Coronavirus latest: Over 74K new cases in US children since early August, report says

ABC News contacted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday night inquiring about the updates to its COVID-19 testing guidelines, what evidence exists to justify the changes and whether the agency can address concerns from the public that this was done for political reasons to reduce case numbers.

But the answer that came back was from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, not the CDC.

"CDC recommends the decision to be tested should be one made in collaboration with public health officials or your health care provider based on individual circumstances and the status of community spread," an HHS spokesperson told ABC News in an email. "The Guidance fully supports public health surveillance testing, done in a proactive way through federal, state, and local public health officials."

The HHS spokesperson listed the following as bullet points on the intent of the CDC’s updated guidance: "Ensure testing is used appropriately and individuals are protecting themselves and others; Place an emphasis on testing individuals for both clinical and/or public health reasons, including the testing of asymptomatic people when directed by public health leaders or health care providers; Emphasize how negative tests should be interpreted, and how they should (and should not) be acted on."

The White House declined to comment on whether the president or any administration staff was involved with or had any communications with the CDC or HHS about the updated guidelines.

ABC News’ Anne Flaherty and Ben Gittleson contributed to this report.

There were 38,174 new cases of COVID-19 identified in the United States on Tuesday, according to a count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

Tuesday’s tally is well below the country's record set on July 16, when 77,255 new cases were identified in a 24-hour reporting period. It’s the third straight day that the country has reported less than 40,000 new cases.

An additional 1,242 coronavirus-related deaths were also recorded Tuesday, a nearly threefold increase from the previous day. The latest daily death toll is still under the record 2,666 new fatalities that were reported on April 17.

A total of 5,779,371 people in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 178,524 of them have died, according to Johns Hopkins. The cases include people from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C. and other U.S. territories as well as repatriated citizens.

By May 20, all U.S. states had begun lifting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The day-to-day increase in the country's cases then hovered around 20,000 for a couple of weeks before shooting back up and crossing 70,000 for the first time in mid-July.

However, the numbers of new COVID-19 cases and new deaths in the United States have both decreased by substantial amounts in week-over-week comparisons, according to an internal memo from the Federal Emergency Management Agency obtained by ABC News Tuesday night.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quietly updated its COVID-19 testing guidelines online Monday to suggest that people probably don’t need a test, even if they have been in close contact with someone who is infected or if they have attended a large gathering.

The new guidance directly contracts what CDC director Robert Redfield told ABC News last month: "Anyone who thinks they may be infected -- independent of symptoms -- should get a test.”

Redfield’s comments came as political protests erupted and President Donald Trump insisted on large indoor campaign rallies where most attendees didn’t wear masks. The CDC had updated its guidelines in July to specifically urge people without symptoms to get tested if they have come in contact with someone who has COVID-19, such as working the same shift at a job.

But now, the CDC says testing isn’t necessary so long as the individual doesn’t show symptoms.

“You do not necessarily need a test unless you are a vulnerable individual or your health care provider or State or local public health officials recommend you take one,” the CDC states on its website. 

ABC News has reached out to the CDC for comment.

ABC News’ Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.