Then & Now: With One Week Until Voting Ends, Trump Has Made Matters Worse On Virtually Every Metric Since The Pandemic Began Eight Months Ago

 

	THEN	NOW
On Cases	Trump in February promised the United States’ caseload would soon “be down close to zero.”  Single-day infections peaked around 36,000 in the first wave, and 77,000 in the second wave.	The United States is reporting, on average, 70,000 new infections each day. Single-day increases in infections have reached 80,000. More than 8.7 million people have been infected and cases are only accelerating.
On Testing	Trump failed to ramp up testing and let the virus spiral out of control.	Eight months into the pandemic, only nine states are meeting standards experts say necessary to mitigate the spread of the virus, while the United States is testing at only 56% of expert-recommended levels.
On Hospitalizations	A surging virus overwhelmed hospitals in the spring, mostly in the northeast. A resurgent virus overwhelmed hospitals over the summer, mostly in the south.	An aggressive third wave of the virus is overwhelming hospitals all over the country, as 38 states are reporting increasing hospitalization numbers.
On Deaths	Trump on April 19 predicted that the United States would lose 60,000 Americans to COVID-19.	The United States has now lost more than 225,000 people to COVID-19, and cases are still surging.

 

ON CASES: The US Is Back to the Beginning, Breaking Case Records as Third Wave Outbreaks Intensify

THEN:

• At The End Of February, Trump Said The Number Of Cases Would Soon Be Close To Zero. Donald Trump at the end of February told the American people, “You have fifteen people, and the fifteen within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero.” Eight months later, more than 8 million Americans have been infected with the virus. 
• During The Spring’s First Wave, New Coronavirus Infections Peaked At 36,000 New Cases In One Day. During the first wave of the virus in April, daily new infections peaked at almost 36,000 new infections in a single day, and then plateaued at roughly 20,000 new cases daily.
  
• During The Summer’s Second Surge, New Infections Peaked At Almost 77,000 New Infections In A Single Day. During the second surge over the summer, daily new infections peaked at almost 77,000 new infections in a single day. 

NOW:

• Now, New Infections Have Reached More Than 80,000 In A Single Day — And Are Still Climbing. On October 23, the United States reported more than 83,000 new infections in a single day, while cases appear to be on the upswing. Meanwhile, the United States’ rolling average of new infections is at an all-time high of more than 69,000. 

ON TESTING: Trump’s Failure to Ramp Up Testing Let the Pandemic Spiral Out of Control; Eight Months Later, US Still Not Meeting Markers

THEN:

• President Trump’s Failure To Ramp Up Testing Was The Original Sin That Allowed The Pandemic To Get Out Of Control. Dr. Ashish Jha, Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, has said that “Every expert on the left, right, and center agrees that we had to shut our economy down because the outbreak got too big. The outbreak got too big because we didn’t have a testing infrastructure… Testing was the fundamental failure that forced our country to shut down.” President Trump’s refusal to build a national testing infrastructure and his determination to delegate testing downwards to state and local governments exacerbated issues with the supply chain, led to acute shortages, and precluded states from ramping up testing and tracing efforts to contain the virus early on. Governors throughout the country pleaded with the administration to expand access to supplies, but even as the economy reopened, the United States was testing below the threshold experts said was necessary to control the virus. 

NOW:

• Eight Months Into The Pandemic, Testing Lags In Hard-Hit States As The United States Is Only Testing At A Fraction Of The Level Experts Say Is Necessary To Mitigate The Spread Of The Virus. Coronavirus testing has fallen in several states where infections are surging, and while cases are increasing in thirty states, testing rates have only increased in 21. The continued failure to ramp up testing is largely the fault of President Trump. In some states, people are less inclined to get tested because chronic attempts to downplay the virus have created a sense that it’s no longer a threat. In others, supply shortages persist as one in four US labs does not have enough coronavirus test kits. The United States is currently testing at only 56% the level experts say is necessary to mitigate the spread of the virus, while only nine states meet that target. 

ON HOSPITALIZATIONS: Hospitalizations Are Surging to Near-Record Peaks as ICU Beds Reached Capacity and Doctors Make Devastating Decisions

THEN:

• During The Spring And Summer Surges, Overwhelmed States Had To Erect New Care Facilities, Transfer Patients, And Figure Out How To Accommodate A Surge Of Patients. As the pandemic tore through the northeast during the spring’s first wave, New York ambulances had to divert patients to new locations, while the state rushed to build a temporary hospital. By the second wave over the summer, Florida ICUs were regularly at a capacity, while Texas had to house patients in emergency rooms until beds became available. In July, 90% of Arizona’s ICUs were at capacity, forcing some patients to be transferred out of state.
  
• In Earlier Waves, States And Hospitals Had To Consider Rationing Care As Expanding Patient Loads Stressed Limited Resources. Texas hospitals had to convene ethics panels to determine which patients were too sick to receive treatment. Arizona activated guidelines for determining which patients deserved dissipating resources.

NOW: 

• Hospitalizations Are At A Crisis Level In The United States. Hospitalizations are rising in 38 states  and are up 40% nationally over the last month. 42,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19. At least 14 states are seeing a record number of COVID-19 related hospitalizations.
• Some States Are Building Hospitals To House Critically Ill Patients, While Others Have No ICU Beds Left. An Idaho hospital is 99% full and warning that it will soon need to transfer patients out of state.  In Tennessee, the Maury Regional Hospital Center had to suspend all elective procedures, as most of the facility’s 26 ICU beds were already filled. Missouri hospitals are turning away ambulances. Wisconsin had to erect a field hospital to house critically ill patients, while Utah and Texas are planning to do the same. There are only 22 ICU beds left in the entire state of North Dakota.
• States And Hospitals Are Again Confronting The Reality Of Rationing Care. The President of the Utah Hospital Association recently said that if current trends continue, hospitals may have to ask Utah Governor Gary Herbert to “invoke crisis standards of care.” 

ON DEATHS: More Than 225,000 Americans Have Died From The Virus And Deaths Rates Are Still Trending Up

THEN:

• President Trump Once Claimed The United States Would Never Even See 100,000 Deaths. On April 19, President Trump claimed the total death toll to coronavirus would stay around 60,000 lives lost, “40,000 less than the lowest number thought of,” Trump said then. As of that day, less than 40,000 people had lost their lives, though thousands were dying each day. 

NOW:

• More Than 225,000 People In The United States Have Lost Their Lives, As The Death Rate Is Trending Up In The United States. Deaths have ballooned since April to more than 225,000. Though the daily death toll is lower than during the first wave of the pandemic, those numbers are once again trending upwards. The average deaths per day in the US has increased 10% over the last two weeks, as daily deaths are increasing in 34 states. Meanwhile, the US has 4% of the world’s population but 20% of the COVID-19 deaths. Researchers at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine now predict that over 500,000 Americans could die from COVID-19 by the end of February — more than five times Trump’s false April forecast. 

ON DOWNPLAYING AND UNDERCUTTING THE EXPERTS: Trump’s Only Consistent Strategy Throughout the Pandemic Has Been to Downplay the Virus and to Undermine the Experts

THEN: 

• As Early As February, President Trump Insisted That The Virus Would Magically Disappear Without Intervention. As early as February, Donald Trump was producing rosy but baseless, misleading claims about when the virus would cease to be a problem. In February, he promised it would be gone by April. In April, he continued to insist it would “disappear.” Donald Trump has lied about the virus vanishing more than 160 times, but eight months into the pandemic, it’s still here and only getting worse.
  
• Trump Neglecting The Advice Of Medical Experts Early On During The Pandemic Allowed The Virus To Spread Out Of Control In The US. Trump repeatedly ignored expert warnings about the severity of the virus during January, February and March, allowing the virus to spread uncontrolled throughout the country. Despite acknowledging privately on February 7 that the virus was “deadly stuff” and more deadly than the flu, Trump failed to take action on combating the virus or warn the American people about the risk it posed.

NOW:

• Trump Is Still Refusing To Follow Expert Guidance On How To Deal With The Virus. Trump regularly holds super-spreader campaign rallies where attendees flout mask-wearing and social distancing guidelines. These rallies have shown to increase the spread of the virus in the areas they’re held. Even after being hospitalized with the virus himself, Trump told Americans: “Don’t be afraid of covid”, a disease that has killed more than 225,000 in the US. Meanwhile, reports suggest that Trump is embracing a dangerous strategy of herd immunity — which has been widely rebuked by experts as dangerous.
  
• Trump Keeps Insisting That The United States Is “Rounding The Turn,” Despite That Cases Are Surging Just About Everywhere. President Trump is lying to Americans about the severity and longevity of the pandemic, just as he lied in the spring when he promised that the virus would disappear. Now, Donald Trump is falsely claiming that the United States is rounding the turn on a virus that is still infecting tens of thousands of people daily, overwhelming hospitals, and causing deaths to tick upwards. 

ON THE ELDERLY: Trump Failed to Protect the Most Vulnerable Americans as Long-Term Care Facilities Are Ravaged by COVID-19

THEN:

• No Facet Of American Life Was Hit Harder During The First Wave Of COVID-19 Than Long Term Care Facilities. COVID-19 devastated nursing homes in the US during the early months of the pandemic. By mid-April, at least 7000 COVID-19 related deaths were connected to nursing homes and 72 long-term care facilities in New York had five or more deaths. By June, deaths in nursing homes accounted for nearly 40% of all COVID-19 deaths in the US. At a soldiers’ home in Holyoke, Massachusetts, 100 veteran residents died of COVID-19 between March and July. 

NOW:

• Nursing Homes Are Still Major Hot Spots For COVID-19. Eight months into the pandemic, nursing homes are still experiencing deadly COVID-19 outbreaks. In late October, nursing homes in Kentucky, Massachusetts, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey and Wisconsin are experiencing surges in cases. At one facility in Kansas, every single resident was infected this month and ten have died. New outbreaks at nursing homes have been linked to college students returning to campuses — demonstrating the ill-advised, dangerous nature of Trump’s claim that young people are immune. Nursing homes across the country are currently preparing for a third wave and facilities are seeing staff shortages. By October 26, more than 60,000 COVID-19 deaths were connected to nursing homes facilities, more than a quarter of all the COVID-19 deaths in the United States. 

ON THE ECONOMY: Trump’s Failure to Combat the Virus Caused the American Economy to Collapse; Recovery Is Impossible While the Virus Still Surges

THEN

• Trump’s Failure To Contain The Virus Led To The Worst Economic Downturn In Modern American History. Once a ballooning caseload forced the economy to shut down, President Trump did little to implement protections that would have stopped the virus from spreading further. He didn’t effectively ramp up testing or supplies of PPE, refused to implement a mask mandate, allowed federal distancing guidelines to expire, and forced states to reopen before experts said it was safe to do so. Meanwhile, experts warned that the best way to protect the United States from economic catastrophe was to get the virus under control. Instead, Trump’s reckless actions led the virus to spread further. The economic cost of necessary shut downs ultimately and predictably compounded with a still-spreading virus. At the end of May, 30 million Americans were collecting unemployment. In Q2, the American economy experienced its worst-ever recorded GDP drop. By late August, weekly unemployment claims were above 1 million for 22 of 23 weeks. 

NOW

• Donald Trump’s Refusal To Take The Virus Seriously Has Resulted In Perpetual Economic Hardship.  Months into the pandemic, President Trump’s failure to contain the virus has prevented the United States from making an economic recovery.  More Americans are still filing initial unemployment claims on a weekly basis than at any point during the Great Recession. Eight million people in the United States have slipped into poverty. Almost 11 million more Americans are out of work than were before the pandemic hit, but Senate Republicans have adjourned without providing relief to those in need.

ON PPE: While Flouting Mask-Wearing Throughout the Pandemic, Trump Has Failed to Provide the Adequate Level of Personal Protective Equipment for Americans

THEN:

• The Failure To Ramp Up Production Of Personal Protective Equipment At The Beginning Of The Pandemic Allowed The Virus To Spread Out Of Control, Needlessly Exposing Countless Americans.  Because of Trump’s steadfast refusal to invoke the Defense Production Act and his inability to act decisively on PPE shortages early in the pandemic, governors, hospitals and municipal health departments across the United States were forced to compete on the open market for limited resources — as prices soared. The Trump administration provided little help, as FEMA routinely sent damaged, expired, or otherwise useless PPE to states struggling to get the virus under control. Care workers were forced to treat patients without adequate protection — causing the virus to spread more rapidly and workers themselves to fall ill. 

NOW:

• Personal Protective Equipment Shortages Continue 8 Months Into The Pandemic. An October report conducted by U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group showed that 20% of nursing homes lacked enough supplies and that some were dealing with “horrific shortages” of masks, gowns and other items used to protect staff and residents. Hospitals are still dealing with PPE shortages and are struggling to obtain N95 masks. Meanwhile, hundreds of care workers have died from the virus, presumably the result of inadequate protection.