By Ebony Bowden, NY POST April 16, 2020
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Thursday announced new guidelines for reopening states as soon as May 1 now that the coronavirus appears to be peaking in the US, but he left the decision up to each state’s governor while recommending criteria that would have to be met for each to gradually reopen.
“America wants to be open, and Americans want to be open,” Trump said at the White House during the daily Coronavirus Task Force press briefing.
“Based on the latest data, our team of experts agree we can start the next front in our war, which we are calling Opening Up America Again, and that is what we are doing, opening up our country, and we have to do that.”
Trump stressed that getting the economy back in gear soon would help America recover from the pandemic.
“As I have said for some time now, a national shutdown is not a sustainable long-term solution. To preserve the health of our citizens, we must also preserve the health and functioning of our economy. Over the long haul, you cannot do one without the other,” he said.
The president said that the task force’s new guidelines “will allow governors to take a phased and deliberate approach to reopening their individual states,” but that it would be up to individual governors to make the decisions.
“Governors will be empowered to tailor an approach that needs the diverse circumstances of their own states. Every state is very different. If they need to remain closed, we will allow them to do that, and if they believe it is time to reopen, we will provide them the freedom and guidance to accomplish that task and very, very quickly,” he said.
The Opening Up America Again guidelines say states that show a downward trend in COVID-19 cases will be able to reopen restaurants, bars, theaters, workplaces, sporting centers and gyms as soon as May 1.
“Bottom line, if you’re ready and you have those beautiful low numbers like some of you have, let’s get going, let’s open up your state,” Trump told state leaders in a call in which he praised governors for their hard work. “You’re gonna call your shots.”
Under the guidelines, states will need to demonstrate a downward trajectory of COVID-19 cases over a 14-day period and a “robust” system for testing health-care workers before they can proceed to a phased opening.
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The phases, as described by task-force member Dr. Deborah Birx include:
- Phase 1, which recommends continued social distancing, closure of schools, teleworking and sheltering in place for vulnerable individuals. Nonessential travel would be discouraged, bars should remain closed and visits to nursing homes and hospitals should remain prohibited, the guidelines warn. “If a vulnerable population needs to return to work, there should be special accommodations for all vulnerable populations. If the schools are already closed, they should remain closed,” Birx said. “All visits to senior living facilities should continue to be prohibited. Large venues can only be operated under strict physical distancing protocols. Gyms could open if they adhere to strict physical distancing.”
- Phase 2 allows schools, restaurants and bars to reopen with diminished occupancy. Nonessential travel can resume, and people can gather in groups no larger than 50, but teleworking is still encouraged. “This is for the employers. We still would like to encourage telework, and the common areas should remain closed or be physically distant,” Birx said. “This should be a relief to many households that have small children: schools, day cares and camps can reopen in Phase 2. Visits to senior living facilities however should remain and hospitals prohibited.”
- ?Phase 3 allows workplaces to reopen with no restrictions, and visits to senior care centers and hospitals can resume. “It is essentially returning to our new normal. With all of the what we talked about through all phases: continuing the good hygiene practices, continuing the respect for spaces between individuals, because we know that we still have an issue with asymptomatic spread,” she said.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci, another expert on the task force, left open the possibility that there could be professional sporting events — with fans in the stands — in the Phase 3 part of the plan, which would be around July or August.
“The answer is, it is conceivable that we will be able to do that,” he said. “I think there will always have to be attention to making sure that we don’t do all that packing in together. I think we’ll be able to have sports events in that phase where you actually have participants there.”
Trump applauded the potential return of sports.
“We’re going to be back to enjoying sports the way it’s supposed to be,” Trump said.
Asked by The Post if states that already meet the preliminary criteria, such as Montana and Utah, could reopen immediately, Trump confirmed that they would.
“Yes, they will be able to go literally tomorrow. Yes, because the guidelines if you go back, they’ve met those guidelines, actually pretty long ago,” he said.
Under the headline “Core state preparedness responsibilities,” the federal government’s plan is asking states to be responsible for testing and screening and securing an independent supply of personal protective equipment.
Earlier Thursday, concerned governors had cautioned Trump against reopening too quickly, telling him they were still experiencing critical coronavirus test shortages.
“We have an enormous lack of manufacturing capability for testing kits themselves,” said Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, according to a person familiar with the call.During the conference call in which Trump presented his guidelines to reopen the economy, multiple state leaders told him they were still struggling to secure enough complete testing kits and were worried about a second spike in infection.
Describing it as a “hand-to-mouth existence,” the Democrat said he had more than 160 nursing homes with COVID-19 cases that he could not test because the state lacked kits and swabs to get the samples needed for them.
“That is an extreme limitation, and we literally are unpacking bags from China by the minute and getting them to a nursing home,” he said.
Trump promised to ramp up manufacturing of these testing elements, saying 5.1 million more swabs would be delivered to states by the end of the month.
The guidelines were developed by Birx and Fauci in coordination with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield.
Trump also named a bipartisan group of House and Senate members to serve on the Opening Up America Again Congressional Group, including upstate New York Rep. Elise Stefanik (R) and Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin (R).
Trump’s announcement came as seven Northeastern states on Thursday extended their shutdown until May 15 to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
Additional reporting by Steven Nelson and Bob Fredericks
Gilead is American Company owned vastly by US Institutions. Saying it is a Chinese Company is a straight out and out lie.. Repeating this obvious clear lie makes one wonder about the motivations of the person doing this.
It is the 104th largest US company and is publicly traded. Many Mutual Funds own a percentage of it.
https://www.forbes.com/companies/gilead-sciences/#511fe83c4030
“Experimental Coronavirus Drug Remdesivir Shows Promise In Chicago Trial
April 17, 2020 12:13 am0
The experimental COVID-19 treatment remdesivir is showing promise in a Chicago clinical trial, according to the health news site STAT.
STAT reported that patients in the trial experienced rapid recoveries from fever and respiratory symptoms. Nearly all patients were discharged in less than a week, it said.
The news sent shares of remdesivir developer Gilead Sciences surging more than 14 percent in after-hours trading.
Some 125 people with COVID-19 – 113 with severe symptoms – were recruited by the University of Chicago Medicine into the two Gilead Phase 3 clinical trials, according to STAT. The news site obtained a recorded video discussion of the trial results.
In the video, Kathleen Mullane, the University of Chicago infectious disease specialist overseeing the remdesivir studies, said that most of the patients had already been discharged and only two had perished, according to STAT.
The antiviral was previously used to treat Ebola patients and has been garnering massive attention as the world scrambles to contain the coronavirus pandemic. Experts, however, have warned that people should not take drugs unless prescribed by a doctor.
Remdesivir is one of a number of drugs in the spotlight as the U.S. tries to contain the pandemic. In a press conference last month, President Trump and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn described several approaches under testing, such as chloroquine, a drug long used to treat malaria, and remdesivir.
In an open letter published last week, Gilead CEO Daniel O’Day explained that seven clinical trials have been set up to determine whether remdesivir is a safe and effective treatment for COVID-19. “China initiated the first two studies in early February for patients with severe and moderate symptoms of the disease,” he wrote. “Since then, an additional five trials have been initiated around the world.”
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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From Yeshiva World News. Giliad is a Chinese owned company! Some very wealthy relatives of High Chinese officials own it! Before announcing the coronavirus pandemic, the Chinese government put in the samall print of the trade agreement they signed with the U.S. that medications and vaccines to treat “epidemics” would be exempt from tariffs. Obviously they “expected” the coronavirus pandemic before they “announced” it.
Full article at: https://www.jpost.com/health-science/new-israeli-covid-19-treatment-seemingly-successful-with-first-two-patients-624722
My WordPress (computer) virus protector won’t let me download anything from the “Spain–the Local” site. Just to summarize what I read there–some regions of Spain have been reporting as COVID-19 deaths for which the victim was never tested for COVID-19, but exhibited symptoms that the doctor who signed the death cerificate thought were likely to be caused by COVID-19. Spain’s ministry of health has denounced certain municipalities and regions for this practice, and says it will from now on only count as COVID-19 cases illnesses and deaths where the patient-victim tested positive for SARS-CoVid-2.
ANALYSIS: Israel Beats the Odds, is Safest Corona Country
Israel is unique in its ability to pivot to meet any new challenge or threat
Full article at: https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/analysis-israel-beats-the-odds-is-safest-corona-country/
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/rainerzitelmann/2020/04/15/rankings-capitalist-countries-have-the-highest-levels-of-covid-19-safety/#7b477e9860fb
“Coronavirus in Israel: 148 dead, 129 intubated
Of the country’s 182 serious patients, 129 are on ventilators – an 8% drop from the day before.
By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN, TZVI JOFFRE APRIL 17, 2020 11:56
A couple of men purchase fresh bread in the almost-deserted Machane Yehuda market due to the coronavirus[photo]
The number of coronavirus cases in Israel showed additional signs of beginning to level on Friday morning, as the Health Ministry confirmed 12,855 people have been diagnosed with the virus, including 9,740 active cases.
So far, 148 people have died of SARS-CoV-2 in Israel and 2,967 have recovered.
Of the country’s 182 serious patients, 129 are on ventilators – an 8% drop from the day before, inline with the flattening of the curve. However, the number of patients in serious condition rose by 4.6%.
A slight decrease was noticed in the number of active patients as well over the past 36 hours. While the number of active cases rose from 9,764 on Wednesday morning to 9,827 on Thursday morning, it then decreased to 9,803 active cases on Thursday evening and then fell again to 9,740 on Friday morning.
The number of new cases per day also dropped slightly on Wednesday with 455 new cases compared to 460 new cases on Tuesday and then more drastically on Thursday when there were only 257 new cases confirmed.”
From today’s Jerusalem Post.
Of course, the Israeli government attributes this “flattening of the curve” to its lockdown. However, a number of Israeli and American researchers, working independently of each other, have concluded that a sudden spike in cases, followed by a sharp drop-off a few weeks later, is an inherent characteristic of the way this virus spreads, and will occur even in places that have placed few restrictions on people’s freedom of movement.