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Coronavirus in USA

US ‘nearing peak’ - CDC director

The US is approaching the peak of its coronavirus outbreak, paving the way for the the economy to reopen “step by step”, a top health official has said.

Dr Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told NBC News cases were “stabilising across the country”.

The US has recorded 557,663 cases and 21,600 deaths linked with Covid-19, the highest number on both counts in the world.

However, daily death tolls do appear to be stabilising in some of the worst-hit states. In New York, the epicentre of the country's outbreak, daily deaths have dropped to around the 700 mark in recent days.

When questioned about reopening the US economy, Dr Redfield urged caution, saying : “It's going to be a step by step, gradual process."
 
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has reported that for the first day in a week, the state has seen less than 700 deaths from Covid-19.

He said "the worst is over - if we continue to be smart".

In his daily press briefing from Albany, he said: "God did not do that. Fate did not do that. Destiny did not do that. A lot of pain and suffering did that.

"If we do something stupid, you will see those numbers go right back up tomorrow," he warned, adding that official death toll now stood at 10,056.

Quoting wartime British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, as he has often in his news conferences, he called this moment "the end of the beginning".

Cuomo added that he would be speaking with other state governors about a "geographically co-ordinated" plan to re-open the economy by "recalibrating" what jobs were deemed essential.

His statement came an hour after President Trump tweeted: "A decision by me, in conjunction with the governors and input from others, will be made shortly!"
 
US sailor dies of coronavirus

A US sailor has died in hospital in Guam after contracting Covid-19, the US Navy has confirmed.

The soldier has not been identified but had been serving on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt. It is the first confirmed death from the ship, which has hundreds of confirmed cases.

The Theodore Roosevelt's commander was removed earlier this month after saying the navy was not doing enough to halt a coronavirus outbreak on board the aircraft carrier.

In a letter that was leaked to the media, Captain Brett Crozier urged his superiors to act to prevent US sailors dying.

The acting US Navy secretary later resigned after publicly criticising Capt Crozier's actions.
 
US President Donald Trump retweeted a call for the firing of the administration's top infectious disease specialist, Dr Anthony Fauci, who is leading the government's coronavirus response.

The apparent condemnation came after Fauci, head of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a CNN interview that earlier social distancing and stay-at-home orders from the administration "could have saved more lives".

But he added it was "very difficult to go back and say that" and the process of deciding whether to impose early restrictions was "complicated".

To date, the US has recorded more infections and deaths than any other country, with more than 557,500 cases and over 22,000 deaths.

In a tweet retweeted by Trump, former Republican congressional candidate DeAnne Lorraine wrote that "Fauci is now saying that had Trump listened to the medical experts earlier he could've saved more lives" adding "time to #fireFauci".

Trump retweeted the missive shortly after it was posted early on Monday, adding "Sorry Fake News, it's all on tape. I banned China long before people spoke up. Thank you."

Following questions about what Trump's retweet may mean for Fauci, the White House said the the president had no intention of removing the scientist from his post.

"This media chatter is ridiculous - President Trump is not firing Dr. Fauci," said White House spokesman Hogan Gidley. "Dr Fauci has been and remains a trusted adviser to President Trump."

Trump has been criticised for initially downplaying the threat of the coronavirus in the early days of the outbreak, comparing it to the seasonal flu and suggesting it was being used as a political tool by the opposition Democratic party.

The administration has also been blamed for the lack of widespread testing, which continues to dog jurisdictions across the country and keep the actual scope of infections largely unknown.

The president has repeatedly pointed to his policy in early February of blocking foreigners who had been in China in the past 14 days from entering the US as proof of early action in battling the pandemic.

Infections to rise as restrictions lifted

Trump's latest attack came after Fauci on Sunday said new cases of the coronavirus are certain to arise when restrictions imposed to limit the spread of the virus are eased, but that the economy in parts of the country could have a "rolling reentry" as early as May.

Trump adviser warned of potential pandemic in January

Rather than flipping a switch to reopen the entire country, Fauci said, a gradual process will be required, based on the status of the pandemic in various regions as well as the availability of rapid, widespread testing.

Once the number of people who are seriously ill sharply declines, officials can begin to "think about a gradual reentry of some sort of normality, some rolling reentry," Fauci said.

"We are hoping that, at the end of the month, we could look around and say, OK, is there any element here that we can safely and cautiously start pulling back on? If so, do it. If not, then just continue to hunker down," Fauci said.

Fauci added he "can't guarantee" that it will be safe for Americans to vote in person in the general election on November 3.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...ll-fire-gov-expert-fauci-200413071754443.html
 
The White House has denied that President Trump plans to fire top US disease expert Dr
Anthony Fauci, less than a day after Trump retweeted a comment calling for Fauci's removal.

“This media chatter is ridiculous - President

Trump is not firing Dr Fauci," the latest statement reads.

"The president’s tweet clearly exposed media attempts to maliciously push a falsehood about his China decision in an attempt to rewrite history," said the statement from Trump aide Hogan Gidley, referring to Trump's decision to block visitors from China in late January.

The speculation was largely driven by Trump himself, who retweeted "Time to #FireFauci" hours after the doctor appeared on CNN saying that if mitigation techniques had been employed earlier, more US lives could have been saved.
 
Nine U.S. states planning reopening of economies after coronavirus shutdown

A total of nine states on the U.S. East and West coasts said on Monday they had begun planning for the slow reopening of their economies and lifting of strict stay-at-home orders amid signs the worst had passed in the U.S. coronavirus pandemic.

The Northeast states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will work with Delaware, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island in coordinating to gradually reopen their economies together, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

“Nobody has been here before, nobody has all the answers,” Cuomo said during an open conference call with his five counterparts. “Addressing public health and the economy: Which one is first? They’re both first.”

The governors of California, Oregon and Washington said they also had reached an agreement on a shared approach to restarting businesses, although they gave no firm timeline and said they would be guided by the health of residents first.

U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier on Monday that any decision on restarting the economy was his to make.

Tensions between state governors and Trump have bubbled up since the outbreak worsened a month ago and emerged in the debate about when and how to restart economic activity.

Legal experts say a U.S. president has limited power under the U.S. Constitution to order citizens back to their places of employment, or cities to reopen government buildings, transportation, or local businesses to reopen.

“It is the decision of the president, and for many good reasons,” Trump wrote on Twitter on Monday. He went on to write that his administration was working closely with the governors.

“A decision by me, in conjunction with the governors and input from others, will be made shortly!” Trump’s tweet said.

Political leaders said a reopening of the economy may hinge on more widespread testing and cautioned that lifting of stay-at-home restrictions too early could reignite the outbreak. The Trump administration has signaled May 1 as a potential date for easing the restrictions.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...mies-after-coronavirus-shutdown-idUSKCN21V185
 
President Donald Trump has claimed "total" power to lift the nationwide coronavirus lockdown, contradicting governors and legal experts.

"The president of the United States calls the shots," Mr Trump said during a combative press conference in which he feuded with reporters.

But the US Constitution says the states maintain public order and safety.

Ten states on the US East and West coasts are planning to lift their strict stay-at-home orders.

The US is the global epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic with 682,619 confirmed cases and 23,608 deaths.

Mr Trump, a Republican, told the daily White House coronavirus briefing on Monday that his administration was finalising a plan to reopen the US economy, which has been largely shut down to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The Trump administration has signalled 1 May as a potential date for easing the restrictions.

The current White House recommendations for Americans to avoid restaurants and non-essential travel and keep in-person gatherings to no more than 10 people expire on 30 April.

But when journalists queried whether Mr Trump had the authority to over-ride stay-at-home orders imposed on a state-by-state basis, he said: "When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total.

"It's total. The governors know that."

He added: "That being said, we're going to work with the states."

The president insisted "numerous provisions" in the US founding charter give him such power, without specifying which ones.

But legal experts say the president does not have the authority to reverse a public health restriction put in place at the state or local level.

Asked by the BBC's Jon Sopel if he was concerned about the possibility of having to close the economy again if a second wave of coronavirus strikes, Mr Trump said: "It does weigh on my mind."

He told reporters the number of deaths from the virus in the US had begun to plateau, indicating that social distancing efforts had succeeded.

During the briefing, the White House played a video montage lambasting the media coverage, touting the president's handling of the pandemic and clips of governors praising the Trump administration.

Several news outlets, which have been broadcasting the daily briefings live, quickly cut away.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52274969
 
My most jaw dropping news conference ever'

Jon Sopel

BBC North America Editor

This has been the most dizzying, jaw dropping, eyeball popping, head spinning news conference I have ever attended. And I was at Bill Clinton's news conference in 1998 when he faced the Press for the first time over his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.

I was at this president's first White House gathering when he called me "another beauty". I was in Helsinki when he had his first news conference with Vladimir Putin, and seemed to prefer to believe the Russian leader over his own security and intelligence chiefs on interference in the 2016 election.

I was in Vietnam when Mr Trump gave a news conference after his talks with Kim Jong-un had unceremoniously collapsed. So I've sat in on some corkers.

What made last night's encounter unique was the context. And secondly, this was, if you like, a distillation in one news conference of what three-and -a-half years of Donald Trump has been like to cover.

<iframe width="1097" height="617" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XZuys2XMAQ4" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
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US coronavirus death toll tops 23,000

US deaths from the novel coronavirus topped 23,000, according to a Reuters tally, as officials said the worst may be over and the outbreak could reach its peak this week.

The US has recorded more fatalities from Covid-19 than any other country.
 
Donald Trump has denied appointing his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner to an economic council tasked with re-opening America from coronavirus shutdowns.

The denial came in response to a Fox News graphic showing a seven-person council comprised of top Trump administration advisers and officials. The graphic went viral after it was pointed out none of its members were economic or public health experts.

Trump has faced accusations of nepotism before, after appointing Ivanka as an adviser and tasking Kushner with solving the Middle East peace process.

And there was criticism when Kushner was appointed to lead the federal government effort to distribute emergency coronavirus equipment to states.

Trump had earlier touted the economic council as a task force that would comprise of "business leaders" and "great doctors", who would come up with solutions to boost the economy.

The names put forward have changed multiple times, according to news site Politico.

Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross are expected to be part of the group. The White House is yet to confirm the appointments.
 
New York death rate ticks up again but infections slow

The death rate from coronavirus in New York state increased with 778 new deaths on Monday - up from 671 on Sunday, Governor Andrew Cuomo said at his daily news conference.

Sunday's figure, however, was the lowest daily total in a week.

Cuomo also offered hope that the "apex" had been reached.

There were 1,600 newly infected patients admitted to hospitals across the state, he said, more than half the figure recorded at the start of April.

Cuomo called the trend evidence that residents were "artificially flattening the curve with all these drastic actions".
 
Trump says halting World Health Organization funding over its handling of virus

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he has instructed his administration to at least temporarily halt funding to the World Health Organization over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump, at a White House news conference, said the WHO had “failed in its basic duty and it must be held accountable.” He said the group had promoted China’s “disinformation” about the virus that likely led to a wider outbreak of the virus than otherwise would have occurred.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ding-over-its-handling-of-virus-idUSKCN21W34Y
 
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US to stop WHO funding: Reaction

The immediate reaction to President Trump's announcement was mainly negative:

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres: "There must be a time to look back fully to understand how such a disease emerged and spread its devastation so quickly across the globe...now is not that time...it is also not the time to reduce the resources for the operations of the World Health Organization."

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern: "At a time like this when we need to be sharing information and we need to have advice we can rely on, the WHO has provided that. We will continue to support it."

Chairman of US House Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot Engel (a Democratic Party member): "With each passing day of this worsening crisis, the president is showing us his political playbook: blame the WHO, blame China, blame his political opponents, blame his predecessors."
 
Instead of cutting funding should had made the chief resign .. I'm sure at least somewhere they might be doing something good..
 
JaDed said:
Instead of cutting funding should had made the chief resign .. I'm sure at least somewhere they might be doing something good..
Click to expand...

chief of WHO resign?

he cant do that and if he could, why? there is no proven negligence here.. this is all just trumpism!
 
US coronavirus deaths have risen by a single-day record 2,228 to top 28,300, according to a Reuters tally, as officials debated how to reopen the economy without reigniting the outbreak.

The United States, with the world's third-largest population, passed a second milestone late on Tuesday with over 600,000 reported cases, three times more than any other country.

The previous single-day record was 2,069, set last Friday.

The increase of 2,228 deaths excludes a revision by New York City to include deaths presumed to be due to the novel coronavirus but never tested dating back to March 11.

Officials reported 3,778 "probable" deaths, where doctors were certain enough of the cause of death to list it on the death certificate, and 6,589 confirmed by a lab test. Combined, that would put the total fatalities in the city to over 10,000.

As the numbers continue to rise, officials debate over how and when to reopen the US economy and start easing restrictions.

The coronavirus restrictions put in place to contain the spread of the virus have crippled the economy, with businesses forced to close and millions of Americans losing their jobs.

President Donald Trump has floated a May 1 target for restarting the economy, which his top infectious disease adviser said on Tuesday was "overly optimistic" after a battle erupted between Trump and state governors over who had the power to lift restrictions aimed at curbing the coronavirus pandemic.

Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said public health officials must be able to test for the virus quickly, isolate new cases and track down new infections before social-distancing restrictions can be eased.

"We have to have something in place that is efficient and that we can rely on, and we're not there yet," Fauci told the Associated Press news agency.
]
Trump, a Republican running for re-election in November, lashed out at Democratic state governors, suggesting they were "mutineers" after New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo said he would refuse any order by the president to reopen the economy too soon.

"If he ordered me to reopen in a way that would endanger the public health of the people of my state, I wouldn't do it," Cuomo told CNN earlier on Tuesday, referring to Trump.

'Spoiling for a fight'

At a news conference later, Cuomo said Trump was "clearly spoiling for a fight on this issue" and that he did not want a partisan battle, but added, "We don't have a king in this country, we have a constitution and we elect the president."

Offering an expansive assessment of the powers of the presidency, Trump on Monday asserted he has "total" authority to decide on reopening the economy even though he earlier had deferred to the governors in putting social distancing orders in place.

Cuomo, a Democrat whose state has been the epicentre of the US outbreak, and governors of six other northeastern states have announced plans to formulate a regional plan to gradually lift restrictions. On the Pacific Coast, the governors of California, Oregon and Washington state announced a similar regional approach.

Trump, whose attacks on Democrats appeal to his conservative political base, posted tweets attacking Cuomo individually and Democratic governors in general.

Trump rejected the idea that governors should determine when and how to reopen state economies, insisting "the president of the United States calls the shots".

"The governors know that," Trump told a Monday briefing.

But governors were moving forward with their planning. Oregon Governor Kate Brown, a Democrat, on Tuesday offered her own framework for eventually restarting public life and business in the state.

Some Republicans, including the governors of Ohio, Maryland and New Hampshire, also said states have the right to decide when and how to reopen.

The political posturing coincided with fresh signs the pandemic has been slowing in New York and other early hot spots even as the death toll mounts.

New York hospitalisations have fallen for the first time since the pandemic's onset, Cuomo said, adding, "We think we are at the apex on the plateau."

Cuomo said 778 New Yorkers died in the past day, up from 671 a day earlier, which had marked the lowest daily toll since April 5. A total of 10,834 New Yorkers have died due to COVID-19.

David Reich, president of New York's Mount Sinai Hospital, said even if hospital admissions there had levelled off, it still remained an extraordinary time of strain for staff and resources.

"The plateau is not a very comfortable place to live," Reich said in a telephone interview. "So I don't think people should be celebrating prematurely."

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...0-confirmed-cases-600000-200414204812255.html
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The United States may need to endure social distancing measures adopted during the coronavirus outbreak until 2022, study says <a href="https://t.co/CL7DliUiji">https://t.co/CL7DliUiji</a> Follow the latest news on the coronavirus with our live blog: <a href="https://t.co/QlDpZpDkBT">https://t.co/QlDpZpDkBT</a> <a href="https://t.co/n8qDElMTPq">pic.twitter.com/n8qDElMTPq</a></p>— Reuters (@Reuters) <a href="https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1250359723897114625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
JaDed said:
Instead of cutting funding should had made the chief resign .. I'm sure at least somewhere they might be doing something good..
Click to expand...

scapegoating the head of WHO isnt and shouldnt help trump. He has lost 28k americans on his watch in peacetime. It has been proven without a shadow of doubt that right wing govts are an existential threat to their populations.
 
Stewie said:
chief of WHO resign?

he cant do that and if he could, why? there is no proven negligence here.. this is all just trumpism!
Click to expand...

the Great Khan said:
scapegoating the head of WHO isnt and shouldnt help trump. He has lost 28k americans on his watch in peacetime. It has been proven without a shadow of doubt that right wing govts are an existential threat to their populations.
Click to expand...

While Trump is defn at fault lets not forget when he banned travel from China how WHO went on criticizing the situation and also refused to accept that there is transmission bu air even when Taiwan was screaming it.

Second in a recent statement how the chief is now playing victim and has accused Taiwan of racism..

Also lets not forget the timeline of things that happened, it’s there in the other thread now how WHO toed the CCP line.

Having said that Trump is defn at fault here but this whole pandemic was fundamental responsibility of WHO but they kept ignoring Taiwan’s data and just listened to China.
 
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has said that, while his state is not out of the woods just yet, "we showed that we can change the curve".

Total hospitalisations are down and the death toll has also remained steady, with 752 deaths in the last day.

Cuomo also addressed what re-opening New York could look like.

"It’s going to be a gradual increasing of economic activity in calibration with the public health standards," he said.

The governor again called for a national strategy.

The answer, Cuomo said, was not a repeat of the ventilator situation, where the 50 states competed against each other to buy from the private sector, with the federal government also trying to buy the same goods, but by having partnerships.

Other key updates:

Around 2,000 people in New York continue to be diagnosed with Covid-19 daily

Cuomo announced an executive order mandating residents to cover their mouths and noses if in a public setting where they are unable to social distance, like public transport

Cuomo said more testing was key and that New York was working on a number of diagnostic and antibody tests

Cuomo said past federal legislation helped small businesses and hospitals, but "the state governments are broke" and needed help too
 
sensible-indian-fan said:
Absolutely.

Why?

Cos this is Murica. :))

@<a href="http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/member.php?u=53290" target="_blank">Markhor</a> bhai may disagree but Dems and American junta have to be taught a lesson.

For the greater good, Trump has to win 2020 (beating Biden) and make them cry so much they realize their flaws.

Nothing teaches you like failure.
Click to expand...

I guess this comes as no surprise..


https://www.forbes.com/sites/shaharz...us-checks/amp/
You may or may not be surprised that some of the language conveniently inserted into the $2.2 trillion-dollar Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) skews heavily in favor of the wealthy. The provision doling out literally millions of dollars is aimed at a limitation that was created in 2017 when Republicans overhauled the tax code. It “temporarily suspends a limitation on how much owners of businesses formed as “pass-through” entities can deduct against their non-business income, such as capital gains, to reduce their tax liability,” according to The Washington Post.
Click to expand...

They have socialism for the rich, capitalism for the poor and middle class. They are also bailing out corporations that spent their tax savings on stock buybacks instead of saving the money for this situation.

 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">For example, if you are riding on public transit where it is impossible to maintain social distancing, or walking on a busy sidewalk, you must wear a face covering like a bandana or a mask.</p>— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYGovCuomo/status/1250475800597495808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
I’m so tired sick of this **.. this Cheeto is killing us.. literally.. you want to open up everything when everybody is talking about this thing rebounding.. with no clue how you will manage a second outbreak?

Where are the additional hospitals, detailed guidelines, new social distancing regulations, cheaper and quicker testing?


He should talk about reopening only all that stuff is done.. or else it is jeopardizing the lives of Americans.. we have already lost the most in the world.

What an a ess ess clown!
 
Here's what's been going on across the US:

There are now close to 620,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the US, and 27,760 deaths

The pandemic led to the US’ biggest-ever drop in retail sales in March, as states issued stay-at-home orders and many Americans became unemployed

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday announced a new order requiring residents to cover their faces in public spaces where social distancing isn’t feasible, like on public transport

President Trump’s name will appear on the economic stimulus cheques being sent out to millions of Americans struggling financially due to the pandemic - the first time a president’s name will appear on a federal handout

Actress Taraji P Henson’s free Covid-19 virtual therapy campaign, which covers the cost of up to five therapy sessions for African Americans launches today

Conservatives in Michigan blocked off streets in their cars to protest the governor's decision to extend a strict stay-at-home order through the end of April
 
The nearly four million residents of Los Angeles, California, may not be allowed to attend any concerts or sports events until 2021, the mayor told CNN.

Mayor Eric Garcetti said large gatherings with over 1,000 people will likely be banned until next year due to the pandemic.

Covid-19-related deaths are on the rise for the second consecutive day in Los Angeles County.

The county's health director said 42 people died on Wednesday and over new 400 cases were confirmed.

The mayor's comments echo California Governor Gavin Newsom, who said on Tuesday: “The prospect of mass gatherings is negligible at best until we get to herd immunity and we get to a vaccine."
 
New York City's death count has spiked to more than 10,000 after authorities added 3,778 people who likely succumbed to Covid-19, but died without being tested.

Firefighters and paramedics had been recording drastic increases in deaths at home around the city, assumed to be caused by the virus.

The new figures, from the city's Health Department, mark a 60% rise in deaths.

In terms of per-capita death rate, New York City has now outpaced Italy - the country with the highest death toll in Europe.
 
NY is just attributing anything to covid? what does it mean by likely.
 
Trump to announce 'guidelines' on reopening U.S. economy Thursday

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that data suggested the country had passed the peak on new coronavirus infections, and said he would announce “new guidelines” for reopening the economy at a news conference on Thursday.

“The battle continues but the data suggests that the nation has passed the peak on new cases,” Trump told his daily White House news briefing.

“While we must remain vigilant, it is clear that our aggressive strategy is working and very strongly working, I might add,” Trump said.

The U.S. coronavirus death toll - the highest in the world - surged past 30,000 on Wednesday after doubling in a week.

The coronavirus crisis has hammered the U.S. economy, overshadowing Trump’s efforts to win re-election in November.

The Republican president has been pushing to reopen U.S. businesses and end orders that Americans stay home to fight the spread of the disease. During the lockdown, millions of Americans have lost their jobs and thousands of businesses have been forced to close their doors.

Trump claimed on Monday had the authority to overrule state governors and order businesses across the country to reopen.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-reopening-u-s-economy-thursday-idUSKCN21X3D3
 
President Donald Trump says the US has "passed the peak" of new Covid-19 cases and predicted some states would reopen this month.

At the daily White House virus briefing, Mr Trump said new reopening guidelines would be announced on Thursday after he speaks to governors.

"We'll be the comeback kids, all of us," the president said. "We want to get our country back."

The US has nearly 640,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases and over 30,800 deaths.

"The data suggests that nationwide, we have passed the peak of new cases," Mr Trump told reporters in the Rose Garden on Wednesday.

"Hopefully that will continue, and we will continue to make great progress."

Why is NYC reporting a sudden surge in virus deaths?

Asked why the US accounted for such a significant proportion of the global death toll of 136,908, Mr Trump accused other countries of lying about their mortality rate.

"Does anybody really believe the numbers of some of these countries?" he said, naming China.

He also said the US was looking into unverified reports that the coronavirus emerged from a laboratory in Wuhan rather than in a market.

US media have reported that the US embassy in Beijing raised concerns about safety at two laboratories in Wuhan. However on Tuesday General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that US intelligence services believed it was more likely that the virus occurred naturally.

The Trump administration has previously pencilled in 1 May as a possible date to reopen the nation, but the president said some states may be able to return to normalcy earlier than that.

When questioned about the dangers of reopening the nation too soon, Mr Trump said: "There's also death involved in keeping it closed."

He cited mental health issues, saying suicide hotlines were "exploding" as the economy freezes.

Millions of Americans have lost their jobs due to lockdown measures across the country, and unemployment numbers are at record levels.

Retail sales dropped by 8.7% in March, the biggest decline since tracking began in 1992, according to government data released on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the governors of Connecticut, Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania each issued orders or guidelines that residents should wear face masks as they venture into society in the coming weeks.

"We are going to be getting back to normal - it will be a new normal," Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said large gatherings such as sports events and concerts would probably not be allowed in the city until 2021.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meanwhile said China must show "full transparency" on coronavirus, during a call with his Beijing counterpart, Yang Jiechi, the Department of State said.

Mr Pompeo has repeatedly accused Beijing of covering up the scale of the outbreak in the early days, which China denies.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52304993
 
US President Donald Trump is expected to announce new guidelines on Thursday to allow some states to ease social distancing restrictions.

In a White House briefing on Wednesday, Trump said rules for "various states would be announced", describing the decision as "very exciting".

He added that he had spoken to business and industry leaders, who he said had underlined the need for more protective equipment and robust testing.

The vast majority of Americans are currently under social distancing restrictions to combat the spread of Covid-19.

There have been almost 31,000 deaths in the US, according to Johns Hopkins University, including nearly 11,000 in New York city alone.

There has been controversy around Trump's authority to enforce or end lockdown measures in states. At a bizarre press conference earlier this week, the president claimed he had "total authority" to lift lockdowns across the country, but he was later forced to accept that the decision lies with state governors.
 
US jobless claims exceed 21 million as coronavirus lockdown brings economy to virtual halt
 
MenInG said:
US jobless claims exceed 21 million as coronavirus lockdown brings economy to virtual halt
Click to expand...

More than 21 million Americans have lost their jobs in the past four weeks, new figures show. It is by far the worst run of job losses on record.

According to the latest figures from the Department of Labour, new unemployment claims reached 5.25 million in the week ending 11 April.

The previous week saw 6.6 million applications.

Much of the US population is under some form of lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, bringing the US economy to a virtual halt and forcing businesses big and small to lay off employees.

There are projections that the unemployment rate could reach 20% this month.

The US has almost 640,000 confirmed cases of the virus, and 30,985 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
 
US job losses: A decade of growth erased in four weeks

In just a month, the coronavirus pandemic has erased the equivalent of all the jobs created in the US since the 2008-2009 recession.

Analysts say the US has not faced such an economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Economists are hopeful unemployment numbers will begin to come down in the coming days, as small businesses get help from the government, and governors discuss how to reopen parts of the country where the virus has peaked.

President Trump is expected to announce new guidance for re-opening states ahead of 1 May later today.

As part of a $2tn coronavirus aid package, the federal government has also started sending out economic relief cheques to some 80 million Americans - up to $1,200 per individual and $500 for each child.

However, it's worth noting the jobless claims do not capture the full picture as not everyone qualifies for unemployment benefits. The self-employed and gig workers have also seen delays in filing for benefits as they only qualified thanks to the March relief bill.
 
Police in the US found 17 bodies in the morgue of a care home in New Jersey on Monday following a tip-off, according to US media reports.

The officers had been told there was a body in the shed at the Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center II, but when they arrived they found 17 bodies in a morgue designed to hold just four.

"The staff was clearly overwhelmed and probably short-staffed," Andover Police Chief Eric Danielson told CNN.

According to the New York Times, the deceased were among 68 recent deaths linked to the facility and the Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center I, including two nurses. Twenty-six of those who died had tested positive for coronavirus, while the cause of death for the remaining 42 is unknown.

During a health inspection carried out by Medicare in March, the centre was found to be "much below average".

Care homes across the world have been struggling to cope with the spread of the virus.
 
New York lockdown extended until 15 May

New York's lockdown measures will be extended until 15 May, the governor has said.

Andrew Cuomo said that experts would determine when the state could re-open. He said the decision would not be "political" or "emotional".

"Data and science. We're talking about human lives here," he said.
 
MenInG said:
New York lockdown extended until 15 May

New York's lockdown measures will be extended until 15 May, the governor has said.

Andrew Cuomo said that experts would determine when the state could re-open. He said the decision would not be "political" or "emotional".

"Data and science. We're talking about human lives here," he said.
Click to expand...

This decision to announce the extension just before Trump's announcement of guidelines later today is nothing but a politically motivated decision by Cuomo. Unfortunately, this whole thing has turned into a political game in the US.
 
How Covid-19 is hitting America's undocumented migrants

Undocumented migrants in the US are being affected by the pandemic in countless unique ways.

Here are a few recent developments:

California becomes the first state to establish a $125m (£100m) fund for illegal immigrants who do not have access to unemployment assistance, despite being forced to pay into the national fund. They also do not qualify for the $1,200 cheques being sent out by the government

In Chicago, around three dozen migrant children being held by the US Department of Health and Human Services test positive for Covid-19

Detained migrant children in Illinois and Texas also test positive, with experts saying anyone held in detention should be released to allow for social distancing opportunities

Central American countries appeal to the US to stop deportation flights to prevent the virus from spreading

Guatemala's health minister says 75% of deportees on one recent flight from the US tested positive, but Trump has threatened sanctions against any country that refuses to accept deportees

There are more and more reports of migrants who have died from the virus after refusing to go to hospital over fears that they would be reported to authorities
 
Trump unveils three-stage process for states to end coronavirus shutdown

U.S. President Donald Trump proposed guidelines on Thursday under which U.S. state governors could act to revive the U.S. economy from its coronavirus shutdown in a staggered, three-stage process.

Speaking at his daily briefing on the coronavirus, which has killed more than 32,600 Americans in a matter of weeks, Trump argued that a prolonged shutdown could be deeply harmful to the U.S. economy and society.

“We are not opening all at once, but one careful step at a time,” Trump told reporters, without himself providing details on his guidelines.

“A prolonged lockdown combined with a forced economic depression would inflict an immense and wide-ranging toll on public health,” Trump said, adding it could lead to a sharp rise in drug abuse, alcohol abuse, suicide, heart disease.”

The new federal guidelines recommend that states record a 14-day “downward trajectory” in coronavirus cases before beginning a three-phase process of re-opening.

The document lays out Trump’s plan for opening businesses in states across the country that have been ravaged by the pandemic and its economic impact even though the responsibility for such decisions lies with state, not federal, authorities.

Before states re-open, hospitals should have a “robust testing program” that includes antibody testing in place for healthcare workers, the guidelines say.

States should have the ability to set up screening and testing sites for people with symptoms and as well as contact tracing capabilities, and healthcare facilities should be able to supply personal protective gear independently and handle surges if COVID-19 cases increase again.

The document says the recommendations are “implementable on a statewide or county-by-county basis at governors’ discretion.” Trump has tussled with governors over who has the ultimate authority to mandate a re-opening of states’ economies.

In the first phase of re-opening, the guidelines say groups of more than 10 people should be avoided if appropriate distancing measures are not practical. Non-essential travel should be minimized, telework should be encouraged, and common areas in offices closed.

Schools remain closed in phase 1, but large venues such as movies theaters, restaurants, stadiums, and places of worship can open with “strict physical distancing protocols.”

Hospitals, which have been hit hard by the health crisis, may resume elective surgeries, which are critical to their income, and gyms can re-open with new protocols. Bars should remain closed, it said.

In the second phase, applicable to states and regions with “no evidence of a rebound” in cases, the guidelines recommend groups of more than 50 be avoided where social distancing is not practical. Non-essential travel can resume, while schools and youth camps can reconvene and bars with “diminished standing-room occupancy” may re-open.

Phase three includes unrestricted staffing of workplaces.

A White House official described the guidelines as conservative and noted that they had been agreed to by the top doctors on the president’s coronavirus task force.

Trump is pushing to get the U.S. economy going again after the coronavirus shutdown left millions of Americans jobless. More than 20 million people have filed for unemployment in the U.S. in the past month and over 90% of the country have been under stay-at-home orders.

Trump said on Wednesday some states with low numbers of infections will be ready to resume economic activity sooner than those hard hit by the highly contagious virus.

The White House official said that each governor will be able to look to the recommendations as a guide.

“They are layered,” the official said, adding they were approved by medical experts on the White House coronavirus task force: infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, task force coordinator Deborah Birx and Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...tes-to-end-coronavirus-shutdown-idUSKBN21Y31W
 
The Viper said:
Trump unveils three-stage process for states to end coronavirus shutdown

U.S. President Donald Trump proposed guidelines on Thursday under which U.S. state governors could act to revive the U.S. economy from its coronavirus shutdown in a staggered, three-stage process.

Speaking at his daily briefing on the coronavirus, which has killed more than 32,600 Americans in a matter of weeks, Trump argued that a prolonged shutdown could be deeply harmful to the U.S. economy and society.

“We are not opening all at once, but one careful step at a time,” Trump told reporters, without himself providing details on his guidelines.

“A prolonged lockdown combined with a forced economic depression would inflict an immense and wide-ranging toll on public health,” Trump said, adding it could lead to a sharp rise in drug abuse, alcohol abuse, suicide, heart disease.”

The new federal guidelines recommend that states record a 14-day “downward trajectory” in coronavirus cases before beginning a three-phase process of re-opening.

The document lays out Trump’s plan for opening businesses in states across the country that have been ravaged by the pandemic and its economic impact even though the responsibility for such decisions lies with state, not federal, authorities.

Before states re-open, hospitals should have a “robust testing program” that includes antibody testing in place for healthcare workers, the guidelines say.

States should have the ability to set up screening and testing sites for people with symptoms and as well as contact tracing capabilities, and healthcare facilities should be able to supply personal protective gear independently and handle surges if COVID-19 cases increase again.

The document says the recommendations are “implementable on a statewide or county-by-county basis at governors’ discretion.” Trump has tussled with governors over who has the ultimate authority to mandate a re-opening of states’ economies.

In the first phase of re-opening, the guidelines say groups of more than 10 people should be avoided if appropriate distancing measures are not practical. Non-essential travel should be minimized, telework should be encouraged, and common areas in offices closed.

Schools remain closed in phase 1, but large venues such as movies theaters, restaurants, stadiums, and places of worship can open with “strict physical distancing protocols.”

Hospitals, which have been hit hard by the health crisis, may resume elective surgeries, which are critical to their income, and gyms can re-open with new protocols. Bars should remain closed, it said.

In the second phase, applicable to states and regions with “no evidence of a rebound” in cases, the guidelines recommend groups of more than 50 be avoided where social distancing is not practical. Non-essential travel can resume, while schools and youth camps can reconvene and bars with “diminished standing-room occupancy” may re-open.

Phase three includes unrestricted staffing of workplaces.

A White House official described the guidelines as conservative and noted that they had been agreed to by the top doctors on the president’s coronavirus task force.

Trump is pushing to get the U.S. economy going again after the coronavirus shutdown left millions of Americans jobless. More than 20 million people have filed for unemployment in the U.S. in the past month and over 90% of the country have been under stay-at-home orders.

Trump said on Wednesday some states with low numbers of infections will be ready to resume economic activity sooner than those hard hit by the highly contagious virus.

The White House official said that each governor will be able to look to the recommendations as a guide.

“They are layered,” the official said, adding they were approved by medical experts on the White House coronavirus task force: infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, task force coordinator Deborah Birx and Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...tes-to-end-coronavirus-shutdown-idUSKBN21Y31W
Click to expand...

This guy is such an idiot everything is about politics for him and his supporters. He is once again creating divisiveness by turning against governors by saying he wants country open. Stupid idiot first you say I take no responsibility now you want to say I want country open when you know damn well the governors wont risk their health care system failing if they do so prematurely. I ask his supporters what is this guy even useful for, he is more concerned about his ratings on facebook then people dying or losing their jobs. Seriously you have to be a insecure pathetic loser to vote for this guy.
 
Donald Trump has unveiled a three-phase plan to help the US return to normal, with one in seven American workers now unemployed.

The president said the guidelines - known as "Opening Up America Again" - are designed to ease restrictions in areas with low transmission of the coronavirus.

Before phase one of the plan can begin, a state or region must have seen a downwards trajectory in the number of new COVID-19 cases over 14 days.

The president said he had hundreds of statements supporting his handling of the crisis

Robust testing programmes for at-risk healthcare workers must be in force, while hospitals must have enough PPE, beds and ventilators to treat patients.

In phase one of Mr Trump's plan, schools and bars will remain closed - but larger venues such as cinemas, churches and arenas can start to reopen if strict social distancing measures are in place.

At-risk groups such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions must continue to stay at home, and gatherings of more than 10 people will continue to be prohibited.

During phase two, non-essential travel can begin to resume, but the vulnerable will still be urged to stay indoors.

Social settings of more than 50 people will be prohibited, with employers told to continue encouraging their staff to work from home.

Hydroxychloroquine: Hype or the real deal?

In the third phase, at-risk groups can start to go out in public as long as they follow social distancing measures.

Visitors will be permitted in care homes and hospitals again as long as they follow good hygiene practices and wash their hands frequently.

Offices and other workplaces can also return to normal without restrictions.

There are no set timelines for each of these three phases, and Mr Trump says governors across the US will be allowed to take a different approach in their own states and remain closed if necessary.

During a White House news conference, the president also warned that the US must remain vigilant about new COVID-19 cases coming from abroad, and he acknowledged that infections could flare up in the autumn.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and FDNY commissioner Daniel Nigro took part in a large show of support from first responders for healthcare workers at Manhattan’s Bellevue Hospital

New York emergency workers applaud health staff

Mr Trump also suggested that 29 states should be able to reopen relatively soon, and some could start following the "Opening Up America Again" guidelines today.

"Now that we have passed the peak in new cases, we're starting our life again, we're starting rejuvenation of our economy again in a safe, structured and very responsible fashion," he added.

The guidelines make clear that returning to normal will be a far longer process than the president initially envisioned, with some federal officials warning that social distancing measures may need to be in force until the end of the year to prevent another outbreak.

Sky's US correspondent Amanda Walker said: "Donald Trump's vision was a sort of grand pan-America reopening. That simply won't be the case.

"This is going to be a protracted situation based on individual states. It's quite a high bar to even enter these three phases of starting to reopen.

"Mr Trump clearly wants to get things back to normal, he's acknowledging the seriousness of the situation as well, but the experts are saying that it's the virus that controls the timeline."

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavi...again-trump-unveils-three-phase-plan-11974453
 
Coronavirus: New Jersey police find 18 bodies at care home's 'makeshift morgue'

The bodies of 18 people have been found at a care home in New Jersey.

Police discovered five bodies on Sunday and a further 13 the following day after receiving an anonymous tip that the home was storing a body outside, according to Andover Township Police chief Eric Danielson.

The 13 bodies were found in a building used to house deceased residents until they can be collected by a funeral home, according to the New Jersey Herald.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said he was "outraged" that bodies of the dead were "allowed to pile up in a makeshift morgue" at the facility.

"New Jerseyans living in our long-term care facilities deserve to be cared for with respect, compassion and dignity," he added.

Chaim Scheinbaum, who co-owns the Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Centre, said in an email to the state's governor that the "more than average deaths" had meant that more bodies needed to be stored in the facility, which usually has a capacity of four.

Mr Scheinbaum added that staffing at the facility is "solid", and is operating with 12 nurses, one more than normal, and 39 nursing assistants, one fewer than normal.

The centre has been severely impacted by COVID-19, with more than 100 staff and residents testing positive for the disease, according to the New York Times.

Two nurses and 66 residents from the home have died so far during the pandemic, with 26 of those deaths confirmed as being linked to coronavirus, the newspaper added.

Representative Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat whose district covers Andover Township, said he was told at the weekend that the home was in desperate need of body bags, and received calls and emails from concerned relatives.

"One of my concerns is that these facilities are not communicating in real time," he said.

"That's what I've been hearing from families. That's outrageous, it's completely unacceptable that they have to call me for updates."

New Jersey health officials say that 471 care home residents have passed away with suspect COVID-19, while 358 out of the state's 375 centres have reported positive cases of coronavirus.
https://news.sky.com/story/coronavi...odies-at-care-homes-makeshift-morgue-11974438
 
Coronavirus: Anti-lockdown protests grow across US

Protests against lockdown measures are growing across the US, even as the number of infections and deaths continue to rise.

The demonstrations have occurred in Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Minnesota, Utah, Virginia and Kentucky.

Protesters say the severe economic restrictions are hurting citizens, but health officials warn lifting them could spread infection.

On Friday, the president appeared to endorse some of the protests.

President Donald Trump tweeted in all capital letters the slogans of several protests but did not add further comment.

The states he referenced are all led by Democrats.

But the demonstrations in recent days have not been limited by party-lines: protests have taken place in regions governed by Republicans and Democrats.

Utah and Ohio are both led by Republican governors.

Demonstrations have also been planned in Oregon, Idaho and Texas.

The US currently has the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the world, with over 672,200 confirmed. There have been over 33,000 deaths due to the virus.

What does federal guidance say?
The president's apparent support comes a day after his administration unveiled new guidance for re-opening state economies.

That guidance recommends three phases of slowly re-opening businesses and social life, with each phase lasting a minimum of 14 days.

It includes some recommendations across all three phases including good personal hygiene and employers developing policies to ensure social distancing, testing and contact tracing.

On Thursday, Mr Trump said that reopening the US economy would be done "one careful step at a time" but he called on state governors to move "very, very quickly, depending on what they want to do".

Upping the pressure - and political risk

On Friday morning Donald Trump fired off a series of tweets calling for the "liberation" of three states with Democratic governors, as though they were enemy-controlled territory.

The message seems apparent.

The governor of one, Michigan's Gretchen Whitmer, recently was the target of a mass protest at the state capital against her sweeping lock-down orders. A mixed crowd of conservatives, white nationalists and anti-government militias waved Confederate and pro-Trump flags, and signs accusing Whitmer of dictatorial overreach.

Another of the states, Virginia, had its own capital protests earlier in the year from gun-rights activists.

The president's social media fusillade suggests his goal is to reward - or encourage - such shows of force from his political base, as opinion polls indicate Trump's approval rating is sagging after a boost during the early weeks of the outbreak.

Trump followed those incendiary tweets by criticising New York's Andrew Cuomo, another Democrat, for mishandling the pandemic and spending too much time "complaining".

Just a day after Trump reportedly told governors in a conference call they would "call the shots" on when to begin easing restrictions, it appears the president wants to up the pressure - and the political risk - for Democrats by other means at his disposal.

Presentational grey line
Why are people protesting?
Protesters say stringent restrictions on movement and businesses are an overreaction to the outbreak.

Organisers of the Liberate Minnesota protest scheduled to occur later on Friday wrote on Facebook: "It is not the governor's place to restrict free movement of Minnesota citizens!"

"President Trump has been very clear that we must get America back to work very quickly or the 'cure' to this terrible disease may be the worse option!"

The group added that the state's economy "will be dealt a death blow" if restrictions continue.

The event now has over 600 attendees marked on Facebook and some 2,800 more users interested in the event.

Earlier this week, in Michigan, thousands of protesting workers blocked roads, demanding the state reopen after Governor Gretchen Whitmer extended stay-at-home restrictions.

Governor Whitmer is also facing federal lawsuits against her orders shuttering non-essential businesses and limiting travel.

Attorney David Helm, who represents four residents in the lawsuit, told Fox 2 Detroit on Wednesday the governor's rules were "taking a sledge hammer to an ant".

Mr Helm said the lockdown measures were infringing on people's constitutional rights.
https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-us-canada-52330531?__twitter_impression=true
 
The US recorded its highest daily death toll on Thursday, reporting 4,591 deaths in 24 hours.

It has the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the world, with more than 672,200 confirmed. There have been more than 33,000 deaths.

73285797-c0bc-4013-b267-ea88850307af.png
 
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On Friday morning, Donald Trump fired off a series of tweets calling for the “liberation” of three states with Democratic governors, as though they were enemy-controlled territory.

The message seems apparent. The governor of one, Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, recently was the target of a mass protest at the state capital against her sweeping lockdown orders. A mixed crowd of conservatives, white nationalists and anti-government militias waved Confederate and pro-Trump flags, and signs accusing Whitmer of dictatorial overreach.

Another of the states, Virginia, had its own capital protests earlier in the year from gun-rights activists.

The president’s social media fusillade suggests his goal is to reward - or encourage - such shows of force from his political base, as opinion polls indicate Trump’s approval rating is sagging after a boost during the early weeks of the outbreak.

Just a day after Trump reportedly told governors in a conference call they would “call the shots” on when to begin easing restrictions, it appears the president wants to up the pressure – and the political risk – for Democrats by other means at his disposal.

Trump has benefitted in the past from a finely tuned sense of the sentiments – and resentments - of his supporters. Friday morning could be an indication that he’s positioning himself to again stand in their midst.

US President Donald Trump has been tweeting attacks against Andrew Cuomo as the New York governor was speaking at his daily news conference.

"If he's sitting home watching TV, maybe he should get up and go to work," Cuomo, a Democrat, responded after the president accused him of "complaining".

"We have given New York far more money, help and equipment than any other state, by far, & these great men & women who did the job never hear you say thanks," Trump tweeted.

Cuomo said that Trump "didn't announce anything" in Thursday's White House briefing on how states should plan to re-open.

"He said it's up to the states...He’s doing nothing.

"It's up to the governors. Which is what it always was," he continued.

Most legal experts agree that the authority to police states is up to governors and not the federal government.

Earlier, Trump had claimed "total" authority, but later reversed course, saying it was up to governors to "call the shots".

Mocking Trump's comment yesterday calling the US a "50-piece puzzle", Cuomo said: "No it's a map of the United States, it's not a puzzle. And those lines are called states."
 
Texas has become the first US state to release a plan to begin lifting lockdown orders and reopen its economy.

"Because of the efforts by everyone to slow the spread, we're now beginning to see glimmers that the worst of Covid-19 may soon be behind us," Republican Governor Greg Abbott said in a news conference on Friday.

Abbott issued an executive order to create a group called the Strike Force to Open Texas to determine which businesses can reopen and when. But he added that schools would have to remain shut for the remainder of the school year.

Here are some of the key dates he announced

20 April - State parks may reopen but visitors must wear masks and maintain social distancing
22 April - Elective surgeries can resume
24 April - Retail businesses can reopen as long as their products are available "to go" and require little interaction with staff
Texas has so far reported more than 17,000 cases and 428 deaths from the coronavirus. The state has tested 169,536 people out of a population of 29 million.
 
Ninety-five people died with coronavirus in California in the latest 24-hour period, making it the state's deadliest day so far.

Governor Gavin Newsom said that the spike was due to a few hotspots, including a nursing home in Tulare County, south-east of Fresno.

Local media reported that the state's total death toll was expected to surpass 1,000 by the end of Friday.
 
O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d
is going to nothing due to Donald trump's stupidity :salute
 
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President Donald Trump has defended his tweets in which he appeared to endorse protests against stringent lockdown measures in several US states.

At his Friday briefing, he said some measures imposed by Minnesota, Michigan and Virginia had been "too tough".

Earlier, he wrote in a series of tweets: "LIBERATE MINNESOTA", "LIBERATE MICHIGAN" and then "LIBERATE VIRGINIA".

The curbs, including the stay-at-home orders, are needed to halt the spread of coronavirus, health officials say.

But protesters say they are hurting citizens, by limiting movement unreasonably and stifling economic activity.

The US saw its highest daily death toll on Thursday, recording 4,591 deaths in 24 hours.

That spike could be because Johns Hopkins University, which records the data, began to include deaths with a Covid-19 probable cause.

The US has the highest number of cases and deaths worldwide, nearly 700,000 confirmed infections and more than 36,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins.

Demonstrations calling on authorities to end the shutdown have occurred in Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Minnesota, Utah, Virginia and Kentucky.

The states Mr Trump referred to in Friday's tweets are all led by Democrats. Ohio and Utah, which he did not mention, have Republican governors.

More demonstrations are planned, including in Wisconsin, Oregon, Maryland, Idaho and Texas.

The protests have varied in size, ranging from a few dozen people in Virginia to thousands in Michigan.

The president's apparent support comes a day after his administration unveiled new guidance for re-opening state economies.

His Friday tweets contrast with his stance on Thursday, where he said he was sympathetic to the demonstrators, but "they seem to be protesters who like me... my opinion is just about the same as all of the governors".

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz responded to the tweets, saying he called the White House to ask "what they think we could have done differently", but did not hear back.

"The president unveiled a three step plan that mirrors exactly what we're trying to do," Mr Walz told reporters.

"I called to ask, what are we doing differently about moving towards getting as many people back into the workforce without compromising the health of Minnesotans or the providers?

"And that will probably take longer than a two-word tweet, but I think there's responsibility to tell us that."

What does federal guidance say?
That guidance recommends three phases of slowly re-opening businesses and social life, with each phase lasting a minimum of 14 days.

It includes some recommendations across all three phases including good personal hygiene and employers developing policies to ensure social distancing, testing and contact tracing.

Dr Anthony Fauci, from the White House coronavirus taskforce, cautioned that even as restrictions were eased "it's not game over".

He warns that the virus may rebound, and there could be setbacks along the way.

Read more on:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52330531
 
Washington Governor Jay Inslee on Friday accused Donald Trump of "fomenting domestic rebellion and spreading lies" after the United States president urged supporters to "LIBERATE" three states led by Democratic governors.

"The president's statements this morning encourage illegal and dangerous acts. He is putting millions of people in danger of contracting COVID-19," Inslee said in a series of tweets on Friday afternoon.

"His unhinged rantings and calls for people to 'liberate' states could also lead to violence. We've seen it before," Inslee added. "The president is fomenting domestic rebellion and spreading lies - even while his own administration says the virus is real, it is deadly and we have a long way to go before restrictions can be lifted."

Inslee's tweets came after Trump apparently encouraged the growing protests against the stay-at-home restrictions aimed at stopping the coronavirus.

"LIBERATE MINNESOTA!" "LIBERATE MICHIGAN!" "LIBERATE VIRGINIA," Trump said in a tweet-storm in which he also lashed out at New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for criticising the federal response. Cuomo "should spend more time 'doing' and less time 'complaining,'" the president said.

The president's tweets marked a different tone from the day before, when Trump said it was up to state governors to decide when and how to reopen their economies. The Trump administration on Thursday unveiled a phased approach to the reopening of the economy, saying governors would be calling their "own shots" while the federal government stood "alongside" them.

On Friday, responding to pleas from governors for help from the federal government in ramping up testing for the virus, Trump put the burden back on them: "The States have to step up their TESTING!"

Trump defended his tweets later on Friday, saying he was "very comfortable" with the posts. He accused the three states of doing "too much" and said he was not worried about those protesting against stay-at-home orders, despite the fact demonstrators have defied the administration's social distancing guidelines.

Governors remain cautious

Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to see businesses reopen quickly and claimed earlier this week that he possesses "total authority" over the matter, even though the lockdowns and other social-distancing measures have been imposed by state and local leaders, not Washington, DC.

Some states did take some of the nation's first, small steps towards loosening restrictions.

In Florida, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis gave the green light for municipalities to reopen beaches and parks if they could do so safely. In Texas, Republican Governor Greg Abbott said stores could begin selling items curbside, non-essential surgery could resume, and state parks could reopen.

US unemployment

But governors of both parties Friday suggested they would be cautious in returning to normal, with some of them warning that they cannot do it without help from Washington to expand testing.

"The federal government cannot wipe its hands of this and say, 'Oh, the states are responsible for testing,'" New York Governor Cuomo said. "We cannot do it without federal help."

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, a Republican ally of Trump, said he would listen to medical experts in deciding how to move forward.

"I am not going to do something that I feel in my heart is the wrong thing that's going to endanger our people," he said.

Democratic Virginia Governor Ralph Northam said he and his staff are focused, not on the president's tweets, but on fighting a "biological war".

"I do not have time to involve myself in Twitter wars," said Northam, who is a medical doctor. "I will continue to make sure that I do everything that I can to keep Virginians safe and to save lives."

Andrew Cuomo

The clash between Trump and Cuomo was personal, with the president complaining the governor has not expressed his thanks for the help received from the federal government. Cuomo countered by saying: "I don't know what I'm supposed to do, send a bouquet of flowers? 'Thank you to the federal government for participating in a federal emergency.'"

Even in largely rural states with small populations, such as Wyoming, Maine and South Dakota, governors said they were not anxious to quickly resume business as usual.

"Until we've got the testing up to speed - which has got to be part of the federal government stepping in and helping - we're just not going to be there," said Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, a Republican.

Fresh protests

The University of Washington, whose computer models have frequently been cited by health officials at White House briefings, predicted Friday that Vermont, West Virginia, Montana and Hawaii could open as early as May 4 if they restrict large gatherings, test widely and quarantine the contacts of people who test positive.

Iowa, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Utah, Arkansas and Oklahoma, however, are among states that would need to wait until mid-June or early July. About half the states should wait until at least early June to reopen, and all should gauge the capacity of their public health systems to handle outbreaks, university researchers said.

Worldwide, the outbreak has infected more than 2.2 million people and killed more than 153,000, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally based on figures supplied by government health authorities around the globe, though it has become increasingly clear that the true numbers are much higher.

The official death toll in the US surpassed 36,000, with more than 692,000 confirmed infections.

Michigan

The shutdowns have inflicted heavy damage on economies around the world. In the US, the crisis has cost at least 22 million Americans their jobs, pushing the unemployment rate towards levels not seen since the Great Depression in the early 1930s.

Many Americans, especially in rural areas and other parts of the country that have not seen major outbreaks, have urged governors to reopen their economies. Defying social distancing guidelines, protesters have taken to the streets in Ohio, Texas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia and Michigan, where more than 3,000 turned out on Wednesday in what looked like one of the president's rallies, with "MAGA" hats and Trump flags.

Protests continued Friday, including one outside the home of Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota and another in Idaho, where the governor is a Republican.

Public health experts have warned that an easing of the shutdowns must be accompanied by wider testing and tracing of infected people to keep the virus from coming back with a vengeance.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...ebellion-liberate-tweets-200417223606672.html
 
President Donald Trump has defended his tweets in which he appeared to endorse protests against stringent lockdown measures in several US states.

At his Friday briefing, he said some measures imposed by Minnesota, Michigan and Virginia had been "too tough".

Earlier, he wrote in a series of tweets: "LIBERATE MINNESOTA", "LIBERATE MICHIGAN" and then "LIBERATE VIRGINIA".

The curbs, including the stay-at-home orders, are needed to halt the spread of coronavirus, health officials say.
Click to expand...
Well that's normal. And Trump supporters say his critics are unhinged.

This is the era we live in. The sky is green, the grass is blue...
 
More US lockdown protests expected

Further protests are expected in the US, as conservative activists call for social distancing measures to be relaxed.

In recent days groups of protesters, including some with weapons, have gathered outside state legislatures and the homes of officials.

President Trump has been accused of stoking partisan tensions after appearing to indicate his support in online comments. On Friday he posted tweets calling for people to "liberate" a number of states.


Washington State Governor Jay Inslee said the president's "unhinged rantings" could put "millions of people in danger of contracting Covid-19" and lead to violence.

In a briefing on Friday, Mr Trump defended the comments and said some measures imposed by governors had been "too tough".

According to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University, the US has more than 700,000 coronavirus cases with more than 37,000 deaths.
 
There are planned protests across the US as people call for the end of lockdown measures in several states.

The curbs, which include stay-at-home orders, are needed to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Facebook pages are calling for gatherings in Maryland, Wisconsin, Virginia and Pennsylvania. It is unclear how many people will attend. The four groups have more than 100,000 members combined.

Earlier this week thousands attended a demonstration in Michigan, which appears to have inspired the protests.

So far demonstrations against the shutdown have also been held in Ohio, North Carolina, Minnesota, Utah, Virginia and Kentucky.

President Donald Trump has been criticised for appearing to endorse the protests. In a series of tweets, he wrote: "LIBERATE MINNESOTA", "LIBERATE MICHIGAN" and then "LIBERATE VIRGINIA".
 
New York reports lowest virus death toll in two weeks

New York state, the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, has experienced its lowest one-day death toll in two weeks, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced.

Cuomo said 540 people had died in his state of 20 million inhabitants in the preceding 24 hours, and he suggested New York may now be on the downslope after a recent plateau in deaths.

But Cuomo, who has extended the state's stay-at-home rule to May 15, said the recent improvement should be viewed with some caution. No fewer than 2,000 people were hospitalised in the past day in connection with the virus, he told reporters in a daily briefing.
 
Beaches and parks in Jacksonville, Florida, have reopened amidst calls for states to ease the lockdown measures in place.

Duval County, where Jacksonville is located, has recorded 817 cases of coronavirus with 15 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Despite the images of crowds on the beach, the City of Jacksonville tweeted the public space should be used for "exercise only".

11501d47-f248-410b-8612-67443bf0579d.jpg
 
Trump discusses coronavirus pandemic with South Korea, Mexican leaders

President Donald Trump spoke to South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Saturday and expressed appreciation for his country’s help in procuring COVID-19 tests for the United States, the White House said.

“Both leaders agreed to continue working together to defeat the pandemic and restore global economic growth. President Trump and President Moon also discussed ways to further strengthen the United States-Republic of Korea security relationship,” the White House said in a statement.

The White House also said Trump had spoken to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday and agreed to keep restrictions on border crossings to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

“The leaders also discussed the need to maintain restrictions on travelers crossing their land borders for non-essential purposes, while ensuring cross-border activities that are critical to commerce, health security, supply security, and other essential industries remain unimpeded,” the White House said. “President Trump offered additional resources to the government of Mexico to support its health care system.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ith-south-korea-mexican-leaders-idUSKBN2200VQ
 
Lock down is hurting the bottom 20% income group the most, but to continue lockdown call is coming mostly from the top 20%. The top 20% is not impacted that much with lockdown.

Closing everything is starting to impact even hospitals. They are firing doctors and nurses. Also, you can't open without having a good testing and tracking to avoid flying blind when spikes happen.

It's not white and black situation.
 
Buffet said:
Lock down is hurting the bottom 20% income group the most, but to continue lockdown call is coming mostly from the top 20%. The top 20% is not impacted that much with lockdown.

Closing everything is starting to impact even hospitals. They are firing doctors and nurses. Also, you can't open without having a good testing and tracking to avoid flying blind when spikes happen.

It's not white and black situation.
Click to expand...
Well said,
It’s even worse for USAA disabled veterans whose stimulus was cut at their USAA account , turned now but still.
 
Buffet said:
Lock down is hurting the bottom 20% income group the most, but to continue lockdown call is coming mostly from the top 20%. The top 20% is not impacted that much with lockdown.

Closing everything is starting to impact even hospitals. They are firing doctors and nurses. Also, you can't open without having a good testing and tracking to avoid flying blind when spikes happen.

It's not white and black situation.
Click to expand...

Hospitals are just being greedy, they don't have to lay off people. Payroll protection plan is just for that purpose. We have not fired anyone in our practice. The Paycheck Protection Program is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll. SBA will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities.

Government has to pay more if more people apply for unemployment benefits.
 
Buffet said:
Lock down is hurting the bottom 20% income group the most, but to continue lockdown call is coming mostly from the top 20%. The top 20% is not impacted that much with lockdown.

Closing everything is starting to impact even hospitals. They are firing doctors and nurses. Also, you can't open without having a good testing and tracking to avoid flying blind when spikes happen.

It's not white and black situation.
Click to expand...

The real problem is that states have no set dates or guidelines for re-opening, which is adding to the frustration of public. Its all up to the governors of each state, I am hoping they come up with some dates this week. Even if it is in phases, there needs to be a plan in place. States like VA have extended shutdown to June 1, based on bogus models which keep changing.
 
Trump: Social distancing norms should be same for Easter, Ramadan

US President Donald Trump has been accused of stoking Islamophobia after raising questions about social distancing in mosques during the holy month of Ramadan.

Trump said on Saturday there "could be a difference" in how authorities and politicians enforce coronavirus lockdown measures during the upcoming Ramadan compared with how Christians were treated during the Easter holiday.

The president made the comments when asked about a tweet by conservative writer Paul Sperry, which Trump had retweeted, that suggested Muslims could get preferential treatment.

"Let's see if authorities enforce the social-distancing orders for mosques during Ramadan (April 23-May 23) like they did churches during Easter," Sperry wrote, echoing a theme that has circulated in right-wing circles on Twitter.

"I would say that there could be a difference," Trump said during his daily coronavirus news conference. "And we'll have to see what will happen. Because I've seen a great disparity in this country," he said echoing far-right sentiments on Twitter.

When Al Jazeera's Kimberly Halkett questioned Trump on whether he specifically thought that Muslim religious leaders in the US would not follow social distancing guidelines during the holy month, Trump responded: "No I don't think that at all."

"I just had a call with imams, ministers, rabbis. We had a tremendous call with the faith leaders," Trump said.

"I am somebody who believes in faith, it doesn't matter what your faith is, but our politicians seem to treat different faiths very differently.

"I don't know what happened with our country, but the Christian faith is treated much differently than it was, and I think it's treated very unfairly," he said.

Trump has been criticised for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic that has killed nearly 40,000 people while infecting more than 700,000 people in the US. More than 160,000 people have died worldwide due to the virus which originated in China last year.

The pandemic has overturned traditional religious gatherings and prayers since widespread lockdowns and restrictions were implemented in states throughout the country beginning in March.

The outbreak prevented Christians across the country from gathering on Easter Sunday on April 12, although some leaders bucked those restrictions. Jewish Americans were likewise forced to turn traditional Passover seders into virtual affairs when the eight-day holiday began at sundown on April 8.

The Islamic Society of North America, along with Muslim medical experts, has urged the suspension of group prayers, among other gatherings in light of the pandemic.

In a tweet on Saturday, the Council on American-Islamic relations called Trump's comments "incoherent", with the hashtag "islamophobia". Meanwhile, the Muslim Advocates organisation said Trump was broadcasting "anti-Muslim hate".

In his response on Saturday, Trump added that he has seen a "very strong anti-Israel bent in Congress" which he said was particularly perpetuated by congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, among others.

"So I would be interested to see that. Because they go after Christian churches but they don't seem to go after mosques, and I don't want them to go after mosques. But I do want to see what their bent is," Trump said.

Ramadan begins at sunset on Thursday.

The president has been accused of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the past. One of his first acts upon entering office was to ban travellers from several Muslim-majority countries.

Despite widespread adherence to social distancing guidelines across the religious communities throughout the country, there have been some high-profile defiances among religious leaders.

A Virginia pastor who continued to preach in defiance of stay-at-home rules died last week after contracting the coronavirus. Meanwhile, pastors at two megachurches in Florida and Louisiana have been arrested on misdemeanour charges for flouting stay-at-home orders.

The US Department of Justice has also defended parishioners in Mississippi who attended a church service in their cars with the windows up, saying they were exercising their freedom of religion, Al Jazeera's Halkett reported from Washington, DC.

"Now many in the United States are watching very carefully to see if this same effort will be applied when it comes to those who may want to celebrate during Ramadan," she said.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...ing-norms-easter-ramadan-200419061153522.html
 
There have been a number of demonstrations across US states in recent days.

Some activists believe restrictions to stop coronavirus have gone too far and are calling for them to be relaxed.

Many worry the gatherings could spread Covid-19 further, with 39,000 deaths and 735,000 cases recorded throughout the US.

President Donald Trump has also become involved in the growing row. He was accused of promoting the protests on Friday, when he posted a series of tweets encouraging people to “liberate” a number of states.
 
moghul said:
Hospitals are just being greedy, they don't have to lay off people. Payroll protection plan is just for that purpose. We have not fired anyone in our practice. The Paycheck Protection Program is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll. SBA will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities.

Government has to pay more if more people apply for unemployment benefits.
Click to expand...

Many rural hospital runs on very thin margin. They have seen absolutely no traffic during this corona lockdown. I am fully aware of Paycheck protection program, but fund ran out quickly and even with additional funds, it's extremely low chance that all hospitals will receive anything from thsi fund.

Anyway, it's not a sustainable model unless government explicitly pays all hospitals to keep the operation running, which is not going to happen.

I am no way advocating for business as usual, but it's not sustainable to simply lock down everything. First order thinking is - just lockdown everything for months or keep everything open. Second order of thinking will be then what? If we don't do second order of thinking then we will fail.
 
iRfaN_LA said:
The real problem is that states have no set dates or guidelines for re-opening, which is adding to the frustration of public. Its all up to the governors of each state, I am hoping they come up with some dates this week. Even if it is in phases, there needs to be a plan in place. States like VA have extended shutdown to June 1, based on bogus models which keep changing.
Click to expand...

Models are not going to be always right. Models are as good as assumption we put inside. Dynamics of R0 for spread is vastly different in rural area vs dense population with metro. Projecting NYC situation everywhere in country and locking down for months is simply going hurt us collectively.

It's little bit tricky for politician to backtrack now. News headlines from Italy made it impposible for politicians to keep anything open to avoid getting headlines like, XYZ is responsible for so many deaths...

Now, lock down surely helped to flatten the curve, but goal was to flatten the curve and keep things running as long as we don't overwhelm our health system. Goal never was to keep everything shut till we get rid of virus, because we won't be getting rid of virus in near future.

Now, if narrative changes that all deaths due to opening will be resposibility of govener then no wonder that governors are less willing to open or give a date. No one is tracking huge number of deaths happnening due to heart issues during this lock down. Those deths don't dissapear, they are still happening. This virus issue has been politicized too much.

We can't simply open and go back to normal and risk 20 NYC on our country, but we can't keep everything shut down for months. Too many jobs are dissapearing and they won't come back and bottom 20% will be hurt most. Longer we remain totally shut, more jobs are dissapearing everyday. 4 months of extra unemployment won't do much unless people have jobs to go back to.

I am registered as independent and feeling very dissapointed with bahaviour from both sides right now. I saw left leaning media saying that Trump is talking about WHO to distract. Well, it's possible to criticize Trump and it's possible to criticize WHO for lousy job. You can do both. They are not mutually exclusive. WHO had full information from Taiwan, but they ignored it to please China. Till Feb they were saying that it's not a pandemic. Sure, US doesn't really depend on WHO to take actions and USA did shut down entry partially from China in January which was criticized by WHO and even by some Democrats in our country.

I am sure as country we will end up doing the right thing, but we need to minimize the damage in all aspects.
 
The Viper said:
There have been a number of demonstrations across US states in recent days.

Some activists believe restrictions to stop coronavirus have gone too far and are calling for them to be relaxed.

Many worry the gatherings could spread Covid-19 further, with 39,000 deaths and 735,000 cases recorded throughout the US.

President Donald Trump has also become involved in the growing row. He was accused of promoting the protests on Friday, when he posted a series of tweets encouraging people to “liberate” a number of states.
Click to expand...

Extremely irresponsible things to do. No one should be encouraging crowd to protest here and we have our president doing it.

Government needs to do a better job in communicating about need for lock down and then have a plan to open up in phases. People simply needs to see some plan even if not perfect. Humans don't like uncertainty.
 
Buffet said:
Models are not going to be always right. Models are as good as assumption we put inside. Dynamics of R0 for spread is vastly different in rural area vs dense population with metro. Projecting NYC situation everywhere in country and locking down for months is simply going hurt us collectively.

It's little bit tricky for politician to backtrack now. News headlines from Italy made it impposible for politicians to keep anything open to avoid getting headlines like, XYZ is responsible for so many deaths...

Now, lock down surely helped to flatten the curve, but goal was to flatten the curve and keep things running as long as we don't overwhelm our health system. Goal never was to keep everything shut till we get rid of virus, because we won't be getting rid of virus in near future.

Now, if narrative changes that all deaths due to opening will be resposibility of govener then no wonder that governors are less willing to open or give a date. No one is tracking huge number of deaths happnening due to heart issues during this lock down. Those deths don't dissapear, they are still happening. This virus issue has been politicized too much.

We can't simply open and go back to normal and risk 20 NYC on our country, but we can't keep everything shut down for months. Too many jobs are dissapearing and they won't come back and bottom 20% will be hurt most. Longer we remain totally shut, more jobs are dissapearing everyday. 4 months of extra unemployment won't do much unless people have jobs to go back to.

I am registered as independent and feeling very dissapointed with bahaviour from both sides right now. I saw left leaning media saying that Trump is talking about WHO to distract. Well, it's possible to criticize Trump and it's possible to criticize WHO for lousy job. You can do both. They are not mutually exclusive. WHO had full information from Taiwan, but they ignored it to please China. Till Feb they were saying that it's not a pandemic. Sure, US doesn't really depend on WHO to take actions and USA did shut down entry partially from China in January which was criticized by WHO and even by some Democrats in our country.

I am sure as country we will end up doing the right thing, but we need to minimize the damage in all aspects.
Click to expand...

You cannot set a timetable for reopening the country without first demonstrating a reduction in the number of new cases. And you can only do that through a widespread testing regime.

Whilst the US has improved on testing from last month, it is averaging fewer than 150,000/day when Harvard researchers estimate at least 500,000 tests/day are needed if the country is to reopen next month and avoid these job losses you speak of.

We know the point of social distancing is to buy enough time to significantly ramp up testing capacity. The question is what has the US Govt done in that time because there's shortages in testing equipment like nasal swabs, reagents and test kits. There's a lack of coordination at the top required for test kits to be distributed to the places that need them the most. It's absolutely a matter of political concern when a Govt disbands the pandemic team on the NSC in 2018 leaving the US ill equipped to deal with such a crisis, or when the Govt fires the CDC epidemiologist stationed in China to monitor outbreaks precisely like COVID-19 ! Somebody must also investigate why the CDC testing kits were contaminated, slowing the initial testing programme.

The people overseeing this debacle must be held accountable.
 
Coronavirus: New York couples can now tie the knot over Zoom

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed an order allowing online marriages, as many weddings are cancelled under lockdown restrictions.

From now on, New Yorkers will be able to apply for marriage licences remotely and clerks will be allowed to conduct ceremonies virtually.

Mr Cuomo joked that the decision meant there was now "no excuse" for couples not to tie the knot.

"You can do it by Zoom. Yes or no?" he said in his briefing on Saturday.

The decision comes after the state extended lockdown measures until 15 May. More than 13,000 people have died of coronavirus in New York city alone.

Social media reaction to the decision was mixed.

Some questioned why couples would choose to hold weddings when their families and friends are unable to join them, or criticised the governor for not prioritising other decisions.

But others pointed out that during a pandemic, marriage could offer practical benefits, such as allowing couples to share health insurance coverage.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">NEW: I am issuing an Executive Order allowing New Yorkers to obtain a marriage license remotely and allowing clerks to perform ceremonies via video conference.</p>— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYGovCuomo/status/1251570033395974145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52346437
 
Markhor said:
You cannot set a timetable for reopening the country without first demonstrating a reduction in the number of new cases. And you can only do that through a widespread testing regime.

Whilst the US has improved on testing from last month, it is averaging fewer than 150,000/day when Harvard researchers estimate at least 500,000 tests/day are needed if the country is to reopen next month and avoid these job losses you speak of.

We know the point of social distancing is to buy enough time to significantly ramp up testing capacity. The question is what has the US Govt done in that time because there's shortages in testing equipment like nasal swabs, reagents and test kits. There's a lack of coordination at the top required for test kits to be distributed to the places that need them the most. It's absolutely a matter of political concern when a Govt disbands the pandemic team on the NSC in 2018 leaving the US ill equipped to deal with such a crisis, or when the Govt fires the CDC epidemiologist stationed in China to monitor outbreaks precisely like COVID-19 ! Somebody must also investigate why the CDC testing kits were contaminated, slowing the initial testing programme.

The people overseeing this debacle must be held accountable.
Click to expand...

Testing surely needs to be much higher , but I have seen very little talk about centralized testing with priority. If we can get to centralized testing with priority then we can track any spike in real time and shut down specific region.

Currently we have testing from multiple channels without any priority. Some rich people can get tested quickly while health care workers are wating for 7 days to get results back.

I am not sure why we can't go from 150K to 500K per day, but just doing 500K won't be enough unless we make best use of those 500K tests.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We have slowed the infection rate so that every 10 people infect about 9 people.<br><br>That means that the outbreak is slowing, not growing.<br><br>But it leaves very little room for error.<br><br>We need the bring the infection rate down even more in order to safely reopen the economy.</p>— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYGovCuomo/status/1251911932191399936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
US coronavirus deaths top 40,000: Johns Hopkins University

The number of deaths from the new coronavirus in the United States topped 40,000 on Sunday, AFP reported, citing a running tally by Johns Hopkins University.

It showed the number of fatalities countrywide at 40,585, with almost half of them in New York state.
 
The number of coronavirus-related deaths in the US has now surpassed 41,000, according to Johns Hopkins.

The US university - which has been tracking the outbreak since shortly after it erupted in China late last year - says there are now more than 746,000 confirmed infections across America, with the New York state being the worst-hit.

On Sunday, protesters took to the streets in states across the US, demanding that governors reopen economies shut by the pandemic.
 
Donald Trump begins his daily coronavirus briefing by announcing continued negotiations with Democrats on an additional stimulus package.

"We're getting close to a deal," Trump says. "We're going to see what exactly does take place," suggesting more details could be announced tomorrow.

Trump says his administration is looking to provide more aid for rural hospitals.

"A lot of good things are happening," he says.
 
Trump says that 4.18 million Americans have been tested for the coronavirus, adding that testing is expanding "rapidly" and by "millions and millions of people".

"No country is close to us," in testing, he claims.

The president holds up a swab that he says can be used for testing, comparing it to a Q-tip.

"We have ordered a lot of them," the president says, announcing he will evoke the US defence production act to make sure more swabs are available.

"Swabs are easy, ventilators are hard," he adds, before calling the US "the king of ventilators
 
President Trump thanks New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for his work amid the virus outbreak.

"We’re building hospitals," Trump, a Republican, says. "He’s worked very well with us."

"Frankly, the governor of Michigan was very good with us on beds," Trump says of Governor Gretchen Whitmer in regards to supplying hospital beds for patients.

The remarks mark a change in tone for the president who has traded barbs with governors over their virus response.

Trump plays a video clip of Cuomo praising the White House.

"I just think it's so good because it's bipartisan," he says.
 
The Viper said:
Trump says that 4.18 million Americans have been tested for the coronavirus, adding that testing is expanding "rapidly" and by "millions and millions of people".

"No country is close to us," in testing, he claims.

The president holds up a swab that he says can be used for testing, comparing it to a Q-tip.

"We have ordered a lot of them," the president says, announcing he will evoke the US defence production act to make sure more swabs are available.

"Swabs are easy, ventilators are hard," he adds, before calling the US "the king of ventilators
Click to expand...

No country is close to us in number of dead citizens also, you idiot.

These tests should have been available everywhere weeks ago.
 
US death toll tops 40,000

The virus has now killed more than 40,000 people in the US - nearly a quarter of all deaths from Covid-19 across the globe, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Here are the latest updates from the US:

there was some slightly better news out of New York, which has been badly hit. The state governor Andrew Cuomo said the state appeared to have passed the peak of the outbreak, with indications it was "now on the descent" elsewhere in the US, an ongoing battle between state governors and US President Donald Trump rages on. Trump appeared to endorse several protests against strict lockdown measures that took place over the weekend. He said earlier that orders in place in Minnesota, Michigan and Virginia were "too tough".

Washington Governor Jay Inslee said his support of the protesters was "dangerous"

Trump says he plans to invoke the Defense Production Act to compel an unnamed company to make 20 million swabs. State governors have complained about a lack of swabs and testing

US President Donald Trump holds up a swab as he speaks during a Coronavirus Task Force press briefing
 
Protesters have taken to the streets in states across the US, demanding that governors reopen economies shut by the coronavirus pandemic.

Rallies took place on Sunday in Arizona, Colorado, Montana and Washington state, following earlier protests in other states. Most of the crowds numbered in the low hundreds.

Agitation for easing restrictions has grown, despite the risk of a surge in infections should the country be reopened too soon.

US President Donald Trump has signalled support for the protests, and more expected to be held later today.

The US has become the epicentre of the coronavrius crisis, with over 735,000 cases and some 40,000 deaths. But signs have emerged that it is reaching the apex of the outbreak and that infection rates are slowing.
 
Coronavirus visualised: Where it's hitting the US

amir1.jpg

The US is the currently the nation worst affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

You can see in this BBC map where the virus is hitting the country.

Cases are most concentrated on the east coast, with nearly 250,000 in the state of New York alone.

The reported death toll in the US far exceeds anywhere else - more than 41,000 people there have died.
 
NYC is literally feeling like a place out of a zombie movie right now
 
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