4 states that are reopening — Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Colorado — are not conducting enough coronavirus tests to safely do so, Harvard researchers say

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• Researchers at the Harvard Global Health Institute say the US needs to conduct 900,000 tests a day by May 15 to even think about slowly reopening the economy.
• The US is currently conducting around 250,000 COVID-19 tests a day, up from 150,000 in mid-April.
• Four states that are already reopening — Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Colorado — are not conducting the bare minimum number of tests necessary to safely do so, researchers say.
• "Ultimately, I am deeply worried that four, six, eight weeks down the road we're going to find ourselves in the exact same place we were in in early March, and we will have to shut the economy down again," Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, said in a statement.
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The US has just over a week to increase its daily coronavirus testing capacity by nearly 400%, at a minimum, if states wish to proceed with a relaxation of physical distancing requirements, according to new data from researchers at Harvard University.

"As of this week, national testing is still stalled at around 250,000 daily tests," the Harvard Global Health Institute reported Thursday. That's up from 150,000 COVID-19 tests a day in mid-April — but still half of what the institute deemed necessary two weeks ago. 

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