Phoenix Mayor Gallego calls on federal government for more virus testing
Jul 6, 2020, 6:30 PM
(Getty Images/Simon Dawson - Pool)
(Getty Images/Simon Dawson - Pool)
PHOENIX — As positive coronavirus cases continue to soar in Maricopa County, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego has called for assistance from the federal government to provide additional testing capabilities.
“My top request right now is more aid from the federal government for testing,” Gallego told CNN’s The Situation Room on Monday.
The Democratic mayor said that Monday marked a 28.8% positivity rate for COVID-19 tests in Maricopa County.
“If we had sufficient numbers of testing, you’d expect to see a positive rate around 2%, but we are only testing the sickest,” she added.
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Gallego also said she visited a testing site over the weekend where, she claimed, patients waited up to eight hours to receive a COVID-19 test.
“It was a terrible situation, so I would love to see the federal government step up and help us,” she said.
Gallego added that when she has asked the federal government for help, the response has been that agencies intend to move away from community-based testing sites.
As of Monday morning, Maricopa County’s 64,915 coronavirus cases accounted for nearly 64% of Arizona’s total positive cases, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Maricopa County also reported 881 COVID-19 deaths — nearly half of the 1,810 that have been reported throughout the state.
