Ongoing issues with Covid-19 test is 'not a joke' - Harvard expert

The director of the Harvard Global Health Institute Dr Ashish Jha said that US President Trump's comments on slowing down Covid-19 testing is very consistent with the White House's policy in managing the virus, despite the administration's claims the comments were a "joke."

"This is incredibly frustrating for the millions of Americans who have gotten sick and have not been able to get tests. It's got to be incredibly frustrating for people who've lost families in nursing homes, because we haven't been able to test nursing home residents and workers, or meatpacking plant workers. This is unfortunately not a joke," Jha said on Sunday, reports the CNN.

Jha said that the US death toll of more than 100,000 is largely due to the lack of Covid-19 testing infrastructure.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Trump said: "When you increase testing for Covid-19, you find more cases."

"So I said to my people, slow down the testing, please," Trump told the crowd.

After Trump made the comment, an administration official said that the president was "obviously kidding" when he said that he asked for a slowdown in coronavirus testing.

Trump's comments, Jha pointed out, come as many parts of the country are experiencing a surge in Covid-19 cases.

"We have to remember, we are [in the] early days of this pandemic. Not only is it not fading out — this will be with us for at least another 12 months, and that's the most optimistic scenario for having a vaccine," Jha said.