House Republican Leader Todd Gilbert called on Governor Northam to explain why COVID-19 testing in Virginia is behind nearly every other state. As other states around the country begin measured reopenings, Virginia continues to lag behind in the testing required for Virginia to begin that process. Virginia currently ranks among the lowest in the nation for testing.
“At first Governor Northam blamed the Trump administration for not getting Virginia the resources needed to conduct tests. Then we learned that Virginia has testing capacity sitting idle,” Gilbert said. “The Governor then said we lacked the swabs and other testing materials. Yet other states have managed to obtain these resources. Something is fundamentally different — and possibly wrong — with the way Virginia’s testing is being handled. Virginians deserve answers, and they deserve them now.”
Virginia has resources that other states could only dream of in the form of research universities, teaching hospitals, and a world class medical system. Yet smaller states like Tennessee and Maryland are managing to conduct thousands more tests daily.
Governor Northam and members of his administration have yet to answer the very basic question about testing: If other states face the same limitations, how have they managed to test thousands more of their citizens than the Commonwealth?