The 615 new cases would be the highest one-day total yet, but Health Commissioner Dr. Tom Farley said the figure is a result of reconciling information from older tests — some from 10 days ago.
Currently, testing is limited to people with symptoms who are over the age of 50 or health care workers because of a shortage of supplies.
The main problem is swabs, which are made by two companies in the U.S.
Puritan has been making 1 million swabs a day since the federal government asked it to expand production last month. BD, in Maryland, began ramping up in January and has been at maximum capacity for a month.
“We have ordered supplies — we did order 10,000, we got 500. It’s unclear when we’re going to get more. The companies that are manufacturing these are only making so many, and they’re essentially rationing them across the country, so nobody has enough,” he said. “I thought when we started, this problem would have been solved by now.
“I don’t understand why it hasn’t been solved, and I hope the federal government can help us solve this problem. We can’t continue to control this epidemic flying blind like this, testing the small number of people we’re testing now.”
A spokesman said, “The medical technology ecosystem all needs to work together to produce as many tests as we can. BD is part of consortiums and collaborations to help achieve this goal.”
Related
In other Philadelphia coronavirus-related developments:
Single-use plastic bag ban
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the city is pushing back its effective date for the ban of single-use plastic bags from July to Jan. 1, 2021.
The city said it wants to ensure that businesses are supported when they reopen, so the initial bag ban date is no longer realistic.
The announcement came on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.
Courts still closed
Philadelphia courts are now closed for the entire month of May, per a new order from the city's top judge, which also outlines how criminal and civil courts should proceed.
Sheriff sales are also suspended until June.
The judge urged anyone who is summoned for jury duty or subpoenaed to court during this pandemic to not go, and instead wait for further instructions.
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