{"id":98367,"date":"2020-03-31T00:50:26","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T07:50:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.46.6.243\/?p=98367"},"modified":"2020-03-31T00:50:26","modified_gmt":"2020-03-31T07:50:26","slug":"president-trump-members-of-the-coronavirus-task-force-march-30-press-briefing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=98367","title":{"rendered":"President Trump &#038; Members of the Coronavirus Task Force March 30 Press Briefing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Okay, thank you very much.  Thank you.  Very comfortable here.  A lot of room.  And we appreciate you being here. 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 1 million American lives.  Think of that: 1 million American lives.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/reyR9Wv8vjk\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Our future is in our own hands, and the choices and sacrifices we make will determine the fate of this virus and, really, the fate of our victory.  We will have a great victory.  We have no other choice.  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.<\/p>\n<p>Challenging times are ahead for the next 30 days, and this is a very vital 30 days.  We\u2019re sort of putting it all on the line, this 30 days.  So important because we have to get back.  But the more we dedicate ourselves today, the more quickly we will emerge on the other side of the crisis.  And that\u2019s the time we\u2019re waiting for.  The more we commit ourselves now, the sooner we can win the fight and return to our lives.  And they will be great lives \u2014 maybe better than ever.<\/p>\n<p>Today we reached a historic milestone in our war against the coronavirus.  Over 1 million Americans have now been tested \u2014 more than any other country, by far; not even close \u2014 and tested accurately.<\/p>\n<p>And I think what I\u2019d like to do is ask Secretary Azar, who\u2019s done a fantastic job, to come up and just say a few words about the fact that we reached substantially now more than 1 million tests.<\/p>\n<p>Please.  Thank you, Alex.<\/p>\n<p>SECRETARY AZAR:  Well, thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership in marshaling all the resources that we have for this unprecedented testing effort.  And thank you, Mr. Vice President, for leading a whole-of-economy approach to testing.<\/p>\n<p>As the President mentioned, today the United States hit more than 1 million samples tested \u2014 a number that no other country has reached.  We\u2019re now testing nearly 100,000 samples a day, also a level that no other country has reached.<\/p>\n<p>I want to thank every partner that has been involved in this effort.  That includes all of the men and women of the FDA and the CDC, including Director Redfield and Commissioner Hahn.  Together, the FDA and CDC have worked to balance the need for testing on an aggressive scale with the scientific rigor that Americans expect.<\/p>\n<p>Working with our testing coordinator, Admiral Giroir, they have now truly unleashed the ingenuity of the private sector and our state and local leaders, the centerpieces of America\u2019s historic approach to testing.<\/p>\n<p>I want to thank those state and local leaders who have used their on-the-ground resources and knowledge to lead testing and make it much more easily accessible to the Americans who need it.  I\u2019m also grateful to FEMA, with whom we are now working closely to get state and local partners what they need.<\/p>\n<p>I also want to thank CMS, where Administrator Verma has given healthcare providers unprecedented flexibility to scale up capacity for testing and treatment, and has ensured that tests will be paid for.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, we would not be where we are today without the many American companies, entrepreneurs, and scientists who have worked day and night to develop, as of today, 20 different emergency testing options.  With the FDA responding to request for authorization typically within 24 hours, the number of options is growing nearly every day.  FDA has also opened up new options for using the available tests, like self-swabbing and new options for reagents.<\/p>\n<p>I also want to thank FDA and other components of HHS for incredibly rapid action on other tools that we need.  This weekend, we actually worked to secure 30 million tablets from Sandoz and 1 million tablets from Bayer of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, which are potential COVID-19 treatments.  And we authorized Battelle\u2019s new decontamination machines, which can each sterilize thousands of essential N95 masks for reuse every day.<\/p>\n<p>So thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership and thank you to everybody who\u2019s played a part in getting us where we are today.  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d like to ask Dr. Hahn to come up \u2014 FDA \u2014 because we have some really good stuff.  First of all, the numbers have been incredible on testing, but in the days ahead, we\u2019re going to go even faster.  And we have something from Abbott Labs, which is right here, and that\u2019s a five-minute test, highly accurate.<\/p>\n<p>And I maybe can show that as we listen to our FDA Commissioner \u2014 the job he\u2019s done in the approval process.  We talked about the chloroquine and the hydroxychloroquine just now.  I thought that I\u2019d mention it, but Alex has already done that, but we have that now under test with 1,100 people in New York.  And it was only the fast approval by FDA that allowed us to do that.  It was a really rapid approval.<\/p>\n<p>And, Doctor, please say a few words.  And this is the first one on the line of the five-minute test from Abbott.<\/p>\n<p>DR. HAHN:  Thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership.  Thank you, Mr. Vice President, for your leadership of the task force.  I\u2019m very proud of FDA staff\u2019s work in the last few months to expedite the availability of testing in this country.  I\u2019m also incredibly appreciative of private industries\u2019 ingenuity and willingness to work with us quickly to develop and distribute those tests.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve had a substantial addition to testing with the authorization of point-of-care tests, especially the Abbott point-of-care test, which the President has pulled out of the box.<\/p>\n<p>A point-of-care test is a test that gives you a result where you\u2019re getting care.  This is truly a patient-centered approach \u2014 whether it\u2019s the doctor\u2019s office, a hospital, an emergency room, an urgent care center, or a drive-by testing site.<\/p>\n<p>Just like tests for flu or strep, where go to the doctor\u2019s and you can 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.  They\u2019re planning to scale up the number of tests that can be put out throughout the country over the next month.  And patients can get the answer within as little as 15 to 5 minutes.  And then, of course, an appropriate plan of treatment can be given.<\/p>\n<p>We at FDA are working quickly with Abbott, as well, and other testing approaches.  And normally these tests take months to develop.  I was on the phone today with the Abbott CEO.  He told me that normally this is a 9- to 12-month approach to developing a point-of-care test.  They did this in collaboration with FDA and U.S. government within weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Abbott has shared that they will be delivering these tests tomorrow and then will be ramping up.  I\u2019d just like to emphasize one thing: The most innovative and safe products come from the private sector in partnership with government, taking an all-hands-on-deck approach, just like in this case.  And the other point here is that Abbott and FDA worked together to make sure that we had a fast, reliable, and accurate test to market.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Doctor.  Great job too.  Really great job.  Thank you, Steve.<\/p>\n<p>So, the pharmaceutical company, Sandoz, has been working with us very closely.  And as Alex mentioned a little bit, 30 million doses of the hydroxychloroquine to the United States government has been given.  And Bayer has donated 1 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.  That\u2019s 6 million doses.<\/p>\n<p>So the private sector, as you\u2019d say, Steve, has been amazing, what\u2019s happened.  Really amazing.  And we\u2019re going to introduce you to some of the greatest business executives in the world today, no matter where you go, and they\u2019re going to say a little bit about what they\u2019re doing.  And then we have so many more.<\/p>\n<p>The FDA has also authorized the \u2014 Battelle\u2019s N95 respirator mask sterilization kits.  It\u2019s an incredible thing.  I\u2019ve been asking, \u201cWhy are we throwing these masks away?\u201d  You look at some of these masks and they\u2019re significant pieces of equipment.  And I say, \u201cHow come you throw them away?  Why aren\u2019t they using sterilization techniques?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And I got a call from Mike DeWine, the governor of Ohio \u2014 and he\u2019s a tremendous guy, a tremendous governor \u2014 and he said, \u201cWe have a company named Battelle, and they\u2019re having a hard time getting approval from the FDA.\u201d  And I called up Dr. Hahn, and within a very short period of time, they got the approval.  Steve, we really appreciate it.  I want to thank Mike and I want to thank Steve.<\/p>\n<p>And they\u2019re going to be able \u2014 each machine now can disinfect 120,000 masks per day.  Now, think of that.  Each machine can disinfect 120,000 masks per day.  It\u2019ll be just like a new one.  It can go up to about 20 times for each mask.  So each mask can go through this process 20 times.  And they have two in Ohio, one in New York, and one will soon be shipped to Seattle, Washington, and also to Washington, D.C.  So that\u2019s going to make a tremendous difference on the masks.<\/p>\n<p>This morning, I spoke to our nation\u2019s governors to help each state get the medical supplies they need.  And yesterday, Vice President Mike Pence asked our nation\u2019s hospitals to begin reporting total bed capacity, ICU bed capacity, ventilator capacity, and vital medical supply levels on a daily basis.  And, Mike, thank you for the great job.  Thank you very much.<\/p>\n<p>In New York, the 2,900-bed hospital under construction, which is now completed \u2014 they completed it in three days; you might say three and a half days \u2014 at the Javits Center will be completed today.  Will be \u2014 and when you look \u2014 so they\u2019re going up.  I think we\u2019re going to be adding some more beds, which will be completed today.<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019ve opened up \u2014 whoops, there goes our box.  And my hair is blowing around, and it\u2019s mine.  (Laughter.)  The one thing you can\u2019t get away with.  If it\u2019s not yours, you got a problem, if you\u2019re President.<\/p>\n<p>And 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, including a 600-bed capacity nursing home facility in Brooklyn, and numerous floors of a high-rise building on Wall Street.<\/p>\n<p>So it\u2019s been really pretty amazing what they\u2019ve done, and the Army Corps of Engineers, what they\u2019ve done.  They\u2019ve done \u2014 they just completed \u2014 think of it \u2014 a 2,900-bed hospital in New York in just about three days, maybe four days.  And the whole city is talking about it.<\/p>\n<p>On top of that, we floated in a great ship, which is going to be 1,000 rooms, which is being used for patients outside of what we\u2019re focused on.  And that will free up a lot of rooms for what we\u2019re focused on.  So, it\u2019s been great.<\/p>\n<p>The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded contracts for the construction of alternate care facilities, also, at the State University at Stony Brook, State University Old Westbury, and the Westchester Community Center.  We\u2019re sending 60 ambulances to New York City today.  We have a total of 60.  We\u2019re getting some additional ones, with up to 190 more to follow at different locations.<\/p>\n<p>To date, FEMA has obligated more than 1.3 million dollars \u2014 billion dollars in federal support to the State of New York.  So we\u2019re spending a lot of money in New York.  It\u2019s a hot \u2014 it\u2019s a hotbed.  There\u2019s no question about it.  And we\u2019re spending a lot of time, effort on New York, New Jersey.  Spoke with Governor Cuomo a lot.  Spoke with Governor Murphy a lot, in New Jersey.  And we\u2019re \u2014 we\u2019re really getting the job done.  People are very impressed, and I\u2019m very impressed by the people in FEMA, the people in the Army Corps of Engineers because what they\u2019ve done, I\u2019ve never seen anybody do anything like it.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the 8,100 ventilators that we\u2019ve already delivered over the next 48 hours, we\u2019re delivering more than 1,000.  We\u2019re going \u2014 400 ventilators are going to Michigan very shortly, 300 going to New Jersey, 150 ventilators to Illinois, 150 to Louisiana, and 50 to Connecticut.<\/p>\n<p>FEMA and HHS already delivered 11.6 million N95 respirators, 26 million surgical masks, 5.3 million face shields, 4.4 million surgical gowns, and 22 million gloves.<\/p>\n<p>And I don\u2019t know if you just saw it.  It just came over the wires that Ford just announced, just a little while ago, that they will produce, along with General Electric Healthcare, 50,000 ventilators, and they\u2019re going to be doing it in less than 100 days.<\/p>\n<p>On top of that, we have other companies that are doing ventilators, including General Motors.  But we have nine other companies doing ventilators.  As we outpace what we need, we\u2019re going to be sending them to Italy.  We\u2019re going to be sending them to France.  We\u2019re going to be sending them to Spain, where they have tremendous problems, and other countries as we \u2014 as we can.  But the fact that we\u2019re doing so many so quickly is a tribute to our great companies.<\/p>\n<p>More than 14,000 National Guard members have been activated and can help supplement state and local efforts to distribute personal protective equipment, where we\u2019re sending a lot.  We have planeloads coming in.  We have 51 loads from various locations all around the world, and they\u2019re landing.  We had our first big cargo plane land this morning, and we\u2019re getting it from all over the world.<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019re also sending things that we don\u2019t need to other parts.  I just spoke to the Prime Minister of Italy, and we have additional capacity.  We have additional product that we don\u2019t need.  We\u2019re going to be sending approximately 100 million dollars\u2019 worth of things \u2014 of surgical and medical and hospital things to Italy.  And Giuseppe was very, very happy \u2014 I will tell you that.  They\u2019re having a very hard time.<\/p>\n<p>Joining us this afternoon are CEOs of the great American companies that are fulfilling their patriotic duty by producing or donating medical equipment to help meet our most urgent needs.  What they\u2019re doing is incredible.  And these are great companies.<\/p>\n<p>Darius Adamczyk of Honeywell \u2014 you know that.  And Darius has been somebody that I\u2019ve dealt with in the past, and he\u2019s a great leader of a great company.<\/p>\n<p>Debra Waller of Jockey International.<\/p>\n<p>A friend of mine, Mike Lindell of MyPillow.  Boy, do you sell those pillows.  That\u2019s unbelievable what you do.<\/p>\n<p>David Taylor of Procter &#038; Gamble and Greg Hayes of United Technologies Corporation.<\/p>\n<p>And I just want to tell all of you that America is very grateful to you and what you\u2019ve done.  An amazing job you\u2019ve done, and we thank you very much.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d like you to come up and say a couple of words, if you might, about your companies.  Mike, come on up.  Come on up, fellas, please.  Come on up.  You have to say what you\u2019re doing because it\u2019s been really incredible.<\/p>\n<p>Go ahead, Mike.<\/p>\n<p>MR. LINDELL:  Okay, well, MyPillow is a U.S. vertically integrated company, which has been forced to adjust to the changing business environment as a result of the pandemic.  MyPillow\u2019s unique position as a U.S. company functions as a manufacturer, logistics management distributor, and direct-to-consumer.  Given our current business lines, we are experiencing the effects of this pandemic firsthand.<\/p>\n<p>What MyPillow has done \u2014 we\u2019ve established an internal task force, which is monitoring future needs of companies across the country as a result of this pandemic.  And given our position, we\u2019ve begun to research and develop new protocols to address the current and future needs of U.S. businesses across multiple sectors, how companies are going to prepare themselves when they once again open up, and changes to their current operations in order to adjust to future threats and pandemics.<\/p>\n<p>MyPillow has designated some of its call centers to help U.S. companies navigate the many issues that resulted from this pandemic.  We\u2019ve dedicated 75 percent of my manufacturing to produce cotton facemasks.  In three days, I was up to 10,000 a day.  By Friday, I want to be up to 50,000 a day.<\/p>\n<p>I proud to manufacture our products in the United States, and I\u2019m even more proud to be able to serve our nation in this great time of need.  Thank you, Mr. President, for your call to action when \u2014 which has empowered companies like MyPillow to help our nation win this invisible war.<\/p>\n<p>Now, I wrote something off the cuff, if I can read this.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Okay.<\/p>\n<p>MR. LINDELL:  (Laughs.)  God gave us grace on November 8th, 2016, to change the course we were on.  God had been taken out of our schools and lives.  A nation had turned its back on God.  And I encourage you: Use this time at home to get \u2014 home to get back in the Word, read our Bibles, and spend time with our families.<\/p>\n<p>Our President gave us so much hope where, just a few short months ago, we had the best economy, the lowest unemployment, and wages going up.  It was amazing.  With our great President, Vice President, and this administration and all the great people in this country praying daily, we will get through this and get back to a place that\u2019s stronger and safer than ever.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That\u2019s very nice.  Thank you very much.  Thank you, Mike.  Appreciate it.<\/p>\n<p>Please come on up.  I did not know he was going to do that, but he\u2019s a friend of mine, and I do appreciate it.  Thank you, Mike, very much.<\/p>\n<p>Please.<\/p>\n<p>MR. ADAMCZYK:  First of all, Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, the entire administration, and all the agencies, thank you for your strong leadership during this time of crisis.  It is noticed and it\u2019s making a difference.<\/p>\n<p>Second of all, I\u2019d like to say a big thank you to all the healthcare workers out there.  You\u2019re putting yourself in harm\u2019s way every day, and we really respect what you\u2019re doing, and we couldn\u2019t be thankful enough for it.  And I can tell you that more help is on the way.<\/p>\n<p>We, as Honeywell, we\u2019re an industrial technology company.  And one of the businesses that we\u2019re in: We protect the industrial worker.  But what we\u2019re doing today is we\u2019re repurposing a lot of that equipment to serve the healthcare worker.<\/p>\n<p>A few days ago, we announced the start-up of a new manufacturing facility in Rhode Island.  We\u2019re going to be hiring 500 employees.  We have already 200 onboard.  And we\u2019re going to be starting the production of N95 masks within the next two weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, today we\u2019re announcing the start-up of another manufacturing facility in Arizona.  We\u2019re going to be hiring another 500 people.  And we\u2019re going to be starting up production in that facility by the middle of May.  So, in total, we\u2019ve doubled our production of N95 masks already.  It\u2019s going to double again within the next 60 days.  And then within the next 90 days, we\u2019re going to have 5x the capacity we do today.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, we\u2019re going to be providing other safety equipment to support all the efforts going out.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, I\u2019ll say a big thank you to all the Honeywell employees, and also announce a $10 million fund for them, for all the hourly and administrative employees who are having a hard time during this time of crisis.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you, Mr. President.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  Fantastic.  Thank you.  Normally, I\u2019d shake his hand, but we\u2019re not supposed to do that anymore.  So, that\u2019s okay.  Great job.  Thank you to Honeywell.<\/p>\n<p>Please, go ahead.  Debra, please.<\/p>\n<p>MS. WALLER:  Thank you, Mr. President and Mr.  Vice President, on your guidance during this unprecedented time.  And I\u2019m very honored to be here today.  Founded by a minister 144 years ago, Jockey International is a family-owned company headquartered in Kenosha, Wisconsin.  Since 1876, we have been providing socks and underwear for generations of families.<\/p>\n<p>It is part of our DNA to roll up our sleeves and help our country in her time of need.  During World War Two, we made parachutes for the military.  And today, we are eager to serve this great country by providing support for the healthcare workers on the frontlines of this fight.  As the President and Vice President have said, it\u2019s a whole-of-America approach and we are committed.<\/p>\n<p>Jockey has had a longstanding partnership with Encompass Group, headquartered in Georgia, serving the healthcare community.  When we learned of the critical need for PPE, we knew we had to help.  That meant restarting production on tier three isolation gowns.  Monumental lifting by Jockey, Encompass, FEMA, and the FDA was done in just a few days to be production ready.  As a result, we expect to begin delivering 30- to 50,000 gowns per week, helping those that need it the most right now.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, this week we are also donating 10,000 units of scrubs to the frontline doctors and nurses at the Javits Convention Center in New York City.  We would not have been able to do this without the collaboration of the administration, representatives from the federal agencies, and Congressman Bryan Steil.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you very much, Mr. President and Mr. Vice \u2014 Mr. Vice President.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.<\/p>\n<p>MS. WALLER:  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Fantastic job.  Thank you very much.<\/p>\n<p>MR. TAYLOR:  Thank you, Mr. President and Mr. Vice President, for bringing us together today.  I\u2019m proud to be able to represent the men and women of Procter &#038; Gamble, who every day, 24 hours a day, are working to build and make essential cleaning products, hygiene products, and healthcare products for families everywhere.  These include healthcare workers and for institutions that are serving those on the frontline.<\/p>\n<p>P&#038;G people are the faces of brands you know and trust \u2014 brands like Tide, Pampers, Bounty, Charmin, Mr. Clean, and Vicks.  In addition to making, packing, and shipping these essential items, they\u2019ve worked together to transform our plants to make things we\u2019ve never made before, like hand sanitizers and facial masks.  Some of these are already getting to national, state, and local agencies.  Some of them are in the hospitals already.<\/p>\n<p>Everywhere around the world, PNG people are working every day to serve everybody \u2014 consumers.  And they\u2019re working together to bring together the full capability of our research and development, our engineering, our manufacturing, and our communications capability to make sure we make a difference to the consumers we serve and to all the audience that we can make a difference to.  I want to thank them and I\u2019m very grateful for what they do every day in service to others.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you, Mr. President, Mr. Vice President for bringing us together today.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Please.<\/p>\n<p>MR. HAYES:  Mr. President.  Good afternoon.  I\u2019m Greg Hayes from United Technologies, and on behalf of the 240,000 employees of United Technologies and the 70,000 employees at Raytheon, which will join together with UTC this Friday, I want to first of all say thank you to the President and the Vice President for your leadership during what is really a war.  It is a different war than anybody has ever fought before, but it\u2019s a war that we\u2019re uniquely qualified to help.<\/p>\n<p>As one of the world\u2019s largest defense contractors and some of the best technology, we\u2019re using that technology to try and solve some real-world problems.  Today, we\u2019re working with the Air Force to try and help pilots as they\u2019re moving medical evacuees with the COVID-19 virus, such that they can be protected and that the patients can be protected.<\/p>\n<p>Again, we\u2019re working also with logistics.  And if you think about a war, strategy is important, but logistics wins war.  It\u2019s \u2014 it\u2019s imperative, I think, with FEMA, along with the Mr. Navarro\u2019s office, that we coordinate all of these activities.  Last week, we donated about 90,000 pieces of personal protective equipment to FEMA.  Next week, we\u2019ll have another almost million.  Again, working through our supply chain partners around the world.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re also today \u2014 this week, beginning the manufacture of face shields.  Using the additive technologies that we have and the machines that we have available within UTC, we\u2019ll be able to produce approximately 10,000 shields in the next four weeks \u2014 again, all needed equipment.  We stand ready to help in any way we can.  We don\u2019t need the Defense Production Act to ask us to act.  All of the people at UTC and Raytheon are focused on this war and winning it.<\/p>\n<p>Again, I also want to say thank you to all of our employees for their work during this crisis, as well as to the frontline medical and other first responders.  Thank you very much.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  Thank you.  Fantastic.  Great company.  Those are great companies.  Thank you very much.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d like to ask Seema to come up and say a few words about what you\u2019re doing and what\u2019s happening and how positive it\u2019s been.  I really appreciate it.  Come on up, Seema Verma.<\/p>\n<p>ADMINISTRATOR VERMA:  Thank you, Mr. President.  And let me start by saying, I want to convey my deepest sympathies to those that have lost loved ones to the coronavirus.  We\u2019re all thinking of you.<\/p>\n<p>Today is Doctors\u2019 Day and, even without it, I want to send a message of gratitude to the foot soldiers in this war: men and women that are providing care and comfort to Americans that have been affected by the virus.  Your country is grateful.<\/p>\n<p>And, in short, as the President has said, we are engaged in a war against an invisible enemy.  In wartime, the assumptions of peacetime must be revisited and adjusted to meet the demands of the moment.  And so, under the President\u2019s leadership, CMS is waiving a wide and unprecedented range of regulatory requirements.  Now, many healthcare systems won\u2019t need these waivers and they shouldn\u2019t use them if they don\u2019t need them, but the flexibilities are there.<\/p>\n<p>In a time of crisis, regulations shouldn\u2019t stand in the way of patient care.  And there are several components to our announcement today, but the first one is CMS\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>Now, FEMA is doing incredible work, setting up temporary hospitals in New York and other areas.  But under these waivers, we are empowering local communities to complement and augment the work of FEMA and allowing hospital systems to tap into the capacity that already exists in their communities, making use of dorms and hotels or gymnasiums, and allowing the main hospital to focus on those that need the most intensive care.  There are surgery centers out there today that are delaying elective surgeries and they may have excess capacity that can be devoted to hospital-like care.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re also making changes to the Medicare program to facilitate testing.  So some people that need a coronavirus test can\u2019t leave their home or patients that are in a nursing home, and now we will pay for labs to go out to these locations and perform testing.<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019re also expanding the workforce.  We are taking action today to relax some of our regulations to allow hospitals to increase their workforce.  And we\u2019re allowing a broad range of flexibilities so that we can let healthcare workers operate at the top of their license.<\/p>\n<p>And we are also allowing our hospitals to give \u2014 to provide more support for our healthcare workers.  Under today\u2019s regulations, they can only provide minimal support to healthcare workers, but now we\u2019re going to allow them to provide child care, meals, laundry services.<\/p>\n<p>And then there\u2019s also telehealth.  The President already directed a dramatic expansion of telehealth to our nation\u2019s 62 million seniors with Medicare.  And we\u2019re so proud of all the healthcare \u2014 healthcare providers and patients that have rapidly implemented telehealth.<\/p>\n<p>But today, we\u2019re announcing that we\u2019re going to go even further and we\u2019re going to be paying for doctors to make phone calls with their patients and provide care over the phone.  And we\u2019re getting rid of longstanding barriers to telehealth in the Medicare program, allowing emergency rooms to use telehealth and eliminating requirements that some visits be provided face to face.<\/p>\n<p>And I also want to mention that, on Saturday, the President directed CMS to offer advance payments for healthcare providers that are experiencing cash-flow problems.  We know that many providers are complying with our recommendations to delay nonessential elective surgeries, and they shouldn\u2019t be penalized for doing the right thing.<\/p>\n<p>Now, I\u2019ve barely scratched the surface of all the flexibilities that we are offering healthcare workers and healthcare systems.  These flexibilities will provide a lot of flexibility from regulations that are ill suited to the unprecedented needs of this emergency.  And doctors and nurses and other healthcare professionals that are working long hours and sacrificing times with their families and risking their lives will have the flexibility that they need to confront the needs of the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>And there are many heroes in this war, but I want to take an opportunity to thank the team at CMS.  These folks have worked day and night.  The flexibilities that are in this regulation \u2014 in any regulation \u2014 usually take CMS a year, but we did this in two weeks, and I couldn\u2019t be more honored and privileged to serve alongside these dedicated public servants.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much, Seema.  Fantastic job.  And you\u2019re doing a great job.<\/p>\n<p>So, we are in the midst of something that is very difficult, but we are going to win; it\u2019s just a question of when.  We want to do it as quickly as possible.  We want to have as few deaths as possible.<\/p>\n<p>And we will meet again tomorrow for some statistics, and some updates as to where we are, where we think we\u2019re going, and timing.  I think timing is going to be very important because we have to get our country back.  We have to get our country back to where it was and maybe beyond where it was because we\u2019ve learned so much.<\/p>\n<p>But we will have lost a lot of people.  And in many ways, they\u2019re heroes.  And if you look at what\u2019s happening with our medical professionals, it\u2019s a danger.  They\u2019re \u2014 they\u2019re warriors.  Men and women are doing a job that \u2014 the likes of which I don\u2019t think anyone\u2019s ever seen.  I see them coming out of planes today, going into New York, going into the most dangerous locations, dangerous areas.  And they go in there and they just want to do the job.  And you see the numbers.  You see the numbers like I see the numbers.<\/p>\n<p>I have some friends that are unbelievably sick.  We thought they were going in for a mild stay.  And, in one case, he\u2019s unconscious \u2014 in a coma.  And you say, \u201cHow did that happen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So I just want to thank all of the great professionals: men and women \u2014 doctors and nurses and paramedics and first responders and law enforcement.  By the way, if you look at New York and you see how \u2014 the effect that this had on law enforcement, it\u2019s been incredible.  These are great people \u2014 firefighters.  Great people.  They\u2019re helping in so many different ways.<\/p>\n<p>So, thank you very much.  And if you\u2019d like, we\u2019ll take a few questions.  John, please.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  Yesterday, you said that you would be extending the guidelines through the end of April and that you\u2019d be giving us specifics tomorrow.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Right.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Do you expect that the guidelines will just carry on \u2014 the guidelines that have been in place now for 15 days?  Could there potentially be some modification?<\/p>\n<p>Also you have some travel restrictions that come up for reconsideration.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.<\/p>\n<p>Q    The one from the EU on April 13th \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: Right.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Canada-U.S.-Mexico border on \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Sure.  They\u2019ll be staying.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 April the 21st.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  They\u2019ll be staying.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Will \u2014 what will be happening with all that?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  They\u2019ll be staying and we may add a few more, but the guidelines will be very much as they are.  Maybe even toughened up a little bit.  But they\u2019re having a big impact.  They\u2019re having a tremendous impact and we\u2019re starting to see it.  And that\u2019s the key: We\u2019re starting to see the impact that they\u2019re having.<\/p>\n<p>Q    And if I could ask you, too.  You talked about Ford now ramping up production \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: Yep.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 of ventilators.  The government is sending \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Right.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 thousands of ventilators across the country.  Clearly, the supply is increasing.  But when you look at the production curve against the hospitalization curve, can you guarantee that everyone who needs a ventilator in the next few weeks will be able to get one?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I think that some are ramping up to a level that they\u2019re not going to have to, John, and I think that we also have kept in reserve \u2014 we have almost 10,000 ventilators in our line.  We have them.  We\u2019ve held back just because we did the stockpile.  We didn\u2019t want to give them because we don\u2019t know where the emergency \u2014 this hits \u2014 it hits, like, so fast.  It comes so quickly.  And we have 10,000 \u2014 we\u2019re probably going to send some of them now.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve been sending a lot to Michigan and various other states.  We\u2019ll probably send some additional ones to Michigan.  New York has been doing very well, but we can add some more to New York.  We\u2019re adding them to the areas that are having a problem.  Even Alabama, all of a sudden, flared up a little bit, as you saw the last couple of days, and we\u2019ll send them down to Alabama.  So, we have 10,000; we kept them for this very specific purpose.<\/p>\n<p>It sounds like a lot, but it\u2019s not when you think about it.  But we\u2019re making a lot and when you see \u2014 they\u2019re talking about hundreds of thousands being made in a very short period of time because if you look at what just \u2014 so, we have now 10 companies, at least, making the ventilators.  And we say, \u201cGo ahead.\u201d Because, honestly, other countries really \u2014 they\u2019ll never be able to do it.  It\u2019s a very complex piece of equipment and it\u2019s \u2014 it\u2019s big and expensive.<\/p>\n<p>Q    So do you believe, as we approach this peak in a couple of weeks, that there will be enough for the American populace?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I do think so.  Yes, I do think so.  I think we\u2019re going to be in very good shape.  And we had a great call today with a governors.  And they were \u2014 I actually said, I hope that the media is listening to this call because it was a really good call.  And that was randomly selected \u2014 largely Democrats and Republicans in there.  I think, for the most part, they were saying thank you for doing a great job.  And we discussed that at the end of the call.  So it really \u2014 people are very happy with what we\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n<p>Now, the circumstances are so terrible because of what\u2019s going on, but I think they\u2019re very impressed by the federal government.  I watched that beautiful ship floating in today into \u2014 you know, weeks ahead of schedule; almost four weeks ahead of schedule \u2014 into New York Harbor.  The Comfort.  And I watched the Mercy floating into Los Angeles a week ago \u2014 almost a week ago.  And they are stocked.  They are really ready to go.  They are stocked with both talent and tremendous amounts of equipment.  And the Navy and everybody else involved \u2014 they got it ready so fast.  It\u2019s just incredible what they can do.  They\u2019ve geared up.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why, I mean, I am so impressed by the people involved.  Mike and I were talking about it before: the level of genius to put it all together so quickly.  This wasn\u2019t \u2014 a month ago, nobody ever heard of this.  Nobody had any idea.  The Mercy was being maintained.  It was in maintenance for a month. And when they heard we needed it \u2014 and I was surprised \u2014 they said, \u201cSir, we\u2019re ready to go.\u201d  I said, \u201cWhat do you mean?  You\u2019re not going to be ready for three weeks.\u201d  \u201cNo, sir, we\u2019re all ready to go.\u201d  It was incredible.  So \u2014 and we\u2019ve had many instances like this.<\/p>\n<p>I think the building of the hospital \u2014 2,900 beds \u2014 in a matter of days \u2014 a few days \u2014 is just incredible.  Governor Cuomo was impressed and Gavin Newsom was impressed by what we\u2019ve been doing with Gavin in California and the Los Angeles area in particular, but really San Francisco.  All over.  All over California.<\/p>\n<p>When you look at what we\u2019re doing with Michigan, we\u2019re getting along very well with Michigan.  It\u2019s a great, great place.  We\u2019re sending a lot of things to Michigan because that\u2019s becoming a hotbed, especially in a specific area, as you know. It\u2019s become very hot.  It\u2019s become \u2014 I don\u2019t know, could even, at some point, supersede.  But it\u2019s \u2014 it\u2019s got to be taken care of.<\/p>\n<p>So, we\u2019re \u2014 the relationship we have with the governors, I just wish you could \u2014 because we took a lot of calls from a lot of different states and I wish you could have heard.  Even a thing where, like, the governor of Ohio calls, where he has a company that does the sterilization, but they have a problem because it\u2019s not going quickly at the FDA.  And I call up Steve. And Steve comes in and he said, \u201cWe\u2019ll get it done.\u201d  And they checked it, and they got it done almost immediately.  And originally, they were approving it for 10,000 masks.  And then it was supposed to be for 80 [thousand] and they ultimately approved it for 120,000.  I mean, that\u2019s a tremendous number.<\/p>\n<p>And I kept wondering, why aren\u2019t they sterilizing these masks?  And I assumed maybe you couldn\u2019t do it.  But then I\u2019d look at them and they\u2019d look like, you know, it\u2019s not cloth.  It\u2019s something that looks like it could be sterilized and that\u2019s what they\u2019ve done.  And that\u2019s the machine that is over there actually.  They have a piece of the machine over there.  I won\u2019t bother showing it to you.  And this is incredible \u2014 when you talk about 5 minutes, 15 minutes \u2014 and highly accurate and not nearly as disturbing to do as the other tests.  So, we\u2019ve just gotten better.  We\u2019re doing things that nobody else ever thought of.<\/p>\n<p>Please.<\/p>\n<p>Q    The DMV has issued stay-at-home orders, but Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia took it pretty far.  He issued a 70-day stay-at-home order.  Is that constitutional, first off?  And secondly, do you think it\u2019s warranted to go ahead and issue a 70-day guidance at this point?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we\u2019re letting the governors do in their states pretty much what they want with our supervision, and they consult with us in all cases.  Some go further than others, as you know.  I mean, I could give you plenty of examples, but I\u2019m not going to do that because we never want to be controversial.  But some of the governors have taken it a step further.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Did he consult with you at all?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And people are questioning \u2014 people are questioning that.  But, look, staying at home, with respect to what we\u2019re talking about, doesn\u2019t bother me at all.  People should be staying at home.  That\u2019s what we want.<\/p>\n<p>OAN, please.  OAN.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Two thousand four hundred and five Americans have died from coronavirus in the last sixty days.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Meanwhile, you have 2,369 children who are killed by their mothers through elective abortions each day.  That\u2019s 16 and a half thousand children killed every week.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Two states have suspended elective abortion to make more resources available for coronavirus cases.  That\u2019s Texas and Ohio.  Do you agree with states who are placing coronavirus victims above elective abortions?  And should more states be doing the same?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I think what we\u2019re doing is we\u2019re trying to, as a group, governors \u2014 and that\u2019s Republicans and Democrats \u2014 you know, we\u2019re just working together to solve this problem.  That\u2019s been a \u2014 what you\u2019re mentioning has been going on for a long time, and it\u2019s a sad event.  A lot of sad events in this country.  But what we\u2019re doing is now we\u2019re working on the virus.  We\u2019re working on that hidden enemy, and I think we\u2019re doing a great job on \u2014 as good a job as you can possibly do.<\/p>\n<p>When Tony and Deborah came up with numbers yesterday to say that, if we did nothing, you could lose 2.2 \u2014 up to two point \u2014 and maybe beyond, I don\u2019t know.  Maybe beyond.  But 2.2 million people if we did nothing.  And I can\u2019t tell you what the unfortunate final toll is going to be, but it\u2019s going to be a very small fraction of that.  So we\u2019re doing an awfully good job, I think, with what we\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Do you support Texas and Ohio?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Please go ahead.  Please.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Are you considering at all a nationwide stay-at-home order?  I know there\u2019s a lot of states that have put them in place, but some haven\u2019t.  I\u2019m just wondering if you were considering some sort of broad stay-at-home order.  And then I have a question for Dr. Birx, too, if you don\u2019t mind.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  Well, we\u2019ve talked about it.  We \u2014 you know, there are \u2014 obviously, there are some parts of the country that are in far deeper trouble than others.  There are other parts that, frankly, are not in trouble at all.  So, hopefully, we\u2019re going to be able to keep it that way by doing what we\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n<p>So we talked about quarantine, as you know, the other day.  A group came to me and they wanted to do the quarantine.  And I said, \u201cLet\u2019s think about it.\u201d  And we did.  And we studied it.  And by the time the evening came, it just was something that was very unwieldy, very tough to enforce, and something we didn\u2019t want to do.  But we did an advisory and I think that\u2019s doing well.  I mean, I see \u2014 I look at the streets.  You look at New York, where there\u2019s \u2014 I looked down Fifth Avenue today.  They were showing a shot of Fifth Avenue in, sort of, prime time, and there was almost nobody on Fifth Avenue.  I\u2019ve never seen that before.  There was no car.  There was no anything.  So I think the people of this country have done an incredible job.<\/p>\n<p>If we do that, we will let you know, but it\u2019s pretty unlikely, I would think, at this time.<\/p>\n<p>Q    And can I ask a quick question for Dr. Birx also?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Q    So, Dr. Birx, if you don\u2019t mind, you had mentioned today that this model that predicts 100,000 deaths is if we do things almost perfectly.  So I wanted to know, are we currently doing things almost perfectly or are there more things we need to be doing to cap \u2014 you know, to not exceed that 100,000, 200,000 model?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Please.  Come.<\/p>\n<p>DR. BIRX:  Thank you.  I think that\u2019s a really great question, and tomorrow we\u2019ll go through all of the graphs and all the information that we took to the President for the decision.  But when you \u2014 and I just want to thank the data team that\u2019s working day and night to get \u2014 I mean, I usually get my data about 2 a.m. from them and they assimilate all the data from all the states.  And when you look at all of the states together, all of them are moving at exactly the same curves.<\/p>\n<p>And so, that\u2019s why we really believe this needs to be federal guidance, so that every state understands that it may look like two cases today \u2014 that become 20, that become 200, that become 2,000.  And that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to prevent.  And I think states still have that opportunity, but they\u2019re going to have to do all of these recommended \u2014 I mean, these recommendations are recommendations that the globe is using.  And so we really do recommend that every governor, every mayor looks very carefully and ensures that their communities are utilizing these guidance.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  Thanks.<\/p>\n<p>It is amazing.  You look at Louisiana and for a long time it was just \u2014 it was just staying at nothing.  And then all of a sudden, I look one day and I see a lot and a lot and a lot, and then it explodes.  And now we\u2019re working very carefully and very powerfully with them.  We\u2019re building hospitals and we\u2019re building a lot of different things for Louisiana.  So it\u2019s very important.<\/p>\n<p>Yeah, please.  Go ahead.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, Dr. Fauci has warned that this could be a seasonal, cyclical virus.  So \u2014 and maybe both of you could comment on this, and Dr. Birx as well.  Are you prepared for this to strike again, say, in the fall?  All of the efforts that are taking place right now to contain this, to be proactive, and you \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  We\u2019re prepared.  I hope it doesn\u2019t happen.  Doctor, would you like to say something about that?  I hope it doesn\u2019t happen, but we\u2019re certainly prepared.<\/p>\n<p>DR. FAUCI:  In fact, I would anticipate that that would actually happen because of the degree of transmissibility.  However, if you come back in the fall, it will be a totally different ballgame of what happened when we first got hit with it in the beginning of this year.  There\u2019ll be several things that\u2019ll be different.  Our ability to go out and be able to test, identify, isolate, and contact trace will be orders of magnitude better than what it was just a couple of months ago.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, we have a number of clinical trials that are looking at a variety of therapeutic interventions.  We hope one or more of them will be available.<\/p>\n<p>And importantly, as I mentioned to you many times at these briefings, is that we have a vaccine that\u2019s on track and multiple other candidates.<\/p>\n<p>So I would anticipate that, you know, a year to a year and a half, we\u2019d be able to do it under an emergency use.  If we start seeing an efficacy signal, we may be able to even use a vaccine at the next season.  So things are going to be very, very different.<\/p>\n<p>What we\u2019re going through now is going to be more than just lessons learned; it\u2019s going to be things that we have available to us that we did not have before.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  Please.  Go ahead.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, Scott \u2014 thank you.  Scott Gottlieb, your former FDA Commissioner, wrote a roadmap for recovery after coronavirus.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  Very interesting.  I saw it.<\/p>\n<p>Q    He suggests \u2014 the roadmap suggests that everybody wear a mask in public.  Is that something that the task force thinks is a good idea?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we haven\u2019t discussed it to that extent, but it\u2019s certainly something we could discuss.  We\u2019re getting certainly the number of masks that you\u2019d need.  We are in the process of talking about things.  I saw his suggestion on that.  So we\u2019ll take a look at it.  For a period of time, not forever.  I mean, you know, we want our country back.  We\u2019re not going to be wearing masks forever, but it could be for a short period of time.<\/p>\n<p>After we get back into gear, people could \u2014 I could see something like that happening for a period of time, but I would hope it would be a very limited period of time. Doctors \u2014 they\u2019ll come back and say \u201cfor the rest of our lives, we have to wear masks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Q    Is the \u2014 the roadmap also talks about doing GPS for social distancing, maybe following people\u2019s phones and hotels for isolation for people \u2014 giving them free hotel rooms.  Are those ideas that you\u2019re looking at?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, the GPS \u2014 that\u2019s a very severe idea.  I\u2019ve been hearing about it \u2014 GPS.  So what happens?  A siren goes off if you get too close to somebody?  That\u2019s pretty severe.  But he\u2019s somebody \u2014 he was with me for a long time.  He worked \u2014 he did a great job at FDA.<\/p>\n<p>So \u2014 so we\u2019re going to \u2014 we\u2019re taking a look.  I just \u2014 I just received it a little while ago.  He sent it over.  So, very good.<\/p>\n<p>Go ahead.  Let\u2019s give it a shot.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Sir, what do you say to Americans who are upset with you over the way you \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Here we go.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 downplayed this crisis over the last couple of months?  \u201cWe have it very much under control in this country.  The coronavirus is very much under control in the USA.  It\u2019s going to disappear.  It\u2019s like a miracle.  It will disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>March 4th: \u201cWe have a very small number of people in this country infected.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>March 10th: \u201cWe\u2019re prepared.  We\u2019re doing a great job with it.  It will go away.  Just stay calm.  It will go away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, isn\u2019t it true?  It will go away.<\/p>\n<p>Q    What do you say to Americans who believe that you got this wrong?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And I do want them to stay calm.  And we are doing a great job.  If you look at those individual statements, they\u2019re all true.  Stay calm.  It will go away.  You know it \u2014 you know it is going away, and it will go away.  And we\u2019re going to have a great victory.<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s people like you and CNN that say things like that.  That \u2014 it\u2019s why people just don\u2019t want to listen to CNN anymore.  You could ask a normal question.  The statements I made are: I want to keep the country calm.  I don\u2019t want to panic in the country.  I could cause panic much better than even you.  I could do much \u2014 I would make you look like a minor league player.  But you know what?  I don\u2019t want to do that.<\/p>\n<p>I want to have our country be calm and strong, and fight and win, and it will go away.  And it is incredible the job that all of these people are doing \u2014 putting them all together \u2014 the job that they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n<p>I am very proud of the job they\u2019re doing, that Mike Pence is doing, that the task force has done, that Honeywell and Procter &#038; Gamble and Mike, and all of these people have done.  I\u2019m very proud.  It\u2019s \u2014 it\u2019s almost a miracle, and it is \u2014 the way it\u2019s all come together.<\/p>\n<p>And instead of asking a nasty, snarky question like that, you should ask a real question.  And other than that, I\u2019m going to go to somebody else.<\/p>\n<p>Please, go ahead.  Please.<\/p>\n<p>Q    You expressed some concern in the past that medical supplies were going out the back door \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 and that, perhaps, some hospitals were doing things worse than hoarding.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I expressed what was told to me by a tremendous power in the business.  He said that, at a New York hospital, for a long period of time, he was giving 10,000, maybe maximum 20,000 masks over a short time.  And all of a sudden, he\u2019s giving 300,000.  And I said, \u201cNo matter how bad this is, could that be possible?\u201d  He said, \u201cNo.\u201d  So there\u2019s only a couple of things that could happen.  Is it going out the back door?<\/p>\n<p>And I\u2019ve reported it to the city and let the city take a look at it.  But when you go from 10,000 masks to 300,000 masks, Mike, over the same period of time, there\u2019s something going on.  Now, I\u2019m not making any charges, but when everyone is looking for masks \u2014 and, by the way, that\u2019s another thing: We\u2019re making a lot of masks.  And the sterilization process is going to save a lot of time and a lot of masks.<\/p>\n<p>But when you have the biggest distributor of product that distributes to many of the big hospitals and hospital chains, and he brings up a statistic like that \u2014 and I know you\u2019re trying to make a big deal out of it, but you shouldn\u2019t be.  You should actually go over to the hospital and find out why.  You shouldn\u2019t be asking me.  I\u2019m just saying that\u2019s the way it is.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Are you \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  You should go over there as a great reporter.  I have no idea who you are, but that\u2019s okay.  You should go over there, go to the hospital, and find out: How come you used to get 10,000 masks and you had a full hospital?  New York City \u2014 always full.  And how come now you have 300,000 masks?  Despite the virus and all, you have three- \u2014 how do you go from 10 [thousand] to 300,000?  And this is very serious stuff.  I mean, I could see from 10 to 20, or from 10 to 40 or 50 or something.  But how do you go from 10 [thousand] to 300,000 masks?<\/p>\n<p>So what I think you should do as a \u2014 I\u2019m sure you\u2019re a wonderful investigative reporter.  You should go to the hospital and find out why.<\/p>\n<p>Okay, yeah.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Are you asking your DOJ to look into it, sir?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Steve, please.<\/p>\n<p>Q    You said there\u2019s challenging times ahead in the next 30 days.  What\u2019s the U.S. economy going to look like when (inaudible) the other side?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, it\u2019s \u2014 it\u2019s so bad for the economy, but the economy is number two on my list.  First, I want to save a lot of lives.  We\u2019re going to get the economy back.  I think the economy is going to come back very fast.<\/p>\n<p>Steve is just asking about the economy, what\u2019s it like.  We basically shut down our country, and we did that in order to keep people separated, keep people apart.  They\u2019re not working in offices, they\u2019re not in airplanes together.  You know, we really shut it down.<\/p>\n<p>And, you know, 150, 151 other countries are pretty much shut down.  But here, we\u2019re the \u2014 we had the greatest economy in the world.  We had the greatest economy in the history of our country.  And I had to go from doing a great job for three years to shutting it down.  But you know what?  We\u2019re going to build it up and we\u2019re going to build it up rapidly.  And I think, in the end, we\u2019ll be stronger for it.  We learned a lot.  We learned a lot.<\/p>\n<p>And I have to say, we\u2019ve had great relationships with a lot of countries.  China sent us some stuff, which was terrific. Russia sent us a very, very large planeload of things, medical equipment, which was very nice.  Other countries sent us things that I was very surprised at, very happily surprised.<\/p>\n<p>We learned a lot.  We\u2019re learning a lot.  And we\u2019re also learning that the concept of borders is very important, Steve.  It\u2019s very important.  Having borders is very, very important.<\/p>\n<p>But we have done an incredible job.  The economy is going to come back.  My focus is saving lives.  That\u2019s the only focus I can have.  We\u2019re going to bring the economy back and we\u2019ll bring it back fast.<\/p>\n<p>Yeah, please.<\/p>\n<p>Q    To follow up \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Go ahead.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Please.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  You said several times that the United States has ramped up testing.  I\u2019ll just talk a little quicker \u2014 or a little louder.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. President, you said several times that the United States has ramped up testing, but the United States is still not testing per capita as many people as other countries like South Korea.  Why is that?  And when do you think that that number will be on par with other countries?<\/p>\n<p>And Dr. \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, well, it\u2019s \u2014 it\u2019s very much on par.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Not per capita \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Look \u2014 look \u2014 per capita.  We have areas of country that\u2019s very tight.  I know South Korea better than anybody.  It\u2019s a \u2014 very tight.  Do you know how many people are in Seoul?  Do you know how big the city of Seoul is?<\/p>\n<p>Q    But the question is about (inaudible).<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thirty-eight million people.  That\u2019s bigger than anything we have.  Thirty-eight million people all tightly wound together.<\/p>\n<p>We have vast farmlands.  We have vast areas where they don\u2019t have much of a problem.  In some cases, they have no problem whatsoever.  We have done more tests.  What I didn\u2019t \u2014 I didn\u2019t talk about per capita.  We have done more tests, by far, than any country in the world, by far.<\/p>\n<p>Our testing is also better than any country in the world.  And when you look at that, as simple as that looks, that\u2019s something that\u2019s a game changer, and every country wants that.  Every country.<\/p>\n<p>So rather than asking a question like that, you should congratulate the people that have done this testing, because we inherited \u2014 this administration inherited a broken system, a system that was obsolete, a system that didn\u2019t work.  It was okay for a tiny, small group of people, but once you got beyond that, it didn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n<p>We have built an incredible system to the fact, where we have now done more tests than any other country in the world.  And now the technology is really booming.<\/p>\n<p>I just spoke to \u2014 well, I spoke to a lot.  I\u2019m not going to even mention.  I spoke to a number of different testing companies today, and the job that they\u2019ve done and the job that they\u2019re doing is incredible.<\/p>\n<p>But when Abbott comes out and does this so quickly, it\u2019s really unreal.  In fact, one company, I have to say, that stands out in the job \u2014 and I think I can say this; I don\u2019t want to insult anybody else \u2014 but Roche.  Roche has been incredible in the testing job they\u2019ve done.  And they\u2019re ramping it up exponentially.  It\u2019s up, up, up, up.  And you should be saying congratulations instead of asking a really snarky question, because I know exactly what you mean by that.<\/p>\n<p>You should be saying congratulations to the men and women who have done this job, who have inherited a broken testing system, and who have made it great.  And if you don\u2019t say it, I\u2019ll say it.  I want to congratulate all of the people.  You have done a fantastic job.<\/p>\n<p>And we will see you all tomorrow.  Thank you very much.  Thank you.  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>END<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Okay, thank you very much. Thank you. Very comfortable here. A lot of room. And we appreciate you being here. 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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98369,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Fullscreen-capture-3312020-124908-AM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=98367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/98369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=98367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=98367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=98367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}