PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) – Arizona’s five Democrats in the House of Representatives are calling on the federal government to help Arizona with a coronavirus testing blitz as coronavirus cases surge.
Rep. Ruben Gallego tweeted out a letter that he, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, Rep. Raul Grijalva, Rep. Tom O’Halleran and Rep. Greg Stanton sent to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency on the state’s behalf. They say COVID-19 testing is "dangerously" limited and hasn't kept up with demand.
"Arizonans have reported waiting in line for up to 13 hours for a test and having to wait as long as three weeks to receive the results," the letter said.
The Democrats also said Arizona is in the bottom third for per-capita testing and has the highest positive test rate in the nation at 25%. They're asking FEMA and DHHS to create testing sites in Arizona, especially in hot spots and underserved areas. Since the feds have scaled back some of their community-based testing sites in other parts of the country, the group feels that the federal government could use those resources in Arizona.
Arizona saw nearly 3,700 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday and 117 deaths. That puts the total at more than 105,000 cases in the state since the pandemic started and nearly 2,000 deaths.