Coronavirus Update
April 10, 2020
Driving the Day:
By the Numbers
Friday, April 10, 7:30 AM
Number of US cases reported: 466,299
Number of US deaths: 16,686
Total Number of People Tested in US: 2,372,343 (may not include all labs) Buzzfeed: At Least 5,400 Health Care Workers Have Been Infected By The Coronavirus. Here’s How Each State Reports That Information.CNN: US coronavirus predictions are shifting. Here’s why
The Hill: Coronavirus now leading cause of death in US
Stat: It’s difficult to grasp the projected deaths from Covid-19. Here’s how they compare to other causes of death
Washington Post: How a surge of coronavirus patients could stretch hospital resources in your area
What to Watch For
President Trump will host an “Easter Blessing” in the Oval Office with Bishop Harry Jackson of the Hope Christian Church at noon. The coronavirus task force will brief the press at 1:00 PM. The markets are closed today for Good Friday.
Must Read Stories
Federal Government Gives Up On Testing
CNN: Trump says more than 2 million coronavirus tests have been done in the US, and claims mass testing not needed: “President Donald Trump said Thursday that there have been more than two million coronavirus tests completed in the United States but suggested that mass testing is not going to happen.”
Politico: HHS, FEMA ask states to take control of drive-through testing sites: “The federal government wants states to consider taking control of drive-through coronavirus testing sites, currently run by HHS and FEMA, that have tested more than 77,000 people to date. NPR first reported Thursday morning that officials in several communities home to testing sites are worried they will lose needed supplies and funding as a result of the proposed transition plan.”
Nature: Thousands of coronavirus tests are going unused in US labs: “As the United States struggles to test people for COVID-19, academic laboratories that are ready and able to run diagnostics are not operating at full capacity. A Nature investigation of several university labs certified to test for the virus finds that they have been held up by regulatory, logistic and administrative obstacles, and stymied by the fragmented US health-care system. Even as testing backlogs mounted for hospitals in California, for example, clinics were turning away offers of testing from certified academic labs because they didn’t use compatible health-record software, or didn’t have existing contracts with the hospital. Researchers warn that if such hurdles remain, labs trying to join the effort to fight coronavirus might end up spinning their wheels.”
Federal Stockpiles Are Exhausted, Trump Hands Out Equipment To His Friends
Los Angeles Times: Feds’ stockpile for coronavirus response is exhausted, amid questions about how supplies were distributed: “As the Trump administration depleted the national stockpile of medical supplies over the last month to fight the coronavirus, it sent hundreds of thousands of masks, respirators and other protective equipment to states with very small outbreaks, new records show. That left medical workers in areas hit hardest by the pandemic, including New York, New Jersey, Michigan and Washington, hustling to find the supplies they needed with relatively little aid from the stockpile. Yet Hawaii, Montana and Nebraska, which each have had fewer than 500 recorded cases, each received more than 79,000 of the critically needed N95 masks.”
New Yorker: How Did the U.S. End Up with Nurses Wearing Garbage Bags? “America was watching, shocked, as doctors and nurses pleaded for protective gear and medical equipment such as ventilators. [Silicon Valley CEO Eric] Ries was asked to help start a Web site that would match hospitals and suppliers. Sure, Ries said, he could have something up and running by Monday. What followed over the next two weeks was an inside glimpse of the dysfunction emanating from Trump’s Washington in the midst of the pandemic, a crash course in the breakdown that has led to nurses in one of the wealthiest countries in the world wearing garbage bags to protect themselves from a virus whose outbreak the President downplayed until it was too late to prepare for its consequences.”
Talking Points Memo: PPE and Ventilators Becomes Patronage in Trump’s Hands “As we work to find out the scope and goals of the White House’s seizure of medical goods across the United States, a simpler pattern is coming into view: the White House seizes goods from public officials and hospitals across the country while doling them out as favors to political allies and favorites, often to great fanfare to boost the popularity of those allies.”
They Were Warned
NPR: FEMA Predicted Pandemic Effects In July 2019: “In a remarkably prophetic report last summer, the Federal Emergency Management Agency accurately predicted that a nationwide pandemic would result in a shortage of medical supplies, hospitals would be overwhelmed and the economy would shut down.”
NBC: U.S. spy agencies collected raw intelligence hinting at public health crisis in Wuhan, China, in November: “U.S. spy agencies collected raw intelligence hinting at a public health crisis in Wuhan, China, in November, two current and one former U.S. official told NBC News, but the information was not understood as the first warning signs of an impending global pandemic.”
Worth Watching
Another 6.6 million workers filed for unemployment benefits this week as America enters a depression and the Trump administration fails to keep pace:CNN: Another 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week
New York Times: ‘Sudden Black Hole’ for the Economy With Millions More Unemployed
Washington Post: America is in a depression. The challenge now is to make it short-lived.
Politico: Banks brace for new wave of small businesses at troubled loan program
Politico: Unemployed still waiting for checks as states struggle to pay out stimulus funds
Other News
Trump’s Failures
The Atlantic: The Two States Where Trump’s COVID-19 Response Could Backfire in 2020
Axios: We can’t just flip the switch on the coronavirus
Axios: Timeline: How the U.S. fell behind on the coronavirus
Bloomberg: Troubled Overseas Drugmakers Get Free Pass in Coronavirus Crisis
Bloomberg: Costly CT Scans Filling Virus Testing Void for U.S. Physicians
Bloomberg: Community Banks to Seek More U.S. Help in Small Business Program
CNBC: Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says US could be open for business in May
CNN: Trump says more than 2 million coronavirus tests have been done in the US, and claims mass testing not needed
Courthouse News Service: Iraq War Contractor Lands $40M Deal to Build Covid-19 Field Hospital
HuffPost: Workers Signing Up The Uninsured For Health Coverage Worry About Getting Sick
Los Angeles Times: Feds’ stockpile for coronavirus response is exhausted, amid questions about how supplies were distributed
Nature: Thousands of coronavirus tests are going unused in US labs
NBC: U.S. spy agencies collected raw intel hinting at public health crisis in Wuhan, China, in November
NBC: FEMA Predicted Pandemic Effects Last Summer
New Yorker: How Did the U.S. End Up with Nurses Wearing Garbage Bags?
New York Times: Coronavirus Is Threatening One of Government’s Most Ubiquitous Services: The Mail.
New York Times (Opinion): The U.S. Approach to Public Health: Neglect, Panic, Repeat
Politico: HHS, FEMA ask states to take control of drive-through testing sites
Politico: Trump team ramps up scrutiny of funds to WHO
Politico: Banks brace for new wave of small businesses at troubled loan program
Wall Street Journal: Companies Seek to Pool Medical Records to Create Coronavirus Patient Registry
Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration Exploring Coronavirus Testing for U.S. Food Plant Workers
Wall Street Journal: Dire Economic Numbers Intensify Debate Over Lifting Coronavirus Restrictions
Washington Post: Trump administration pushing to reopen much of the U.S. next month
Trump’s Lies
CNN: Publisher of hydroxychloroquine study touted by Trump says the research didn’t meet its standards
CNN (Analysis): What Fox News’ silence about ‘Diamond & Silk’ says about the network
New York Times: New Trump Attack Ad Falsely Suggests Former Governor Is Chinese
New York Times: Trump Keeps Talking. Some Republicans Don’t Like What They’re Hearing.
New York Times: With a Face Mask Photo, Melania Trump Highlights Her Husband’s Reluctance to Wear One
Washington Post: At White House coronavirus briefings, rescue efforts are extensive but often aspirational
Trump and the GOP Not Looking Out For You
Axios: Top Trump ally sounds 2020 election alarm over coronavirus response
CNN: White House reverses position after blocking health officials from appearing on CNN
CNN: Florida governor falsely claims the coronavirus hasn’t killed anyone under 25
HuffPost: As Universities Warned Students Of Virus, Liberty Kept Its Students In The Dark
New York Magazine: Barr Praises Trump’s ‘Statesmanlike’ Handling of the Coronavirus
New York Times (Analysis): Does Vote-by-Mail Favor Democrats? No. It’s a False Argument by Trump.
Politico: McCarthy hits ‘disgusting’ Democratic push for mail-in-voting
Politico: RNC launches digital ads praising Trump on coronavirus
Politico: FDA warns Alex Jones over false coronavirus claims
Politico: Trump’s wild claims of voter fraud blow back on campaign aide
Politico: A slew of hotels are heeding cities’ pleas for help. Trump’s aren’t.
Politico: White House to require coronavirus tests for journalists covering daily briefing
Reuters: Cut salaries, taxes to reopen U.S. economy says Laffer, conservative fave
Talking Points Memo: PPE and Ventilators Becomes Patronage in Trump’s Hands
Talking Points Memo: Trump Moves To Kneecap Oversight Of COVID-19 Stimulus
Vox: Trump’s case against mail-in voting has become increasingly desperate. His latest briefing showed it.
Washington Post: Trump forges ahead with broader agenda even as coronavirus upends the country
Affordability And Access
The HIll: Coronavirus double whammy: unemployed and uninsured
Politico: ‘Surprise’ billing fix could hitch ride on next coronavirus relief bill
Campaigns and Elections
Reuters: Most Americans, unlike Trump, want mail-in ballots for November if coronavirus threatens: Reuters/Ipsos poll
Roll Call: ‘Put a doctor in the House’: Campaigning on pandemic’s front lines
Washington Post: New Hampshire governor to allow absentee voting in November because of coronavirus outbreak
Congress
The Hill: Florida Republican becomes sixth member of Congress to test positive for coronavirus
HuffPost: Senate Fails To Boost Paycheck Protection Program After Partisan Clash
Washington Post (Analysis): Coronavirus spares no one, as lawmakers who endured harrowing ordeals can attest
Democratic Response
The Hill: Democratic super PAC launches ad targeting Trump’s ‘alternative facts’ on coronavirus
Mother Jones: Progressives Push for Rescue Package that Puts People Over Corporations
Politico: ‘The Woman in Michigan’ Goes National
Politico: Pelosi warns Trump not to reopen country too soon
Economic Impact
Associated Press: Pandemic has set the number of air travelers back decades
Axios: The Fed rescues Wall Street, but Main Street is another story
Axios: Automakers lay out back-to-work playbook for coronavirus pandemic
CNN: Another 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week
New York Times: ‘Sudden Black Hole’ for the Economy With Millions More Unemployed
Politico: Unemployed still waiting for checks as states struggle to pay out stimulus funds
Washington Post: America is in a depression. The challenge now is to make it short-lived.
Hospitals and Health Care Workers
Kaiser Health News: ‘Baby, I Can’t Breathe’: America’s First ER Doctor To Die In Heat Of COVID-19 Battle
MLive: Running out of body bags. People dying in the hallway. Coronavirus has Michigan hospital workers at a breaking point.
NPR: ‘It’s Like Walking Into Chernobyl,’ One Doctor Says Of Her Emergency Room
New York Times: Nurses and Doctors Speaking Out on Safety Now Risk Their Job
Reuters: U.S. nurses who can’t get tested fear they are spreading COVID-19
USA Today: Many seniors depend on assisted living facilities. Now coronavirus is threatening the entire industry.
Wall Street Journal: Faulty N95 Masks Hamper Hospitals on Coronavirus Front Line
