Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ administration admitted during a press conference on Thursday that between 800,000 to 1 million COVID-19 tests that were left stockpiled in a warehouse by the state had expired.
The information was revealed during a press conference to announce a plan to send up to 1 million COVID-19 tests to seniors in nursing homes, long-term care facilities, and senior housing.
Kevin Guthrie, the director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, who spoke at the press conference alongside Gov. DeSantis, disclosed the gaffe in response to questions from reporters.
“We had between 800,000 and a million test kits, Abbott rapid test kits, in our warehouse that did expire,” Guthrie admitted.
He further revealed that the tests expired in the last week of December, claiming there wasn’t an adequate demand to use them.
DeSantis also said he asked the Biden administration to extend the expiration dates on the batch of tests.
