Trump Extends Social Distancing Guidelines Through April, Walking Back Talk About Reopening Country By Easter

The New York Times: Trump Extends Social Distancing Guidelines Through End Of April 
President Trump retreated Sunday from his desire to relax coronavirus guidelines by Easter, announcing instead that all Americans must continue to avoid nonessential travel, going to work, eating at bars and restaurants, or gathering in groups of more than 10 for at least another month and perhaps until June. The grim recommendation, which the president made in the White House Rose Garden, came just a day before the end of a two-week period in which the world’s largest economy has largely shut down with staggering consequences: businesses shuttered, schools and colleges emptied, and social life all but suspended. (Shear, 3/29)

The Associated Press: Trump Extends Virus Guidelines, Braces US For Big Death Toll
It was a stark shift in tone by the president, who only days ago mused about the country reopening in a few weeks. From the Rose Garden, he said his Easter revival hopes had only been “aspirational.” The initial 15-day period of social distancing urged by the federal government expires Monday and Trump had expressed interest in relaxing the national guidelines at least in parts of the country less afflicted by the pandemic. He instead decided to extend them through April 30, a tacit acknowledgment he’d been too optimistic. Many states and local governments have stiffer controls in place on mobility and gatherings. (Miller and Colvin, 3/30)

Reuters: Trump Backs Off Plan To Reopen Businesses By Mid-April Amid Coronavirus Warnings
The reversal by Trump, which he said would be disclosed in greater detail on Tuesday, came as the U.S. death toll topped 2,460 from the respiratory disease, according to a Reuters tally, with more than 141,000 cases, the most of any country in the world. (Chiacu and Whitcomb, 3/29)

The Washington Post: President Trump Extends Social Distancing Guidance Until End Of April
The president’s comments came after a top medical adviser to the White House and state governors said in television interviews Sunday that they could not envision an easing soon of measures designed to slow the virus’s spread, warning that the outbreak will continue taxing hospitals and could kill thousands more people. Anthony S. Fauci, the White House adviser, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that models suggest the virus could cause between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths and that millions of people could be infected. But he stressed that the 200,000 figure was a worst-case estimate that is unlikely to come to pass. (Duncan and Sonmez, 3/29)

The Wall Street Journal: White House Extends Social-Distancing Guidelines Until End Of April
Public-health experts have said extended social distancing is needed until the U.S. develops a vigorous testing regime to identify and isolate cases. Widespread testing is still a long way off and labs now are struggling with supply issues that are further hampering the ability to identify cases. The coronavirus can be spread when people are asymptomatic. Mr. Trump said he didn’t anticipate relaxing the guidelines before April 30 even for regions less affected by the virus. (Ballhaus, Restuccia and Calfas, 3/29)

Politico: Inside The White House During '15 Days To Slow The Spread'
An eerie quiet crept over the White House.Desks were empty. Office lights were turned off. Many staffers had been told to work from home. The bustling Navy Mess was closed, and the usual stream of visitors rushing in and out of the West Wing had slowed to a trickle. Left behind were President Donald Trump, his top aides, and a small group of staffers, hunkered down and making battle plans as the novel coronavirus marched across the country. All were acutely aware their decisions in the coming days could define their legacies — not to mention whether they kept their jobs after 2020. (McGraw and Oprysko, 3/29)

The Associated Press Fact Check: Trump Gets A Reality Check On Coronavirus
For weeks, President Donald Trump carved out a trail of groundless assurances about the coronavirus pandemic as health officials, governors and local officials sounded alarm about what was coming — and already here. That sunlit trail now has hit a wall. On Sunday, Trump appeared to be bracing the country for a grim death toll as he accepted the advice of public-health experts and gave up on letting federal social-distance guidelines lapse Monday as initially intended. In doing so, he acknowledged what his officials had told him — that 100,000 people or many more could die from COVID-19 in the U.S. before it’s over. And he recognized it won’t be over for some time. (Woodward and Yen, 3/30)

CNN: Trump Made To Accept Reality Of Coronavirus In The Face Of America's Growing Death Toll 
Even President Donald Trump, a serial spinner of his own political realities, accepted science's dire truth in ditching an Easter target to open up the US economy with the coronavirus pandemic set to take a savage turn. Trump's extension of social distancing guidelines until April 30 is a highly significant move that means American life will remain shut down for at least a month, and probably longer. (Collinson, 3/30)

CNN: President Trump Falsely Denies Saying Two Things He Said Last Week 
On two occasions during Sunday's coronavirus briefing, President Donald Trump falsely denied he had said words he had said publicly last week. When PBS's Yamiche Alcindor noted that the President had said he did not believe that governors actually need all the equipment they claimed they did, Trump said, "I didn't say that" — even though he said precisely that on Fox News on Thursday. Later, when CNN White House Correspondent Jeremy Diamond noted that Trump had said he wanted governors to be "appreciative" of him, and that "if they don't treat you right, I don't call," Trump said, "But I didn't say that" — even though he said precisely that at the Friday briefing. (Dale and Subramaniam, 3/29)

The Washington Post: How To Evaluate And Eventually Ease Coronavirus Restrictions
If there’s one thing people agree on, even as they debate the government’s coronavirus response, it is this: We can’t do this forever. The nationwide shutdowns, the home quarantines, hospital shortages, layoffs, deaths and infections. All seemingly without end. So what exactly is our next step? Concerned about the nation’s halting, uncoordinated response — which has featured a patchwork of state-by-state, competing and at times contradictory decisions — health experts are rushing to offer their own long-term strategies to combat the virus and edge America closer back to normal. (McGinley and Wan, 3/29)

Politico: Trump Adviser Outlines Cautious Approach For Reopening Economy
A new report co-authored by President Donald Trump's former FDA commissioner suggests the country wouldn't broadly reopen anytime soon, as the Trump administration weighs whether to ease nationwide measures aimed at slowing the coronavirus. The country doesn’t yet appear to meet the proposed criteria for reopening schools and businesses laid out in the paper co-written by Scott Gottlieb, who has continued to advise the Trump administration. (Roubein, 3/29)

Stat: Two New Road Maps Lay Out Possible Paths To End Coronavirus Lockdowns
With Covid-19 racing through the country, the United States is virtually locked down. At the same time, the yearning among Americans to reopen their communities grows, as does their desire to return to some semblance of normality. In an effort to chart a path toward that goal, public health experts laid out two new roadmaps over the weekend. (Branswell, 3/29)

NPR: To Fight Coronavirus, Experts Call For A National Shutdown. But What Comes Next?
As coronavirus infections rise across the United States, public health experts widely agree it's time for a drastic step: Every state in the nation should now issue the kind of stay-at-home orders first adopted by the hardest-hit places. And while most states will probably not need to keep the rules in place for months upon months, many health specialists say the lockdowns will need to be kept up for several weeks. Yet among these same experts, there is debate when it comes to the natural next question: What strategy can be deployed after the lockdowns are lifted? (Aizenman, 3/27)

The New York Times: Coronavirus Slowdown In Seattle Suggests Restrictions Are Working
The Seattle area, home of the first known coronavirus case in the United States and the place where the virus claimed 37 of its first 50 victims, is now seeing evidence that strict containment strategies, imposed in the earliest days of the outbreak, are beginning to pay off — at least for now. Deaths are not rising as fast as they are in other states. Dramatic declines in street traffic show that people are staying home. Hospitals have so far not been overwhelmed. (Baker, 3/29)

The New York Times: How Much Should The Public Know About Who Has The Coronavirus?
When the first case of the coronavirus in Silicon Valley was discovered in late January, health officials were faced with a barrage of questions: What city did the patient live in? Whom had he come in contact with? Which health clinic had he visited before he knew he was infected? Dr. Sara Cody, the chief health officer for Santa Clara County, which has a population of two million across 15 cities, declined to give details. “I can’t give the city,” she said, adding “we are not going to be giving out information about where he sought health care.” (Fuller, 3/28)

Los Angeles Times: Isolation Is Bad For Your Health. The Term 'Social Distancing' Doesn't Help
Is the phrase “social distancing” sending the wrong message to millions of Americans who are struggling to get by during the COVID-19 pandemic? That’s the case being made by Daniel Aldrich, director of the security and resilience program at Northeastern University in Boston. “The moment I heard public health authorities use the term, I thought they were making a mistake,” he said. (Netburn, 3/28)

Stat: Amid Coronavirus Isolation, The Health Threat Of Loneliness Looms
Dan Blazer and his wife were sheltering at home in North Carolina when their neighbors, a couple in their 50s, reached out by email last week to reassure the 76-year-old and his wife that they weren’t alone. Another couple phoned to check in. “We’re older and we’re perfectly healthy and perfectly independent,” Blazer said. Still, he’s been a bit lonely of late, and appreciated the effort. “Knowing these people are out there makes a huge difference,” he said. (Silberner, 3/28)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Coronavirus Can Further Isolate People With Mental Health Issues 
Social-distancing measures ended her in-person therapy sessions. For Gonzalez, and others disinclined to discuss problems or whose mental health issues already involve isolating, that is no small thing. (Bracelin, 3/29)