WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY > Oxford, AstraZeneca report positive results, dual immunity action from early vaccine trial > British biotech firm reports positive results for…
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY
> Oxford, AstraZeneca report positive results, dual immunity action from early vaccine trial
> British biotech firm reports positive results for potential COVID-19 treatment
> ‘It is what it is’: Highlights from Trump’s Sunday sit-down with Fox News
> Top Republicans to meet with Trump over next round of federal virus relief
> As New York City begins phase four, Gov. Cuomo threatens to shut bars and restaurants
> GOP governors in hardest hit states split over COVID-19 response
> Rep. Donna Shalala calls for Florida to shut down again: ‘I’m terrified for the first time in my career’
> Bahamas bans US travelers amid surge in coronavirus cases
> Former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius gives Trump administration a D in handling pandemic, says there is no developed country in the world doing as badly as the US in dealing with this virus
President Trump sat down with Fox News Sunday’s Chris Wallace for a wide-ranging interview that included a number of head-scratching claims about the coronavirus pandemic in the US. Some highlights from the interview:
President Trump said the rising number of COVID-19 deaths around the country “is what it is.”
When pressed about rising caseloads throughout the South and West, the president said about testing: “If we tested half as much, those numbers would be down” and added “many of those cases heal automatically.”
In response to Wallace’s question about the U. S. mortality rate in comparison to other developed nations, the president falsely asserted: “I think we have one of the lowest mortality rates in the world,” before having press secretary Kayleigh McEnany hand over White House data that disputed that.
On young people spreading the virus: “Many of those cases are young people that would heal in a day. They have the sniffles and we put it down as a test.”
Watch the full interview with the president here.
THE INTERVIEW Kathleen Sebelius, former secretary of Health and Human Services, former governor of Kansas, and CEO of Sebelius Resources LLC
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius gives Trump administration a D in handling pandemic, says there is no developed country in the world doing as badly as the US in dealing with this virus, credits Sen. Mitch McConnell for wearing a mask but notes he is blocking legislation that would help schools pay for the protections they need to reopen, says African Americans are overwhelmingly the caregivers for school age children and are going to be in extreme danger when schools reopen in virus hot spots.
Watch the full interview here.
THE HILL’S CORONAVIRUS REPORT Welcome to The Hill’s Coronavirus Report. It’s Monday, July 20.
Editors’ Note.
There will be no Coronavirus Report tomorrow, as I will be moderating our virtual program: “Advancing America’s Economy: The Role of Private Capital.” I hope you’ll join me (you can register here) and we’ll pick things back up on Wednesday.
America hasn’t felt this way in a very long time. When the terrorists struck on 9/11, Americans were frustrated and angry — perhaps like they felt when Pearl Harbor was attacked. But there wasn’t despair then. There was a national sense of self-confidence and righteousness that those responsible for the attacks would be brought to justice.
But after many months of not getting contact tracing nor COVID-19 testing in place — and to see the administration actively promote the suspension of testing and the withholding of funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to hire contract tracers — much of the nation seems to be in true despair. People who are not wearing masks and who are engaging in group gatherings are managing to infect others, and ultimately indirectly kill some with their reckless disregard for science and not having the decency to be collectively responsible. Miami was one of the first cities in the nation to have a curfew and to have social distancing orders put in place, in part because Mayor Francis Suarez was the second person to be officially diagnosed with COVID-19 in Miami-Dade County, and he knew its seriousness. But the loose and confusing instructions of Florida’s governor have created conditions where the infection rate is skyrocketing and overrunning mayors, towns and cities that were trying to follow science and protect their populations.
In Washington, palace intrigue dominates the coverage of how to approach the COVID-19 crisis at this point. Other nations and regions are continuing to refuse visits by Americans because of the surging national daily tally of infections. As CDC Director Robert Redfield noted, a few weeks of full proof social distancing, hand-washing, and mask wearing would end the COVID-19 run of terror. But Americans seem unable to do that, and a good number of their leaders won’t ask them to.
The president on Tuesday will relaunch the daily coronavirus national task force briefings. Perhaps they will have evolved beyond speculation on the curative possibilities of disinfectant injections. But when one hears that the data flow from hospitals to the CDC has been hijacked by other divisions of the Department of Health and Human Services that do not have the experience in managing data and we see reputation-mugging of Anthony Fauci by White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, one really shouldn’t have high expectations of these forthcoming briefings.
Yet, we will keep an open mind and listen to them hoping that something may move the nation from despair to some shred of genuine hope that has traction.
— Steve Clemons
Your Coronavirus Report team includes Steve Clemons, editor-at-large of The Hill, and researcher Andrew Wargofchik. Follow us on Twitter at @SCClemons and @a_wargofchik.
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THE HILL ‘VIRTUALLY’ LIVETomorrow!| Advancing America’s Economy: The Role of Private Capital
Private capital can play a substantial role in job creation and can help give businesses across nearly every sector strategic leaps forward. But a trustworthy partnership between private equity and the public must be established. Join The Hill on Tuesday, July 21, for Advancing America’s Economy: The Role of Private Capital. Reps. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) and Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) and more will join The Hill’s editor-at-large Steve Clemons.
REGISTER HERE! Have a question for our speakers? Tweet us @TheHillEvents using #TheHillInvests for a chance to have your question featured live in the program.
CORONAVIRUS NUMBERS AT A GLANCE
There are 14,567,109 reported cases of COVID-19 throughout the world and 607,187 deaths have been attributed to the virus as of the time of this newsletter.
