dollar is vulnerable to risk appetite returning, holding on to the 100 handle by the skin of its teeth. The S&P 500 and the Dow were up 1.5% on Wall Street and the yield on the US 10-year note lifted 6 basis points to 66bps.