Trump wants everyone to know the U.S. is testing more people than South Korea. Critics say that misses the point.

President Trump and White House coronavirus testing coordinator Adm. Brett Giroir on Monday hammered home the point that the United States has surpassed South Korea — considered by many to be the gold standard when it comes to national coronavirus responses — in COVID-19 tests per capita. That did indeed happen last month, but analysts quickly pointed out that the statement misses the point.

Because South Korea acted so quickly and has a much clearer understanding of how widespread the epidemic is in the country, there wasn't a need to test as many people as the situation improved and fewer people became sick over time. The U.S., meanwhile, is still dealing with a lot of uncertainty about the scale of the outbreak and has subsequently put a lot of effort into ramping up its testing capacity. That's a good thing, of course, but it doesn't necessarily mean its program is more effective than those of other countries. It may even actually highlight the U.S.' initially slower, or at least less cohesive, response.

As is often the case, the numbers can help clarify. Tim O'Donnell

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