| President Donald Trump plans to go live from the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday to talk to Americans about safely returning to work, but employers who want to test their workers for Covid-19 may not have much success. While large companies like Amazon.com are weighing whether and how to test employees, including those without symptoms, a top Food and Drug Administration testing official said the infrastructure just isn't there. "This is an extremely challenging question about testing asymptomatic people in certain situations like return-to-work," said Timothy Stenzel, director of the FDA's office that evaluates new testing products, during a town hall with labs on Wednesday. "Exactly how this should be done is still an unknown scientifically."  A diagram displays the nasal swab contact point for detection. Photographer: Cyril Marcilhacy/Bloomberg Aside from the fact that the U.S. is still playing catch-up on testing people that have symptoms, one hurdle is the FDA hasn't authorized any test for the novel coronavirus for use on people who don't. This might not stop a testmaker from giving an employer results on asymptomatic employees, but it would mean the agency hasn't reviewed any data to validate the claim. There is also a question about which type of swab is best to use to test asymptomatic people. Furthermore, swabs generally are in short supply, and the procedure itself is uncomfortable, Stenzel said. All this means that at least for now employers will likely be stuck reacting to Covid-19 cases that crop up among their workers, not catching them as they walk in the door.—Anna Edney | 
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