California’s ability to test people for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, has been limited by incomplete test kits provided by the federal government, the state’s governor said Thursday.

So far only about 1,500 people have been tested in the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said in a press conference. While the state government has 8,000 test kits available, the kits have not all included every necessary component to actually perform the test for COVID-19, Newsom said.

“I continue to reinforce the tests are not complete, kits all do not include re-agents, chemicals, solutions that are components,” Newsom said, adding that it was “imperative” that labs get access to “all ingredients that are components of the test.”

“I’m surprised this is not more of the national conversation,” he said, adding it was analogous to going to a store and buying a printer but not having any ink to print with.

Newsom said that at the “beginning of this process,” the state did not realize the federal government’s test kits were incomplete. The issue became clear after “ambiguity” and “queries” from local labs saying they couldn’t use the kits. There have been backlogs in local labs because tests did not have all the necessary components, he said — though as of Thursday there were no reported backlogs remaining.

The state has been proactively addressing the labs’ needs for missing components to complete tests, including relying on lab company Quest Diagnostics to process backlogged tests. The state is partnering with other commercial labs, as well as university and private hospitals, to supplement testing moving forward.

Newsom said the Centers for Disease Control was “well aware” of the issue and he had spoken to Vice President Mike Pence about it Wednesday. The CDC and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“It’s an issue that needs to be resolved quickly,” Newsom said. He added that he’d been “clear” with federal partners on the importance of providing test kits with all components and that it is “imperative” for them to address the issue, “so we’re not relying on commercial labs for completely integrated tests.”

“We want to test more people,” Newsom said, adding that testing helps give the state “a sense of what we’re dealing with.”

In California, nearly 200 people had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Thursday, and four people had died. Across the U.S., there were more than 1,200 cases and at least 36 deaths in 42 states, per the CDC.

Under a new executive order, the California governor directed people in the state to not hold large gatherings of more than 250 people, including sporting events and concerts.