WASHINGTON-Monday, United States President Donald Trump and the White House Coronavirus Task Force addressed the media with all the latest on COVID-19.
Trump declared in his first remarks that 30 states have 1 case per 1,000 residents. In continuing this vibe, he related that the Paycheck Protection Plan has affected 30 million jobs throughout the country.
Trump confirmed the United States is filling up its oil reserves with 75 million barrels to be added on top of current levels.
There are “hundreds and hundreds of labs” ready and able to assist states with their testing capacity, he confirmed.
Trump stated that “Americans must maintain strict vigilance and continue to practice careful hygiene, social distancing and other protective measures that have been outlined.
Even though Trump and New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo have had their differences on many subjects, Trump confirmed that Cuomo has agreed with the White House that states should lead on the testing front.
Cuomo will pay Trump a visit Tuesday at the White House, the president confirmed. Trump concluded his initial wave of comments by saying the United States is in good position as they assist other countries with ventilators.
Todd Semonite, the commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said coordination has occurred with the Department of Health and Human Services, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Task Force are in the process of constructing major hospitals across the country.
These hospitals have a 16,000-bed capacity and site and sites have been assessed in collaboration with mayors and governors, Semonite said.
Semonite also discussed the construction of the wall along the Mexican border that presently has 4,000 contractors on the ground. Semonite confirmed “everything [they] have built has been ahead of need.”
In returning to the podium, Trump confirmed he hopes to have a vote on extending aid to small businesses and hospitals, “maybe tomorrow,” he said.
This will occur in the Senate, Trump confirmed, while the plan consists of an additional $75 billion for hospitals and healthcare providers.
Furthermore, Trump said, this pandemic has affirmed the “vital need” to keep manufacturing/supply chains in the United States (with pharmaceuticals especially).
Trump confirmed he will be sending Army Corps of Engineers/medical teams out nationally.
Presently, Trump said, 72 active trials are underway in researching therapies, treatments and vaccines.
In concluding these statements, Trump said “Ultimately, we also hope to prevent infection through a very safe vaccine. It’ll be a great thing when we have that.”
Brett Giroir, a 4-star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps then spoke.
Giroir confirmed that every minute detail concerning supply chain testing has occurred.
He said that (White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator) Dr. Deborah Birx has devised an “elegant model” for handling this problem both now and in the future.
He concluded by saying that coordinating, testing, technology, food and drug administration regulations all contribute as a vital step to our current success.
Brad Smith, the director of Medicare and Medicaid Services, then spoke, confirming over 30 million new swabs are currently in production.
There are three parts to make testing work, Smith said. They are the machine, collection supplies to collect specimen and materials needed to process tests.
Vice President Mike Pence then spoke, saying “the truth is, as we are standing here today, we are slowing the spread.”
He prefaced this by announcing the more than 770,000 Americans who have tested positive for the disease and 41,000 have lost their lives.
Pence spoke of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s task force being used to conduct testing in the Golden State and how Florida has conducted 275,000 COVID-19 tests presently. Pence concluded his statements by saying that 13 new/expanding testing sites are in Michigan and governors across the nation are expanding tests.
Birx then spoke, saying all governors received a sheet with the list of equipment and locations of laboratories. The number of machines sent to states are to match their populations as much as possible.
Trump then returned to the podium to answer several questions. He was asked about oil prices going negative and if he wanted to see Saudi Arabia and Russia make more cuts.
He responded, “they’re cutting back. The problem is nobody is driving a car, factories are closed. Businesses are close. The cutback could be 20 million barrels.”
Trump was next asked if companies open and an employee should back to work and get sick, if the companies will be held liable.
He replied that “we are trying to take liability away from the companies because we want the companies to be open.” He promised to get the reporter a legal opinion on that matter.
Giroir then fielded a question as he was asked about why only 4 million tests have been administered while 27 million tests have been promised. This question concluded our stations’ coverage of the event.
In conclusion, he said “we have an end-to-end issue and that’s what we have been dealing with. If machines are being maximized, more tests would be accomplished.”
