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| Coronavirus US live: Trump moves to ban immigration as Massachusetts becomes hotspot | Coronavirus US live: Trump moves to ban immigration as Massachusetts becomes hotspot |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Donald Trump said he would fight Covid-19 by temporarily banning immigration, while Massachusetts reported 1,809 deaths | Donald Trump said he would fight Covid-19 by temporarily banning immigration, while Massachusetts reported 1,809 deaths |
| A Georgia mayor has criticized the governor’s decision to re-open the state this week as “reckless, premature and dangerous”. | |
| Governor Brian Kemp, a Republican, said businesses including bowling alleys, tattoo studios and hair salons would reopen this week. | |
| The Democratic mayor of Savannah, Van Johnson, said Kemp’s decision was “not based in any type of science or best practices”. | |
| “People can see it for themselves. We want them to keep the faith, but we want them to follow the science,” Johnson told CNN. “This is still a dangerous time. This is not the time for people to take their feet off the gas.” | |
| There were more than 5,700 Covid-19 cases detected in Georgia last week, a 6% decrease from the week before, but still more than the number of cases in early April. Mayors across the state have said the governor did not consult them before announcing the staggered reopening on Monday. | |
| Johnson said Covid-19 cases in Savannah were still increasing and testing had not expanded enough to justify an end to stay-at-home orders. | |
| “So this just blows our minds that here in Georgia that we would have these types of rules being lifted in a time when people are still suffering,” Johnson said. | |
| The mayor of the state’s biggest city, Atlanta, said she was also concerned. “We see our numbers are continuing to tick up in this state, we see that our deaths are rising,” said Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, also a Democrat. “We have some of the highest asthma rates in the country right here in Atlanta.” | |
| I can’t really justify making this a key event, so I’ll write a headline here: | |
| Brady in a bunch of trouble with Parks and Recreation | |
| Bizarre if somehow amusing news from Tampa, where perhaps the greatest NFL quarterback of all time has been ejected from a public park which is closed to the public because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Associated Press reports: | |
| Apropos of not very much, Donald Trump is a huge fan of Tom Brady. Here’s Politico’s report of a White House meeting with recovered Covid-19 patients last week, at which the quarterback’s name came up a lot. | |
| The Wall Street Journal has some interesting context on Trump’s tweeted promise to suspend all immigration to the US: | The Wall Street Journal has some interesting context on Trump’s tweeted promise to suspend all immigration to the US: |
| The promised executive order isn’t expected to substantially alter US policy, the paper writes, as “the administration has already all but ceased nearly every form of immigration. Most visa processing has been halted, meaning almost no one can apply for a visa to visit or move to the US. Visa interviews and citizenship ceremonies have been postponed and the refugee program paused.” | The promised executive order isn’t expected to substantially alter US policy, the paper writes, as “the administration has already all but ceased nearly every form of immigration. Most visa processing has been halted, meaning almost no one can apply for a visa to visit or move to the US. Visa interviews and citizenship ceremonies have been postponed and the refugee program paused.” |
| Furthermore, the Journal reports that the order “is expected to include exceptions for migrant farmworkers, who make up about a 10th of the workforce on US farms, and healthcare workers, particularly those helping treat coronavirus patients … It is not expected to address the removal of immigrants already in the US or the visa renewal process.” | Furthermore, the Journal reports that the order “is expected to include exceptions for migrant farmworkers, who make up about a 10th of the workforce on US farms, and healthcare workers, particularly those helping treat coronavirus patients … It is not expected to address the removal of immigrants already in the US or the visa renewal process.” |
| And another note: “As with past efforts by the president to curb immigration, the executive order will likely face legal challenges.” | And another note: “As with past efforts by the president to curb immigration, the executive order will likely face legal challenges.” |
| So you might say a Trump executive order “banning all immigration”, if signed, might in an election year be a mostly political exercise… | So you might say a Trump executive order “banning all immigration”, if signed, might in an election year be a mostly political exercise… |
| Here’s David Smith’s report: | Here’s David Smith’s report: |
| The president is talking to the television again, and the television is talking back to him. Just another day in Donald Trump’s America, in the middle of a pandemic which has killed more than 42,000 Americans. | The president is talking to the television again, and the television is talking back to him. Just another day in Donald Trump’s America, in the middle of a pandemic which has killed more than 42,000 Americans. |
| In the form of a not-quite Socratic dialogue, then: | In the form of a not-quite Socratic dialogue, then: |
| (*Trump calls MSNBC “MSDNC” as a joke on the initials of the Democratic National Committee.) | (*Trump calls MSNBC “MSDNC” as a joke on the initials of the Democratic National Committee.) |
| (*Trump and Morning Joe’s hosts have a long and … not particularly dignified … history.) | (*Trump and Morning Joe’s hosts have a long and … not particularly dignified … history.) |
| … and there, pausing to notice that Trump’s claim to not care about ratings seems a bit, uh, dubious based on the contents of the sentence in which me made it, you have it. A few other anchors have started addressing Trump personally, hoping to reach the president directly and somehow appeal to his better nature. Doesn’t seem to work. | … and there, pausing to notice that Trump’s claim to not care about ratings seems a bit, uh, dubious based on the contents of the sentence in which me made it, you have it. A few other anchors have started addressing Trump personally, hoping to reach the president directly and somehow appeal to his better nature. Doesn’t seem to work. |
| This, by the by, is the New York Times piece about “ratings” for Trump’s daily briefings which Trump likes to quote so often. | This, by the by, is the New York Times piece about “ratings” for Trump’s daily briefings which Trump likes to quote so often. |
| “On Monday,” Michael Grynbaum wrote on 25 March, “nearly 12.2 million people watched Mr Trump’s briefing on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC, according to Nielsen – ‘Monday Night Football’ numbers.” | |
| But Grynbaum also wrote: “…the audience is expanding even as Mr Trump has repeatedly delivered information that doctors and public health officials have called ill informed, misleading or downright wrong.” | But Grynbaum also wrote: “…the audience is expanding even as Mr Trump has repeatedly delivered information that doctors and public health officials have called ill informed, misleading or downright wrong.” |
| …and welcome to another day of coverage of the coronavirus outbreak in the US. As always, first the figures: | …and welcome to another day of coverage of the coronavirus outbreak in the US. As always, first the figures: |
| US cases: 787,794 | US cases: 787,794 |
| US deaths: 42,362 | US deaths: 42,362 |
| New York cases: 253,311 | New York cases: 253,311 |
| New York deaths: 18,653 | New York deaths: 18,653 |
| That’s according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. | That’s according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. |
| New York is by far the state worst hit, other states are hit badly too: there have been 4,520 deaths in New Jersey, over the Hudson river from New York, there have been 2,468 in Michigan and there have been 1,809 in Massachusetts, now considered a hotspot. | New York is by far the state worst hit, other states are hit badly too: there have been 4,520 deaths in New Jersey, over the Hudson river from New York, there have been 2,468 in Michigan and there have been 1,809 in Massachusetts, now considered a hotspot. |
| Early on Monday, New York governor Andrew Cuomo reported that his state seems to have passed the apex in terms of deaths, though he still said nearly 500 died on Sunday. Throughout Monday, the warnings of Dr Fauci ringing in their ears, or not, governors continued to ponder when to order the reopening of their shuttered economies. In Georgia, Brian Kemp took steps. In Maryland, Larry Hogan bought 500,000 masks from South Korea. | Early on Monday, New York governor Andrew Cuomo reported that his state seems to have passed the apex in terms of deaths, though he still said nearly 500 died on Sunday. Throughout Monday, the warnings of Dr Fauci ringing in their ears, or not, governors continued to ponder when to order the reopening of their shuttered economies. In Georgia, Brian Kemp took steps. In Maryland, Larry Hogan bought 500,000 masks from South Korea. |
| And from the White House on Monday evening, after an ordinarily controversial daily briefing, Donald Trump said he would fight Covid-19 by temporarily banning immigration. | And from the White House on Monday evening, after an ordinarily controversial daily briefing, Donald Trump said he would fight Covid-19 by temporarily banning immigration. |
| Of course he did – and despite saying repeatedly the country is ready to reopen. This is from David Smith’s report: | Of course he did – and despite saying repeatedly the country is ready to reopen. This is from David Smith’s report: |
| Trump back-tracked from that claim, of course. | Trump back-tracked from that claim, of course. |
| And on Monday, all the while, even though Mitch McConnell wore a mask, the Senate failed to agree an extension of the coronavirus economic stimulus package. | And on Monday, all the while, even though Mitch McConnell wore a mask, the Senate failed to agree an extension of the coronavirus economic stimulus package. |
| More to come. Before it does, some further reading: | More to come. Before it does, some further reading: |