CORONAVIRUS UPDATE — APRIL 2, 2020
Driving the Day:
https://twitter.com/Covid19WarRoom/status/1245419663024173064
By The Numbers
Thursday, April 2, 7:30 AM
Number of US cases reported: 216,722
Number of US deaths: 5,137
Total Number of People Tested in US: 1,168,997 (may not include all labs)
New York Times: How U.S. Coronavirus Diagnoses Are Lagging Behind the Outbreak
New York Times: Jobless Claims Hit 3.3 Million in the Last Report. This Week’s Will Probably Be Worse.
Stat: The coronavirus is washing over the U.S. These factors will determine how bad it gets in each community
What to Watch For
President Trump has no public events today. The coronavirus task force will hold a press briefing at 5:00 PM.
Trump’s Failure to Prepare & How He’s Making it Worse
- Broken, Depleted National Stockpile: More than 2,000 ventilators in the federal stockpile are broken or poorly maintained and may not be usable. A company was tasked with maintaining the ventilator stockpile until the Trump administration let the contract lapse last August. DHS officials report that the federal stockpile is nearly depleted leaving states and hospitals on their own to procure more supplies.
- New Evidence Trump Was Warned: Even more evidence has emerged that the Trump administration ignored ample warnings that a global pandemic posed a significant threat to the country. A 2017 Pentagon study found that, “The most likely and significant threat is a novel respiratory disease, particularly a novel influenza disease” and anticipated shortages of ventilators and crucial medical supplies. The study was ignored and now the Pentagon is seeking up to 100,000 military-style body bags for use by civilians during the outbreak.
- Jared’s In Charge And The States Are On Their Own: Without oversight or authorization, presidential son-in-law Jared Kusher has taken control of the government’s coronavirus response, focusing on the private sector and operating out of FEMA, raising concerns that efforts are being duplicated and ethics laws broken. The “hands off approach” and focus on the private sector has left governors scrambling to fight each other for supplies “on ebay with 50 other states” and pleading with billionaires to lend their planes to make supply runs, and members of Congress racing to procure their own protective equipment for hospitals and workers in their districts.
The Atlantic: The Other Way the Coronavirus Will Ravage Our Cities
Axios: A new American coronavirus consensus
Bloomberg: Pentagon Seeking 100,000 Body Bags for Civilians in Crisis
CNN: Pence seeks to blame CDC and China for any delay in US coronavirus response — not Trump’s initial failure to face reality
CNN: Documents show backlog of 160,000 coronavirus tests at just one lab company
Mother Jones: The Trump Administration Is Ignoring Nurses’ Calls for New Coronavirus Protections
The Nation: The Military Knew Years Ago That a Coronavirus Was Coming
New Republic: The U.S. Military Can Barely Protect Itself From the Coronavirus
New York Times: Governors Fight Back Against Coronavirus Chaos: ‘It’s Like Being on eBay With 50 Other States’
New York Times: A Ventilator Stockpile, With One Hitch: Thousands Do Not Work
NPR: FEMA Hadn’t Ordered Ventilators. Manufacturers Forged Ahead Anyway
Politico: Behind the scenes, Kushner takes charge of coronavirus response
Politico: Desperate lawmakers hunt for medical supplies as Trump takes hands-off approach
Politico (Column): Trump’s Breakdown
Popular Information: A deadly corporate lobbying campaign
Stat (Opinion): Navigating the Covid-19 pandemic: We’re just clambering into a life raft. Dry land is far away
Washington Post: Protective gear in national stockpile is nearly depleted, DHS officials say
Trump’s Misinformation
- Pro-Trump Media Misinformation: Trump’s supporters in the right wing media have reacted to the coronavirus with doubt, cynicism and misinformation, and as a result a new Pew poll shows that Fox News watchers are still overwhelmingly likely to say that the media is exaggerating the threat of the virus. One result of the proliferation of misinformation is an increase in security protection for Dr. Anthony Fauci as he faces death threats.
CNN: White House Correspondents Association removes far-right outlet from briefing room rotation
Daily Beast: Trump Literally Laughed at How He Can Game the Press With His ‘New Tone’
New York Times: Alarm, Denial, Blame: The Pro-Trump Media’s Coronavirus Distortion
Politico: Trump’s new coronavirus argument: 2 million people are being saved
Washington Examiner: That viral story on FDA approving two-minute coronavirus test looks like a cruel April Fools’ hoax
Washington Post (Opinion): Kellyanne Conway’s ugly deceptions preview the Big Lie to come
Washington Post (Opinion): Fox News watchers still think the media hyped coronavirus
Washington Post: Anthony Fauci’s security is stepped up as doctor and face of U.S. coronavirus response receives threats
Trump, GOP Only Looking Out for Themselves
- Trump And Pence Have No Plan For The Uninsured: At the Wednesday evening press briefing Trump and Pence danced around the fact that they have no plan to provide health insurance for the uninsured and have blocked efforts to re-open Affordable Care Act enrollment. Pence suggested that Medicaid could cover some people in need, but 14 Republican states remain steadfastly opposed to expanding the program. Despite the crisis, Republicans in the administration and the states continue to press on with their campaign of sabotage and repeal against the Affordable Care Act.
- Wealthy Get The Masks, Poor Get Red Tape: The Los Angeles Times reports that the Trump administration’s focus on the private sector and philanthropic effort by billionaires rather than directing production and distribution has left small hospitals and nursing homes behind, “especially those who lack relationships with suppliers, ties to wealthy donors or the money to buy scarce equipment at a time when prices on the open market are skyrocketing.” At the same time, the New York Times reports that the administration is erecting hurdles that may prevent the neediest Amerians from accessing the funds promised in the stimulus package.
Daily Beast: Trump Hates Sharing the Stage More Than He Loves America
Daily Beast: Florida Gov. Says He’ll Only Let Floridians Off Coronavirus-Infected Cruise Ship
HuffPost: The White House Wanted To Give $0 To Tribes In The $2 Trillion Stimulus Bill
Los Angeles Times: As Trump lets private sector supply the coronavirus fight, the well-connected often get first dibs
New York Times: Needy Will Face Hurdles to Getting Coronavirus Stimulus
Politico: Trump hints at using federal programs to provide coverage after Obamacare decision
Vanity Fair: Republicans Could Kill Obamacare In The Middle Of Coronavirus Recovery
Vanity Fair: “The Campaign Panicked”: Inside Trump’s Decision to Back Off of His Easter Coronavirus Miracle
Wall Street Journal: Trump to Meet With Oil CEOs About Helping Industry
Washington Post: Pelosi should ‘stand down’ on passing another rescue bill in House, McConnell says
Washington Post: Secret Service signs contract this week to rent golf carts in town of Trump club
Other News
Affordability And Access
Axios: Medicaid will be a coronavirus lifeline
The City: Cast Adrift By The Virus, The Newly Homeless Seek A Place To Recover
Vox: The coronavirus’s unpredictable impact on next year’s health insurance rates, explained
Campaigns and Elections
NBC: Wisconsin, facing heavy criticism, plans Tuesday primary despite coronavirus
New York Times: Democrats Fear for Their Convention. For Republicans, ‘The Show Must Go On.’
Politico: How the coronavirus is shaping the 2024 presidential race
Congress
Politico: How Congress will keep an eye on $2 trillion in coronavirus money
Democratic Response
The Hill: Pro-Democratic group slams Trump’s coronavirus response in Midwest ad campaign
Washington Times: Outside groups launch attack ads aimed at Trump, Biden in three battleground states
Diplomacy
Politico: Russia sends plane with medical supplies to U.S. for coronavirus response
Economic Impact
New York Times: ‘Never Thought I Would Need It’: Americans Put Pride Aside to Seek Aid
Washington Post: One block, at least 140 jobs lost
Education
Axios: Pandemic sparks a run on hotspot devices for students
Federal Activity
Associated Press: Why Rural Areas Are In A Particularly Tough Situation As Coronavirus Spreads
Politico: DC Leaders Fear An Outbreak That Cripples The Country
Politico: FEMA Braces for A Multi-Front War As Hurricane Season Looms
Politico: Police, firefighters look to Trump for help as masks and gloves go to health care workers
Politico: Social distancing guidelines will likely be in place beyond April, surgeon general says
Vox: Millions of N95 masks keep surfacing. So why is there still a shortage?
Hospitals and Health Care Workers
ABC: Some hospitals are facing an oxygen shortage amid coronavirus crisis
Lexington Herald Leader: Kentucky hospital chain furloughs about 500 employees as coronavirus saps business
NBC: Nursing homes overwhelmed by coronavirus: ‘It is impossible for us to stop the spread’
Governors and Mayors
New York Times: Cuomo Is a Media Hero in the Pandemic. De Blasio Is a Scapegoat.
Immigration And Travel
Vox: The missing piece in the coronavirus stimulus bill: Relief for immigrants
International
Bloomberg: China Concealed Extent of Virus Outbreak, U.S. Intelligence Says
Bloomberg: China’s Divorce Spike Is a Warning to Rest of Locked-Down World
Politico: UK faces testing crunch as crisis worsens
Wall Street Journal: Italy’s Coronavirus Death Toll Is Far Higher Than Reported
In the States
Anchorage Daily News: In an Alaska town where almost everyone lives under the same roof, the pandemic threat feels different
Associated Press: Los Angeles mayor urges everyone to wear masks
Axios: Florida’s slow response may have made its coronavirus outbreak worse
Bloomberg: Florida Follows Others in Allowing Church Amid Stay-Home Order
NBC: Cruise ship passengers desperately plead with Florida to allow them in
Politico: Want a Florida beachfront hotel? Get coronavirus
Wall Street Journal: A Million N95 Masks Are Coming From China—on Board the New England Patriots’ Plan
Washington Post: Buffalo braces to become a coronavirus battleground, even as Cuomo seeks statewide help for New York City
Washington Post: 28 University of Texas spring breakers who flouted public health advice test positive for coronavirus
Washington Post: Florida governor issues coronavirus stay-at-home order after heavy criticism
National Security
Associated Press: Extremists see global chaos from virus as an opportunity
Public Safety
Axios: FBI sees record number of gun background checks amid coronavirus
Axios: Increase in domestic violence feared during virus lockdown
Science
Bloomberg: A Coronavirus Fix That Passes the Smell Test
NBC: Doctors can’t use COVID-19 antibodies from gay men or anyone taking PrEP
New York Times: If You Have Coronavirus Symptoms, Assume You Have the Illness, Even if You Test Negative
New York Times: The Coronavirus Patients Betrayed by Their Own Immune Systems
New York Times: Malaria Drug Helps Virus Patients Improve, in Small Study
Social Impact
New York Times: Coronavirus Misbehavior: When Was Licking a Toilet Ever a Good Idea?
Workers
The Guardian: California’s farm workers pick America’s essential produce – unprotected from coronavirus
HuffPost: The Coronavirus Worker Revolt Is Just Beginning
New York Times: Exposed. Afraid. Determined.
Trump Tweets
Congress must pass the old, and very strongly proven, deductibility by businesses on restaurants and entertainment. This will bring restaurants, and everything related, back – and stronger than ever. Move quickly, they will all be saved! [@realDonaldTrump, 4/1/20]