Celebrities jump the queue for COVID-19 tests; Foul-play and Inequality Suspected!

Governments around the globe have taken strict and necessary precautions to avoid the spreading of coronavirus. Gradually, everyone has adopted a self-quarantine process to fight the virus. However, several celebrities, politicians and professional athletes faced a backlash this week as many common men revealed that these elite class people had been tested for the coronavirus even when they didn’t have a fever or other tell-tale symptoms. 

While some have already suspected foul-play and inequality, a perception that the wealthy and famous have been able to skip the queue to get tested before others have fueled surprisingly. 

Somehow, the world has always seen preferential treatment underscore a fundamental truth about inequalities baked into the American health care system reports Deccan Chronicle. Financially secured often receive a different level of service.

When asked about the issue on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said the well-to-do and well-connected shouldn’t get priority for coronavirus tests. But the wealthy former reality star conceded that the rich and famous sometimes get perks.

“Perhaps that’s been the story of life,” Trump said during a briefing at the White House. “That does happen on occasion. And I’ve noticed where some people have been tested fairly quickly.”

The reports also claimed that the athletes, celebrity stars and even politicians used their financial status and found a private lab to do the work. A Brooklyn Nets professional basketball team tested themselves with the help of a private lab. On Tuesday they announced that four of its players were positive for the virus, including a perennial All-Star.

Public frustrations over the difficulties getting tested for the new virus have been building since the first U.S. case was confirmed in January 2020. Early missteps with test kits developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, coupled with strict government criteria about who qualified for screening, have led to widespread reports of people struggling to get tested.

Even those who manage to get successfully swabbed often report long delays in getting the results back amid lengthy backlogs at government-run labs.

Seeking to break the logjam, the federal Food and Drug Administration announced earlier this month it would allow major private diagnostic lab companies to begin rolling out new COVID-19 tests and relaxed regulations typically required before new tests can be brought to market.