Trump news: President says coronavirus hospitals 'a beautiful thing' and asks 'genius' drug companies to help Boris Johnson in ICU
US death toll climbs past 10,000 as White House spars pushes controverisla drug without clinical evidence of its efficacy against virus
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Donald Trump has said he hopes the US is “starting to see light at the end of the tunnel” while New York, the epicentre of the country’s coronavirus outbreak, reported a potential "plateau" of cases, as a grim streak of hundreds of deaths appears to have levelled rather than continue to spike.
On Monday, the number of Covid-19-related deaths in the US eclipsed 10,500, including the nation's youngest victim, a one-day-old newborn in Louisiana.
The president optimistic comments came in stark contrast to those of US surgeon general Jerome Adams, who warned Americans to brace for levels of tragedy similar to the September 11 attacks and the bombing of Pearl Harbour in the week ahead, as states continue mitigation efforts and prepare for several more weeks of quarantine and stay-at-home measures.
In a press conference attacking his predecessor Barack Obama, Democrats, reporters and a US Navy captain who alerted officials to a potential coronavirus outbreak on his ship before he was fired for doing so, the president dismissed an inspector general report that outlined the shortages of critically needed medical supplies in US hospitals.
The president also said he has considered "getting involved" with Captain Brett Crozier's case, and said that the captain's emailed letter "shows weakness."
The president said: "We don't want to have letter-writing campaigns where the fake news finds a letter [and] gets a leak. We don't want that."
Mr Trump continued to push for a controversial malaria drug that officials in his own administration have warned is not clinically proven to safely combat the virus. Despite warnings from Dr Anthony Fauci and the federal Food and Drug Administration, the president and his chief trade adviser Peter Navarro have insisted on administering the drug.
Mr Navarro has reportedly clashed with Dr Fauci about the drug's efficacy, though he told CNN he's qualified to measure the drug's effectiveness, despite not having a medical background.
On Monday, Dr Fauci was hesitant to say that mitigation efforts are showing signs of working across the US, but early results in hard-hit areas like New York are starting to show decreasing numbers of hospitalisations requiring ventilator support. He said: "You never want to think about declaring victory prematurely."
He said that health officials may be "overshooting" the models using initial data that showed as many as 200,000 deaths.
Meanwhile, a Democratic primary election in Wisconsin scheduled for 7 April cannot be postponed despite pleas from lawmakers and a last-minute push from the state's governor, which was overruled by the state's Supreme Court. The decision sends the election into chaos, with a drastic shortage of poll workers and an electorate that has been ordered to stay home under threat of the virus.
Ballots include thousands of local races in addition to a crucial race between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders for the party's nomination to face the president in November.
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Breaking: Boris Johnson moved to intensive care after coronavirus symptoms worsen, Downing Street confirms
Arkansas, one of five states without stay-at-home order, closes schools for academic year
Though the state has not issued a statewide stay-at-home order, Arkansas schools will be closed for the remainder of the 2020 school year.
Governor Asa Hutchinson said other forms of shooling will be made available to students.
The governor said social distancing efforts and restrictions on large gatherings are having "some beneficial impact" in the state.
There have been 875 confirmed coronavirus cases in the state, including 74 hospitalisations.
Georgia governor panned by local leaders for order to re-open beaches
Scores of local leaders in Georgia have expressed outrage, confusion and desperation over the last several days after Governor Brian Kemp issued a statewide executive order last Thursday that re-opened the state's beaches, superseding measures taken by many communities' leaders to shut down public to their shores.
While most of the criticism directed at Mr Kemp has come from Democrats, some nonpartisan officials have let loose on the governor and have taken active measures to keep people away from their beaches despite Mr Kemp's order to open them back up.
Griffin Connolly reports:
70 per cent of coronavirus-related deaths in Louisiana are African American
As state data emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, the inequities along racial lines in the US health system become horrifically clear.
In Louisiana, black residents make up 70 per cent of the more than 500 deaths reported over the last month. Governor John Bel Edwards said: "That deserves more attention ... We’re going to have to dig in and see how to slow that down."
Advocates and health officials have pointed to institutional disparities for decades, along with higher risk populations among African American communities, that the pandemic has made frighteningly apparent.
In Chicago, more than half of all cases are among black residents. African Americans make up nearly half of the county's roughly 1,000 cases but more than 81 per cent of its deaths — while the county is only a quarter black.
Louisiana distributes 200,000 doses of hydroxychloroquine
More than 200,000 doses of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine sulfate, promoted by Donald Trump despite no clear clinical evidence it can effectively combat coronavirus, have been distributed in Louisiana, according to the state's attorney General Jeff Landry.
The state received a shipment of 400,000 doses. A shipment of Azithromycin and another 75,000 tablets of hydroxychloroquine sulfate have also shipped to the state.
Asked about reports that lupus patients, which rely on the drugs, have struggled to access their medication, Landry said that the more they receive from donations from manufacturers, the more relief on the state's supply available from drug stores and pharmacists. He said he was not aware of shortages.
Governor John Bel Edwards said: "We're not here to testify to the efficacy of the drug."
Trump adviser pushed into limelight already clashing with coronavirus experts
Donald Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro — now leading the administration's efforts with the Defence Production Act — is getting more airtime, both on cable television interviews that are frequently seen by his boss, the country's most-powerful consumer of 24/7 news networks, and during appearances alongside other White House coronavirus task force members and Mr Trump during some daily briefings.
John T Bennett on Navarro's ascent and clashes with health officials trying to steer the US from disaster.
Coronavirus checks: White House halts Democrats' call for more cash payments
The Trump administration is pumping the brakes — for now — on calls for the Treasury Department to issue a second round of checks of up to $1,200 to American taxpayers to mitigate economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
The administration's position puts it at odds with Democrats in Congress, who have been eager to begin negotiating a fourth bill aimed at economic "recovery," but is in lockstep with the argument from House and Senate Republicans that the government should first see how effective the $2.2trn "phase three" coronavirus stimulus package passed in late March is before authorising more direct cash payments.
"Our job is to execute what we've got," Larry Kudlow, the president's top economic adviser, told reporters Monday.
Griffin Connolly reports:
Trump sends 'genius' drug companies to London
Donald Trump has asked "genius" drug companies to "contact London" following Boris Johnson's admission into intensive care with coronavirus symptoms.
He said the prime minister is "really something very special: strong, resolute, doesn't quit, doesn't give up." The president said "Americans are praying" for his recovery.
This afternoon, the president met with the CEOs of Amgen, Genetech, Gilead and Regenor.
Trump compares frontline health worker 'warriors' to war movies
Donald Trump said footage of hospital workers wearing gowns and face masks to treat coronavirus patients is "no different than when you watch the war movies or you watch the old clips of war, running up hills. To me, it's the same thing."
He said health workers suiting up for hospitals is a "beautiful thing."
Trump on conference call with all 50 governors: No 'negative' person on call
The president said he spoke with US governors on a call with the White House coronavirus task force, and there wasn't a "negative" person on the line. He asked Mike Pence to confirm.
His comment follows complaints from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who said he hasn't trusted the White House over its promises to send critically needed medical supplies.
The president said: "He may not be happy when he talks to the press, but he’s happy. He’s a very happy man."
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