Tag: pandemic

White House signals stronger coronavirus precautions, but Trump continues to resist

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The White House offered an informal nod to coronavirus best practices Tuesday, with mask-wearing prevalent after months of flouting public health recommendations and new internal guidelines for interacting with President Trump, who tested positive for the virus late last week.

But the biggest source of resistance appeared to be Trump himself, who, despite having just come home from a three-night hospitalization, was defiant — lobbying to return immediately to work in the Oval Office, discussing an address to the nation as early as Tuesday evening and clamoring to get back on the campaign trail in the coming days.

At least nine White House employees have now tested positive for the virus, including senior adviser Stephen Miller, who got his result late Tuesday, a senior administration official said. Trump’s aides, allies and advisers find themselves grappling with how to implement more safety measures and precautions without displeasing their boss, who continues to say — as he did in a tweet Monday — “Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life.” Continue reading.

Trump’s words — ‘Don’t be afraid of Covid’ — hurt those sickened, mourning

Trump’s tweet — ‘Don’t be afraid of COVID’ — strikes some as reckless, disrespectful. 

Kara Goucher couldn’t contain her frustration.

Her beloved grandfather lay in a Duluth hospital Monday, gravely ill with COVID-19 when President Donald Trump, returning to the White House from a three-day hospital stay after contracting the virus, tweeted to his followers:

“Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!” Continue reading.

Kushner’s COVID ‘task force’ consisted of volunteers personally buying PPE: documentary

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A new documentary shining a light on White House Senior Advisor Jared Kushner’s handling of the COVID-19 is raising questions about the credibility of his Supply Chain Task Force’s pandemic response over the last several months. 

In the forthcoming documentary titled, “Totally Under Control,” Max Kennedy, Jr., also the 27-year-old grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, reflected on his time as a volunteer working for President Donald Trump’s administration in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

“My old boss called me and said he heard Kushner’s task force needed younger volunteers who had general skills and were willing to work seven days a week for no money,” Kennedy said. Continue reading.

Fauci: There could be 300,000 to 400,000 Covid deaths unless precautions taken

He added that a vaccine likely won’t be widely available until next summer or fall.

Dr. Anthony Fauci offered a grim image of the coronavirus pandemic, telling students Tuesday that between 300,000 and 400,000 people could die from the disease in the United States.

Speaking at a virtual event hosted by American University, the White House coronavirus specialist said: “If we don’t do what we need to in the fall and winter, we could have 300,000-400,000 Covid-19 deaths,” according to excerpts tweeted by the school.

More than 200,000 people have died from the disease in the United States, and over 7 million have been diagnosed with it. A University of Washington study found in August that as many as 300,000 people could die of the disease by Dec. 1. Continue reading.

The ‘invisible’ people who pay the price for Trump’s COVID malpractice

President has luxury of abandoning his ‘essential’ duty; ‘essential’ workers at White House do not

Despite the late nights and long hours that took my father away more than this daddy’s girl would have liked, he never stopped being my hero. I knew that when he finished his day job, changed clothes and headed to his extra shifts tending bar or waiting tables for local caterers, he was doing it for a reason. Lots of them, actually —my mom, two sisters, two brothers and me. 

For someone as proud as he was, it was a sacrifice because of what he had to put up with from people with a lot more money and a lot less character. They treated him like he was “invisible,” or worse, and he put up with it, for us.

What he did not have to do is endure the recklessness of a boss who willfully and deliberately exposed him to a deadly virus in the name of politics. Continue reading.

The Virus Surges in North Dakota, Filling Hospitals and Testing Attitudes

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As Covid-19 cases grow in the Great Plains, one official said residents need to know “how perilously close we are to the edge.”

BISMARCK, N.D. — When Tammy Gimbel called to check on her 86-year-old father two weeks ago, he sounded weak. He was rushed to Sanford Medical Center in North Dakota’s capital, where doctors said he had the coronavirus. But all the hospital beds in Bismarck were full, his relatives were told, and the only options were to send him to a hospital hours away in Fargo, or to release him to be monitored by his daughter, who was herself sick with the virus.

Ms. Gimbel and her father hunkered down in a 40-foot camping trailer in her backyard to try to recover. He only got worse.

“There I sat in my camper, watching my dad shake profusely, have a 102 temperature with an oxygen level of 86,” Ms. Gimbel recalled. “I am sicker than I had been the whole time, and I wanted to cry. What was I going to do? Was I going to watch my dad die?” Continue reading.

Rudy Giuliani can’t stop coughing through a Fox News interview while mocking Biden’s mask advocacy

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President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani repeatedly coughed throughout a Monday interview with Fox News as he attacked Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for urging Americans to listen to scientific experts and wear masks amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Giuliani told Fox News host Martha MacCallum that he was awaiting his test results after working in close contact with Trump and other advisers on the president’s debate preparation team, who have since tested positive for COVID-19.

“I actually got one about two hours ago,” Giuliani said, adding that his first test was negative. “I haven’t gotten the results yet. I went to NYU. I got one of those all the way in the back of the nose tests.” Continue reading.

For Boris Johnson, catching covid-19 was sobering. Less so for Trump.

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LONDON — President Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have prompted many comparisons over the years: as populists, as politicians who aren’t afraid to offend, as people who play fast and loose with the facts. Now, they are a pair of world leaders with personal experience of the coronavirus.

But whereas Johnson spent weeks trying to fight off and then recover from the virus, Trump claims to have beaten it in just days. Johnson came back to work urging patience and determination, describing the virus as an “invisible mugger” that must be wrestled to the floor with collective action. Trump returned to the White House on Monday night playing down the virus, declaring: “Don’t let it dominate you. Don’t be afraid of it.”

Here’s where their journeys overlapped — and where they diverged. Continue reading.

Minnesota reports all-time high of confirmed COVID-19 infections from unknown sources

A key indicator in Minnesota’s pandemic response is going in the opposite direction. 

Minnesota’s COVID-19 dashboard reported Tuesday that a new high of 38% of confirmed novel coronavirus infections came from unknown community sources.

The rate is above Minnesota’s goal of no more than 30%, meaning the SARS-CoV-2 virus is spreading beyond the state’s ability to track it and contain it.

While it’s impossible to identify all sources of COVID-19, state health officials said this increase was an expected result of rising infection numbers and viral spread. They urged people to reduce their risks through mask-wearing and social distancing, which in turn will cut the rate of unknown infections.

“It is reasonable that with increasing cases there is increased chance to acquire the virus in the community without knowing from whom or where,” said Kris Ehresmann, state infectious disease director. “It is a concerning yet anticipated trend when cases increase.” Continue reading.