Hawaii state Department of Health microbiologist Mark Nagata demonstrates the process for testing a sample for coronavirus at the department's laboratory in Pearl City, Hawaii, March 3, 2020. /AP 数字还在不断的更新，尽管疫情形势如此严峻，核酸检测却成了巨大的难题。 一天不及时检测排查患者，就意味着更多的人将会被感染。 一方面有很多像求助的网友一样找不到可以检测的机构，或者症状达不到可以检测的条件。 最早的时候，只有过去14天内去过中国或者直接接触过新冠肺炎患者的人才能接受检测。直到出现无旅行史，无接触史的患者后，才适当放宽标准。 The death toll from the infection has risen to 11 in the United States as of Wednesday afternoon, including 10 in Washington state and one in California. There are 158 novel coronavirus cases in the U.S., according to local media. The need for testing became urgent as the first COVID-19 patient with no travel history and no exposure to confirmed cases was identified last week. Most labs follow a stringent criteria that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) set up to determine who could be tested. Before the first case of unknown origin was reported, only those who had traveled to China in the past 14 days of developing symptoms and those who had contact with coronavirus patients were eligible for testing. The high bar set for COVID-19 testing meant that those with mild symptoms were denied access. A delay in testing means the virus may now be circulating undetected in communities across the country, which significantly increases the likelihood of cross-infection. 与此同时，一线的医生也表示，他们也没办法，连检测试剂都没有，面对病人也只能干着急。 3月2日，在CNBC的访谈上，纽约长老会医院的医生马特·麦卡锡说他们一线医生手头仍没有可以快速检测新冠病毒的试剂，以至于“不得不恳求”政府让他们给病人做新冠检测。 麦卡锡说，在纽约州，仅仅检测的32人中就发现了第一个病例。而现在都已经三月了，还是没拿到可用的试剂。 “这是国家级丑闻！” “有些国家每天能检测上万人，但我们现在还做不到，”他说。 其实早在一月，德国的研究团队已经研发短时间内能检测新冠病毒的方法，但是美国疾控中心 (CDC) 表示我们不用… 二月中旬，CDC向州和地方卫生实验室发放了数百套自主研发的核酸试剂，然而发现生产缺陷又召回，所以二月份的病毒检测几乎停止… In the early weeks of the coronavirus outbreak, only U.S. state public labs were allowed to conduct COVID-19 testing. Local hospitals, if they wanted to test for the virus, needed to validate their test with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a lengthy onerous process that is likely to take a few days. Faulty test kits also delayed public health officials' response. The 200 test kits sent by the CDC in early February to public health labs were later announced to be flawed. All samples were required to be sent to the central CDC headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, which significantly delayed the diagnosis and treatment process. Data from the CDC shows that as of March 1, one in one million were tested for COVID-19 in the U.S. In comparison, in South Korea, it was 2,138 per million, and in Italy, 386 per million. 面对检测难愈演愈烈的批评声，据美联社北京时间3月4日报道，美国副总统终于宣布CDC将发布新的指导方针，明确规定“任何美国人都可以接受检查，不受任何限制，听从医嘱”。 美国食品药物监督管理局（FDA）局长斯蒂芬·哈恩也表示，在私人公司和学术研究中心的帮助下，到本周末将能够进行100万次新冠病毒测试。 记者会过后，CDC宣布网站不再更新接受检测、以及检测结果为阴性的人数。给出的理由是由各个州统计数据更具代表性。 At a press conference on Wednesday, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence announced that the CDC is going to lift all restrictions on COVID-19 testing. Any American can be tested for COVID-19 subject to doctors' orders, according to Pence. Following the nation-wide call for more testing, and as the fear of community transmission increases, the CDC began shipping test kits to private labs across the country. Hundreds of academic hospital labs are authorized to offer coronavirus testing, while commercial companies are also encouraged to develop their own testing kits. 2,500 test kits with a capacity of up to 500 tests each will be supplied to laboratories by the end of Friday, able to perform up to one million coronavirus tests, according to FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn. 谁来给民众买单？ Women and children walk past personnel in protective clothing after being evacuated from Wuhan, at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, California, January 29. /Reuters 众所周知美国的医疗费用很高，若开放核酸检测，那谁会为这次的疫情买单？ 首先是有保险的人，目前情况下，公共实验室的检测将免费，彭斯还宣布将疫情相关项目加入保险范围。私人机构看病的费用将正常报销。但治疗费，个人可能仍要负担不少。 比如说有一个之前从武汉撤回美国接受隔离的人，他收到了医院超过3000美元的帐单。 But as the availability of test kits increase, costs associated with the tests also become a problem. Those with medical insurance can have their testing cost covered just as other type of care. For tests conducted in public labs, no cost will be incurred. But as the CDC announced that it would work with commercial firms to expand testing, private companies may issue separate bills for the test. But even if testing is free, other associated costs may not be. The U.S. health care system has already come under fire in recent days for charging hefty bills for government-mandated quarantines. According to the New York Times report, among a dozen Americans flown back from Wuhan and quarantined in the U.S., one was charged for over 3,000 U.S. dollars for his hospital visit. 而更值得关注的是美国那2750万没有医保的人，如若感染，他们将面临巨额的医药费。 如果因为害怕要支付巨额费用而避免就诊，他们会不会就此错过治疗机会。 如果是这样，这不仅意味着更多的人将被感染，也意味着更多的死亡将悄无声息的发生… 面对这样的提问，彭斯在当天的记者会上并没有回答，而是直接转身离开了。 For the 27.5 million uninsured in the U.S., they may have no choice but to foot an exorbitantly high medical bill, including costs of visiting the doctors' office and emergency room cost. The concern is that the uninsured would skip treatment for fear of its overwhelming cost and thus miss the chance for early treatment. It is increasingly the case that the burdens of COVID-19 are falling disproportionately on those who are vulnerable because of their economic, social and health status. To remove the financial barrier for people to go and get screened at the hospital would be key to containing the spread of the virus. 病毒不分国界，不管是信息公开也好，检测和治疗保障政策也好，事实证明，不仅要说到，还要做到才能真正的解决问题。 如果满分100分，你给美国政府的疫情防控措施打几分？ 推荐阅读：评论 | 撒谎不会让美国再次伟大 疫情恐慌蔓延金融危机将再现？美政府：小题大作多国确诊首例！世界卫生组织：全球疫情处于关键时刻