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<p>Everyone likes to be Number One -- right?</p>
<p>Well, not when Number One is the worst of this list of states,
and Number Fifty is the best.</p>
<p>Idaho's position in the list reported by this article is Number
One.</p>
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<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://247wallst.com/special-report/2020/05/13/nearly-all-states-are-undertesting-for-covid-and-heres-what-it-looks-like/">https://247wallst.com/special-report/2020/05/13/nearly-all-states-are-undertesting-for-covid-and-heres-what-it-looks-like/</a>
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Nearly All States Are Undertesting for COVID-19 and Here's What It
Looks Like<br>
Samuel Stebbins<br>
May 13, 2020 1:38 pm<br>
Last Updated: May 14, 2020 2:03 pm<br>
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More than 1.3 million Americans have been infected with the
coronavirus since the first case was confirmed in the U.S. on Jan.
21, 2020. From President Donald Trump down to state and local
leaders, officials have compared the fight against COVID-19 to a
war. Unlike a traditional wartime enemy, however, the virus is
invisible — a complicating factor partially attributable to the
woeful lack of testing capabilities in the United States. <br>
<br>
Testing is a critical COVID-19 containment tool as it enables us
to identify those who are infected and isolate them from healthy
people. According to researchers at Harvard University, the U.S.
needs to be able to conduct a minimum of about 152 daily tests for
every 100,000 people in order to safely reopen the economy — a
standard very few states are currently able to meet. Over the week
ending on May 11, the average daily rate nationwide was just 92
tests administered for every 100,000 people.<br>
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24/7 Wall St. reviewed the average number of daily tests
administered for every 100,000 people to determine how far off
each state is for meeting the minimum recommended testing levels
to safely reopen. In 20 states, average daily testing rates are
less than half of what is recommended. <br>
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In an interview with 24/7 Wall St., Mark Siedner, associate
professor of infectious diseases at Harvard University, laid out
some of the reasons widespread testing takes time. Necessary
levels of testing requires personnel to conduct and process the
tests, machines to run specimens, and a reliable international
supply chain. “You’re really asking the diagnostic community to go
from zero to millions in a week or two,” Siedner said. <br>
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Testing efforts in the U.S. were initially slowed when the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention failed in its attempt to
develop a working test for the virus. In response, the federal
government lifted restrictions on March 3, allowing health care
companies to develop and distribute their own tests. <br>
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Despite limited testing capabilities, many states are letting
their stay-at-home orders expire and are easing other
restrictions. Many experts fear that these premature reopenings
will lead to a second wave of the virus. Here is when every state
plans to lift COVID-19 restrictions. <br>
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“The worst thing that can happen is that we [reopen] blindly,
without measuring its effects, clearly and carefully,” Siedner
warned.<br>
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<p><span class="title-bullet"><strong>1. Idaho</strong></span><br>
<span class="value-bullet"><strong>> Avg. daily tests as pct.
of expert recommendation:</strong> 12.4%</span><br>
<span class="value-bullet"><strong>> Avg. daily test rate
from May 5 – May 11, 2020:</strong> 18.8 new tests per
100,000 people (330 tests per day)</span><br>
<span class="value-bullet"><strong>> Positive test rate:</strong>
7.0% (17th lowest)</span><br>
<span class="value-bullet"><strong>> COVID-19 infection rate
as of May 11, 2020:</strong> 116.8 per 100,000 people — 8th
lowest (2,049 total cases)</span><br>
<span class="value-bullet"><strong>> COVID-19 death rate as
of May 11, 2020:</strong> 3.8 per 100,000 people — 10th
lowest (67 total deaths)</span><br>
<span class="value-bullet"><strong>> Cumulative tests
performed as of May 11, 2020:</strong> 31,961 (8th fewest)</span><br>
<span class="value-bullet"><strong>> Date of first case:</strong>
March 1, 2020</span><br>
<span class="value-bullet"><strong>> Total population:</strong>
1.8 million (12th fewest)</span></p>
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<div class="pubentry-bullets"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://247wallst.com/special-report/2020/05/13/nearly-all-states-are-undertesting-for-covid-and-heres-what-it-looks-like/">https://247wallst.com/special-report/2020/05/13/nearly-all-states-are-undertesting-for-covid-and-heres-what-it-looks-like/</a>
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<div class="pubentry-bullets">Ken</div>
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