U.S. Sen James Lankford expressed frustration Thursday with the pace of coronavirus testing in the United States, while Rep. Kendra Horn's efforts may ensure water service is restored to Oklahoma City residences where it was cut off.
Speaking on Facebook after a briefing for lawmakers with top federal health officials, Lankford said, “Most of the questions circled around testing and a lot of the frustrations about seeing how quickly testing is not happening.
“We have testing happening in America by the tens of thousands, but we’re not moving it through it as fast as it needs to be able to move through by far. There are other countries that are getting testing faster than the United States. There’s been a lot of work to try and get the diagnostics right, to make sure the test is accurate and reliable, but it’s not fast yet and it’s not available to every American.”
Lankford said the goal “is within a few weeks to have anyone who wants to do a test to be able to get a test. The focus is how quickly can we get the testing ramped up.”
Meanwhile, Oklahoma City responded to Horn’s concerns about residences with people living in them where water service has been shut down. Horn, D-Oklahoma City, said Wednesday that people need to be able to wash their hands to prevent the spread of COVID-19. She and other lawmakers urged congressional leaders to send federal aid to cities and towns to restore water service to all residents who had it cut off.
Last year, the city of Oklahoma City shut off water to about 14,700 residences with people living in them.
On Thursday, city spokeswoman Jennifer McClintock said, “Utilities staff have begun discussions to develop protocols concerning the temporary termination of residential water shut-offs. We are working closely with the city’s Emergency Management office and City Manager’s office on the matter, and will implement a response as necessary in the interest of public health.”
Some members of the Oklahoma congressional delegation have had to cancel appearances because of the virus. Horn canceled a town hall meeting scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday in Shawnee. Lankford had been set to attend an event on Saturday in Lawton called Embrace Hope, but organizers canceled it.
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