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Transcript: Trump’s Coronavirus News Conference Transcript: Trump’s Coronavirus News Conference
(32 minutes later)
“Today I’d like to provide an update to the American people on several decisive new actions we’re taking in our very vigilant effort to combat and ultimately defeat the coronavirus.“Today I’d like to provide an update to the American people on several decisive new actions we’re taking in our very vigilant effort to combat and ultimately defeat the coronavirus.
“We’ve been working very hard on this. We’ve made tremendous progress. When you compare what we’ve done to other areas of the world, it’s pretty incredible. A lot of that had to do with the early designation and the closing of the borders.“We’ve been working very hard on this. We’ve made tremendous progress. When you compare what we’ve done to other areas of the world, it’s pretty incredible. A lot of that had to do with the early designation and the closing of the borders.
“As you know, Europe was just designated as the hot spot right now, and we closed that border awhile ago. So that was lucky through talent or through luck, call it whatever you want. But through a collective action, and shared sacrifice, national determination we will overcome the threat of the virus.“As you know, Europe was just designated as the hot spot right now, and we closed that border awhile ago. So that was lucky through talent or through luck, call it whatever you want. But through a collective action, and shared sacrifice, national determination we will overcome the threat of the virus.
“I also announced Wednesday night following the advice of our medical professionals, who were doing a tremendous job, and we appreciate it very much, that we’re suspending the entry of foreign nationals who have been to Europe in the last 14 days from entering the United States. Citizens, primary residents and our families, and any of the families returning from Europe will be subject to extra screening as well as self-isolation for a period of 14 days.“I also announced Wednesday night following the advice of our medical professionals, who were doing a tremendous job, and we appreciate it very much, that we’re suspending the entry of foreign nationals who have been to Europe in the last 14 days from entering the United States. Citizens, primary residents and our families, and any of the families returning from Europe will be subject to extra screening as well as self-isolation for a period of 14 days.
“As the World Health Organization confirmed today many of the things that — what we said were 100 percent correct, including our designation before them of Europe. Like our earlier very aggressive actions with China, this measure will save countless lives. I appreciate a number of the folks behind me — uh, number of the people behind me — said that that saved a lot of lives, that early designation. But it is only the beginning of what we’re really doing, and now we’re in a different phase.“As the World Health Organization confirmed today many of the things that — what we said were 100 percent correct, including our designation before them of Europe. Like our earlier very aggressive actions with China, this measure will save countless lives. I appreciate a number of the folks behind me — uh, number of the people behind me — said that that saved a lot of lives, that early designation. But it is only the beginning of what we’re really doing, and now we’re in a different phase.
“We had some very old and obsolete rules that we had to live with. It worked on certain circumstances but not under mass circumstances. They were there for a long time and in place for a long time, and we’re breaking them down now. And they’re very usable for certain instances, but not for this.“We had some very old and obsolete rules that we had to live with. It worked on certain circumstances but not under mass circumstances. They were there for a long time and in place for a long time, and we’re breaking them down now. And they’re very usable for certain instances, but not for this.
“To unleash the full power of the federal government in this effort today, I’m officially declaring a national emergency. Two very big words. The action I am taking will open up access to up to $50 billion of, very importantly — very important and a large amount of money for states and territories and localities in our shared fight against this disease.“To unleash the full power of the federal government in this effort today, I’m officially declaring a national emergency. Two very big words. The action I am taking will open up access to up to $50 billion of, very importantly — very important and a large amount of money for states and territories and localities in our shared fight against this disease.
“And in furtherance of the order, I’m urging every state to set up emergency operation centers effectively immediately. You’re going to be hearing from some of the largest companies and greatest retailers and medical companies in the world. They’re standing right behind me and on side of me.“And in furtherance of the order, I’m urging every state to set up emergency operation centers effectively immediately. You’re going to be hearing from some of the largest companies and greatest retailers and medical companies in the world. They’re standing right behind me and on side of me.
“I’m also asking every hospital in this country to activate its emergency preparedness plan so that they can meet the needs of Americans everywhere. The hospitals are very engaged. New York and various other places are also very engaged. I just spoke with Governor [Andrew M.] Cuomo; we had a very good conversation, and we’re working very strongly with many states, including New York.“I’m also asking every hospital in this country to activate its emergency preparedness plan so that they can meet the needs of Americans everywhere. The hospitals are very engaged. New York and various other places are also very engaged. I just spoke with Governor [Andrew M.] Cuomo; we had a very good conversation, and we’re working very strongly with many states, including New York.
“Emergency orders I’m issuing today will also confer broad new authority to the secretary of health and human services. The secretary of H.H.S. will be able to immediately waive provisions of applicable laws and regulations to give doctors and all hospitals and health care providers maximum flexibility to respond to the virus and care for patients.“Emergency orders I’m issuing today will also confer broad new authority to the secretary of health and human services. The secretary of H.H.S. will be able to immediately waive provisions of applicable laws and regulations to give doctors and all hospitals and health care providers maximum flexibility to respond to the virus and care for patients.
“This includes the following critical authorities — the ability to waive laws to enable telehealth, a fairly new and incredible thing that’s happened in the not-so-distant past. I tell you, what they’ve done with telehealth is incredible. It gives remote doctors visits and hospital check-ins the power to waive certain federal license requirements so that doctors from other states can provide services and states with the greatest need.“This includes the following critical authorities — the ability to waive laws to enable telehealth, a fairly new and incredible thing that’s happened in the not-so-distant past. I tell you, what they’ve done with telehealth is incredible. It gives remote doctors visits and hospital check-ins the power to waive certain federal license requirements so that doctors from other states can provide services and states with the greatest need.
“No. 2, the ability to waive requirements that critical-access hospitals limit the number of beds to 25, and the length of stay to 96 hours. The ability to waive the requirements of a three-day hospital stay prior to admission to a nursing home, big thing. The authority to waive rules to hinder hospitals’ ability to bring additional physicians on board or obtain needed office space. They can do as they want. They could do what they have to do. They know what they have to do. Now they don’t have any problem getting it done.“No. 2, the ability to waive requirements that critical-access hospitals limit the number of beds to 25, and the length of stay to 96 hours. The ability to waive the requirements of a three-day hospital stay prior to admission to a nursing home, big thing. The authority to waive rules to hinder hospitals’ ability to bring additional physicians on board or obtain needed office space. They can do as they want. They could do what they have to do. They know what they have to do. Now they don’t have any problem getting it done.
“The authority to waive rules that severely restrict what hospitals could care for patients within the hospital itself, ensuring that the emergency capacity could be quickly established. We’ll remove or eliminate every obstacle necessary to deliver our people the care that they need and that they’re entitled to. No resource will be spared, nothing whatsoever. Ten days ago, I brought together the C.E.O.s of commercial labs at the White House and directed them to immediately begin working on a solution to dramatically increase the availability of tests.“The authority to waive rules that severely restrict what hospitals could care for patients within the hospital itself, ensuring that the emergency capacity could be quickly established. We’ll remove or eliminate every obstacle necessary to deliver our people the care that they need and that they’re entitled to. No resource will be spared, nothing whatsoever. Ten days ago, I brought together the C.E.O.s of commercial labs at the White House and directed them to immediately begin working on a solution to dramatically increase the availability of tests.
Updated June 30, 2020
Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.
Scientists around the country have tried to identify everyday materials that do a good job of filtering microscopic particles. In recent tests, HEPA furnace filters scored high, as did vacuum cleaner bags, fabric similar to flannel pajamas and those of 600-count pillowcases. Other materials tested included layered coffee filters and scarves and bandannas. These scored lower, but still captured a small percentage of particles.
A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico.
The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth.
The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave.
So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement.
Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.
A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study.
The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.
If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)
If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.
“Other countries have called us and worked with us, and they’re doing similar things or will be doing similar things. As a result of that action today we’re announcing a new partnership with private sector to vastly increase and accelerate our capacity to test for the coronavirus. We want to make sure that those who need a test could get a test very safely, quickly and conveniently, but we don’t want people to take a test if — if we feel that they shouldn’t be doing it. And we don’t want everyone running out and taking — only have if you have certain symptoms.“Other countries have called us and worked with us, and they’re doing similar things or will be doing similar things. As a result of that action today we’re announcing a new partnership with private sector to vastly increase and accelerate our capacity to test for the coronavirus. We want to make sure that those who need a test could get a test very safely, quickly and conveniently, but we don’t want people to take a test if — if we feel that they shouldn’t be doing it. And we don’t want everyone running out and taking — only have if you have certain symptoms.
“Using federal emergency authorities, the F.D.A. approved a new test for the virus. We did this within hours after receiving the application from Roche, a process that would normally take weeks. We therefore expect up to half a million additional tests will be available early next week. We’ll be announcing locations probably on Sunday night.“Using federal emergency authorities, the F.D.A. approved a new test for the virus. We did this within hours after receiving the application from Roche, a process that would normally take weeks. We therefore expect up to half a million additional tests will be available early next week. We’ll be announcing locations probably on Sunday night.
“I want to thank Roche, great company, for their incredible work. I would also like to thank Thermo Fisher. The F.D.A.’s goal is to hopefully authorize the application within 24 hours. It is going very quickly, which will bring additionally 1.4 million tests on board next week and five million within a month. I doubt we’ll need anywhere near that.“I want to thank Roche, great company, for their incredible work. I would also like to thank Thermo Fisher. The F.D.A.’s goal is to hopefully authorize the application within 24 hours. It is going very quickly, which will bring additionally 1.4 million tests on board next week and five million within a month. I doubt we’ll need anywhere near that.
“At the same time, we’ve been in discussions with pharmacies and retailers to make drive-through tests available in the critical locations identified by public health professionals. The goal is for individuals to be able to drive up and be swabbed without having to leave your car.“At the same time, we’ve been in discussions with pharmacies and retailers to make drive-through tests available in the critical locations identified by public health professionals. The goal is for individuals to be able to drive up and be swabbed without having to leave your car.
“I want to thank Google. Google is helping to develop a website. It is going to be very quickly done, unlike websites of the past, to determine whether a test is warranted and to facilitate testing at a nearby convenient location.“I want to thank Google. Google is helping to develop a website. It is going to be very quickly done, unlike websites of the past, to determine whether a test is warranted and to facilitate testing at a nearby convenient location.
“We have many, many locations behind us, by the way. We cover the — this country and a large part of the world. By the way, we’re not talking about the world right now. But we cover very — very strongly our country, stores in virtually every location. Google has 1,700 engineers working on this right now. They’ve made tremendous progress.“We have many, many locations behind us, by the way. We cover the — this country and a large part of the world. By the way, we’re not talking about the world right now. But we cover very — very strongly our country, stores in virtually every location. Google has 1,700 engineers working on this right now. They’ve made tremendous progress.
“Our overriding goal is to stop the spread of the virus and help all Americans who have been impacted by this. Again, we don’t want everybody taking this test. It is totally unnecessary. And this will pass. This will pass through, and we’re going to be even stronger for it. We’ve learned a lot. Tremendous amount has been learned.“Our overriding goal is to stop the spread of the virus and help all Americans who have been impacted by this. Again, we don’t want everybody taking this test. It is totally unnecessary. And this will pass. This will pass through, and we’re going to be even stronger for it. We’ve learned a lot. Tremendous amount has been learned.
“I want to thank Deborah Birx and ask her maybe to come up and say as a few words as to what’s happening. Dr. Birx is a highly respected person I’ve gotten to know very well over the last six days, and what we’ve done is rebuild something that was very old, very old-fashioned, somewhat obsolete, certainly obsolete when it comes to the numbers we’re talking about.”“I want to thank Deborah Birx and ask her maybe to come up and say as a few words as to what’s happening. Dr. Birx is a highly respected person I’ve gotten to know very well over the last six days, and what we’ve done is rebuild something that was very old, very old-fashioned, somewhat obsolete, certainly obsolete when it comes to the numbers we’re talking about.”