At a time when Gov. Jay Inslee says testing for COVID-19 is critical to safely reopening the rest of Washington’s economy, an analysis by a free-market think tank found that daily testing has declined steadily from late April to mid-May.
The average number of tests in Washington state dropped in that period by about 8 percent, from 5,109 to 4,685 based on a seven-day average of the state’s data, according to the analysis by the Washington Policy Center, a nonprofit group.
“Increased testing is vital if Washington state policymakers are to understand the extent and risk of the coronavirus,” said Todd Myers, the center’s environmental director.
When asked about the decline, Inslee senior adviser Reed Schuler disputed the numbers. “The last week for which we have complete and accurate testing volume data, the week of May 4, shows weekday testing highs that are roughly similar to the week prior...” he wrote in an email.
Myers stood by his numbers, saying he re-did an analysis published Tuesday and found the same decline in testing with the most recent confirmed data as of May 13.
“It’s a three-week trend,” he said.
The most recent update of the state’s COVID-19 website that tracks testing capacity and availability — which features a pointer on a dial ranging from low to high risk — was moved in the positive direction, Myers said.
The text under the dial says: ”Daily testing numbers remain very roughly steady, up from typical April volumes, but not continuing to increase.”
Myers said: “The dashboard is supposed to provide a data-driven, science-based indication of the status of efforts to fight COVID-19. The phrase ‘very roughly steady’ shows how imprecise and unscientific they actually are.
“Additionally, another way to say that testing is ‘not continuing to increase’ is ‘declining.’ This language is intentionally misleading and is designed to replace the clarity of the data with opaque, political rhetoric,” he added.
Myers said he doesn’t know the reason or whether there are multiple factors for the recent decline in testing. He said it’s not laboratory capacity, since the state has said labs can handle 22,000 tests per day.
At a press briefing Tuesday, Dr. Kathy Lofy, the state health officer and chief science officer, briefly reviewed the daily number of people tested based on when their specimen was collected.
“It looks like maybe the test volume may be a little bit lower last week, but we’re still waiting for this data to be fully complete,” she said.
A reporter asked Dr. Charissa Fotinos, a high-ranking state Health Care Authority official who is leading the statewide testing effort, about the apparent recent decline in testing.
Fotinos said the reasons probably are fewer cases of COVID-like illness and health care providers not knowing that the state has broadened its guidance on who should be tested.
“We need to do a better job of messaging to providers and to the public that if you do have mild symptoms, we would like to have you tested. As our supplies are becoming more steadily incoming and reliable, it will be easier to do,” she said.
this isn't rocket science. It clearly says they're not limiting tests to only symptomatic people. 
