Here is a New York Times piece on why testing was delayed for over a month: “Private-sector tests were supposed to be the next tier after the C.D.C. fulfilled its obligation to jump-start screening at public labs. … But Dr. Hahn took a cautious approach. He was not proactive in reaching out to manufacturers, and instead deferred to his scientists, following the F.D.A.’s often cumbersome methods for approving medical screening. … Even though researchers around the country quickly began creating tests that could diagnose Covid-19, many said they were hindered by the F.D.A.’s approval process. The new tests sat unused at labs around the country.”
Over the weekend Trump floated the idea of banning travel out of New York and New Jersey. Then: “President Trump said Saturday night that he would not impose a quarantine on New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, but would instead issue a “strong” travel advisory for the region to be enacted by the governors of the three states.”
On Sunday Trump also extended the social distancing guidelines for another month, dropping his Easter deadline from last week, and acknowledged for the first time that the deaths will be in the hundreds of thousands: “on Sunday, his mood seemed somber as he conceded the need for another month of collective pain. Citing figures from his advisers that showed that as many as 200,000 people could die from the virus even if the country took aggressive action to slow its spread, Mr. Trump said the restrictions must continue, even if it meant more sacrifice in the days ahead. “During this period, it’s very important that everyone strongly follow the guidelines. Have to follow the guidelines,” Mr. Trump told reporters…”
On a Monday call with governors who said they need more tests Trump said: “I haven’t heard about testing in weeks,” the president said. “We’ve tested more now than any nation in the world. We’ve got these great tests and we’re coming out with a faster one this week.” Reiterating his point, Mr. Trump added, “I haven’t heard about testing being a problem.” … The president has recently taken to pointing to the volume of tests that have been administered — a misleading figure because, according to health experts, the more relevant figure is how many people are being tested per capita. In that regard, the United States still lags well behind other nations like South Korea.”
On Tuesday Fauci and Birx said in a briefing that the virus could kill 100,000 and 240,000 Americans, in spite of the social distancing measures. Trump said: ““I want every American to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead. We’re going through a very tough few weeks,” Mr. Trump said, later raising his two weeks to three.”
Here is some analysis by Peter Baker of the Times based on the Tuesday press conference: “A crisis that Mr. Trump had repeatedly asserted was “under control” and hoped would “miraculously” disappear has come to consume his presidency, presenting him with a challenge that he seems only now to be seeing more clearly.
… Despite comparing it to the ordinary flu and saying for weeks that it would pass, the president insisted on Tuesday that he understood all along that it could be a killer of historic proportions…. The president did not explain on Tuesday why testing was so slow, nor did he explain why he waited to recommend canceling large events, closing businesses and schools and limiting group gatherings until after governors began ordering it themselves. Nor did he explain why he publicly declared that the country could reopen as early as Easter, only to reverse himself days later, if he understood all along how bad the situation could get.
Mr. Trump asserted that had he not blocked many travelers from China, the United States would have most likely reached closer to the maximum projected death toll of up to 2.2 million. “When you look at it could have been 2.2 million people died and more if we did nothing, if we just did nothing,” he said, then he and the country “have done a great job.” In effect, he seemed to be setting up the argument that any death toll below that will be a validation of his handling of the crisis.”
Some of the ventilators that Trump said the federal government has been holding and will deliver are defective: “what federal officials have neglected to mention is that an additional 2,109 lifesaving devices are unavailable after the contract to maintain the government’s stockpile lapsed late last summer, and a contracting dispute meant that a new firm did not begin its work until late January.”
The captain of a Navy ship who wrote a letter requesting his crew be allowed to evacuate amid an onboard Coronavirs outbreak was fired on Thursday and now has the virus himself: “According to reporting: Adm. Michael M. Gilday, the chief of naval operations, privately urged against dismissal and argued that, per usual Navy procedures, an investigation into what went wrong on the Roosevelt should be allowed to play out. But the acting Navy secretary, Thomas B. Modly, overruled the Navy’s top admiral, saying Captain Crozier had cracked under pressure.”
On Friday the CDC started recommending Americans wear face masks in public.
Here is a New York Times piece outlining Kushner’s role in coordinating the White House repose.
The only Trump golf course that remains open is in Virginia. The Secret Service signed a $45,000 contract this week for rented golf carts at the resort to protect a “dignitary.” The contract runs through September.
In other news: Late Friday night Trump fired the intelligence community’s Inspector General, Michael Atkinson. Atkinson was responsible to deciding that the Ukraine whistleblower’s complaint was legitimate and should be sent to Congress.
Personal Log: I took my first masked trip out doors on Saturday. I had to wait in a line at Home Depot and Whole Foods meant to stagger the number of people in the store. We all tried to stand six feet apart. About half of us had masks.
The city closed the South Mountain Reservation, but the kid and I got one last hike in the woods in the morning.
New Jersey cases/deaths: 29896 / 646
Essex County cases/deaths: 6067 / 69
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Trump’s Job Approval: 45.8%
US cases / deaths: 239,279 / 5,443