HIGHLIGHTS | President Trump and the Coronavirus Task Force WHO Funding

THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Today, I’m instructing my administration to halt funding of the world health organization while a review is conducted to assess the World Health Organization’s role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “American taxpayers provide between $400 million and $500 million per year to the WHO. China contributes roughly $40 million a year, and even less. As the organization’s leading sponsor, the United States has a duty to insist upon full accountability.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have deep concerns whether America’s generosity has been put to the best use possible.” PRESIDENT TRUMP: “One of the most dangerous and costly decisions from the WHO was its disastrous decision to oppose travel restrictions from China and other nations. They were very much opposed to what we did. … The decision of other major countries to keep travel open was one of the great tragedies and missed opportunities from the early days.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Had the WHO done its job to get medical experts into China to objectively assess the situation on the ground, and to call out China’s lack of transparency, the outbreak could have been contained at a source with very little death.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “The WHO’s reliance on China’s disclosures likely caused a 20-fold increase in cases worldwide, and it may be much more than that.”

THE ECONOMY

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “As we prepare for the next phase of this great struggle, we must also do everything in our power to restore prosperity for the American worker. There’s tremendous interest and excitement surrounding the administration’s efforts to get the economy roaring once again.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “We look forward to speaking with many industry leaders, seeking their input on how we can return to what was until very recently the greatest economy anywhere in the world.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “I will be speaking to all 50 governors very shortly, and I will then be authorizing each individual governor of each individual state to implement a re-opening and a very powerful reopening plan of their state at a time and in a manner, as most appropriate.”

VENTILATORS

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Today, we are taking further action to maximize our oversupply and available ventilators. … I’m pleased to announce that my administration is partnering with hospitals across the country to create an innovative new system called the Dynamic Ventilator Reserve so that we’re going to have tremendous numbers of ventilators that we’re able to help
our states with at a later date if there’s ever a problem like this, which we hope to God will never happen again.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “There are more than 60,000 ventilators at hospitals and other health care facilities that are not in use at this moment.” PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Due to our early and aggressive action, the skill of our health care workers and the resilience of our health care system, no hospital in America has been forced to deny any patient access to a ventilator. … I instructed my team to move heaven and earth to make sure that this didn’t happen.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Last year, America manufactured from a dead start, 30,000 ventilators, and this year, the number will be over 150,000 ventilators, it could be as high as 200,000, far more than we’ll ever need.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “In addition to that, we have 10,000 ventilators right now in the federal stockpile ready to move should we need them.”

TESTING

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “As we continue our medical war against the virus, the FDA has now authorized the first test developed by researchers from Rutgers University that can use saliva from patients, it’s the first one.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “These tests can be self-administered by patients in healthcare settings, which will reduce exposure for medical workers and save personal protective equipment. Rutgers will begin processing 10,000 tests daily.”

ICU CAPACITY

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “The United States has far more ICU beds per capita than any other nation. We have 34.7 ICU beds per 100,000 people, which is the best there is.”

AIRLINES

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “I’d like to begin by saying that we just reached agreement, the Secretary of Treasury, Steve Mnuchin, with the major airlines – all of our great airlines – to participate in a payroll support program. This agreement will fully support airline industry workers, preserve the vital role airlines play in our economy, and protect taxpayers.”

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