EDITORIAL: Testing kits are crucial to controlling virus

The coronavirus dam has broken, symbolized by the nation’s sports organizations. The NBA and NHL have gone on hiatus. Major League Baseball on Thursday pushed back opening day by two weeks. The NCAA basketball tournament is off. The Olympics and the NFL draft — scheduled for Las Vegas — are in jeopardy.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced — among other things — a monthlong suspension of flights from Europe, not including the United Kingdom. “If you want to be blunt,” said Robert Redfield, the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Europe is the new China.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testified before a House Committee that “we will see more cases, and things will get worse than they are right now.” The total in Nevada has risen to 11.

As it stands, a lack of coronavirus test kits represents the biggest barrier to identifying the extent of the problem and implementing an effective containment strategy. That, in turn, is fueling the abundance of caution apparent in the growing list of shutdowns and postponements. The top priority of the White House and Congress must be to provide the resources necessary to ensure that health professionals have an ample supply of such kits, which will almost certainly involve bringing in private laboratories. Some progress has been made in this regard — the CDC announced this week that testing was available in all 50 states and capacity was increasing daily — but more must be done.

Meanwhile, the Dow has lost one-third of its value over the past two weeks and is now in bear territory. The economic ramifications of this pandemic will touch every corner of the economy, with Southern Nevada being especially vulnerable given its heavy reliance on tourism.

All the news is not bad, however. Cases of the virus have dropped significantly in both China and South Korea, suggesting that aggressive measures can prevent its spread. In addition, public health experts now have a greater understanding of the virus’s viability on various surfaces, data that will be helpful in slowing its transmission. While the death rate of the coronavirus is 10 times that of the normal flu, about 80 percent of those infected will experience only mild symptoms. Progress against the illness is being made.

”We can now quickly isolate areas of infected patients and minimize further transmission,” writes Dr. Manny Alvarez of New Jersey’s Hackensack University Medical Center. “Patients suspected of having the coronavirus are understanding the importance of self-quarantine. Vaccine production is being analyzed at a very fast pace.”

That may be of little solace to those whose lives and livelihoods have been disrupted by the virus. But by taking common-sense precautions, Nevadans can be part of the eventual solution and hasten a return to normalcy.