Coronavirus Task Force members address the need for more tests
Members of the Coronavirus Task Force, charged with leading the U.S. response to the global coronavirus outbreak, struggled to answer exactly when test kits will be available to every American, after President Trump said moments earlier that any American who wants a test can get a test.
Vice President Mike Pence told reporters in a press conference at the White House Friday that tests are being made available, and should in weeks be very widely available. But he could not say exactly when any American who wants a test can get one, as the administration faces criticism over a relatively low amount of testing and lack of tests.
"We trust in a matter of weeks, the coronavirus test will be broadly available to the public and available to any American that is symptomatic and has a concern about the--about the possibility of having contracted the coronavirus," Pence told reporters Friday night. "We've made great progress, but there is much work to be done."
Moments earlier at the Centers for Disease Control, Mr. Trump said repeatedly that "Anybody who wants a test can get a test."
At least 98,000 people in almost 90 countries have caught the COVID-19 disease, which is caused by the novel coronavirus. It has killed almost 3,300 people, and according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins, more than 55,000 patients have recovered from the flu-like illness.
There have been 12 deaths in the United States — 11 in Washington state and one in California.
White House officials have told CBS News' Fin Gomez the Trump administration is discussing plans to take more stringent measures to contain the spread of the virus, including efforts to temporarily advise Americans from traveling on cruise ships.
The Trump administration has faced criticism over the availability of test kits in the United States. Pence has said any American would be able to get tested for the disease — but he acknowledged Thursday, as the government raced to distribute tests, that the capacity wasn't there yet.