His administration is pushing to complete changes ahead of the November election.
President Trump said he had written a letter to the nation’s governors and territories to tell them federal officials are drafting new guidelines to rate counties by the risk of virus spread. The move would give local municipalities more information to make decisions on social distancing and other coronavirus containment measures. He reiterated that he wanted to “reopen” the country by Easter. He felt there was little to no contention among all on the call.
The package moving through Congress was also discussed with the governors. He thanked the Senate for unanimously passing the relief legislation to provide economic help for American families and small businesses. He urged the House to show their support and pass the bill tomorrow. He outlined some of the provisions of the $2.2 trillion program. There is plenty more to go, he said. The economic response is “terrific stuff,” he said.
He also reported on the G20 conference call held earlier today. It was a great meeting, the president said. The subject of the virus and its problems was on top of the agenda. He listed the national leaders who were on the phone conference. Members of the World Bank, IMF and the World Health Organization were also on the call. He said the U.S. is working with these other countries to stop the virus. The immediate sharing of information and data was discussed as needed. There is great uniformity of thought, and tremendous spirit to get this over with.
He discussed the numbers of items shipped out to FEMA, with tremendous amounts of equipment being made by great American companies right now, including ventilators. “We took over an empty shelf,” he said. The stockpile is filling up and, in many cases, we are sending these things directly to the states.
He said testing is going well.
The USNS Comfort will be underway to New York City on Saturday, three weeks ahead of schedule. It will arrive in New York Harbor on Monday. He plans to “kiss it goodbye” as it leaves Norfolk, Virginia. It is fully loaded with medical supplies. It is planned for surge capacity unrelated to the virus, so land-based hospitals can be used for the coronavirus patients.
The National Institute of Health and FDA are working on therapies that reduce the symptoms of the virus, and the president is committed to bringing these treatments to market as soon as possible. Many clinical trials are going on. These medications are very advanced, and every American should be very proud of the spirit brought to this effort.
He commended the American public and businesses for giving their resources to halt the spread of the virus and protect our citizens. He thanked the American people for following guidelines and practicing social distancing. Public commitment makes all the difference in the world. So, relax, stay home.
“We will vanquish this virus. A lot of progress has been made.”
He returned to discussing the guidelines that are being developed for states and localities to make determinations on handling their own regions. Our people want to go back to work; they have to go back; we are working with a lot of great professionals, so people can “get it done.” There will be more information next week.
Our country and its economy is based on people working, and we need to go back to work. So section by section, the process needs to start pretty soon.
The president answered some questions, including about the number of unemployment claims. “It is nobody’s fault,” the president said. “It was a great decision to limit people from coming in from China,” he reminded them.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For the president and task force members to continue making progress on the pandemic.
- For the NIH and FDA to find successful treatments and cures for the virus.
Sources: C-SPAN
