Reuters: U.S.

Friday, April 17, 2020

Overnight Health Care: White House says US has enough tests for phase one | Trump defends protesters challenging social distancing | Hospitals fear being shortchanged on virus funding

 
 
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Welcome to Friday's Overnight Health Care.

President Trump's guidelines for easing social distancing restrictions are already sparking controversy, with some governors warning that testing protocols are a weak spot. Trump sparred with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) on Friday over how much support states should get to increase their coronavirus testing capacity.

If it wasn't clear from the administration's guidelines for reopening the economy, Trump's tweets drove home the point that states are basically on their own. The White House said late Friday that states had enough tests for phase one of the plan.

And less than 24 hours after telling governors he would "allow" them to make their own decisions about reopening their states, Trump seemed to side with protestors who oppose stay-at-home restrictions. 

We'll start with the testing...

 

White House says US has enough tests for first phase of reopening

The White House on Friday said that states have enough tests to be able to enter the first phase of their plan for reopening the economy.

The statement comes as the administration is coming under pressure to increase the testing capacity.

But officials, including administration health experts, sought to push back on the alarm and express confidence in the testing capabilities, at least for the first phase of reopening.

"Our best scientists and health experts assess that states today have enough tests to implement the criteria of phase one if they choose to do so," Vice President Mike Pence told reporters at a news briefing. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top government disease expert, gave some backup to Pence's argument. 

He acknowledged a "problem" with the initial rollout of the tests, but said problems are being fixed. 

Read more here.

 

Trump, Cuomo battle over funding to states

A day after President Trump's plan to reopen the country was released, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), along with other state leaders, noted that dramatically increasing testing is crucial to that plan and reiterated the need for more federal aid.

The president took to Twitter, though, during Cuomo's press briefing. "Governor Cuomo should spend more time 'doing' and less time 'complaining'. Get out there and get the job done," Trump tweeted.

Cuomo countered that without federal help, the states would not be able to test effectively. The governor has been one of the main voices saying that widespread testing is needed for the country's economy to reopen, something that Trump has been anxious to see happen.

"If we don't have federal help on testing, we have a real problem," the governor said.

Read more here.

 

Related: Five takeaways on White House coronavirus guidelines

Cuomo presses for more federal money to states

Governors complain testing is weak spot in Trump plan

 

More testing tensions: On a Senate Democratic phone call with Pence

"I have never been so mad about a phone call in my life," the normally mild-mannered Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who caucuses with Democrats, said during the conference call on Friday with Vice President Mike Pence and other Trump officials, according to two sources.

King, according to one of the sources, views the administration's stance on testing as an "abdication of the federal government's responsibility." A second source said King specifically labeled the administration's lack of national testing regime as a "dereliction of duty" on the call.

A Democratic source said that nearly every question from Democrats during the call was about the administration's "inadequate testing regime," but that Democrats did not feel like Pence or other White House coronavirus task force members were giving them clear answers. 

A spokeswoman for Pence, who is overseeing the task force, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the call. 

Read more here.

 

Trump appears to back those protesting social distancing measures 

President Trump was busy on Twitter on Friday….

He appeared to back protesters in three states with Democratic governors who are gathering in opposition to extended stay-at-home orders and other restrictions meant to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

One day after Trump reportedly told governors they would "call the shots" in determining when to lift social distancing guidelines in their states, Trump heightened tensions between demonstrators and the Democratic governors in Minnesota, Michigan and Virginia.

"LIBERATE MINNESOTA!" Trump tweeted, followed quickly by a call to "LIBERATE MICHIGAN!"

"LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!" Trump tweeted, a reference to the state's expanded background checks and limits on gun purchases signed into law last week.

Read more here

 

Trump doubled down Friday evening, defending the demonstrators

Trump told reporters at a White House briefing that he feels some state orders are "too tough." He suggested demonstrations in Virginia were also justified because of recently signed gun laws that expand background checks and limit certain firearm purchases.

"I think we do have sobering guidance, but I think some things are too tough. It's too tough," Trump said. "Not only relative to this, but what they've done in Virginia with respect to the second amendment is a horrible thing."

Read more here.

 

Related: Inslee accuses Trump of 'fomenting domestic rebellion'

Protesters plan 'Freedom Rally' in Wisconsin after governor extends stay-at-home order

 

Texas to begin softening COVID-19 restrictions next week

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said Friday that he plans to begin reopening different Texas businesses through a series of executive orders starting next week, making Texas the first state to lay out a defined rollback of COVID-19 restrictions.

Abbott said detailed plans for opening businesses will be announced on April 27 based on input from the Strike Force to Open Texas -- a task force comprised of doctors, business leaders and lawmakers focused on creating an effective reopening strategy.

Sill, schools will be closed for the remainder of the school year.

Testing limits: Despite having a population of about 29 million people, Texas has only conducted 169,536 coronavirus tests. It's difficult to get a full picture with such limited data. But on the flip side, it's easy to argue cases are declining when you don't test for them.

Read more here.

 

Related: Maryland extends school closures to May 15

Beaches, parks to reopen in Jacksonville, Fla., on Friday

Coronavirus cases in DC, Maryland and Virginia double to 20,000 in one week

 

Hospitals fear being shortchanged in coronavirus funding

The Trump administration has been moving quickly to distribute $100 billion in CARES Act funding to hospitals and doctors, but providers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic are worried they will be shortchanged.

The first $30 billion was deposited into hospital bank accounts last week, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has said the remaining $70 billion will be distributed as soon as this week. But in the interest of speed, Congress included very few requirements as to how the money should be allocated, or how hospitals are allowed to use it. Instead, lawmakers gave broad authority to the HHS secretary to decide.

As a result, much of that first wave bypassed hospitals in states on the front lines of the areas hardest hit by the coronavirus. HHS gave out the money based on a past share of Medicare revenue, rather than any coronavirus-related financial impact. 

That decision has set off a furious lobbying effort from hospitals in hot spot states to make sure they don't get overlooked again. 

Read more here.

 

What we're reading

Trump calls for reopening America's gyms day after call with SoulCycle's owner (Daily Beast)

Influential Covid-19 model uses flawed methods and shouldn't guide U.S. policies, critics say (Stat News)

No plan in sight: Test troubles cloud Trump recovery effort (Associated Press)

 

State by state

Florida blocks COVID-19 information from public as Gov. Ron DeSantis touts transparency (Miami Herald)

NY withheld nursing home COVID-19 details for weeks. Thousands died. Here's how secrecy impacted lives (Lohud)

How San Francisco's Chinatown Got Ahead of the Coronavirus (New York Times

 
 
 
 
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