Some 1,700 samples recommended by doctors for coronavirus testing sit frozen in Minnesota laboratories, untested, because of inadequate test supplies, Gov. Tim Walz said Wednesday in highlighting his “frustration” with the situation.

It’s a striking number because the total number of people tested in the state was 2,762, underscoring the impact of test rationing that was put in place earlier this week to a nationwide testing regimen already widely seen as woefully underpowered.

The figure of frozen samples suggests the total number of cases — confirmable yet not confirmed — is much higher than the 77 officially reported Wednesday. (If the rate of positive tests were on par with what has been tested so far, an additional 47 cases would be confirmed.)

State health officials have steadily been saying that they believe the actual number of cases is indeed higher, but that it’s irrelevant for those who are sick, since they should stay home, as should their family members, whether they have a positive diagnosis or not.

Yet, they’ve also expressed frustration that some portions of the population aren’t taking the COVID-19 outbreak seriously and ignoring social distancing recommendations — recommendations that might be more widely heeded if officials could show a truer extent of the virus’ spread.

But with a jittery public thirsty for information and absorbing news that people with no symptoms could be spreading the bug, the degree of test rationing also reveals how far away the state is from meaningful surveillance testing — random tests of the general population or of patients with other potential symptoms. Such figures give health experts a better picture of how widespread the outbreak is, and where it might be flaring up unseen.

The World Health Organization recommends widespread and rapid testing as a crucial tool for “contact tracing,” the practice of informing — and often testing — people who have come into contact with a known carrier of the virus.

It’s all important information not just for the public, but for hospitals bracing for a surge of patients, as well as policy makers trying to weigh what aggressive measures to employ next.

“The lack of testing capacity is still hampering us,” Walz said in an afternoon briefing to the media. “It’s the data from testing that allows us to model where this is gonna go.”

TEST RATIONING

On Monday, health officials announced they would begin to ration testing to only those with the highest needs or vulnerabilities. That means people who are hospitalized, medical workers and those in communal living situations, especially long-term care facilities.

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Study suggests sufficient vitamin D levels can lower coronavirus risk The move was needed because various supplies, from swabs for gathering samples to chemicals needed in the lab, were coming up short. The shortages appear to have compounded as the week has progressed. At one point Wednesday morning, for example, private labs that had begun to perform their own testing, signaled they might have to cease, said Kris Ehresmann, infectious disease director for the Minnesota Department of Health.

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The supply shortage came on top of a national testing landscape that was already problematic.

U.S FAR BEHIND

The United States fell behind many other nations before the outbreak even took hold, partly due to faulty tests supplied by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but also as a result of a system that focused on quality controls but appears to have been too inflexible to rapidly ramp up to meet a spike in demand of a scale not seen in modern times, federal officials have said.

Here are some estimated numbers, in terms of tests completed per million residents, according the British nonprofit Our World Data and the COVID Tracking Project, as of Tuesday:

286,716: South Korea, widely seen as the most successful Democracy in fighting back an outbreak.

148,657: Italy, which is regarded as a country that reacted late at the onset of its outbreak and is now seen as a cautionary tale for the U.S.

41,552: United States

“We have done less than Greece,” Walz said, referring to a slightly different set of numbers that were shared among governors from numerous states who have been participating in a daily coronavirus conference call. “We have a sight picture that is very difficult to bring into focus.”

FLYING BLIND

Walz said he and his fellow governors are frustrated that they’re flying with incomplete intelligence as they grapple with a range of responses — none of which are pleasant for people and all of which can have crushing effects for the economy.

While Walz said he didn’t think a drastic “shelter in place” recommendation was in order for Minnesota, he said he and other governors and health experts are erring on the side of caution with measures like closing schools and businesses where people congregate because “days matter,” he said, repeating it for emphasis: “Days matter.”

DIFFERENCE IN TONE

Walz’ comments carried a notably different tone than those hours earlier by Ehresmann at the health department’s daily telephone briefing, where she and other state health officials generally start the discussion with updates on daily tests and results.

As she continually emphasized the practical mantra of “stay home if you’re sick,” she also criticized the media about repeated questions about and coverage of testing. “When the message in the media continues to talk about testing, that gives the wrong impression,” she said.