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U.S. coronavirus task force members: Trump hasn’t asked us to slow testing

House Hearing on COVID-19 Response in Washington, DC
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Robert Redfield listens as Director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci testifies before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on the Trump Administration’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, U.S. June 23, 2020. (Kevin Dietsch/Pool via REUTERS)

BY MICHAEL ERMAN

Four top U.S. public health officials and members of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force said on Tuesday that he has not asked them to slow down testing for the virus.

Testifying before the House Energy & Commerce Committee, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield, and the Department of Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Brett Giroir all said that the president had not asked them to slow down the testing.

Fauci also said the U.S. was currently seeing a disturbing surge of infections in a number of states like Texas, Florida and Arizona. He said one reason infections were rising in those states was an increase in community spread.