Governor Andrew Cuomo accused the Centers for Disease Control of ‘falling into line’ with ‘head-in-the-sand’ strategy that he says President Donald Trump’s administration has embraced during the Coronavirus Pandemic.
“The Trump administration has one COVID strategy: Denial,” he wrote on Twitter. “If you don’t take your temperature, you don’t have a fever. If you don’t test people for COVID, there are fewer cases.”
He wen on to say that the CDC reversing its guidance to say that people inc lose contact with a COVID-positive person don’t need to get tested is ‘politics’. “This is not science. It’s politics. Politics that are dangerous to public health,” he added. “It’s indefensible.”
ABC News reported the abrupt change in CDC policy on Wednesday.
“The only plausible rationale is they want fewer people taking tests,” Cuomo said during a conference call with reporters. The White House and CDC have not answered questions about the change, which was made quietly on the CDC website this week.
A spokesperson told ABC News that the new guidelines were instituted to ensure that testing is ‘used appropriately’.
“CDC recommends the decision to be tested should be one made in collaboration with public health officials or your health care provider based on individual circumstances and the status of community spread,” the statement continued.
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