Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Seems To Have Put Pandemic In Rear View Even As U.S. Death Toll Hovers Around 1,000 A Day
Politico: White House Goes Quiet On Coronavirus As Outbreak Spikes Again Across The U.S.
The coronavirus is still killing as many as 1,000 Americans per day — but the Trump administration isn’t saying much about it. It’s been more than a month since the White House halted its daily coronavirus task force briefings. Top officials like infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci have largely disappeared from national television — with Fauci making just four cable TV appearances in May after being a near fixture on Sunday shows across March and April — and are frequently restricted from testifying before Congress. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is preparing to resume his campaign rallies after a three-month hiatus, an attempted signal to voters that normalcy is returning ahead of November’s election, and that he’s all but put the pandemic behind him. (Diamond, 6/10)
NBC News: Fact Check: Trump Blames Testing For Spike In COVID-19 Cases. Experts Fault Reopening Of States.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly blamed testing as the reason for documented spikes in the number of COVID-19 cases across the U.S. — but data and public health experts attribute the surge to the easing of lockdown restrictions just weeks ago. "By the way, when you do more testing, you have more cases. We have more cases than anybody because we do more testing than anybody. It's pretty simple," Trump said Friday in the White House Rose Garden. (Timm, 6/10)
