Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
New Region-Specific Guidelines To Ease Social Distancing Expected From Trump Today
The Associated Press: Trump Looks To Ease Distancing In Places; CEOs Urge Caution
President Donald Trump said Wednesday he’s prepared to announce new guidelines allowing some states to quickly ease up on social distancing even as business leaders told him they need more coronavirus testing and personal protective equipment before people can safely go back to work. The industry executives cautioned Trump that the return to normalcy will be anything but swift. (Miller, Madhani and Freking, 4/16)
The Hill: Trump Says White House To Release Guidelines On Relaxing Social Distancing On Thursday
The decision on what individual states do, however, will fall to governors across the country. “The battle continues but the data suggests that nationwide we have passed the peak on new cases,” Trump said at a news conference in the White House Rose Garden. (Chalfant, 4/15)
NBC News: White House Draft Plan To Reopen Economy Would Advise Some Areas To Lift Restrictions After May 1
Regions that can be the first to renew economic activity should have "limited transmission, ample public health and health system capacity," and they should be prepared to monitor the situation closely for a resurgence of infections, according to the 10-page document circulated to a new task force and shared with NBC News. The plan stopped short of giving specific metrics for how communities would know whether or when they fall into that category. Areas identified as recovering hot spots, where the virus is circulating but contained, would likely have to wait until June to start bringing industries back online in phases, with child care facilities and schools among the first facilities to reopen so parents can return to work, the plan said.(Pettypiece, 4/15)
The Associated Press: Powerful GOP Allies Propel Trump Effort To Reopen Economy
Leading Republicans say the coronavirus shutdown cannot go on. Car-honking activists swarmed a statehouse Wednesday to protest stay-home restrictions. Capitol Hill staff are quietly drafting bills to undo the just-passed rescue aid and push Americans back to work. Behind President Donald Trump’s effort to accelerate re-opening the U.S. economy during the pandemic is a contingent of GOP allies eager to have his back. (Mascaro, 4/16)
The Washington Post: Worldwide Coronavirus Infections Surge Past 2 Million, U.S. Deaths Top 28,000
Even on a day that recorded more than 2,400 American deaths, the highest one-day total so far, leaders in Washington and around the country continued to grapple with how and when the country might begin to emerge from a lockdown that has crippled the economy and harmed millions of workers. “The data suggests that nationwide, we have passed the peak on new cases,” President Trump said late Wednesday at the White House, making his latest pitch for why portions of the country should soon begin the trek toward normalcy. (Dennis, 4/15)
NPR: To Safely Ease Social Distancing, U.S. Needs To Tackle These 5 Obstacles
First things first: it's not yet time to end social distancing and go back to work and church and concerts and handshakes. Public health experts say social distancing appears to be working, and letting up these measures too soon could be disastrous. Until there is a sustained reduction in new cases — and the coronavirus' spread is clearly slowing — we need to stay the course. (Simmons-Duffin and Aubrey, 4/16)
PBS NewsHour: As U.S. Death Toll Climbs, Trump Says Working Groups Are Planning Economic Resurgence
The U.S. death toll from novel coronavirus is approaching 30,000. Though President Trump is eager to lift the restrictions prompted by the pandemic and “reopen” the economy, other leaders continue to express concern that doing so would undermine efforts to contain the virus. Trump is also battling with the World Health Organization over their initial response to the outbreak. (Yang, 4/15)
