The decision by such outlets as The Washington Post, the New York Times and CNBC to stay away may be fundamentally changing the character of the briefings. With veteran White House reporters on the sidelines, the president has primarily engaged with TV journalists, including one from a small, far-right conservative news channel that rarely gets such a prominent stage. Continue reading.
Tag: pandemic
Hospitals plan ventilator substitutes as shortage looms
Alternatives include converted anesthesia gas machines and splitting ventilators
Hospitals facing an expected shortage of ventilators are considering unusual workarounds for critically ill patients in a sign of how scarce the breathing machines have become.
The primary fallback plan is to substitute anesthesia gas machines, thousands of which are unused as hospitals are forced to cancel nonurgent procedures. Other more desperate plans include substituting less sophisticated machines for the breathing devices or splitting ventilators among multiple patients.
“We’re creative and we’re working and figuring it out,” Democratic Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, said Tuesday. Continue reading.
New CDC data shows danger of coronavirus for those with diabetes, heart or lung disease, other chronic conditions
People who have chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes, lung disease and heart disease, face an increased chance of being hospitalized with covid-19 and put into intensive care, according to data released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that is consistent with reports from China and Italy.
The new data gives the most sweeping look at the way covid-19 is causing serious illnesses among people in the United States who already face medical challenges.
The report reinforces a critically important lesson: Although the disease is typically more severe among older people, people of any age with underlying medical conditions are at increased risk if they contract the virus, for which there is no vaccine or approved drug treatment. Continue reading. Free article.
Gov. Walz’s COVID-19 Update: April 1, 2020
April 1, 2020
Below is an update on the COVID-19 pandemic as it pertains to Minnesota as of 8:30 PM on 4/1/2020.
Updates from the Governor
Today, Governor Walz announced that he will give his annual State of the State address on Sunday, April 5 at 7 p.m. from the Governor’s Residence. Though he originally planned to deliver the State of the State on March 23, the COVID-19 outbreak required that it be postponed to a later date. You can tune in on local news or his Facebook page.
Child Care Grants Available
Governor Walz today announced that the application process for emergency grants for child care providers is open. This funding was proposed by the Governor and Lt. Governor in partnership with the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet. Continue reading “Gov. Walz’s COVID-19 Update: April 1, 2020”
Poll: Trump’s coronavirus bounce fizzles
Fewer voters are pleased with the way the Trump administration has handled the COVID-19 outbreak.
More voters say the Trump administration isn’t doing enough to combat the coronavirus outbreak, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll.
The survey, conducted immediately before President Donald Trump announced a 30-day extension of his physical and social distancing guidelines “to slow the spread” of Covid-19, shows 47 percent of voters feel the administration isn’t doing enough in response to the outbreak, greater than the 40 percent who feel the administration is doing the right amount.
Two weeks ago, 43 percent said the administration wasn’t doing enough in the days following the initial measures deployed to reduce the impacts of the virus, while 39 percent said it was doing the right amount. Continue reading.
Who Are the Voters Behind Trump’s Higher Approval Rating?
Despite the president’s slow performance on the coronavirus and his series of falsehoods, some independent voters and Democrats are giving him a measure of credit for his handling of the crisis.
Justin Penn, a Pittsburgh voter who calls himself politically independent, favored Joseph R. Biden Jr. in a matchup with President Trump until recently. But the president’s performance during the coronavirus outbreak has Mr. Penn reconsidering.
“I think he’s handled it pretty well,” he said of the president, whose daily White House appearances Mr. Penn catches on Facebook after returning from his job as a bank security guard. “I think he’s tried to keep people calm,” he said. “I know some people don’t think he’s taking it seriously, but I think he’s doing the best with the information he had.”
Although Mr. Penn, 40, said he did not vote for Mr. Trump, his opinion of the president has improved recently and he very well might back him for a second term. Continue reading.
Governors plead for medical equipment from federal stockpile plagued by shortages and confusion
As states across the country have pleaded for critical medical equipment from a key national stockpile, Florida has promptly received 100 percent of its first two requests — with President Trump and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis both touting their close relationship.
States including Oklahoma and Kentucky have received more of some equipment than they requested, while others such as Illinois, Massachusetts and Maine have secured only a fraction of their requests.
It’s a disparity that has caused frustration and confusion in governors’ offices across the country, with some officials wondering whether politics is playing a role in the response. Continue reading.
The Memo: Political world grapples with long coronavirus shutdown
Americans are coming to grips with the fact that there will be no quick end to the coronavirus crisis — a realization that will shake up the 2020 presidential race in profound ways.
President Trump has sought to shift expectations in recent days, acknowledging that the de facto shutdown of the nation’s economy will last longer than he had originally hoped and that the death toll will likely climb far higher.
But Democrats are by no means guaranteed to reap a political dividend from Trump’s performance, even though the president underplayed the severity of the crisis in its early days and has been widely criticized in the media for doing so. Continue reading.
White House projects grim death toll from coronavirus
President Trump‘s top health advisers said Tuesday that models show between 100,000 and 240,000 Americans could die from the novel coronavirus even if the country keeps stringent social distancing guidelines in place.
Without any measures to mitigate the disease’s spread, those projections jump to between 1.5 and 2.2 million deaths from COVID-19.
Dr. Deborah Birx explained the data, which underpinned Trump’s decision to extend social distancing guidelines to the end of April, at a White House briefing on Tuesday, urging the public to steel for difficult weeks ahead while expressing hope that the efforts would reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Continue reading.
As national parks remain open during a pandemic, seven workers are infected
At least seven National Park Service employees have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, yet the Trump administration continues to operate the park system that attracts thousands of Americans each day.
In response to questions from The Washington Post, the agency said Tuesday that as of Monday, seven Park Service employees have tested positive for covid-19, the disease caused by the virus. That figure doesn’t include workers in the park who are not federal employees. “The NPS is working with our contractors and concessionaires to track reported cases of their employees as well,” Stephanie Roulett, a spokeswoman, wrote in an email.
The Park Service, a division of the Interior Department, will not identify where the affected employees are to protect their identities The infections came to light in a Wednesday teleconference when Park Service Director David Vela told workers, “this week, sadly, we received word of the first confirmed cases of NPS employees with covid-19.” Continue reading. Free article.