President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus in the press briefing room at the White House, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, in Washington, as Vice President Mike Pence, and Robert Redfield listen. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

One of the issues that has been encountered with addressing the coronavirus has been a problem with testing.

Some on the left have attacked the initial lack of availability of tests for the virus, despite the fact that it’s a new virus, so it wouldn’t necessarily have test kits readily available.

But one of the reasons that testing on a state level has been stalled was actually because of an Food and Drug administration regulation instituted by Barack Obama.

The regulation demanded that state run laboratories could only use medical tests approved by the FDA.

While it might ordinarily seem reasonable to prevent questionable testing, it is a silly rule in the middle of an emergent threat from a new virus and it could prevent people from being properly diagnosed.

From Daily Caller:

Commissioner Stephen Hahn first addressed the testing problem on Saturday by issuing new guidance that would allow the state labs to conduct not-yet-approved coronavirus testing on patients in response to the public health emergency. In return for skirting the Obama-era regulation, laboratories must apply for an F.D.A. review of the new test, document the test’s accuracy and notify the F.D.A. of the test’s validity prior to F.D.A. completing the approval process.

“We believe this policy strikes the right balance during this public health emergency,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn of the rule change. “We will continue to help to ensure sound science prior to clinical testing and follow-up with the critical independent review from the FDA, while quickly expanding testing capabilities in the U.S.”

President Donald Trump also addressed the issue, noting that the rule had been reversed and the problem addressed.

“The Obama administration made a decision on testing that turned out to be very detrimental to what we’re doing, and we undid that decision a few days ago so that the testing can take place at a much more accurate and rapid fashion,” Trump stated. “That was a decision we disagreed with. I don’t think we would have made it, but for some reason it was made. But we’ve undone that decision.”

An example of the unanticipated effects of overregulation, one of the many from the Obama administration.