President Joe Biden on Monday joined a regular call between the nation’s governors and the White House COVID-19 response team, saying he would follow the advice of his medical team about whether to shorten quarantine periods for people who test positive or are exposed to the virus.
The president also admitted that the current testing system in the U.S. was “clearly not enough” and promised to use federal authority to produce as many tests as possible amid the surge.
Biden told reporters on Monday he would follow the guidance of White House health advisers on whether the quarantine period for people who have COVID-19 can be shorter than ten days.
“I rely on my medical team. I get a recommendation, I follow it,” he said.
He answered the question after his chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told CNN earlier Monday that it’s “under serious consideration.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance for health care workers last week in order to prevent staff shortages. They can now leave quarantine after one week if they are asymptomatic and test negative for COVID-19.
“There are a lot of people in society that are essential for the smooth running of the infrastructure of our society,” Dr. Fauci said. “The idea about cutting down the period of quarantine for people who have been exposed — and perhaps the period of isolation for people who have been infected — is something under serious consideration.”
President Biden on Monday also said that a widespread supply of tests was a federal priority, especially as long lines for testing continued ahead of the holidays.
“Seeing how tough it was for some folks to get a test this weekend shows that we have more work to do,” he said.
The Biden administration launched six new testing sites in New York in the last week and plans to launch more federally run sites.
The federal government has also purchased 500 million at-home, rapid tests for distribution starting in January, and the same tests will be covered by insurance for reimbursement starting in mid-January, the president said.
“It’s clearly not enough,” he said. “If we’d known, we would have gone harder, quicker if we could have.”
“We’re going to continue to use the Defense Production Act to produce as many tests as possible,” he added.
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson spoke at the beginning of the meeting with governors from across the country.
He thanked the president for his speech on omicron last week and his effort to “depoliticize our COVID response.”
“As we face omicron, the governors and your administration must be working together more closely than ever,” Hutchinson said. “I particularly appreciate your comments about increasing the supply chain of rapid COVID tests. This has become a real challenge for the governors.”
And he called on the president to “not let federal solutions stand in the way of state solutions,” such as monopolizing the supply chain for tests and therapeutics.
“Look, there is no federal solution. This gets solved at the state level,” Biden told the governors. “We just have to stay focused and continue to work together. My message to the governors is simple: If you need something, say something and we’re going to have your back in any way we can.”
