This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/apr/14/coronavirus-us-live-donald-trump-briefing-deaths-rise-cuomo-fauci-latest-news-updates
The article has changed 25 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 20 | Version 21 |
|---|---|
| Coronavirus US live: Trump halts funding to World Health Organization | Coronavirus US live: Trump halts funding to World Health Organization |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Funding will be cut off while the US conducts a ‘review’ investigation, US president says | Funding will be cut off while the US conducts a ‘review’ investigation, US president says |
| Now Trump is saying he won’t pressure governors to reopen their states — fully walking back what he said during yesterday’s briefing. | |
| After claiming total presidential authority yesterday, Trump said state and local officials would follow his guidance. What about officials who resisted? I’d like to see that person run for election,” the president said yesterday. | |
| Fact check: Travel restrictions | |
| Trump has repeatedly touted his travel restrictions as evidence that he reacted early to the coronavirus threat. We’ve addressed this several times on the liveblog over the past few weeks, but here we go again... | |
| The administration’s travel policy did not “cut off” all travel from China, as Trump calims. Although non-US citizens were prohibited from entering the country if they had traveled to China within the previous two weeks, American citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family members were exempt. Similarly, Trump’s European travel restrictions exempted citizens, residents and their families. And initially, the restrictions didn’t apply to the UK and Ireland, as well as most Eastern European countries. | |
| Epidemiologists have told the Guardian that these policies likely had little impact, as they were enacted after the virus was already spreading within the US.“Unfortunately, travel bans sound good,” noted Bill Hanage, an epidemiologist at Harvard’s TH Chan School of Public Health, after Trump announced European restrictions. “But we’re way past the point where simply restricting travel is a reasonable response.” | |
| The few studies so far that have investigated the impact of travel restrictions have found that such policies may have at best delayed the spread of disease by a few days or weeks. A recent article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that travel restrictions and airport screenings in several countries “likely slowed the rate of exportation from mainland China to other countries, but are insufficient to contain the global spread of Covid-19. And in China, where officials shut down travel both in and out of Wuhan, the city where the Covid-19 outbreak began, the travel ban barely slowed the spread of diseases, according to a report published in Science. | |
| There is no evidence that travel restrictions significantly reduced the contagion’s death toll. | |
| Read more: | |
| Fact check: Tariffs | |
| “China has paid us tens of billions of dollars” to the US in tariffs, the president said, reviving one of his favorite rally lines. | |
| This is not how tariffs work — tariffs are taxes on goods coming into the US. | |
| Moreover, here’s what economists from Princeton, Columbia and the Federal Reserve of New York concluded from an analysis of how Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods have played out: | |
| “We have not been treated properly” by the WHO, Trump said. | |
| The US will instead send funds to bolster global health directly to counties, he said. Right now, the US is the biggest funder of the World Health Organization at this point. | |
| “I don’t know the gentleman, but I know there have been problems,” Trump said of the WHO’s director general Tedros Adhanom. | |
| It’s worth noting, as Vox’s Aaron Rubar has done, that the president’s comments today are a significant step back from his claims to “total” authority yesterday. | |
| Now Trump is listing off the names of companies and their CEOS who are working with the administration. “Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola, Chick-Fil-A, Subway... Wendy’s, Waffle House, Wolfgang Puck,” the president said. | |
| It’s like corporate spoken-word poetry. | |
| Fact check: presidential authority | |
| “The plans to reopen the country are close to being finalized and we will soon be sharing details and new guidelines with everybody,” the president said, adding that he’ll be “authorizing” governors to reopen businesses and scale back distancing based on their own judgment. This is an authority that governors already have. | |
| University of Texas law professor Steve Vladeck noted on Twitter the same day that: “The president has no formal legal authority to categorically override local or state shelter-in-place orders or to reopen schools and small businesses. No statute delegates to him such power; no constitutional provision invests him with such authority.” | |
| When previously asked about whether he would issue a national stay at home order, the president deferred to the governors. | |
| On Monday 13 April, the governors of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Delaware and Connecticut announced they had formed a regional advisory council. New York governor Andrew Cuomo said each state would name a public health official and an economic development official to serve on a working group alongside each governor’s chief of staff to design a “reopening plan” for their states. | |
| Shortly afterward, the states of California, Washington and Oregon announced a similar plan. | |
| Fact check: Economy | Fact check: Economy |
| The US has “the greatest economy anywhere in the world,” Trump boasted. “The greatest economy in the history of the world.” | The US has “the greatest economy anywhere in the world,” Trump boasted. “The greatest economy in the history of the world.” |
| This is false. While the economy was doing well before the pandemic struck, there have been periods when it was doing even better. And economist say that the threat of a trade war with China, tension in the middle east and the Federal Reserve’s slashing of interest rates were early signs that trouble was brewing even before the coronavirus crisis. | This is false. While the economy was doing well before the pandemic struck, there have been periods when it was doing even better. And economist say that the threat of a trade war with China, tension in the middle east and the Federal Reserve’s slashing of interest rates were early signs that trouble was brewing even before the coronavirus crisis. |
| In 2019, the GDP has an average growth rate for 2.3%. Under the Obama administration, the growth rate was at a peak of 5.5% during the second quarter of 2014. During the 50s and 60s, the growth rate was even better. | In 2019, the GDP has an average growth rate for 2.3%. Under the Obama administration, the growth rate was at a peak of 5.5% during the second quarter of 2014. During the 50s and 60s, the growth rate was even better. |
| Fact check: ICU beds | Fact check: ICU beds |
| “The United States has far more ICU beds per capita than any other nation,” Trump said. This is true based on a 2012 study. But more data on intensive care unit (ICU) capacity is not readily available. | “The United States has far more ICU beds per capita than any other nation,” Trump said. This is true based on a 2012 study. But more data on intensive care unit (ICU) capacity is not readily available. |
| Adam Boehler, a friend of Jared Kushner and administration official spoke briefly at the podium. “There are over 60,000 ventilators at hospitals that are not in use,” he said – so the government has launched a program to move ventilators where they’re needed. “There has been no American who has needed a ventilator that hasn’t recieved one,” Boehler said. | Adam Boehler, a friend of Jared Kushner and administration official spoke briefly at the podium. “There are over 60,000 ventilators at hospitals that are not in use,” he said – so the government has launched a program to move ventilators where they’re needed. “There has been no American who has needed a ventilator that hasn’t recieved one,” Boehler said. |
| We’re working on fact-checking Boehler’s absolute claim – it’s nearly impossible to verify (though if you, reader, have heard of anyone being denied – please reach out on Twitter @maanvisings). In the meantime, here’s what we know about ventilator shortages in the US: | We’re working on fact-checking Boehler’s absolute claim – it’s nearly impossible to verify (though if you, reader, have heard of anyone being denied – please reach out on Twitter @maanvisings). In the meantime, here’s what we know about ventilator shortages in the US: |
| It is true that some states, so far, have ended up with more ventilators than they originally projected they would need. California has loaned 500 ventilators to states like New York. California hospitals managed to increase their stock from 7,500 machines to more than 11,000, according to the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom. “That has put less strain and pressure on the state’s effort to procure additional ventilators,” Newsom said. | It is true that some states, so far, have ended up with more ventilators than they originally projected they would need. California has loaned 500 ventilators to states like New York. California hospitals managed to increase their stock from 7,500 machines to more than 11,000, according to the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom. “That has put less strain and pressure on the state’s effort to procure additional ventilators,” Newsom said. |
| However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a national shortage. The US has roughly 173,000 ventilators, according to the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University. Experts from Harvard Medical School predict that the US could end up needing 31 times that number to treat coronavirus patients. | However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a national shortage. The US has roughly 173,000 ventilators, according to the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University. Experts from Harvard Medical School predict that the US could end up needing 31 times that number to treat coronavirus patients. |
| An article in the New England Journal of Medicine published on Wednesday 25 March categorically concluded that the US does not have enough ventilators to treat patients with Covid-19 in the coming months. | An article in the New England Journal of Medicine published on Wednesday 25 March categorically concluded that the US does not have enough ventilators to treat patients with Covid-19 in the coming months. |
| The authors, American public health experts, wrote: “There is a broad range of estimates of the number of ventilators we will need to care for U.S. patients with Covid-19, from several hundred thousand to as many as a million. The estimates vary depending on the number, speed, and severity of infections, of course, but even the availability of testing affects the number of ventilators needed.... current estimates of the number of ventilators in the United States range from 60,000 to 160,000, depending on whether those that have only partial functionality are included. The national strategic reserve of ventilators is small and far from sufficient for the projected gap. No matter which estimate we use, there are not enough ventilators for patients with Covid-19 in the upcoming months.” | The authors, American public health experts, wrote: “There is a broad range of estimates of the number of ventilators we will need to care for U.S. patients with Covid-19, from several hundred thousand to as many as a million. The estimates vary depending on the number, speed, and severity of infections, of course, but even the availability of testing affects the number of ventilators needed.... current estimates of the number of ventilators in the United States range from 60,000 to 160,000, depending on whether those that have only partial functionality are included. The national strategic reserve of ventilators is small and far from sufficient for the projected gap. No matter which estimate we use, there are not enough ventilators for patients with Covid-19 in the upcoming months.” |
| Trump also based the WHO for praising China’s “transparency”. | Trump also based the WHO for praising China’s “transparency”. |
| But the president himself praised China’s transparency — on January 24. | But the president himself praised China’s transparency — on January 24. |
| “China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency,” he tweeted. “It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!” | “China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency,” he tweeted. “It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!” |
| Trump said that the WHO at some point implied that the coronavirus was “not communicable” — there is no evidence that the organization did that. | Trump said that the WHO at some point implied that the coronavirus was “not communicable” — there is no evidence that the organization did that. |
| He also said “there was credible” information in December to suspect human-to-human transmission and the WHO did not respond appropriately. “So much death has been caused by their mistakes,” he said. | He also said “there was credible” information in December to suspect human-to-human transmission and the WHO did not respond appropriately. “So much death has been caused by their mistakes,” he said. |
| But Trump himself ignored and undermined the severity of the crisis well into March. | But Trump himself ignored and undermined the severity of the crisis well into March. |
| The president was warned at the end of January by one of his top White House advisers that coronavirus had the potential to kill hundreds of thousands of Americans and derail the US economy, unless tough action were taken immediately, new memos have revealed. | The president was warned at the end of January by one of his top White House advisers that coronavirus had the potential to kill hundreds of thousands of Americans and derail the US economy, unless tough action were taken immediately, new memos have revealed. |
| The memos were written by Trump’s economic adviser, Peter Navarro, and circulated via the National Security Council widely around the White House and federal agencies. They show that even within the Trump administration alarm bells were ringing by late January, at a time when the president was consistently downplaying the threat of Covid-19. | The memos were written by Trump’s economic adviser, Peter Navarro, and circulated via the National Security Council widely around the White House and federal agencies. They show that even within the Trump administration alarm bells were ringing by late January, at a time when the president was consistently downplaying the threat of Covid-19. |
| Moreover, the US intelligence community, public health experts and officials in Trump’s own administration had warned for years that the country was at risk from a pandemic, including specific warnings about a coronavirus outbreak. | Moreover, the US intelligence community, public health experts and officials in Trump’s own administration had warned for years that the country was at risk from a pandemic, including specific warnings about a coronavirus outbreak. |
| An October 2019 draft report by the Department of Health and Human Services, obtained by the New York Times: “drove home just how underfunded, underprepared and uncoordinated the federal government would be for a life-or-death battle with a virus for which no treatment existed,” the Times reported. | An October 2019 draft report by the Department of Health and Human Services, obtained by the New York Times: “drove home just how underfunded, underprepared and uncoordinated the federal government would be for a life-or-death battle with a virus for which no treatment existed,” the Times reported. |
| Read more: | Read more: |
| The missing six weeks: | The missing six weeks: |
| Fact check: WHO | Fact check: WHO |
| Trump has accused the WHO of “severely mismanaging and covering up” the coronavirus crisis. | Trump has accused the WHO of “severely mismanaging and covering up” the coronavirus crisis. |
| The WHO has been criticized for a 14 January tweet, which Trump has referenced, that noted that a preliminary investigation by Chinese officials found no evidence of human-to-human transmission. However, by 30 January, the organization declared coronavirus a “public health emergency”, and went on to declare a pandemic on 11 March after numerous countries - including the US and UK - failed to follow its advice. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke of “alarming levels of inaction” from many countries. | The WHO has been criticized for a 14 January tweet, which Trump has referenced, that noted that a preliminary investigation by Chinese officials found no evidence of human-to-human transmission. However, by 30 January, the organization declared coronavirus a “public health emergency”, and went on to declare a pandemic on 11 March after numerous countries - including the US and UK - failed to follow its advice. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke of “alarming levels of inaction” from many countries. |
| The WHO “has been drained of power and resources”, said Richard Horton, editor of the influential medical journal the Lancet. “Its coordinating authority and capacity are weak. Its ability to direct an international response to a life-threatening epidemic is non-existent.” | The WHO “has been drained of power and resources”, said Richard Horton, editor of the influential medical journal the Lancet. “Its coordinating authority and capacity are weak. Its ability to direct an international response to a life-threatening epidemic is non-existent.” |
| The Trump administration and the president himself repeatedly played down the crisis - specifically downplaying the threat to the US, inaccurately compared it to the flu and told his supporters that growing worries about the coronavirus was a “hoax”. | The Trump administration and the president himself repeatedly played down the crisis - specifically downplaying the threat to the US, inaccurately compared it to the flu and told his supporters that growing worries about the coronavirus was a “hoax”. |
| By the time Trump announced travel restrictions from China on 31 January, most major airlines had already suspended flights, following the lead of several major international carriers that had stopped due to the outbreak. In late February, the president said the spread of Covid-19 in the US was not inevitable and the danger to Americans “remains very low”. He predicted that the number of cases diagnosed in the country, just 15 that time, could fall to zero in “a few days”. | By the time Trump announced travel restrictions from China on 31 January, most major airlines had already suspended flights, following the lead of several major international carriers that had stopped due to the outbreak. In late February, the president said the spread of Covid-19 in the US was not inevitable and the danger to Americans “remains very low”. He predicted that the number of cases diagnosed in the country, just 15 that time, could fall to zero in “a few days”. |
| Read more here on why WHO’s responsibility far outweighs its power and capacity: | Read more here on why WHO’s responsibility far outweighs its power and capacity: |
| Funding will be cut off to the World Health Organization while the US conducts a “review” investigation, Trump said. | Funding will be cut off to the World Health Organization while the US conducts a “review” investigation, Trump said. |
| “Today I’m instructing my administration to stop funding of the WHO while a review is conducted to assess the WHO’s role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the Coronavirus,” the president said. | “Today I’m instructing my administration to stop funding of the WHO while a review is conducted to assess the WHO’s role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the Coronavirus,” the president said. |
| The WHO has become a frequent scapegoat recently. Today he said the organization has “problems the likes of which no one can believe.” | The WHO has become a frequent scapegoat recently. Today he said the organization has “problems the likes of which no one can believe.” |
| The president and vice president have arrived at the White House Rose Garden. | The president and vice president have arrived at the White House Rose Garden. |