John Cornyn: “I thank my friend from Vermont for his courtesy. Yesterday, Texas reported almost 7,000 new coronavirus cases, setting a…”

“I thank my friend from Vermont for his courtesy. Yesterday, Texas reported almost 7,000 new coronavirus cases, setting a new single-day record. As cases have climbed in recent weeks, it has become clear that we need to take what we have learned about this virus and adjust our strategy. In the beginning, we were still learning about this novel virus and how it is transmitted, while also trying to maximize scarce resources. I think the best analogy I can think of--we were trying to design and build an airplane while we were flying it. Because of that, only individuals with symptoms or who had been in contact with a person who had tested positive could be tested themselves, but we know a lot has changed in the last few months. We have learned that individuals can have the virus even if they aren't showing symptoms. Recent studies in North Carolina and New York have shown that somewhere between 12 and 20 percent of people could have the COVID-19 antibodies. In other words, they have had the virus, and they recovered, but they didn't even know they were sick in the first place, but the problem is they can still spread it to others. As our knowledge about the coronavirus has increased, so have our testing capacities, but I think it is important to take stock of where we are and to see how we need to adjust further to, again, what we have learned by hard experience.…”