The History of the Covid-19 pandemic
This is a CoronaVirus Timeline gleaned from a combination of CBS News, Fox News, BBC, and a few less known news agencies. All of the statistics herein were fact checked against the ever reliable, unbiased, Reuters News Feed.
Reuters is an international 'news' organization based in London. It employs more than 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists around the world.
In 2008, Reuters was purchased by the Thomson Corporation. Thomson is a massive media corporation that has divisions in media, marketing, corporate training, college textbooks, reference books, health care analytics, database solutions, bank and financial institution products, legal investigation products, media software, etc. Reuters has the highest 'accuracy score' of all news publications. They track almost dead center on 'bias score', showing neither left-nor right-wing bias.
Some additional fact-checking was done through Quora.com, and FactCheck.org, both of which have minimal political bias.
This article was completed on April 28, 2020, and revised on July 5, 2020. By the time you read this, there will probably be evidence that much more information was available before the end of 2019.
Dec. 31, 2019:
the government in Wuhan, China, confirmed that health authorities were treating dozens of cases of Pneumonia. Days later, researchers in China identified a new virus that had infected dozens of people in Asia. At the time, no documented evidence existed that the virus was readily spread by humans. Health officials in China said they were monitoring it to prevent the outbreak from developing into something more severe.
January 2, 2020:
Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told the National Security Council that The U.S. government had information about what they believed to be a novel coronavirus. The National Security Council worked around the clock to try to understand the new virus. During the rest of January, The N.S.C. sent numerous urgent messages directly to president Trump. No action was taken by the White House. The N.S.C. received no response.
{comment by R.M.B..."Most likely, Trump never read any of the messages"}
Jan. 11:
Chinese state media reported the first known death from an illness caused by the virus, which had infected dozens of people. The 61-year-old man who died was a regular customer at the market in Wuhan, . The report of his death came just before one of China's biggest holidays, when hundreds of millions of people travel across the country.
January 20: 1 case confirmed in U.S.
First confirmed U.S. case of coronavirus announced in Washington state. A man in his 30s developed symptoms after returning from a trip to Wuhan.
January 22:
Trump: [to CBS News White House correspondent Paula Reid in Davos, Switzerland.] "We have it totally under control. It's one person coming in from China. We have it under control. It's going to be just fine." "And we're prepared, and we're doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away."
{comment: Yes, those were his exact words, captured on video by three news agencies.}
January 23:
The Chinese authorities closed off Wuhan by canceling planes and trains leaving the city, and suspending buses, subways and ferries within it. At this point, at least 17 people had died and more than 570 others had been infected, including in Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, South Korea and the United States.
January 24: 2 cases confirmed in U.S.
Trump: [Twitter] "China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!"
January 29: 5 cases confirmed in U.S.
Trump: [Twitter] "Just received a briefing on the Coronavirus in China from all of our GREAT agencies, who are also working closely with China. We will continue to monitor the ongoing developments. We have the best experts anywhere in the world, and they are on top of it 24/7!"
January 30: 7 cases confirmed in U.S.
The World Health Organization declares coronavirus 'a public-health emergency of international concern'.
Trump: [speech at a Michigan manufacturing plant.] "We think we have it very well under control. We have very little problem in this country at this moment - five - and those people are all recuperating successfully. But we're working very closely with China and other countries, and we think it's going to have a very good ending for us - that I can assure you."
January 31: 8 cases confirmed in U.S.
President Trump bars travelers from China, and U.S. declares a public health emergency.
Feb. 5: 11 cases confirmed in U.S.
President Trump is acquitted after impeachment trial in the Senate.
Feb. 5:
After a two-week trip to Southeast Asia, more than 3,600 passengers began a quarantine aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama, Japan
Feb. 7: 11 confirmed cases in U.S.
Trump [twitter]: "Just had a long and very good conversation by phone with President Xi of China. He is strong, sharp and powerfully focused on leading the counterattack on the Coronavirus. He feels they are doing very well, even building hospitals in a matter of only days. Nothing is easy, but......he will be successful, especially as the weather starts to warm & the virus hopefully becomes weaker, and then gone. Great discipline is taking place in China, as President Xi strongly leads what will be a very successful operation. We are working closely with China to help!"
A Chinese doctor, Dr. Li Wenliang, who tried to raise the alarm died, after contracting the coronavirus. He was hailed as a hero by many for trying to ring early alarms that infections could spin out of control..
Feb. 10: 12 confirmed cases in U.S.
Trump: [White House meeting with governors.] "I had a long talk with President Xi - for the people in this room - two nights ago, and he feels very confident. He feels very confident. And he feels that, again, as I mentioned, by April or during the month of April, the heat, generally speaking, kills this kind of virus,"
February 11:
The World Health Organization proposed an official name for the disease the virus coronavirus causes: Covid-19, an acronym that stands for coronavirus disease 2019.
February 12: Worldwide cases- 44653.
Dow Jones Industrial Average peaks at 29568.57
February 14:
France announces the first coronavirus death in Europe. An 80-year-old Chinese tourist died at a hospital in Paris,
February 21:
Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a secretive church in South Korea was linked to a surge of infections in the country. The number of confirmed cases in the country rose above 200, and more than 400 other church members reported potential symptoms. As a result, the government shut down thousands of kindergartens, nursing homes and community centers, and put a stop to political rallies in the capital, Seoul.
Feb. 23: 51 confirmed cases in U.S.
Trump: "We're very much involved. We're very - very cognizant of everything going on. We have it very much under control in this country," the president told reporters, in front of cameras in response to a question about whether he had been updated on the coronavirus.
Feb. 24: 51 confirmed cases in U.S.
Dow Jones Industrial Average drops 1000 points
[News Conference before departure to India:]
Q: "Have you been updated on the coronavirus, sir?"
Trump: "Yeah, we're very much involved. We're very - very cognizant of everything going on. We have it very much under control in this country."
Q: "Are you concerned for that virus expansion in Japan?"
Trump: Well, it's a big - it's a big situation going on throughout the world. And I can say, the United States, we've very much closed our doors in certain areas, in about certain areas, through certain areas. And we'll see what happens. But we have the greatest doctors in the world. We have it very much under control."
Remarks Before Helicopter Departure
Trump [Twitter]: "The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!"
{me: Trump appars oblivious to the fact that the Dow just tanked}
February 25: 57 confirmed cases in U.S.
Trump: [press conference on his trip to India.] "You may ask about the coronavirus, which is very well under control in our country. We have very few people with it, and the people that have it are - in all cases, I have not heard anything other,"
Feb. 26: 58 confirmed cases in U.S. Latin America reports first case.
Trump: [Coronavirus Task Force Press briefing at the White House.] "I want you to understand something that shocked me when I saw it that - and I spoke with Dr. Fauci on this, and I was really amazed, and I think most people are amazed to hear it: The flu, in our country, kills from 25,000 people to 69,000 people a year. That was shocking to me. And, so far, if you look at what we have with the 15 people and their recovery, one is - one is pretty sick but hopefully will recover, but the others are in great shape. But think of that: 25,000 to 69,000. ... "And again, when you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that's a pretty good job we've done,"
Dr. Fauci: The death rate from seasonal flu on average is about 0.1% (worldwide). In China, at this time, the death rate from Covid-19 is between 2.0% and 4.0%, depending on region. [A.P. Fact check]
February 27: 60 confirmed cases in U.S.
Trump: [White House meeting with African-American leaders.] "It's going to disappear. One day it's like a miracle, it will disappear,"
Feb. 28: Infections in Europe spike. Sub-Saharan Africa records first infection.
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Feb. 29: 74 confirmed cases in U.S.
Trump: [Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland.] "And we've done a great job. And I've gotten to know these professionals. They're incredible. And everything is under control. I mean, they're very, very cool. They've done it, and they've done it well. Everything is really under control."
One attendee from that event later tested positive, and lawmakers who attended went under self-quarantine.
First coronavirus death in the U.S. on this day
Trump: [Coronavirus Task Force Press briefing at the White House.] "We've taken the most aggressive actions to confront the coronavirus. They are the most aggressive taken by any country and we're the number one travel destination anywhere in the world, yet we have far fewer cases of the disease then even countries with much less travel or a much smaller population."
March 4: 217 confirmed cases in U.S.
Trump: [White House meeting with airline executives.] "Yeah, I think where these people are flying, it's safe to fly. And large portions of the world are very safe to fly. So we don't want to say anything other than that. And we have closed down certain sections of the world, frankly, and they've sort of automatically closed them also. They'll understand that and they understand it better, perhaps, than anybody. Yes, it's safe."
Trump: "Some people will have this at a very light level and won't even go to a doctor or hospital, and they'll get better. There are many people like that."
March 6: 402 confirmed cases in U.S.
Trump: [Twitter] "Anybody that wants a test can get a test. ... The tests are all perfect, like the letter was perfect, the transcription was perfect, right?" [C.D.C. headquarters in Atlanta.]
March 9: 605 confirmed cases across 34 states.
Six states have declared a state of emergency. 22 deaths have been reported nationwide
Trump: [Twitter] "So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!"
Trump: [Twitter] "The Fake News Media and their partner, the Democrat Party, is doing everything within its semi-considerable power ... to inflame the CoronaVirus situation."
March 10: 1,300 confirmed cases in U.S.
Trump: [Meeting with Republican Senators] "We're prepared, and we're doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away."
Trump: [Capitol Hill after meeting with Republican senators.] "Well, this was unexpected. This was something that came out of China, and it hit us and many other countries. You look at the numbers; I see the numbers with just by watching you folks. I see it - it's over 100 different countries. And it hit the world. And we're prepared, and we're doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away,"
March 11: 1,700 confirmed cases in U.S.
The World Health Organization declares a pandemic of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The same week, the situation in the U.S. became more fraught. Stock markets continued to rapidly decline, and the U.S. death count began to double every few days. Cities worldwide asked their residents to quarantine at home and practice social distancing.
Trump: [Televised Oval Office address to the nation.] "To keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days. The new rules will go into effect Friday at midnight. These restrictions will be adjusted subject to conditions on the ground."
March 12: 2,200 confirmed cases in U.S.
[R.M.B.] With the situation in the U.S. becoming more dire, Trump shifts his tone and tries to paint himself as having taken the virus seriously from the start. By the end of the week, he had declared a national emergency and backtracked on many of his earlier remarks.
Trump: [meeting with Irish prime minister at White House.] "I mean, think of it: The United States, because of what I did and what the administration did with China, we have 32 deaths at this point. Other countries that are smaller countries have many, many deaths. Thirty-two is a lot. Thirty-two is too many. But when you look at the kind of numbers that you're seeing coming out of other countries, it's pretty amazing when you think of it. So, that's it."
By this time, 24 states had declared a state of emergency due to coronavirus.
Arizona-March 12, New Mexico-March 12, Louisiana-March 12, Arkansas-March 12, Washington DC-March 12, Michigan - March 10, Vermont-March 10, North Carolina-March 10, Massachusetts-March 10, Colorado-March 10, Ohio-March 9, Illinois-March 9, Rhode island-March 9, New Jersey-March 9, Oregon-March 8, New York-March 7, Pennsylvania-March 6, Utah-March 6, Kentucky-March 6, Indiana-March 6, Hawaii-March 5, Maryland-March 5, California-March 4, Florida-March 1, Washington state-Feb. 29
March 12:
[AXIOS] Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testified at a House hearing Thursday that the current system of making coronavirus testing available in the U.S. is not set up in a way that we need it to be. [Ref: Fauci contradicts Trump] Fauci's testimony directly contradicted comments made by President Trump, who told reporters in the Oval Office Thursday that "testing has been going very smooth." But less than 10,000 Americans have been tested, according to lawmakers, far fewer than in other countries like South Korea - which is testing 20,000 people per day.
Fauci: [quoted in AXIOS] "The system is not really geared to what we need right now, what you are asking for. That is a failing. Let's admit it. The fact is, the way the system was set up, the public health component that Dr. Redfield was talking about, was a system where you put it out there in the public and a physician asks for it and you get it. The idea of anybody getting it easily the way people in other countries are doing it - we're not set up for that. Do I think we should be? Yes. But we're not."
March 13: 2,700 confirmed cases in U.S. Trump declares national emergency
Trump: [Rose Garden press conference.] "We have 40 people right now. Forty. Compare that with other countries that have many, many times that amount. And one of the reasons we have 40 and others have - and, again, that number is going up, just so you understand. And a number of cases, which are very small, relatively speaking - it's going up. But we've done a great job because we acted quickly. We acted early. And there's nothing we could have done that was better than closing our borders to highly infected areas."
March 14: 2726 confirmed cases in the U.S. Deaths- 54
Trump: [news conference] "We're using the full power of the federal government to defeat the virus, and that's what we've been doing."
The market jumps 2000 points on the news of the national emergency declaration.
March 15:
Trump: [news conference] "This is a very contagious virus. It's incredible. But it's something that we have tremendous control over."
March 16: 6,400 confirmed cases in U.S.
Trump announces new social distancing guidelines, says outbreak could last until July or August
Trump: [White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing.] "I've spoken actually with my son. He says, 'How bad is this?' It's bad. It's bad. But we're going to - we're going to be, hopefully, a best case, not a worst case. And that's what we're working for." "They think August, it could be July," "Could be longer than that."
March 17:
Trump: [News conference] "I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic."
March 18:
Trump: [Twitter] "I always treated the Chinese Virus very seriously, and have done a very good job from the beginning, including my very early decision to close the 'borders' from China - against the wishes of almost all."
March 19: 13680 cases, 200 dead.
Trump: [News conference] "We took the best economy we've ever had and we said 'Stop. You can't work. You have to stay home.' ... Here's a case we're paying a lot of money to stop things because we don't want people to be together so that this virus doesn't continue onward." Meanwhile, C.D.C. data shows young people are a large percentage of coronavirus hospitalizations.
March 23: 43667 cases, 552 dead.
The market has dropped lower than it was when Trump took office. Dow-18592
Trump: [News conference] "America will again, and soon, be open for business - very soon - a lot sooner than three or four months that somebody was suggesting. ... We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself."
March 24: 65,800 confirmed cases in U.S.
Trump: [Fox News town hall.] "I would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter," [Speaking of easing social distancing guidelines in parts of the country] "I think Easter Sunday - you'll have packed churches all over our country."
Trump: [White House Coronavirus Task Force Press briefing.] "There is tremendous hope as we look forward and we begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel."
March 26: cases-83,836, deaths-1209
Trump: [Fox News interview] "I don't believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators. You know, you go into major hospitals sometimes they'll have two ventilators, and now all of a sudden they're saying, 'Can we order 30,000 ventilators?'"
March 28: cases- 121,478, deaths- 2026 more cases than any other country.
Trump: [Twitter] "WE WILL WIN THIS WAR. When we achieve this victory, we will emerge stronger and more united than ever before!"
March 29:[News conference] "Nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won."
March 29: 161,800 confirmed cases in U.S.
Trump: [White House Rose Garden press conference.] "The better you do, the faster this whole nightmare will end. Therefore, we will be extending our guidelines to April 30th to slow the spread. ... We can expect that, by June 1st, we will be well on our way to recovery. We think, by June 1st, a lot of great things will be happening."
March 31: 213,400 confirmed cases in U.S.
Trump: [White House Coronavirus Task Force Briefing.] "This could be a hell of a bad two weeks. This is gonna be a very bad two - or maybe even three - weeks," "This is going to be three weeks like we haven't seen before."
"But it's not the flu. It's vicious. When you send a friend to the hospital and you call up to find out, how is he doing, it happened to me. Where he goes to the hospital, he says goodbye, sort of a tough guy, little older, little heavier than he'd like to be, frankly. And you call up the next day, 'how's he doing?' And he's in a coma? This is not the flu."
April 3: 273,880 confirmed cases in U.S.
Trump says his administration is now recommending Americans wear "non-medical cloth" face coverings, a reversal of previous guidance that suggested masks were unnecessary for people who weren't sick. Trump: [White House Coronavirus Task Force Briefing.] "I said it was going away - and it is going away."
April 8:
China reopens Wuhan after a 76-day lockdown.
April 15: US: W. H. O. Defunded
President Donald Trump has suspended US funding to the World Health Organization over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. He accused the organization of spreading "disinformation" about the virus. Trump: [White House news conference] "The World Health Organization failed in this basic duty and must be held accountable," This is despite the W.H.O. declaring a global health emergency at the end of January. (If you remember, Trump was still calling the pandemic a hoax at the end of February.)
April 21: Rick Bright, Director, HHS Biomedical Advanced R & D Abruptly Dismissed
Rick Bright, one of the nation's leading vaccine development experts and the director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, is no longer leading the organization, officials told news agencies. The shakeup at the agency, known as BARDA, couldn't come at a more inopportune time for the office, which invests in drugs, devices, and other technologies that help address infectious disease outbreaks and which has been at the center of the government's coronavirus pandemic response. Bright is an international expert on vaccines with a lengthy work history in the field. Dr. Bright began his career in influenza vaccine and therapeutics development during a nine year combined tenure at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Influenza Division. At the CDC, he focused on avian and human influenza viruses from multiple perspectives including immunology and vaccine development, viral pathogenesis and molecular correlates of pathogenicity, as well as antiviral drugs and the development novel assays for high throughput surveillance for resistance to antiviral drugs. Dr. Bright was a recipient of the Charles C. Shepard Science Award for Scientific Excellence. Bright's departure was confirmed by three industry sources and two current Trump administration sources. [info at: Rick Bright Dismissed after Disagreement with Trump
April 23:
the US Department of Health and Human Services (HSS)' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) director Rick Bright was moved to a job in the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Bright says he was removed from his job for opposing the hydroxychloroquine treatment promoted by Trump. Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel prize-winning economist: "Trump's botched handling of the Covid-19 crisis has left the US looking like a third world country and on course for a second Great Depression."
April 24:
Dr. Bright has now filed a whistleblower complaint against HHS for removing him from his directorship at HHS, which he claims was politically motivated. In a statement published by CNN, Bright wrote: "I believe this transfer was in response to my insistence that the government invest the billions of dollars allocated by Congress to address the Covid-19 pandemic into safe and scientifically vetted solutions, and not in drugs, vaccines and other technologies that lack scientific merit. I am speaking out because to combat this deadly virus, science - not politics or cronyism - has to lead the way." He particularly singled out his questioning of antimalarial drug, hydroxychloroquine, a drug that President Trump has described as a 'game changer' despite limited evidence suggesting it is safe and effective for Covid-19 patients.
April 27:
The Trump-for-President campaign releases a detailed timeline praising Donald Trump for his "tireless work to combat the coronavirus and provide economic relief to affected Americans. Time-line of Trumps handling of Covid-19 Notice that few of the points involve anything that Donald Trump accomplished personally, and most of the financial help came about through appropriation bills passed by congress.
May 1: House panel: White House blocks Fauci testimony on coronavirus.
Fauci not allowed to testify in House of Representatives regarding Covid-19
[AXIOS]: The Trump administration has blocked Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, from testifying on the coronavirus pandemic.
Why it matters: Fauci has often given Americans a reality check on the administration's response to the coronavirus and has garnered bipartisan credibility for his straight-forward approach to the crisis.
Flashback: [March 12:] Fauci testified in March that America's system of making coronavirus tests available is not set up in a way it needs to be.
U.S. coronavirus testing system is not "geared to what we need
May 5: Rick Bright with new Whistleblower Report
Rick Bright claims that top administration officials repeatedly pressured him to steer millions of dollars in contracts to the clients of a well-connected consultant. He claims in a formal whistle-blower complaint that he had been protesting "cronyism" and contract abuse since 2017.
"Questionable contracts have gone to "companies with political connections to the administration," the complaint said, including a drug company tied to a friend of Jared Kushner's. It said Dr. Bright was retaliated against by his superiors, who pushed him out because of "his efforts to prioritize science and safety over political expediency."
The 89-page complaint, filed with the Office of Special Counsel, also said Dr. Bright "encountered opposition" from department superiors - including Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II - when he pushed as early as January for the necessary resources to develop drugs and vaccines to counter the emerging coronavirus pandemic.
May 6: Trump Dismisses Top Scientist Rick Bright As 'Disgruntled Employee'
Trump: Bright "seems like a disgruntled employee who's trying to help the Democrats win an election." "I never met him, I know nothing about him," "I don't think 'disgruntled people' should work for this administration.
May 7: [AP] Release of C.D.C. Re-opening Plan Blocked by White House
A set of detailed documents created by the nation's top disease investigators meant to give step-by-step advice to local leaders deciding when and how to reopen public places such as mass transit, day care centers and restaurants during the still-raging pandemic has been shelved by the Trump administration. It was supposed to be published last Friday, but agency scientists were told the guidance "would never see the light of day," according to a CDC official. The official was not authorized to talk to reporters and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
MaY 8: CoronaVirus strikes White House
[White House Memo] Two White House Coronavirus Cases Raise Question of if Anyone Is Really Safe. (77000+ Deaths)
Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary tested positive for the virus on Friday, forcing a delay in the departure of Air Force Two while a half-dozen other members of his staff were taken off the plane for further testing. That came only a day after word that one of the president's own military valets had been infected. States and employers are wrestling with when and how to reopen without putting workers, customers and clients at risk.
May 11: [3:25 PM,] [Deaths in the U.S.: 79,606
[Associated Press] Washington: The White House is increasingly looking like an imperfect microcosm of the challenges that all Americans face in keeping the coronavirus at bay as huge swaths of the nation move to reopen.
Trump: "we have met the moment and we have prevailed." At the briefing, trump claimed the U.S. "in the span of just a few short weeks, we've developed a testing capacity unmatched and unrivaled anywhere in the world, and it's not even close." "and over 9 million (tests) have been performed here in the U. S." ( more unsubstantiated claims. Then walks out after confrontation with female journalists.)
Covid-19 Testing Announcement
trump-testing-better-Than-countries-combined
May 12: Testimony to H.H.S. Senate Committee
Redfield, Hahn, Fauci and the assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services Brett Giroir are all testifying before the Senate Health Committee by video conference. https://cnn.it/2WNqisG
May 14: WASHINGTON
President Trump has embarked on an aggressive new drive to rewrite the narrative of the Russia investigation by making dark and unsubstantiated accusations that former President Barack Obama masterminded a sinister plot to bring him down. On Twitter, on television, in the Rose Garden and even on an official White House social media page, Trump has taken aim at Obama in a way that no sitting president has in modern times, accusing him of UNDEFINED and UNSPECIFIED crimes under the vague but politically charged catchphrase "OBAMAGATE."
ref: Trump Turns to an Old Ploy - Blame Obama
Asked if he believed that Mr. Obama directed American intelligence agencies to spy on him, Mr. Trump agreed, WITHOUT EVIDENCE. Disagrees with Fauchi also.
May 27: [The New York Times]
The number of confirmed virus deaths in the U.S. has surpassed 100,000. The United States has had 28 percent of global deaths despite having only 4 percent of the world's population.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said she would require public school districts to spend virus rescue funding on private school students, regardless of income.
June 24: President Trump, at a Rally in Oklahoma
"So I said to my people, 'Slow the testing down, please'." Documentation reveals that he actually did say that to "his people". At the same rally, he claims in essence that testing in the U.S. is better than in any other country, while statistical data reveals that the U.S. is behind at least 8 other countries in percent of people tested.
(documented on video tape....: [ Trump says he wanted to slow the testing down" ]
June 25: Rick Bright Accuses HHS Secretary of ongoing retaliation
Ousted Health and Human Services scientist Rick Bright is accusing HHS Secretary Alex Azar of continuing to retaliate against him in his new position at the National Institutes of Health. In early May, Bright filed a whistleblower complaint alleging he was removed from his original role after he pushed to vet and to limit drug treatments often touted by President Trump.
In an amended whistleblower complaint, Bright claimed that Dr. Gary Disbrow, who replaced Bright in an acting capacity as head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), told an HHS employee that Azar said "if anyone were to help Dr. Bright be successful, 'there would be hell to pay.'"
Disbrow, with whom Bright said he had a "positive relationship for nearly ten years," reportedly told the employee that "Azar's staff was 'watching them closely.'" Bright has repeatedly linked his removal from BARDA to his stance on chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine. Bright said the drugs were "promoted by the Administration as a panacea, but...clearly lack scientific merit."
June 26: 44,702 new cases
Today the United States registered 44,702 new coronavirus cases, a single-day record. Six states-- Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Idaho, and Utah-- also set new single-day highs. In an attempt to stop the spread of the virus, officials in Florida and Texas, where governors have been aggressive about reopening, have both reversed course, announcing that bars must close immediately.
July 4: 2.8 million cases, 129,000 deaths in U.S.A.
President Trump: "U.S. has now tested almost 40 million people for coronavirus, and by so doing, we show cases - 99% of which are totally harmless."
"Results that no other country can show because no country has testing that we have, not in terms of the numbers or in terms of the quality."
"Now we're getting close to fighting our way out of it,"
But the World Health Organization asserted: "The GLOBAL FATALITY RATE is likely less than 1%, but about 20% of all people who are diagnosed with coronavirus are sick enough to need oxygen or hospital care." Mr. Trump is insinuating falsely that The we have statistics to show that 99% of U.S. Covid-19 cases are totally harmless, although the White House Corona-virus Task Force refused to corroborate those claims. Meanwhile, we had 50,000 plus new cases in a single day, and our rate is higher than the next three countries combined.
July 28, 2020 Latest from trump on Hydroxychloroquine
Hours ago, Trump re-tweeted complaints about being censored by Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. He is upset that they have taken down a video that he and his son Donald Jr. shared showing a Texas doctor claiming hydroxychloroqine is a cure for coronavirus. In the same video, the doctor dismisses studies critical of the drug as "fake science" The video originated from Breitbart News.
Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter removed the video on the grounds that it was spreading misinformation about the drug, and cited the fact that the F.D.A. has determined that the drug is "not an effective treatment for coronavirus"
Trump in his complaints refers to a two-month old study by Yale doctor Harvey Risch, a professor of epidemiology as well as the director of that school's Molecular Cancer Epidemiology Laboratory. The claims he makes, however, have since been proven false by Cleveland Clinic controlled studies of Hydroxychloroquine.
On May 18, Steven Salzberg in Forbes Magazine, published an article showing that Both Trump and the Yale doctor had been duped about Hydroxychloroquine by a French science star and his deeply flawed study. More information on this can be found here In the Forbes article.
Editor's Comment: Has Donald Trump finally completely lost it? Should we believe the words of a pathological liar with a batchelor's degree in economics, or a panel of medical doctors with 140+ total years of immunology experience? Personally, I'll go with the doctors on this one. I don't believe the doctors are involved in some sort of devious plot to overthrow the presidency or to fool the public for whatever reason the White House can conjure up. If anyone disagrees, please present some sort of evidence, or at least a plausible theory.
October 17, 2020: Coronavirus surges in Republican areas
8:49 AM: Adriana BelmonteˇSenior Editor, Yahoo Finance
There are 8 million confirmed U.S. cases of coronavirus, but President Trump disdains mask wearing and falsely claimed during a town hall this week that "85% of the people wearing masks catch Covid-19", despite becoming infected himself. At the same time, Republican-leaning areas of the U.S. are now experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases.
December 16, 2020: U.S. has dismal response to Coronavirus
Daily Coronavirus cases per million residents
The U.S. as well as most European countries experienced a resurgence in Covid-19 cases this fall. But other countries responded to that surge with mask mandates, and increases in rapid-result testing. Overall, those measures have helped to reduce the number of new cases, in some instances, over 50%. But in the U.S. new cases have risen over 50% over the past month... worse than any other country...
The causes are no mystery. The U.S. still lacks a coherent testing strategy, and many states continue to defy basic health advice. One example is Mitchell, South Dakota, where deaths have spiked - including the loss of a beloved high school coach. But anti-mask protesters continue to reflect the White House attitude.
Wouldn't you think a rational leader would have seen the obvious logic?