Worse Than Even the Harshest Critics Imagined: CDC Denies Coronavirus Testing

When China was being attacked from all side for its slow response to the virus, I said let's wait until we see how other nations handle it. There's some legitimate criticism of China's actions, especially censoring doctors who were speaking about the new virus early on, but overall their response has contained the disease.

I posted earlier on the CDC's terrible guidelines for detecting coronavirus and discussed the potential for a major shift in the U.S. political system. Yet even my worries may prove too sanguine if this report on Reddit is true.

Reddit: My COVID-19 Story. Brooklyn.

At this point, the hospital called the CDC requesting permission to perform the COVID-19 testing. The CDC denied the request on the ground that I did not have the most life-threatening symptoms: chest pain and shortness of breath. According to everything I read it's very likely not to have these symptoms if you're in your 30's and relatively healthy.

And... that was that. They discharged me, said I don't have Corona virus, since they didn't test me for it, and said I can ride the subway, return to work, do whatever I want.

Of course my doctor disagreed. She said I should treat myself as if I am infected. My partner is currently staying in a nearby hotel since we live in a studio apartment. I've performed a self-quarantine for 14 days. Fortunately I can work from home and my partner can deliver me groceries if I run out.

But I don't think that many people are aware of the fact that they're actively not testing people for COVID-19, even people who have travel history to high-risk places.

The government is an incompetent clown show and this isn't simply one administration. There is deep rot in the bureaucracy. This is honestly what I would expect to hear from a country such as Iran or North Korea, or a completely dysfunctional African country.

While the U.S. still looks like it might get lucky by dint of having time to prepare, it does look like the case number will end up substantially higher than it otherwise could have been.