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

TESTING MILESTONE

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Today, we reached a historic milestone in our war against the coronavirus. Over one million Americans have now been tested – more than any other country by far, not even close.” 

SECRETARY AZAR: “As the President mentioned today, the United States hit more than one million samples tested – a number that no other country has reached. We’re now testing nearly 100,000 samples a day – also a level that no other country has reached.”

NEW RAPID TEST APPROVED

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “We have something from Abbott labs, which is right here, and that is a five-minute test. Highly accurate.”

FDA COMMISSIONER HAHN: “This is truly a patient-centered approach. Whether it’s the doctor’s office, a hospital, an emergency room, an urgent care center, or a drive-by testing site. Just like tests for flu or strep, where you go to the doctor’s and you get the test done, you can get an answer within minutes of having this test done. Now with those tests being approved for Abbott and for others, these are available around the country.”

EXTENDING SOCIAL DISTANCING GUIDELINES

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Yesterday, I announced that we would be extending our social distance guidelines through the end of April. This is based on modeling that shows the peak in fatalities will not arrive for another two weeks. The same modeling also shows that by very vigorously following these guidelines, we could save more than one million American lives.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Every one of us has a role to play in winning this war. Every citizen, family, and business can make the difference in stopping the virus. This is our shared patriotic duty. Challenging times are ahead for the next 30 days.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “The more we dedicate ourselves today, the more quickly we will emerge on the other side of the crisis.”

NEW FLEXIBILITIES FOR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS AND PATIENTS

CMS ADMINISTRATOR VERMA: “There are several components to our announcement today, but the first one is CMS’ ‘Hospitals Without Walls.’ And this is going to allow hospital systems to create new treatment sites outside of their facility, to expand capacity and be able to safely separate patients that are infected with the coronavirus and those that are not.”

CMS ADMINISTRATOR VERMA: “We are also making changes to the Medicare program to facilitate testing. So, some people that need a coronavirus test can’t leave their home or patients that are in a nursing home. Now, we will pay for labs to go out to these locations and perform testing.”

CMS ADMINISTRATOR VERMA: “We are taking action today to relax some of our regulations to allow hospitals to increase their workforce, and we’re allowing a broad range of flexibilities so that we can let health care workers operate at the top of their license.”

CMS ADMINISTRATOR VERMA: “We are also allowing our hospitals to provide more support for our health care workers. Under today’s regulations, they can only provide minimal support to health care workers, but now we’re going to allow them to provide child care, meals, laundry services, and then there’s also telehealth.”

CMS ADMINISTRATOR VERMA: “We’re going to be paying for doctors to make phone calls with their patients and provide care over the phone, and we’re getting rid of longstanding barriers to telehealth and the Medicare program, allowing emergency rooms to use telehealth and eliminating requirements that some visits be provided face-to-face.”

MEDICAL SUPPLIES

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “In addition to the 8100 ventilators that we’ve already delivered over the next 48 hours, we’re delivering more than 1000. We’re going — 400 ventilators are going to Michigan, very shortly, 300 going to New Jersey, 150 ventilators to Illinois, 150 to Louisiana, and 50 to Connecticut.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “FEMA and HHS already delivered 11.6 million N-95 respirators, 26 million surgical masks, 5.3 million face shields, 4.4 million surgical gowns, and 22 million gloves.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “The FDA has also authorized the Battelle’s N-95 respirator mask sterilization kits. It’s an incredible thing … Each machine now can disinfect 120,000 masks per day – now, think of that.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “More than 14,000 National Guard members have been activated and can help supplement state and local efforts to distribute personal protective equipment.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Ford just announced, just a little while ago, that they will produce along with General Electric Healthcare, 50,000 ventilators, and they’re going to be doing it in less than 100 days. On top of that, we have other companies that are doing ventilators, including General Motors.”

THERAPEUTICS

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “30 million doses of the hydroxychloroquine to the United States government has been given. And Bayer has donated one million doses of the chloroquine which will soon be distributed to states and state health officials around the country. Teva Pharmaceuticals is also donating 6 million doses of hydroxychloroquine to U.S. hospitals.”

ASSISTANCE FOR NEW YORK

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “In New York the 2,900 bed hospital under construction which is now completed, they completed it in three days.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Nearly 3,000 medical beds will become operational. The U.S. Navy ship Comfort also arrived today, equipped with 12 operating rooms and 1,000 hospital beds. Work has begun on additional temporary hospital sites.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “We’re sending 60 ambulances to New York City today.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “FEMA has obligated more than $1.3 [billion] in federal support to the state of New York. So, we’re spending a lot of money in New York.”

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