No discussions occurred between WHO and the CDC about providing tests to the United States, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told CNN on Tuesday, and WHO did not offer coronavirus tests to the CDC. US chose to design its own coronavirus testOn January 17, WHO published a protocol from German researchers with the instructions necessary for any country to manufacture coronavirus tests. Testing began at the CDC, and on February 5, the agency announced it would begin shipping test kits to public health labs around the country. Days after CDC's tests shipped, some labs reported that the test kits were not working as expected, which eventually required tests be re-manufactured. On March 1, an official at US Health and Human Services said the agency had launched an investigation into a manufacturing defect in the CDC tests.

Source: CNN March 18, 2020 06:56 UTC