In virus briefing, Trump highlights comeback plans

In today’s White House coronavirus task force briefing (ongoing), President Trump says work continues on an urgent relief bill for Americans, and calls on Congress to avoid “playing any more partisan games.”

Meanwhile, his administration is making contingency plans for a return to normality.

“America will again and soon be open for business,” Trump says. At the end of the 15-day period (we’re not eight days into Trump’s “15 days to slow the spread”), the government will be deciding on “essentially the opening of our country.”

“We have a large team working on what next steps will be” following an all-clear in a given region from medical professionals, Trump says.

FEMA is distributing 8M N95 respirators, focusing on areas of greatest needs, he says.

Clinical trials will begin in New York for existing drugs that might be effective against the virus. The government is procuring large amounts of hydroxychloroquine, he says.

Trump’s signed an executive order to prohibit the hoarding of vital equipment and supplies.

More updates: Attorney General William Barr details the anti-hoarding order, saying it won’t really affect those stocking up for households: If you have a bunch of toilet paper, he says no problem, but if you have a warehouse full of masks, that’s a different story.

Self-swabbing tests are going to be available this week, Dr. Deborah Birx says. She’s still discouraging overtesting.

VP Mike Pence says the administration called on governors to survey available ventilators, and notes surgical ventilator can now be converted to meet current needs.

Asked whether he envisions “opening the country” in “weeks or months,” Trump replies “I’m not looking at months, I can tell you right now … this is going away.”

With regard to the issue of the day – a rise in recent stories suggesting that Trump is frustrated with the economic shutdown – the president is continuing to signal that he thinks the “cure could be worse than the problem,” saying there’s “probably more death from that than anything that we’re talking about with respect to the virus.”

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3554497-in-virus-briefing-trump-highlights-comeback-plans