Washington (CNN) Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday there needs to be "a partnership" between the federal government and states on coronavirus testing, striking a different tone on testing than President Donald Trump, who has recently blamed governors for testing shortfalls in their states and said Sunday "testing is local."

Fauci has frequently offered less optimistic views about the nation's recovery from coronavirus than Trump, and his public statements are being carefully monitored as Trump weighs advice from his medical experts and his own political concerns and aims to reopen the country.

Fauci's remark comes as states pressure the federal government to ramp up testing after the White House issued guidelines on reopening. Several governors, including Larry Hogan of Maryland, have pushed back against the President who has said testing is no longer a problem. Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said on "Good Morning America," "I can empathize with the governor and believe them."

"What we need to do is make a better connectivity with the tests that are available as well as the capacity that in some cases is not used, through no fault of the governor or the local people, that there are now -- should be between one and a half to two-plus million tests per week," Fauci told ABC's George Stephanopoulos. "There are people out there who say, 'We need more, we need maybe two or three times that.' We're striving for that goal but in the meantime with what we have, if it is used strategically, we feel we would be able to have most people enter into phase one after they pass that 14-day gating period."

He continued, "We know it's a problem and it was just mentioned, there are things that are obstacles in the way, that George, we need a partnership between the federal government and the local people, including the governors, to help them get to things that they maybe not have any access to."

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