First: President Trump has made the safety, security and health of the American people his top priority from day one. The President has taken an unprecedented whole-of-government approach to protect the American people and we’ve focused our resources on the most vulnerable.
- Declared a public-health emergency
- Suspended all travel coming in from China and Iran
- Launched quarantine efforts for Americans returning
- Established a travel advisory for parts of Italy and Korea
- Established screening for direct flights from Italy and Korea
- Expanded testing to any American with a doctor’s order
- Sent CMS inspectors to focus on infection control in America’s nursing homes
- Removed red tape to ensure that anyone with a doctor's order can get a test
- Issued guidance advising seniors with underlying health conditions to avoid cruises
On Friday, President Trump signed $8.3 billion to combat the virus, including
- $3.1 billion to procure medical supplies (like masks) to supplement the Strategic National Stockpile, support federal and state response, and fund research and development of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.
Second: The risk to average American remains low, but as we test more, there will be more cases. Most cases will be mild, however the most at risk are seniors with underlying health conditions.
- Older adults and people with severe underlying health conditions should be taking specific steps to limit their risk – avoiding contact with others who are sick, washing hands often, paying attention to symptoms, avoiding crowds and places where people gather together in groups, especially in poorly ventilated spaces.
- In South Korea, no one under the age of 30 has died from Coronavirus.
Third: Through a whole of government approach—to pave the path for a whole of America approach, public health officials, the private sector, academia, and non-profits act TOGETHER to solve the challenges in front of us.
- As of Friday night, more than one million tests have been shipped with four million more this week.
- We are working rapidly on therapeutics and vaccines and have launched the first U.S. clinical trial for an investigational antiviral.
- We are proactively reaching out to manufacturers of FDA-regulated products to gather information about the supply chain so as to help mitigate any shortages.
- We are increasing flexibility allowing private sector labs to develop coronavirus testing on an accelerated basis.
- We are working with our industry partners like 3M and soliciting information about their capacity to produce masks and other protective equipment so we can rapidly arrange contracts to buy supplies to protect the American people.
Lastly: While the situation could change rapidly, the threat to the American public today remains low. The President has directed the White House Task Force to take all steps to ensure the health and well-being of the American people and we are well-prepared.
- Americans don’t need to change their day-to-day lives, but should stay informed and practice good hygiene.
Find the latest at CDC.gov/covid19
In the News Topics:
New Guidance
- Last night, the Task Force issued new guidance to address specific communities across the country that have “community spread”
- Specifically areas of Washington State, California New York, and Florida.
- The guidance is provides recommendations on how to keep workplaces safe, how to keep schools safe, how to keep homes safe, and how to keep commercial businesses safe.
Economy
- President Trump has delivered a historically strong economy, whether it's on unemployment numbers or on productivity and he’s going to keep doing that.
- Last night the President previewed strong measures that he is considering to ensure we don’t penalize Americans who have to stay home or take care of a family member due to the Coronavirus.
- Our economic team will work on economic aspects of this and President Trump having delivered the best economy in modern history has the tools and knows the tools to keep this economy going.
Large Scale Events (Rallies)
- Large scale events, like rallies, will have to be determined on a case by case basis.
- If there is an event tomorrow in a place where there is no community spread, I think the judgment to have it might be a good judgment.
- This is a decision that should be made by local leaders in these communities.