Here’s what happened. The test kits that were shipped had one reagent that was faulty. That meant there might be some false positives and false negatives, so the CDC decided everything needed to keep going through them. However, the CDC decided Tuesday or Wednesday (after Pence took over oversight) that it was okay to use the test with 2 of the 3 reagent working, that the tests would be reliable enough and testing really couldn’t wait. So the health depts are using those tests.
Cases that test positive by the local health department are considered “presumptive” cases until verified by the CDC, but the CDC said to treat the cases as if they are already confirmed.
In addition, the FDA has loosened regulations so that health departments can use their own tests.