Tag: Trump mishandling pandemic crisis

Trump claims U.S. coronavirus cases have peaked. Not so fast, doctors say.

Trump, eager to restart the economy, has suggested that the worst has passed. But there’s no way to know without mass testing, one expert said.

President Donald Trump, seizing on recent signs of progress in hard-hit areas like Seattle and New York City, has said coronavirus cases in the U.S. have peaked, suggesting that the worst of the pandemic is over as he encourages states to ease up on restrictions and revive an economy in tailspin.

“The battle continues, but the data suggests that nationwide we have passed the peak on new cases. Hopefully that will continue and we will continue to make great progress,” Trump said Wednesday at the White House.

In the same news conference, he added, “It looks like we’re plateauing and maybe even, in many cases, coming down.” Continue reading.

Hundreds of nursing homes with cases of coronavirus have violated federal infection-control rules in recent years

Washington Post logoOf about 650 homes with publicly reported coronavirus cases, 40 percent have been cited more than once with violations related to infection control, a Post analysis found

Forty percent of more than 650 nursing homes nationwide with publicly reported cases of the coronavirus have been cited more than once by inspectors in recent years for violating federal standards meant to control the spread of infections, according to a Washington Post analysis.

Since 2016, the nursing homes accrued hundreds of deficiencies for unsafe conditions that can trigger the spread of flu, pneumonia, urinary tract infections and skin diseases. Dozens were flagged by inspectors only months before the coronavirus pandemic struck the United States.

Among the facilities with infection-control infractions: the Pleasant View Nursing Home in Mount Airy, Md., where 24 people had died as of Thursday; the Canterbury Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center near Richmond, with 49 deaths as of Thursday; and the Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in southwestern Pennsylvania, where officials have warned that all 750 residents and staff members could be infected. Continue reading.

Trump’s lifelong delinquency is suddenly a matter of life and death — and he has no one to blame but himself

AlterNet logoWhen he isn’t watching Fox News or tweeting insults at his perceived enemies, President Donald Trump spends a lot of time hunting scapegoats. Always preoccupied with escaping responsibility, Trump’s lifelong delinquency is suddenly a matter of life and death, as coronavirus claims thousands of American lives on his presidential watch. And as it becomes clearer that the United States might have easily avoided the worst consequences of the pandemic — and failed because of federal inaction — it is Trump whose historic reputation will plummet.

So will his chances of reelection. The latest Gallup poll shows his approval rating, now mired in the low 40s, has slid six points during the past month.

Trump’s peripatetic search for someone else to blame has taken him from Beijing to Capitol Hill to Manhattan to Geneva as well as various state capitals. He complains about the Chinese government, the Democrats in Congress, the New York Times and CNN; the governors of Washington state, Illinois and Michigan; and, most recently, the World Health Organization, whose vital funding he has threatened in one of the most misguided acts ever perpetrated by an American president. Continue reading.

Governors complain testing is weak spot in Trump plan

The Hill logoA lack of widespread testing is a potential weak point in President Trump‘s plan to reopen the economy. 

Trump unveiled a plan Thursday at the White House that calls for increased testing to open the economy up in three phases.

But the guidelines do not provide any plan for increasing the country’s testing capacity, which experts say needs to rise dramatically before it will be safe to go through any of the phases. Continue reading.

Gov. Cuomo hits back with condescending mockery after Trump’s attack

AlterNet logoNew York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been enjoying a great deal of praise from Democrats — as well from some Never Trump conservatives — for the leadership he has shown during the coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, however, President Donald Trump accused Cuomo of being a complainer rather than a leader, and Cuomo responded with biting commentary of his own.

New York City has been hit especially hard by the pandemic in recent weeks. Researchers at John Hopkins University in Baltimore were reporting, on Friday afternoon, that more than 11,400 people had died from coronavirus in the region. And Cuomo has been stressing that NYC’s hospitals are absolutely overwhelmed.

Friday on Twitter, Trump posted, “Governor Cuomo should spend more time ‘doing’ and less time ‘complaining.’ Get out there and get the job done. Stop talking! We built you thousands of hospital beds that you didn’t need or use, gave large numbers of Ventilators that you should have had, and helped you with testing that you should be doing. We have given New York far more money, help and equipment than any other state, by far, & these great men & women who did the job never hear you say thanks. Your numbers are not good. Less talk and more action!” Continue reading.

Five takeaways on White House coronavirus guidelines

The Hill logoThe White House has unveiled guidelines that recommend a three-phase approach for states and counties to begin reopening their economies, allowing residents to gradually return to something resembling normal life amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The guidelines defer to states on reopening decisions and do not set a particular timeline for loosening coronavirus restrictions.

They call for states and counties to meet a series of criteria to being reopening, including seeing a downward trajectory of COVID-19 cases for 14 days and expanding testing for at-risk health care workers.

Most Americans Worried Country Closed By Coronavirus Will Reopen Too Quickly, Poll Finds

Nearly two-thirds of people in a Pew survey also said President Trump had acted too slowly to respond to the pandemic.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans are concerned social restrictions to combat the coronavirus pandemic will be lifted too quickly, even as President Donald Trump urges the country to get back to normal as soon as possible, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center.

In a survey of 4,917 U.S. adults on the nonpartisan group’s trends panel, Pew found a majority of people from both parties were worried about the duration of measures like stay-at-home orders and social distancing. But 81% of Democrats were more worried that restrictions would be lifted too quickly, as compared with 51% of Republicans who had that concern.

“With substantial limits in place on public activity in most states to combat the coronavirus outbreak, 66% of Americans say they are more concerned that these restrictions will be lifted too quickly, while 32% say they are more concerned they won’t be lifted quickly enough,” Pew found. Continue reading.

Anthony Fauci shuts down Laura Ingraham when she complains we didn’t have lockdowns over AIDS

AlterNet logoOn Fox News Thursday, Laura Ingraham tried to make a false comparison between the coronavirus pandemic and AIDS — and Dr. Anthony Fauci promptly corrected her.

“We don’t have a vaccine for SARS, I mean, they got close in mice,” said Ingraham. “We don’t have a vaccine for HIV. And life did go on, right? So the idea that we’re definitely going to have a vaccine — we didn’t really approach much else in the same way, as we’re pegging going back to normal with a vaccine, did we?”

“Well, no, but Laura, this is different,” said Fauci, a key voice on President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force. “HIV/AIDS is entirely different. We don’t have a vaccine for HIV/AIDS, but we have spectacularly effective treatment. People who invariably would have died years ago, right now are leading essentially normal lives.” Continue reading.

Experts Think The U.S. COVID-19 Death Toll Will Hit 50,000 By The End Of April

Over the past week, the number of deaths thought to be caused by COVID-19 has nearly doubled, from about 16,000 to 30,000. New York City changed the way it counts its death toll on Tuesday to include people who did not receive a positive COVID-19 test but who were likely to have died from the virus. That increased the number of the city’s coronavirus death estimate by 3,700 to more than 10,000.

The number of cases and fatalities continue to change rapidly, so to get a better understanding of where they’re headed, we’ve been following a weekly survey of infectious-disease researchers from institutions around the U.S.

This week’s survey, conducted April 13 and 14, shows that the expert consensus is that reported deaths will increase to around 47,000 by May 1, although they think there could be as many as 82,000 by that time. The experts also think fatalities are most likely to peak in May, but they still see about a 1 in 3 chance that deaths won’t peak until June or later. They also expect that between eight and 11 states will report more than 1,000 deaths by May 1. Continue reading.

Conservative group linked to DeVos family organizes protest of coronavirus restrictions in Michigan

AlterNet logoProtesters rallied around the country this week against stay-at-home orders forcing nonessential businesses to shut down, but Michigan’s governor warned that they may have backfired by creating “a need to lengthen” the lockdowns.

Protesters in at least six states planned to protest restrictions aimed at containing the spread of the new coronavirus this week. In Michigan, a conservative group linked to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ family organized “Operation Gridlock” to protest restrictions on nonessential businesses and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s recent order barring travel between homes. The state is among the hardest-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, reporting more than 27,000 confirmed cases and 1,909 deaths.

Some protesters, several of whom wore pro-Trump gear, gathered on the capitol steps as many remained in their cars. Demonstrators chanted “recall Whitmer” and “lock her up,” a chant normally usually used by Trump supporters in reference to his 2016 Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Continue reading.