HIGHLIGHTS | President Trump and the Coronavirus Task Force Provide an Update to Americans

GUIDELINES FOR OPENING AMERICA AGAIN

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Since we released the guidelines to open up America again, and this was two days ago, a number of states led by both Democrat and Republican governors have announced concrete steps to begin a safe, gradual, and phased opening.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Texas and Vermont will allow certain businesses to open on Monday, while still requiring appropriate social distancing precautions.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “As our experts said yesterday, America’s testing capability and capacity is fully sufficient to begin opening up the country. Totally. Indeed, our system is by far the most robust and advanced anywhere in the world by far. The rest of the world will tell you that.”

KEY PROGRESS

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “The United States has produced dramatically better health outcomes than any other country with the possible exception of Germany, and I think we are as good or better. On a per capita basis – remember that – on a per capita basis, our mortality rate is far lower than other nations of Western Europe.”

TESTING

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Nationwide, we’ve now conducted over 4 million tests.  And Deborah will be talking about that. It’s double the number conducted by any other country on earth. So that’s more than two times, actually, the number conducted by any other country on earth.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “In Louisiana, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and other hotspots, we have also tested more people per capita, by far, than Italy, Spain, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom and all other major countries.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “My administration has also been speaking frequently with many of the governors to help them find and unlock the vast and unused testing capacity that exists in their states. Dr. Birx discussed yesterday the commercial and academic laboratories in the states have tremendous unused capability, which they can use. The governors should use it.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “We are also helping governors to develop strategies to smartly deploy their testing capacity to protect vulnerable and underserved populations while getting Americans at lower risk back safely to work.  So again, we have tremendous testing capacity.”

DR. DEBORAH BIRX: “Louisiana and — and New York, have tested 30,000 per million inhabitants. Those are some of our highest numbers across the board.”

RELIEF FOR WORKERS AND SMALL BUSINESSES

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Throughout this crisis, my administration has taken unprecedented actions to rush economic relief to our citizens.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Through the Paycheck Protection Program, we have already processed nearly $350 billion to 1.6 million small businesses across the nation to keep American workers on the payroll.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Amy Wright from North Carolina, as an example, said the program is a game changer for her and her family — its coffee shops. And she has 120 employees, many of whom have developmental and intellectual disabilities. And now they’re all staying and they’re getting paid.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Scott and Julie Alderink helped lead a church and own a restaurant in South Dakota. With about 15 employees, they were already starting layoffs. Layoffs were moving along rapidly, but now, they have hired their employees back.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “The Paycheck Protection Program funding is now fully drained. It’s out. It’s gone. $350 billion to small businesses. And in turn, it goes to the employees of those small businesses. Lawmakers must stop blocking these funds and replenish the program without delay.”

PROTECTING HIGH-RISK COMMUNITIES

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “My administration is taking steps to protect high-risk communities by providing funding for 13,000 community health center sites and mobile medical stations in order to equip them with the most advanced and robust testing capabilities.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “These centers provide care to 28 million people living in medically underserved urban and rural regions, including many African American and Hispanic communities. We are taking care of them.”

WUHAN VIROLOGY LAB

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “We also talked about the lab in China, where, I guess, $3.7 million was given some time ago, and we’re looking at that very closely. The chief of staff has that pretty much under control. But, it’s money that — too bad it got spent there.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Six years ago, approximately, so we’re looking at that. And that’s the lab people are talking about. Alright so, we’re looking at a lot of things, there’s tremendous waste in our government.”

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