talkingpointsmemo--2020-02-04--Trump And His Campaign Pounce On Dems’ Iowa Caucus Fiasco

President Donald Trump and his reelection campaign seized on the chaos of Monday ’ s Iowa Democratic caucuses , the results of which are still unknown as of Tuesday morning due to technical issues with the tallying process .
“ The Democrat Caucus is an unmitigated disaster , ” Trump tweeted early Tuesday .
“ Nothing works , just like they ran the Country.
” He then patted himself on the back , claiming that he was “ the only person ” who won “ a very big victory ” in Iowa .
The President ’ s campaign jumped in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a caucus mess of their own creation with the sloppiest train wreck in history , ” Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said in a statement on Monday night .
He also said it would be “ natural ” for people to “ doubt the fairness of the process , ” echoing Don Jr. and Eric Trump ’ s efforts to fuel discord among Democrats with evidence-free talk of “ rigging.
” “ And these are the people who want to run our entire health care system ?
” Parscale added .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the results of the caucuses due to a series of glitches with the app the party used to count the votes .
HuffPost reported on Tuesday that the app was created by Shadow , a tech company headed by 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign director of product Gerard Niemira .
“ We found inconsistencies in the reporting of three sets of results , ” Mandy McClure , Iowa ’ s Democratic Party communications director , said in a statement .
“ In addition to the tech systems being used to tabulate results , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a paper trail to validate that all results match and ensure that we have confidence and accuracy in the numbers we report .
”

President Donald Trump and his reelection campaign seized on the chaos of Monday’s Iowa Democratic caucuses, the results of which are still unknown as of Tuesday morning due to technical issues with the tallying process.
“The Democrat Caucus is an unmitigated disaster,” Trump tweeted early Tuesday. “Nothing works, just like they ran the Country.”
He then patted himself on the back, claiming that he was “the only person” who won “a very big victory” in Iowa.
The President’s campaign jumped in as well.
“Democrats are stewing in a caucus mess of their own creation with the sloppiest train wreck in history,” Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said in a statement on Monday night.
He also said it would be “natural” for people to “doubt the fairness of the process,” echoing Don Jr. and Eric Trump’s efforts to fuel discord among Democrats with evidence-free talk of “rigging.”
“And these are the people who want to run our entire health care system?” Parscale added.
The Iowa Democratic Party has yet to release the results of the caucuses due to a series of glitches with the app the party used to count the votes. HuffPost reported on Tuesday that the app was created by Shadow, a tech company headed by 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign director of product Gerard Niemira.
“We found inconsistencies in the reporting of three sets of results,” Mandy McClure, Iowa’s Democratic Party communications director, said in a statement. “In addition to the tech systems being used to tabulate results, we are also using photos of results and a paper trail to validate that all results match and ensure that we have confidence and accuracy in the numbers we report.”


talkingpointsmemo--2020-03-30--Sheriff Announces Warrant For Fringe Pro-Trump Pastor Who Flouted COVID-19 Order

Rodney Howard-Browne , a fringe pastor , outspoken Trump booster and conspiracy theorist was briefly arrested Monday after flouting public health orders and holding services the previous day .
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said at a news conference that he ’ d obtained an arrest warrant for Howard-Browne , of The River at Tampa Bay church , for two second-degree misdemeanors : Unlawful assembly and violation of public health emergency rules .
Jail records from the Hernando County Detention Center on Monday subsequently showed Howard-Browne being booked at 2:20 p.m. and released at 2:58 p.m. Howard-Browne held two services @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to stay at home and prevent the spread of COVID-19 .
The pastor , who ’ s lived in Florida for decades but maintains a slight South African accent , laid hands on President Donald Trump in the Oval Office in 2017 and led several other evangelical leaders in praying for Trump .
He frequently veers into the hare-brained and conspiratorial , such as when he asserted that the Christchurch mosque shooting massacre , in which a white nationalist murdered 49 Muslim worshipers , was a “ false flag ” event .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Hollywood elites “ drink blood of young kids.
” “ Because of the reckless disregard of public safety and after repeated requests and warnings , I worked with our state attorney , Andrew Warren , to obtain a warrant for unlawful assembly and violation of public health emergency rules , both of which are second degree misdemeanors , ” Chronister said , per The Tampa Bay Times .
“ Our goal here is not to stop anyone from worshiping , but the safety and well-being of our community must always come first.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ orders .
On Monday , he retweeted a reporter who posted about the sheriff ’ s arrest warrant against him .
Responding earlier in the day to a reporter who pointed out that the crowd in his church was packed in , shoulder-to-shoulder , Howard-Browne wrote : “ Now do Walmart , Costco , Home Depot !
” On Sunday , he dismissed the county rule barring gatherings of more than 10 people , saying , “ Suddenly we are demonized because we believe God heals , that the Lord sets people free @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be some sort of kooks , ” the Times reported .
Howard-Browne bragged of having installed machines in his church that would “ basically kill every virus in the place.
” “ If they sneeze , it shoots it down , like , at a hundred miles an hour , ” he said last week , adding : “ We have the most sterile building in , I don ’ t know , the whole of America.
” This post has been updated .

Rodney Howard-Browne, a fringe pastor, outspoken Trump booster and conspiracy theorist was briefly arrested Monday after flouting public health orders and holding services the previous day.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said at a news conference that he’d obtained an arrest warrant for Howard-Browne, of The River at Tampa Bay church, for two second-degree misdemeanors: Unlawful assembly and violation of public health emergency rules.
Jail records from the Hernando County Detention Center on Monday subsequently showed Howard-Browne being booked at 2:20 p.m. and released at 2:58 p.m.
Howard-Browne held two services Sunday despite a county order to residents to stay at home and prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The pastor, who’s lived in Florida for decades but maintains a slight South African accent, laid hands on President Donald Trump in the Oval Office in 2017 and led several other evangelical leaders in praying for Trump. He frequently veers into the hare-brained and conspiratorial, such as when he asserted that the Christchurch mosque shooting massacre, in which a white nationalist murdered 49 Muslim worshipers, was a “false flag” event. In 2017, he claimed in a sermon that Hollywood elites “drink blood of young kids.”
“Because of the reckless disregard of public safety and after repeated requests and warnings, I worked with our state attorney, Andrew Warren, to obtain a warrant for unlawful assembly and violation of public health emergency rules, both of which are second degree misdemeanors,” Chronister said, per The Tampa Bay Times.
“Our goal here is not to stop anyone from worshiping, but the safety and well-being of our community must always come first.”
Howard-Browne has openly flouted government COVID-19 orders. On Monday, he retweeted a reporter who posted about the sheriff’s arrest warrant against him. Responding earlier in the day to a reporter who pointed out that the crowd in his church was packed in, shoulder-to-shoulder, Howard-Browne wrote: “Now do Walmart, Costco, Home Depot!”
On Sunday, he dismissed the county rule barring gatherings of more than 10 people, saying, “Suddenly we are demonized because we believe God heals, that the Lord sets people free, and they make us out to be some sort of kooks,” the Times reported.
Howard-Browne bragged of having installed machines in his church that would “basically kill every virus in the place.”
“If they sneeze, it shoots it down, like, at a hundred miles an hour,” he said last week, adding: “We have the most sterile building in, I don’t know, the whole of America.”
Rodney Howard-Browne will continue to hold services because his church is the most sterile building in America, as it contains 13 machines that can instantaneously kill any virus: "If they sneeze, it shoots it down at like 100 mph. It'll neutralize it in split seconds." pic.twitter.com/Z5PLFXlPfp — Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) March 27, 2020
This post has been updated.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-03-30--How Private Insurers Have Dragged Their Feet On A Crucial COVID-19 Safeguard

Amid concerns that their policies were getting in the way of a key COVID-19 safeguard , several private insurance plans have backed down from limitations they ’ d placed on access to telehealth .
The reversal comes weeks after COVID-19 started spreading through the United States and public health officials began urging Americans to avoid unnecessary in-person interactions , including interactions with the primary care doctors they see for routine care or minor medical issues .
Instead , patients are being urged to use telehealth — i.e .
consultations conducted through electronic communications platforms — and other forms of remote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is necessary to prevent the spread of the coronavirus , the expansion of telehealth has presented an assortment of operational and financial challenges to private care doctors , as TPM reported last week .
Among them is the confusion about what private insurance plans would cover .
Some insurers have been slow to follow the example set by the Trump administration , which took steps earlier this month to expand coverage of virtual care options for patients on Medicare , Medicaid and other federal programs .
Until last week , several private health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if a patient ’ s doctor was using an approved telemedicine platform .
Some insurers had publicly touted that they were waiving cost-sharing requirements when patients used telehealth to seek treatment of COVID-19 or suspected COVID-19 treatments .
But what those announcements left out was that many of these plans , as of a week ago , were not covering at all certain telehealth visits , if the appointment was for an issue not related to COVID-19 and the doctor was not using the plan ’ s specific telemedicine platform .
One such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s plan for federal employees ( known as FEP ) .
Prior to last week , the plan only covered non-COVID19 telehealth visits if the doctor was using a platform called Teladoc .
This meant that if a patient ’ s doctor was not on Teladoc , and the patient was seeking virtual treatment for a non-COVID19 issue , the patient would need to either pay for the visit himself , convince his doctor to sign up for Teladoc or find another provider who was using the platform .
Blue Cross Blue Shield @ @ @ @ @ @ @ announcing the change on March 24 , a BCBS spokesperson told TPM Monday .
Nonetheless , the old policy prompted confusion and frustration among patients and providers alike , with several people taking to Twitter to complain about the obstacles they were facing in accessing telehealth services .
Gene Ransom , the CEO of The Maryland State Medical Society , told TPM Friday night that members of his association had raised concerns about the roadblocks that had previously been in place .
“ It really disrupts the physician-patient relationship , ” Ransom said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the policy had been changed .
“ We are in the middle of a crisis .
It ’ s really unfair to treat these federal employees differently from other patients , ” Ransom said .
One FEP member — who asked to remain anonymous , for fears publicizing the issue could cost her her employment — told TPM it took her two weeks to get BCBS to come around on covering her non-Teladoc telehealth visit .
The member first reached out to BCBS on March 17 about getting a telehealth visit covered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Teladoc .
About a week later , she was told again BCBS-FEP was sticking to its policy of not covering non-Teladoc telehealth visits .
The member reached out to both her congressperson and the federal government ’ s Office of Personnel Management for their help with getting her appointment covered .
Only on Monday did BCBS confirm to the member that it would in fact cover non-Teladoc telehealth visits , subject to the usual cost-sharing requirements .
A provider association based in Michigan told TPM that the guidance it received from BCBS-FEP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was still in place .
The BCBS website for its North Carolina plans was updated on March 26 to reflect the new policy , and a BCBS spokesperson said the March 24 guidance may “ take some time to implement.
” Anthem meanwhile announced on Thursday that its plans in Virginia and Georgia were now covering and waiving cost-sharing for telemedicine treatments that were sought using platforms besides LiveHealth Online , the service it typically designates for telehealth coverage .
According to Shawn Martin , a top executive at the American Academy of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to specific technology medicine platforms is a tactic used by insurers even before the pandemic .
While providers have opposed the limitations before the outbreak , their concerns have been exacerbated by the major increase in telehealth usage the pandemic has necessitated .
“ We have been making a ton of noise , ” Martin said , adding that the insurance plans have often changed their tunes once they were called out for the restrictive policies .

Amid concerns that their policies were getting in the way of a key COVID-19 safeguard, several private insurance plans have backed down from limitations they’d placed on access to telehealth.
The reversal comes weeks after COVID-19 started spreading through the United States and public health officials began urging Americans to avoid unnecessary in-person interactions, including interactions with the primary care doctors they see for routine care or minor medical issues.
Instead, patients are being urged to use telehealth — i.e. consultations conducted through electronic communications platforms — and other forms of remote care when possible.
While the move is necessary to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the expansion of telehealth has presented an assortment of operational and financial challenges to private care doctors, as TPM reported last week.
Among them is the confusion about what private insurance plans would cover. Some insurers have been slow to follow the example set by the Trump administration, which took steps earlier this month to expand coverage of virtual care options for patients on Medicare, Medicaid and other federal programs.
Until last week, several private health care plans were only covering telehealth visits if a patient’s doctor was using an approved telemedicine platform.
Some insurers had publicly touted that they were waiving cost-sharing requirements when patients used telehealth to seek treatment of COVID-19 or suspected COVID-19 treatments.
But what those announcements left out was that many of these plans, as of a week ago, were not covering at all certain telehealth visits, if the appointment was for an issue not related to COVID-19 and the doctor was not using the plan’s specific telemedicine platform.
One such plan was Blue Cross Blue Shield’s plan for federal employees (known as FEP). Prior to last week, the plan only covered non-COVID19 telehealth visits if the doctor was using a platform called Teladoc.
This meant that if a patient’s doctor was not on Teladoc, and the patient was seeking virtual treatment for a non-COVID19 issue, the patient would need to either pay for the visit himself, convince his doctor to sign up for Teladoc or find another provider who was using the platform.
Blue Cross Blue Shield changed that policy, and issued guidance announcing the change on March 24, a BCBS spokesperson told TPM Monday.
Nonetheless, the old policy prompted confusion and frustration among patients and providers alike, with several people taking to Twitter to complain about the obstacles they were facing in accessing telehealth services.
None of my family’s providers use this system and being able to check in with doctors and therapists during a socially isolating pandemic seems like a good idea. — Matt Separa (@MattSepara) March 27, 2020
Gene Ransom, the CEO of The Maryland State Medical Society, told TPM Friday night that members of his association had raised concerns about the roadblocks that had previously been in place.
“It really disrupts the physician-patient relationship,” Ransom said, while confirming his group had learned that the policy had been changed.
“We are in the middle of a crisis. It’s really unfair to treat these federal employees differently from other patients,” Ransom said.
One FEP member — who asked to remain anonymous, for fears publicizing the issue could cost her her employment — told TPM it took her two weeks to get BCBS to come around on covering her non-Teladoc telehealth visit.
The member first reached out to BCBS on March 17 about getting a telehealth visit covered for a doctor who wasn’t on Teladoc. About a week later, she was told again BCBS-FEP was sticking to its policy of not covering non-Teladoc telehealth visits.
The member reached out to both her congressperson and the federal government’s Office of Personnel Management for their help with getting her appointment covered. Only on Monday did BCBS confirm to the member that it would in fact cover non-Teladoc telehealth visits, subject to the usual cost-sharing requirements.
A provider association based in Michigan told TPM that the guidance it received from BCBS-FEP on Friday suggested that the old policy was still in place.
The BCBS website for its North Carolina plans was updated on March 26 to reflect the new policy, and a BCBS spokesperson said the March 24 guidance may “take some time to implement.”
Anthem meanwhile announced on Thursday that its plans in Virginia and Georgia were now covering and waiving cost-sharing for telemedicine treatments that were sought using platforms besides LiveHealth Online, the service it typically designates for telehealth coverage.
According to Shawn Martin, a top executive at the American Academy of Family Physicians, restricting telehealth medicine coverage to specific technology medicine platforms is a tactic used by insurers even before the pandemic.
While providers have opposed the limitations before the outbreak, their concerns have been exacerbated by the major increase in telehealth usage the pandemic has necessitated.
“We have been making a ton of noise,” Martin said, adding that the insurance plans have often changed their tunes once they were called out for the restrictive policies.
“It’s a game of whack-a-mole now,” Martin said.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-03-30--Trump, Pence Promised Millions Of Tests — So Why Have Less Than 900K Been Used?

Admiral Brett Giroir , who is coordinating the administration ’ s coronavirus testing efforts , reported at the Sunday White House press conference that the United States has performed more than 894,000 coronavirus tests to date , cheering that the number has “ highly significantly increased every single day.
” But that figure pales in comparison to a promise President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have made repeatedly , for weeks : that millions of tests have already been distributed throughout the country .
Pence , who leads the administration ’ s coronavirus task force , said on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tests have been distributed , ” with another 4 million to be distributed by that week ’ s end .
Three days later , President Donald Trump promised from the Rose Garden that 1.4 million tests would be distributed early in the week of March 16 , and that a full 5 million tests will be available before the end of the month .
“ I can not explain the gap , ” Trump said , referring to the discrepancy between tests distributed and those conducted , during another briefing a week later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ good things on the ground.
” The White House , when reached Monday , also did not offer an explanation .
Neither a spokesperson for Pence nor the HHS responded to requests for comment .
Trump has made other out-of-left-field promises pertaining to testing that have proved hollow , including that Google was setting up a digital resource for Americans to find out if and where they should be tested ( news to the tech giant ) .
But on the testing discrepancy , it is not clear if fewer tests than promised @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there ’ s some delay on the other end with their implementation .
What is plain is that one crucial way to quash the spread of the outbreak , as done successfully ( so far ) by South Korea , is to implement aggressive and widespread testing to find out who has been exposed to the virus .
The country had conducted 395,194 tests as of Monday .
The South Korean government has also been bombarding its population with constant updates about the whereabouts of newly detected cases , urging people to report @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might have crossed paths with the infected people .
Since early March , the country has seen a steady decline in cases .
Trump bragged on March 24 that “ we ’ ve done more tests in eight days than South Korea has done in eight weeks , ” a claim that seems to be factually wrong , but also relatively nonsensical .
The United States ’ population dwarfs South Korea ’ s by about six times over .
Meanwhile , the United States allowed a critical month between late January and early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testing , squandering the best chance to contain the virus .
Now , the scarce tests in coronavirus hotspots are being saved for health-care workers and people sick enough to be hospitalized , meaning that many with mild or no symptoms can transmit the disease to others without even knowing they have it .
Dr. Anthony Fauci , director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) , told the House Oversight Committee on March 12 that the United States ’ current system @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Since then , the United States has skyrocketed to an unenviable first place in the world tally , with 122,653 coronavirus cases as of Monday .

Admiral Brett Giroir, who is coordinating the administration’s coronavirus testing efforts, reported at the Sunday White House press conference that the United States has performed more than 894,000 coronavirus tests to date, cheering that the number has “highly significantly increased every single day.”
But that figure pales in comparison to a promise President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have made repeatedly, for weeks: that millions of tests have already been distributed throughout the country.
Pence, who leads the administration’s coronavirus task force, said on March 10 that “over a million tests have been distributed,” with another 4 million to be distributed by that week’s end.
Three days later, President Donald Trump promised from the Rose Garden that 1.4 million tests would be distributed early in the week of March 16, and that a full 5 million tests will be available before the end of the month.
“I cannot explain the gap,” Trump said, referring to the discrepancy between tests distributed and those conducted, during another briefing a week later. “I’m hearing very good things on the ground.”
The White House, when reached Monday, also did not offer an explanation. Neither a spokesperson for Pence nor the HHS responded to requests for comment.
Trump has made other out-of-left-field promises pertaining to testing that have proved hollow, including that Google was setting up a digital resource for Americans to find out if and where they should be tested (news to the tech giant).
But on the testing discrepancy, it is not clear if fewer tests than promised have actually been distributed, or if there’s some delay on the other end with their implementation.
What is plain is that one crucial way to quash the spread of the outbreak, as done successfully (so far) by South Korea, is to implement aggressive and widespread testing to find out who has been exposed to the virus.
The country had conducted 395,194 tests as of Monday. The South Korean government has also been bombarding its population with constant updates about the whereabouts of newly detected cases, urging people to report to testing centers if they think they might have crossed paths with the infected people. Since early March, the country has seen a steady decline in cases.
Trump bragged on March 24 that “we’ve done more tests in eight days than South Korea has done in eight weeks,” a claim that seems to be factually wrong, but also relatively nonsensical. The United States’ population dwarfs South Korea’s by about six times over.
Meanwhile, the United States allowed a critical month between late January and early March to slip away without any mass testing, squandering the best chance to contain the virus. Now, the scarce tests in coronavirus hotspots are being saved for health-care workers and people sick enough to be hospitalized, meaning that many with mild or no symptoms can transmit the disease to others without even knowing they have it.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), told the House Oversight Committee on March 12 that the United States’ current system for coronavirus testing is “a failing.”
Since then, the United States has skyrocketed to an unenviable first place in the world tally, with 122,653 coronavirus cases as of Monday.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-03-30--Macy’s Will Furlough Most Of Its 130,000 Employees

NEW YORK ( AP ) — Macy ’ s says it will stop paying tens of thousands of employees who were thrown out of work when the chain closed its stores in response to collapsing sales during the pandemic .
The majority of its 130,000 , including stock people and sales clerks , will still collect health benefits but the company said that it is transitioning to an “ absolute minimum workforce ” needed to maintain basic operations .
Macy ’ s has lost the bulk of its sales due to the temporarily closing of its stores starting March 18 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dramatic sign that even big name retailers are seeing their business evaporate and that the $ 2 trillion rescue package passed by Congress last week may come too late to help out retailers .
Nordstrom said last week it was furloughing a portion of its corporate staff .
More than 190,000 stores , including J.C. Penney and Neiman Marcus , have temporarily closed , accounting for nearly 50 % of the U.S. retail square footage , according to Neil Saunders , managing director of GlobalData Retail .
When announcing the temporary closures , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their workers .
But that has now become increasingly untenable as the coronavirus rapidly spreads and forces people to stay cooped up in their homes .
The big question is how much of these furloughs will lead to permanent layoffs .
Macy ’ s said that there won ’ t be as many furloughs in its online operations , which continue to operate .
“ Macy ’ s entered this crisis in a weak position and it is now one the retailers most affected by the decline in sales as consumer stay home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the scale of the collapse and the high cost base of Macy ’ s operations , furloughing staff has become inevitable as the shutdown of the consumer economy drags on.
” Macy ’ s said those who are enrolled in health benefits will continue to receive coverage with the company covering 100 % of the premium .
“ We expect to bring colleagues back on a staggered basis as business resumes , ” the company said .
Macy ’ s temporarily closed all 500 its stores this month .
To survive , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its line of credit , frozen hiring and spending , and cancelled orders .
Macy ’ s said is now evaluating all financing options .

NEW YORK (AP) — Macy’s says it will stop paying tens of thousands of employees who were thrown out of work when the chain closed its stores in response to collapsing sales during the pandemic.
The majority of its 130,000, including stock people and sales clerks, will still collect health benefits but the company said that it is transitioning to an “absolute minimum workforce” needed to maintain basic operations. Macy’s has lost the bulk of its sales due to the temporarily closing of its stores starting March 18.
The move is perhaps the most dramatic sign that even big name retailers are seeing their business evaporate and that the $2 trillion rescue package passed by Congress last week may come too late to help out retailers. Nordstrom said last week it was furloughing a portion of its corporate staff.
More than 190,000 stores, including J.C. Penney and Neiman Marcus, have temporarily closed, accounting for nearly 50% of the U.S. retail square footage, according to Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail.
When announcing the temporary closures, most retailers said they would keep paying their workers. But that has now become increasingly untenable as the coronavirus rapidly spreads and forces people to stay cooped up in their homes.
The big question is how much of these furloughs will lead to permanent layoffs.
Macy’s said that there won’t be as many furloughs in its online operations, which continue to operate.
“Macy’s entered this crisis in a weak position and it is now one the retailers most affected by the decline in sales as consumer stay home,” Saunders said. “Given the scale of the collapse and the high cost base of Macy’s operations, furloughing staff has become inevitable as the shutdown of the consumer economy drags on.”
Macy’s said those who are enrolled in health benefits will continue to receive coverage with the company covering 100% of the premium.
“We expect to bring colleagues back on a staggered basis as business resumes,” the company said.
Macy’s temporarily closed all 500 its stores this month. To survive, it has suspended its dividend, drawn down its line of credit, frozen hiring and spending, and cancelled orders. Macy’s said is now evaluating all financing options.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-03-30--Trump Claimed Virus Would ‘Go Away.’ Now He Says 100K Deaths Would Be ‘Very Good Job.’

President Trump has set a new benchmark for the number of coronavirus deaths that would constitute a job well done , and the figures are staggering .
On Sunday , Trump acknowledged for the first time during a White House coronavirus task force briefing that deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. could hit 100,000 or more , which he said is “ a horrible number.
” The President then added that if the toll remained within that range “ we all together have done a very good job.
” Trump officially backed off his Easter deadline to get the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his administration have more fully acknowledged that a worst-case scenario could see more than 2 million deaths in the United States .
Trump had previously said that the economic impact could produce more “ death ” than even the virus .
And Trump ’ s new pronouncements are a world apart from his early statements about the coronavirus , when he predicted earlier this month the virus would simply “ go away.
” Trump seems to have taken to heart the advice of the public health and medical experts around him .
Earlier @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Anthony Fauci shared a grim outlook during an interview on CNN when asked about how many deaths the U.S. may have .
“ I mean , looking at what we ’ re seeing now , I would say between 100,000 and 200,000 cases .
But I don ’ t want to be held to that , because it ’ s — excuse me — deaths , ” Fauci told CNN on Sunday .
“ I mean , we ’ re going to have millions of cases .
But I just don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a projection , when it ’ s such a moving target , that you can so easily be wrong and mislead people.
” On Monday morning , Trump called into “ Fox and Friends ” to share that 2 million could have died if “ we just kept the business as usual.
” “ If we just kept the business as usual , didn ’ t do anything to stop it or impede it , could have been 2.2 million people could have died , ” Trump said , before sounding exasperated as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million people — would have been between 1.6 they say , and then they showed you the numbers : 1.6 and 2.2 million people .
It could have been more than that , so that ’ s when you realize that what we did last week with the $ 2 trillion bill was very worth it.
” Trump ’ s latest comments come as Dr. Deborah Birx , who warned that “ no state , no metro area will be spared ” from the coronavirus outbreak on Sunday , told Savannah Guthrie on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 100,000-200,000 fatalities from COVID-19 would happen “ if we do things together well , almost perfectly ” regarding social distancing measures .

President Trump has set a new benchmark for the number of coronavirus deaths that would constitute a job well done, and the figures are staggering.
On Sunday, Trump acknowledged for the first time during a White House coronavirus task force briefing that deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. could hit 100,000 or more, which he said is “a horrible number.” The President then added that if the toll remained within that range “we all together have done a very good job.”
Trump officially backed off his Easter deadline to get the country back to work, as he and his administration have more fully acknowledged that a worst-case scenario could see more than 2 million deaths in the United States. Trump had previously said that the economic impact could produce more “death” than even the virus. And Trump’s new pronouncements are a world apart from his early statements about the coronavirus, when he predicted earlier this month the virus would simply “go away.”
Trump seems to have taken to heart the advice of the public health and medical experts around him.
Earlier Sunday, coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci shared a grim outlook during an interview on CNN when asked about how many deaths the U.S. may have.
“I mean, looking at what we’re seeing now, I would say between 100,000 and 200,000 cases. But I don’t want to be held to that, because it’s — excuse me — deaths,” Fauci told CNN on Sunday. “I mean, we’re going to have millions of cases. But I just don’t think that we really need to make a projection, when it’s such a moving target, that you can so easily be wrong and mislead people.”
On Monday morning, Trump called into “Fox and Friends” to share that 2 million could have died if “we just kept the business as usual.”
“If we just kept the business as usual, didn’t do anything to stop it or impede it, could have been 2.2 million people could have died,” Trump said, before sounding exasperated as he repeated the figure. “2.2 million people — would have been between 1.6 they say, and then they showed you the numbers: 1.6 and 2.2 million people. It could have been more than that, so that’s when you realize that what we did last week with the $2 trillion bill was very worth it.”
Trump: "If we just kept the business as usual, didn't do anything to stop it or impede it, could have been 2.2 million people could have died." pic.twitter.com/roucAJpmi8 — Talking Points Memo (@TPM) March 30, 2020
Trump’s latest comments come as Dr. Deborah Birx, who warned that “no state, no metro area will be spared” from the coronavirus outbreak on Sunday, told Savannah Guthrie on the “Today Show” Monday that 100,000-200,000 fatalities from COVID-19 would happen “if we do things together well, almost perfectly” regarding social distancing measures.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-03-30--Trump Openly Admits Voting Reforms In COVID Relief Bill Would Endanger Republicans

You ’ re not supposed to say the quiet parts out loud , Mr. President !
On Monday morning , President Donald Trump told the co-hosts of “ Fox and Friends ” that House Democrats had tried to include “ crazy ” proposals in the $ 2 trillion COVID-19 relief package that passed last week , including measures aimed at easing the voting process for Americans during the coronavirus outbreak .
“ They had things , levels of voting that if you ever agreed to it you ’ d never have a Republican elected in this country again , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in there about election days and what you do and all sorts of clawbacks and they had things that were just totally crazy , ” he continued .
Those proposals , which were opposed by Republicans , included billions in funding for states to be able to carry out mail-in voting systems as Americans are urged ( and in some states , even required ) to stay home to prevent further spread of the virus .
The House Democrats ’ bill would have also made Election Day a national holiday while imposing a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ early voting .

You’re not supposed to say the quiet parts out loud, Mr. President!
On Monday morning, President Donald Trump told the co-hosts of “Fox and Friends” that House Democrats had tried to include “crazy” proposals in the $2 trillion COVID-19 relief package that passed last week, including measures aimed at easing the voting process for Americans during the coronavirus outbreak.
“They had things, levels of voting that if you ever agreed to it you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again,” Trump said.
“They had things in there about election days and what you do and all sorts of clawbacks and they had things that were just totally crazy,” he continued.
Those proposals, which were opposed by Republicans, included billions in funding for states to be able to carry out mail-in voting systems as Americans are urged (and in some states, even required) to stay home to prevent further spread of the virus.
The House Democrats’ bill would have also made Election Day a national holiday while imposing a national requirement to allow 15 days of early voting.
Watch Trump below:


talkingpointsmemo--2020-03-30--What Happens If Workers Cutting Up the Nation’s Meat Get Sick?

This story first appeared at ProPublica .
ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom .
Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox .
Here ’ s what has happened in the meatpacking industry in the last week alone : A federal food safety inspector in New York City , who oversaw meat processing plants , died from the illness caused by the novel coronavirus .
A poultry worker in Mississippi , employed by America ’ s third largest chicken company , tested positive for the virus , causing a half-dozen workers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dakota , employed by the world ’ s largest pork producer , also tested positive .
In Georgia , dozens of workers walked out of a Perdue Farms chicken plant , demanding that the company do more to protect them .
And Tyson Foods told ProPublica on Friday that “ a limited number of team members ” had tested positive for the disease .
As COVID-19 makes its way across the country , leading to panic grocery buying in state after state , the stresses on the nation ’ s food supply chain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ industries like meatpacking , which rely on often grueling shoulder-to-shoulder work , so have the risks to workers ’ health .
In interviews this week , meat and poultry workers , some in the country without authorization , noted with irony that they have recently been labeled “ essential ” by an administration now facing down a pandemic .
Yet the rules of their workplaces — and the need to keep food moving — pressure them to work in close quarters , even when sick .
And it ’ s unclear how federal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in their workplaces will address a potentially deadly coronavirus .
“ They are listening about social distancing on the TV and some of them try to practice it in their home , but when they go to work , they can ’ t do it , ” said Father Roberto Mena , who ministers to many poultry workers at St. Michael Catholic Church in Forest , Mississippi .
Many of the nation ’ s meatpackers declined to respond to specific questions about how they ’ ve dealt with infected workers or what they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the spread of COVID-19 in their plants .
Or they offered vague assurances that workers are being protected .
So far , only two meatpacking companies — Tyson Foods and Cargill — have announced companywide temperature checks to screen employees for signs of the virus .
Two more say they have begun rolling them out .
But except for unionized plants , meat and poultry workers rarely get paid when they ’ re sick .
At many companies , including Tyson , workers receive disciplinary points for calling in sick .
Because points @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they and some of their colleagues have continued to work even when sick , despite the coronavirus .
“ We are all afraid , ” said Maria , who works on the evisceration line at a Tyson plant in Arkansas and asked to be identified by her first name .
“ The problem is if people feel sick , they ’ re not going to say anything because they need the money .
They don ’ t want the points.
” In an email , Tyson said it had recently altered its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus or exhibit symptoms to apply for short-term disability without a waiting period .
“ This is an evolving situation and we ’ re continuing to consider additional measures to support our team , ” spokesman Worth Sparkman said .
“ We don ’ t want team members who feel sick to come to work.
” Tyson announced this month it was “ eliminating any punitive effect for missing work due to illness.
” But Maria said that at her plant , nothing had changed .
Despite the “ essential ” role meat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chain , the sick-time bill signed by President Donald Trump last week doesn ’ t cover most meat and poultry workers because it exempts companies with more than 500 employees .
The uncertain economy , with millions of people filing jobless claims last week , is adding to the tension .
At Koch Foods in Mississippi , Ramirez , an undocumented Guatemalan immigrant who asked to go by his last name , said a woman who worked near him showed up for her shift last week with a heavy cough .
But after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , she was told she couldn ’ t come back .
The message was clear , he said .
So , when he started feeling sick a few days later , he simply kept quiet and continued working .
“ People are worried , ” Ramirez said , that if they say they are sick , “ they ’ ll fire us.
” Going to the doctor is not an option , he said , because he doesn ’ t have health insurance and fears it could expose his immigration status .
Koch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and emails asking about its policies for sick workers .
Even before the coronavirus , the meat industry had complained of a labor shortage as low pay and harsh conditions collided with a tight labor market , tighter borders and dramatic reductions by the Trump administration in the number of refugees , who make up the backbone of many plants ’ workforce .
While there ’ s no evidence that the coronavirus can be transmitted through food , workers say they fear it could spread among them , even though they wear butcher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plants are sanitized every night .
If it does , it could take out a critical cog in the nation ’ s food supply chain just as it struggles to keep up with increased demand , workers and their advocates said .
Grocery meat sales , excluding deli meat , surged a staggering 77 % for the week ending March 15 , according to one industry analysis .
To meet the demand , companies have been scrambling , adding additional weekend shifts and changing lines to produce whole birds and bigger cuts of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wage increases at supermarkets and warehouses , some companies like Cargill and National Beef have announced temporary $ 2 per hour bonuses for the next several weeks to retain their workers and reward them for sticking through difficult times .
Company executives have said that the empty shelves aren ’ t a sign of a food shortage and that they ’ re capable of meeting the surge , aided in part by lower demand from restaurants that have been ordered to close .
“ Our primary focus is to keep our plants running @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Tyson ’ s president , Dean Banks , said on CNN .
“ We ’ re running the plants as hard as we can.
” And some analysts note that even if an outbreak of the virus forced a plant to close , the industry — with more than 500,000 employees at 4,000 slaughterhouses and processing plants across the country — is big enough to absorb the loss .
Tim Ramey , a retired food industry analyst , said “ there could be significant disruptions ” in a company ’ s output @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and restaurants buy meat from many suppliers , he said , and another plant could pick up the slack .
“ There are plenty of ways you could have risk to the worker supply , ” Ramey said .
“ I doubt that would be enough to disrupt the food supply.
” But no one knows what would happen if multiple plants suffered outbreaks .
The closest precedent may be immigration raids , which have temporarily shuttered meat and poultry plants periodically over the last 25 years .
For months after , those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ramp up to speed .
But the supply lines continued to feed America .
Some immigrant workers caught up in those raids now marvel that the country is leaning on them .
Last summer , after finishing his shift pulling the guts out of thousands of chickens , Ramirez flipped on his TV and watched in shock as immigration agents descended on central Mississippi , rounding up hundreds of his coworkers in the Trump administration ’ s biggest immigration sting .
In the weeks that followed , Ramirez watched the three children of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and hunkered down at home , fearing he could be next .
It was easy to feel disposable , he said , especially when Trump praised the raids as “ a very good deterrent.
” Now , when Ramirez watches the news , Trump is calling workers like him “ critical , ” telling them , “ you have a special responsibility to maintain your normal work schedule.
” “ I don ’ t understand , if they have a big need for all of the workers , ” Ramirez asked , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us ?
” The slaughtering of chickens , hogs and cattle has become increasingly automated in the last few decades .
But several tasks on the disassembly line still have to be done by hand .
In poultry plants , in an area known as “ live hang , ” workers in a small , black-lit room crowd around a trough grabbing live chickens by their feet and hanging them on shackles .
In another area known as “ debone , ” workers stand side by side cutting raw chicken into breasts and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cut coworkers with their knives .
In pork plants , workers are so packed together that a little over a decade ago , two dozen workers at a Minnesota factory developed a neurological illness from inhaling aerosolized pig brains that drifted from a nearby station that was making an ingredient used in stir-fry thickeners .
So even as everyone from the president to SnoopDogg are urging people to stay home and avoid groups of more than 10 people , meat and poultry workers are required to do the opposite .
ProPublica asked the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they were doing to try to achieve social distancing .
Cargill , which produces billions of pounds of beef and turkey for supermarkets and restaurants each year , was the only company that said it was doing anything other than staggering start and break times .
Daniel Sullivan , a spokesman for the Minnesota-based meatpacker , said it had increased spacing in its factory work areas and put up partitions in its cafeteria .
The evisceration line where Maria , the Tyson employee , works doesn ’ t have as many people as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is heavily automated .
But she said that because workers can ’ t leave the line unless it ’ s an emergency , she regularly encounters large crowds as everyone rushes to the bathroom during breaks .
The company has placed hand sanitizers at the entrance , she said , but inside the plant , the bathrooms don ’ t always have paper towels .
As COVID-19 cases at the plants become public , workers fear it ’ s only the beginning .
On Monday , Sanderson Farms , the nation ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ employee at its McComb , Mississippi , plant had tested positive for the virus .
Sanderson said the employee ’ s work area was contained to one small processing table .
In response , the company notified its workers and sent six other employees in the work area home to self-quarantine with pay .
The company did not respond to calls or emails seeking additional information .
On Thursday , a worker at pork producer Smithfield Foods ’ plant in Sioux Falls , South Dakota , tested positive .
The company told the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work area and all common areas were “ thoroughly sanitized.
” But it did not say anything about workers who might have come in contact with the employee .
There have been even fewer details about the federal food safety inspector who died .
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said in a statement that he was “ terribly saddened to hear ” that one of the department ’ s employees had passed away due to the coronavirus and thanked “ those working on the front lines of our food supply chain.
” But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the inspector had worked in or what had been done to alert or quarantine others the inspector may have been in contact with .
Paula Schelling , a union representative for the nation ’ s food inspectors at the American Federation of Government Employees , said the USDA ’ s Food Safety and Inspection Service needs to do more to protect its front-line workers .
“ FSIS is doing nothing to provide any protection for any employee who is out in the field , ” she said .
“ They are just saying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guidelines.
’ What does that mean to us ?
” Concerns that meat companies aren ’ t being forthcoming have already led to increased anxiety at several plants .
Workers who walked out of the Perdue plant in Georgia said the unrest started because supervisors dismissed concerns that some employees were continuing to work despite being in contact with people who had the coronavirus .
“ We ’ re not getting nothing , ” Kendilyn Granville told a TV news reporter outside the plant Monday night .
“ No type of compensation , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , no extra pay — no nothing .
We ’ re up here risking our life for chicken.
” Perdue spokeswoman Diana Souder said that after speaking with managers , the majority of those who walked out returned to work .
“ We know that many are feeling anxious during these uncertain times and we ’ re doing everything we can to take good care of our associates while continuing to produce safe and reliable food , ” she said .
Typically , when workers feel unsafe , they can complain to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s unclear how OSHA will respond to complaints related to the coronavirus .
The agency , which has seen its ranks depleted under the Trump administration , has issued guidance for employers .
But there is no specific standard related to the virus , and the agency has not said how it might interpret its general duty clause , which requires employers to keep their worksites free from recognized hazards that might cause death or “ serious physical harm.
” Employers are only required to notify OSHA when an employee is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killed at work .
But under a patchwork of rules , some employers might have to notify their state and local health departments .
As cases started to pop up this week , some employers began offering additional pay .
Perdue said it would provide all hourly workers a $ 1-per-hour raise for the next several weeks .
Hormel , the maker of Spam , said it would offer a $ 300 bonus for full-time workers and $ 150 for part-time associates .
On Thursday , the United Food and Commercial Workers , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said it had negotiated additional pay and benefits increases , including a $ 600 bonus in May for its members at the nation ’ s second-largest meatpacker , JBS , which includes Pilgrim ’ s chicken .
JBS spokesman Cameron Bruett did not answer whether the company would match that for nonunion employees .
Several large meat and poultry companies , including Tyson , Smithfield , Sanderson and Koch , have not announced raises or bonuses .
On Friday , Perdue told ProPublica it was starting to roll out temperature checks at its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ set up “ triage stations ” outside plants to screen employees for temperature and symptoms .
But it ’ s unclear if all employees will be tested or only those exhibiting symptoms .
Meanwhile , Venceremos , a group advocating for poultry workers in northwest Arkansas , has started a petition asking that Tyson and other processors provide paid sick leave for workers as the coronavirus begins to spread to rural America .
“ Everyone is realizing that they are essential and have been essential to the country , ” said Magaly Licolli @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leaders .
“ And now it ’ s time that everybody should demand fair rights for them .
That ’ s what we ’ ve been arguing all this time .
They are the ones that provide for the country.
” Do you have access to information about how businesses are protecting — or not protecting — workers from the coronavirus that should be public ?
Email michael.grabell @ propublica.org .
Here ’ s how to send tips and documents to ProPublica securely .

This story first appeared at ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.
Here’s what has happened in the meatpacking industry in the last week alone:
A federal food safety inspector in New York City, who oversaw meat processing plants, died from the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.
A poultry worker in Mississippi, employed by America’s third largest chicken company, tested positive for the virus, causing a half-dozen workers to self-quarantine. Another worker in South Dakota, employed by the world’s largest pork producer, also tested positive.
In Georgia, dozens of workers walked out of a Perdue Farms chicken plant, demanding that the company do more to protect them.
And Tyson Foods told ProPublica on Friday that “a limited number of team members” had tested positive for the disease.
As COVID-19 makes its way across the country, leading to panic grocery buying in state after state, the stresses on the nation’s food supply chain have ratcheted ever higher. But in industries like meatpacking, which rely on often grueling shoulder-to-shoulder work, so have the risks to workers’ health.
In interviews this week, meat and poultry workers, some in the country without authorization, noted with irony that they have recently been labeled “essential” by an administration now facing down a pandemic. Yet the rules of their workplaces — and the need to keep food moving — pressure them to work in close quarters, even when sick.
And it’s unclear how federal regulations that traditionally protect workers from harm in their workplaces will address a potentially deadly coronavirus.
“They are listening about social distancing on the TV and some of them try to practice it in their home, but when they go to work, they can’t do it,” said Father Roberto Mena, who ministers to many poultry workers at St. Michael Catholic Church in Forest, Mississippi.
Many of the nation’s meatpackers declined to respond to specific questions about how they’ve dealt with infected workers or what they’ve done to try to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in their plants. Or they offered vague assurances that workers are being protected.
So far, only two meatpacking companies — Tyson Foods and Cargill — have announced companywide temperature checks to screen employees for signs of the virus. Two more say they have begun rolling them out.
But except for unionized plants, meat and poultry workers rarely get paid when they’re sick. At many companies, including Tyson, workers receive disciplinary points for calling in sick. Because points lead to termination, workers told ProPublica, they and some of their colleagues have continued to work even when sick, despite the coronavirus.
“We are all afraid,” said Maria, who works on the evisceration line at a Tyson plant in Arkansas and asked to be identified by her first name. “The problem is if people feel sick, they’re not going to say anything because they need the money. They don’t want the points.”
In an email, Tyson said it had recently altered its policies to allow workers who contract the coronavirus or exhibit symptoms to apply for short-term disability without a waiting period. “This is an evolving situation and we’re continuing to consider additional measures to support our team,” spokesman Worth Sparkman said. “We don’t want team members who feel sick to come to work.”
Tyson announced this month it was “eliminating any punitive effect for missing work due to illness.” But Maria said that at her plant, nothing had changed.
Despite the “essential” role meat and poultry workers play in the food chain, the sick-time bill signed by President Donald Trump last week doesn’t cover most meat and poultry workers because it exempts companies with more than 500 employees.
The uncertain economy, with millions of people filing jobless claims last week, is adding to the tension.
At Koch Foods in Mississippi, Ramirez, an undocumented Guatemalan immigrant who asked to go by his last name, said a woman who worked near him showed up for her shift last week with a heavy cough. But after she told her supervisor, he said, she was told she couldn’t come back. The message was clear, he said. So, when he started feeling sick a few days later, he simply kept quiet and continued working.
“People are worried,” Ramirez said, that if they say they are sick, “they’ll fire us.”
Going to the doctor is not an option, he said, because he doesn’t have health insurance and fears it could expose his immigration status.
Koch Foods didn’t respond to calls and emails asking about its policies for sick workers.
Even before the coronavirus, the meat industry had complained of a labor shortage as low pay and harsh conditions collided with a tight labor market, tighter borders and dramatic reductions by the Trump administration in the number of refugees, who make up the backbone of many plants’ workforce.
While there’s no evidence that the coronavirus can be transmitted through food, workers say they fear it could spread among them, even though they wear butcher coats and latex gloves, and the plants are sanitized every night.
If it does, it could take out a critical cog in the nation’s food supply chain just as it struggles to keep up with increased demand, workers and their advocates said. Grocery meat sales, excluding deli meat, surged a staggering 77% for the week ending March 15, according to one industry analysis.
To meet the demand, companies have been scrambling, adding additional weekend shifts and changing lines to produce whole birds and bigger cuts of beef. Under pressure from unions and wage increases at supermarkets and warehouses, some companies like Cargill and National Beef have announced temporary $2 per hour bonuses for the next several weeks to retain their workers and reward them for sticking through difficult times.
Company executives have said that the empty shelves aren’t a sign of a food shortage and that they’re capable of meeting the surge, aided in part by lower demand from restaurants that have been ordered to close.
“Our primary focus is to keep our plants running so that we can feed America,” Tyson’s president, Dean Banks, said on CNN. “We’re running the plants as hard as we can.”
And some analysts note that even if an outbreak of the virus forced a plant to close, the industry — with more than 500,000 employees at 4,000 slaughterhouses and processing plants across the country — is big enough to absorb the loss.
Tim Ramey, a retired food industry analyst, said “there could be significant disruptions” in a company’s output if an outbreak occurred. But supermarkets and restaurants buy meat from many suppliers, he said, and another plant could pick up the slack.
“There are plenty of ways you could have risk to the worker supply,” Ramey said. “I doubt that would be enough to disrupt the food supply.”
But no one knows what would happen if multiple plants suffered outbreaks.
The closest precedent may be immigration raids, which have temporarily shuttered meat and poultry plants periodically over the last 25 years. For months after, those plants struggled to find new workers and ramp up to speed. But the supply lines continued to feed America.
Some immigrant workers caught up in those raids now marvel that the country is leaning on them. Last summer, after finishing his shift pulling the guts out of thousands of chickens, Ramirez flipped on his TV and watched in shock as immigration agents descended on central Mississippi, rounding up hundreds of his coworkers in the Trump administration’s biggest immigration sting.
In the weeks that followed, Ramirez watched the three children of a friend who’d been detained and hunkered down at home, fearing he could be next. It was easy to feel disposable, he said, especially when Trump praised the raids as “a very good deterrent.”
Now, when Ramirez watches the news, Trump is calling workers like him “critical,” telling them, “you have a special responsibility to maintain your normal work schedule.”
“I don’t understand, if they have a big need for all of the workers,” Ramirez asked, “why aren’t they worried about us?”
The slaughtering of chickens, hogs and cattle has become increasingly automated in the last few decades. But several tasks on the disassembly line still have to be done by hand. In poultry plants, in an area known as “live hang,” workers in a small, black-lit room crowd around a trough grabbing live chickens by their feet and hanging them on shackles.
In another area known as “debone,” workers stand side by side cutting raw chicken into breasts and tenders, so close that they occasionally cut coworkers with their knives.
In pork plants, workers are so packed together that a little over a decade ago, two dozen workers at a Minnesota factory developed a neurological illness from inhaling aerosolized pig brains that drifted from a nearby station that was making an ingredient used in stir-fry thickeners.
So even as everyone from the president to SnoopDogg are urging people to stay home and avoid groups of more than 10 people, meat and poultry workers are required to do the opposite.
ProPublica asked the nation’s largest meat companies what they were doing to try to achieve social distancing. Cargill, which produces billions of pounds of beef and turkey for supermarkets and restaurants each year, was the only company that said it was doing anything other than staggering start and break times. Daniel Sullivan, a spokesman for the Minnesota-based meatpacker, said it had increased spacing in its factory work areas and put up partitions in its cafeteria.
The evisceration line where Maria, the Tyson employee, works doesn’t have as many people as other parts of the factory because it is heavily automated. But she said that because workers can’t leave the line unless it’s an emergency, she regularly encounters large crowds as everyone rushes to the bathroom during breaks. The company has placed hand sanitizers at the entrance, she said, but inside the plant, the bathrooms don’t always have paper towels.
As COVID-19 cases at the plants become public, workers fear it’s only the beginning.
On Monday, Sanderson Farms, the nation’s third largest chicken company, said an employee at its McComb, Mississippi, plant had tested positive for the virus. Sanderson said the employee’s work area was contained to one small processing table. In response, the company notified its workers and sent six other employees in the work area home to self-quarantine with pay.
The company did not respond to calls or emails seeking additional information.
On Thursday, a worker at pork producer Smithfield Foods’ plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, tested positive. The company told the Argus Leader that the employee’s work area and all common areas were “thoroughly sanitized.” But it did not say anything about workers who might have come in contact with the employee.
There have been even fewer details about the federal food safety inspector who died. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said in a statement that he was “terribly saddened to hear” that one of the department’s employees had passed away due to the coronavirus and thanked “those working on the front lines of our food supply chain.” But the department did not specify which plants the inspector had worked in or what had been done to alert or quarantine others the inspector may have been in contact with.
Paula Schelling, a union representative for the nation’s food inspectors at the American Federation of Government Employees, said the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service needs to do more to protect its front-line workers.
“FSIS is doing nothing to provide any protection for any employee who is out in the field,” she said. “They are just saying, ‘We are following the CDC guidelines.’ What does that mean to us?”
Concerns that meat companies aren’t being forthcoming have already led to increased anxiety at several plants. Workers who walked out of the Perdue plant in Georgia said the unrest started because supervisors dismissed concerns that some employees were continuing to work despite being in contact with people who had the coronavirus.
“We’re not getting nothing,” Kendilyn Granville told a TV news reporter outside the plant Monday night. “No type of compensation, no nothing, not even no cleanliness, no extra pay — no nothing. We’re up here risking our life for chicken.”
Perdue spokeswoman Diana Souder said that after speaking with managers, the majority of those who walked out returned to work.
“We know that many are feeling anxious during these uncertain times and we’re doing everything we can to take good care of our associates while continuing to produce safe and reliable food,” she said.
Typically, when workers feel unsafe, they can complain to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. But it’s unclear how OSHA will respond to complaints related to the coronavirus. The agency, which has seen its ranks depleted under the Trump administration, has issued guidance for employers. But there is no specific standard related to the virus, and the agency has not said how it might interpret its general duty clause, which requires employers to keep their worksites free from recognized hazards that might cause death or “serious physical harm.”
Employers are only required to notify OSHA when an employee is hospitalized, suffers an amputation or is killed at work. But under a patchwork of rules, some employers might have to notify their state and local health departments.
As cases started to pop up this week, some employers began offering additional pay. Perdue said it would provide all hourly workers a $1-per-hour raise for the next several weeks. Hormel, the maker of Spam, said it would offer a $300 bonus for full-time workers and $150 for part-time associates.
On Thursday, the United Food and Commercial Workers, which represents 250,000 food processing workers, said it had negotiated additional pay and benefits increases, including a $600 bonus in May for its members at the nation’s second-largest meatpacker, JBS, which includes Pilgrim’s chicken. JBS spokesman Cameron Bruett did not answer whether the company would match that for nonunion employees.
Several large meat and poultry companies, including Tyson, Smithfield, Sanderson and Koch, have not announced raises or bonuses.
On Friday, Perdue told ProPublica it was starting to roll out temperature checks at its plants. And Bruett said JBS had set up “triage stations” outside plants to screen employees for temperature and symptoms. But it’s unclear if all employees will be tested or only those exhibiting symptoms.
Meanwhile, Venceremos, a group advocating for poultry workers in northwest Arkansas, has started a petition asking that Tyson and other processors provide paid sick leave for workers as the coronavirus begins to spread to rural America.
“Everyone is realizing that they are essential and have been essential to the country,” said Magaly Licolli, one of the group’s leaders. “And now it’s time that everybody should demand fair rights for them. That’s what we’ve been arguing all this time. They are the ones that provide for the country.”
Do you have access to information about how businesses are protecting — or not protecting — workers from the coronavirus that should be public? Email [email protected]. Here’s how to send tips and documents to ProPublica securely.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-03-30--What We Know — and Don’t Know — About Possible Coronavirus Treatments Promoted by Trump

This article first appeared at ProPublica .
ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom .
Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox .
President Donald Trump ’ s excitement about decades-old anti-malarial drugs to treat the coronavirus has touched off widespread interest in the medications , hoarding by some doctors , new clinical trials on the fly and desperation among patients who take them for other conditions .
Many experts say there isn ’ t enough evidence that the drugs work for the coronavirus , but at least a few say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ giving hydroxychloroquine to patients who are severely ill with coronavirus .
“ It ’ s unlikely to worsen COVID-19 , and given that it might help … we have literally nothing else to offer these patients other than supportive care , ” said Dr. David Juurlink , an internist and head of the division of clinical pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Toronto in Canada .
Here ’ s what we know and don ’ t know about the drugs , chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine , also known by the brand name Plaquenil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration , but not for the treatment of the coronavirus .
The drugs have been around for decades and are approved by the FDA .
Hydroxychloroquine has been approved for the prevention and treatment of acute attacks of malaria , as well as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis .
Chloroquine is approved to prevent and treat malaria .
At a briefing on March 19 , Trump suggested that the FDA had approved hydroxychloroquine for treatment of the coronavirus , which is not accurate .
At the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ FDA ’ s commissioner said : “ That ’ s a drug that the president has directed us to take a closer look at , as to whether an expanded-use approach to that could be done to actually see if that benefits patients .
And again , we want to do that in the setting of a clinical trial — a large , pragmatic clinical trial — to actually gather that information and answer the question that needs to be answered and — asked and answered.
” That said , doctors are generally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A number of hospitals are using the drug to treat patients with the coronavirus .
The University of Washington , the University of Michigan and other academic medical centers have added hydroxychloroquine to their treatment protocols .
“ Hydroxychloroquine is an inexpensive and generally safe drug for short term use , with few drug-drug interactions , ” the University of Washington protocol says .
“ While it is unknown if it is effective to treat COVID-19 , there is a favorable risk : benefit and cost ratio .
Multiple trials are ongoing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when further data is available.
” While Trump has talked about the combination of hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin , also known as Zithromax , the University of Michigan recommends against the use of azithromycin for use in treatment of COVID-19 , calling the evidence “ weak.
” Patients who rely on hydroxychloroquine for other conditions can ’ t get it .
As we reported last week , patients with lupus have not been able to refill their prescriptions .
Anna Valdez , a nurse in California , told us that without the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disease flare or have to switch to stronger immune suppressing medicines that could , paradoxically , put her at more risk of serious consequences should she contract the coronavirus .
“ When I think about the other people out there with lupus and other autoimmune disorders , we ’ re all really scared right now , ” Valdez said a week ago .
“ If I get coronavirus , unlike someone else my age , almost 50 years old , who is likely to recover and will be fine , I will likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a report by BuzzFeed News , health insurer Kaiser Permanente seems to be prioritizing getting the drug to COVID-19 patients above patients with lupus .
The insurer told a California patient that it would not refill her prescription for hydroxychloroquine .
“ Thank you for the sacrifice you will be making for the sake of those that are critically ill ; your sacrifice may actually save lives , ” her doctor ’ s office said in a message .
A Kaiser regional medical director told BuzzFeed that Kaiser , like other health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take steps to control the outflow of the medication to ensure access to severely sick patients , including both COVID-19 and those with acute lupus.
” She said the decision wouldn ’ t adversely affect lupus patients .
“ Extensive experience and research show that hydroxychloroquine builds up in the body and continues to work for an average of 40 days even after the last dose is taken .
By then , we expect the drug manufacturers to have ramped up production to meet the increased demand.
” Some doctors and their families @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that pharmacies and state pharmacy boards are concerned about hoarding by doctors and their families .
“ It ’ s disgraceful , is what it is , ” said Garth Reynolds , executive director of the Illinois Pharmacists Association .
“ And completely selfish.
” “ We even had a couple of examples of prescribers trying to say that the individual they were calling in for had rheumatoid arthritis , ” he said , explaining that pharmacists suspected that wasn ’ t true .
“ I mean , that ’ s fraud.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ place restrictions on prescribing of the drug .
And the American Medical Association called on doctors to stop hoarding the drug .
“ The AMA is calling for a stop to any inappropriate prescribing and ordering of medications , including chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine , and appealing to physicians and all health care professionals to follow the highest standards of professionalism and ethics , ” said Patrice A. Harris , president of the American Medical Association .
In a memo to his staff on Thursday , Dr. Craig R. Smith , the chair of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , responded to the reports of hoarding .
“ Doesn ’ t that make you proud ?
” he wrote sarcastically .
Instead , he encouraged randomized double-blind clinical trials to assess whether the drugs work .
There are efforts to increase the supply of the drug , but other moves could tighten it .
Several drugmakers have said they plan to step in .
Novartis said it would donate up to 130 million doses of generic hydroxychloroquine globally to support the response to COVID-19 .
Other companies have also pledged millions of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Indian government last week imposed a moratorium on the export of hydroxychloroquine , except under certain conditions including “ humanitarian grounds on case to case basis.
” India is a major supplier of generic drugs used in the United States .
Conservative groups and television hosts are talking up the benefits of the drug .
As we reported last week , a conservative business group is pushing the Trump administration to use hydroxychloroquine , saying in an online petition that “ red tape , regulation , and a dysfunctional healthcare supply chain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the United States to produce the drug .
The Job Creators Network , founded by Republican political donor and Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus , has taken out Facebook ads and texted supporters to sign a petition urging the president to “ CUT RED TAPE ” and make the drug available .
Fox News likewise has been touting the drug .
Tucker Carlson said : “ Several days ago , the president expressed confidence in hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the epidemic .
That was it for the media .
If Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against it , even if it might save American lives.
” He added : “ What reactive children they are .
And they immediately began a sustained push to discredit the drug long before the clinical results were in.
” Trump ’ s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Friday tweeted a quote from a conservative activist who falsely called hydroxychloroquine 100 % effective at treating COVID-19 and said Michigan ’ s governor was threatening doctors who prescribe it , Mediaite reported .
( The drug has not been shown to be 100 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , has warned doctors against hoarding the drugs for themselves . )
Twitter removed Giuliani ’ s tweet because it violated the site ’ s rules .
And cardiac surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz enthusiastically spoke of the drug on Sean Hannity ’ s Fox News program : “ So we don ’ t want people using this stuff willy nilly .
You must talk to your physician .
But a lot of doctors here in New York and around the country are getting comfortable with the idea of using this earlier in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” New York state , which has been the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak , has acquired 70,000 doses of hydroxychloroquine , 10,000 doses of azithromycin and 750,000 doses of chloroquine to be used in clinical trials .
“ The president is optimistic about these drugs , and we are all optimistic that it could work , ” New York Gov .
Andrew Cuomo said on March 22 .
“ I ’ ve spoken with a number of health officials , and there is a good basis to believe that they could work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which has a very low infection rate , and there ’ s a theory that because they ’ re taking these anti-malaria drugs in Africa , it may actually be one of the reasons why the infection rate is low in Africa .
We don ’ t know , but let ’ s find out and let ’ s find out quickly .
And I agree with the president on that.
” The University of Minnesota is also enrolling patients in a clinical trial .
But it isn ’ t getting enough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In a story Wednesday , ABC reported that the lead investigator is seeking 1,500 volunteers for one clinical trial , “ but in the week since he obtained FDA approval , he has managed to recruit only 411.
” Only 25 of 1,500 volunteers needed for a second trial had signed up .
Some people are self-medicating with harmful results .
Banner Health in Arizona reported last week that a man died and his wife was hospitalized after the couple , both in their 60s , took chloroquine phosphate , an additive commonly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Within 30 minutes of ingestion , the couple experienced immediate effects requiring admittance to a nearby Banner Health hospital , ” the system said .
The man ’ s wife told NBC News that she saw the president ’ s briefings in which he promoted the value of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine .
“ I saw it [ chloroquine phosphate ] sitting on the back shelf and thought , ‘ Hey , isn ’ t that the stuff they ’ re talking about on TV ?
’ ” she told the network @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sick.
” On Saturday , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that “ chloroquine phosphate , when used without a prescription and supervision of a healthcare provider , can cause serious health consequences , including death .
Clinicians and public health officials should discourage the public from misusing non-pharmaceutical chloroquine phosphate ( a chemical used in home aquariums ) .
” What We Don ’ t Know Whether the drugs are effective at treating the coronavirus .
One small study in France seemed to suggest that hydroxychloroquine , combined with azithromycin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 .
A different small study out of China suggests that hydroxychloroquine was not effective in patients compared with those who did not get the medication .
“ I think this is an example where the speed of the virus is moving faster than the speed of the evidence , ” Joel F. Farley , a professor at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy , wrote in an email to ProPublica .
Juurlink of the University of Toronto said he supports the use of the drugs in patients with serious illness but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ try to keep people from getting infected .
“ I might have a completely different answer a month or two from now once we have better data , ” he said .
“ I have no idea whether the advice I ’ m giving you is good or not , but it ’ s the best I can come up with as of March 27.
” Update , March 30 , 2020 : Late Sunday , the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said that drugmakers had donated tens of millions of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Stockpile and that the Food and Drug Administration had issued an emergency authorization that allows hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to be distributed from the stockpile and prescribed for patients with COVID-19 “ when a clinical trial is not available or feasible.
” A release by HHS said that “ although there are no currently approved treatments for COVID-19 , both drugs have shown activity in laboratory studies against coronaviruses .
… Anecdotal reports suggest that these drugs may offer some benefit in the treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients .
Clinical trials are needed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effective .
”

This article first appeared at ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.
President Donald Trump’s excitement about decades-old anti-malarial drugs to treat the coronavirus has touched off widespread interest in the medications, hoarding by some doctors, new clinical trials on the fly and desperation among patients who take them for other conditions.
Many experts say there isn’t enough evidence that the drugs work for the coronavirus, but at least a few say there’s little to lose in giving hydroxychloroquine to patients who are severely ill with coronavirus.
“It’s unlikely to worsen COVID-19, and given that it might help … we have literally nothing else to offer these patients other than supportive care,” said Dr. David Juurlink, an internist and head of the division of clinical pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Toronto in Canada.
Here’s what we know and don’t know about the drugs, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, also known by the brand name Plaquenil.
What We Know
The drugs are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but not for the treatment of the coronavirus.
The drugs have been around for decades and are approved by the FDA. Hydroxychloroquine has been approved for the prevention and treatment of acute attacks of malaria, as well as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Chloroquine is approved to prevent and treat malaria.
At a briefing on March 19, Trump suggested that the FDA had approved hydroxychloroquine for treatment of the coronavirus, which is not accurate. At the same briefing, Dr. Stephen Hahn, the FDA’s commissioner said: “That’s a drug that the president has directed us to take a closer look at, as to whether an expanded-use approach to that could be done to actually see if that benefits patients. And again, we want to do that in the setting of a clinical trial — a large, pragmatic clinical trial — to actually gather that information and answer the question that needs to be answered and — asked and answered.”
That said, doctors are generally allowed to prescribe drugs for unapproved uses.
A number of hospitals are using the drug to treat patients with the coronavirus.
The University of Washington, the University of Michigan and other academic medical centers have added hydroxychloroquine to their treatment protocols. “Hydroxychloroquine is an inexpensive and generally safe drug for short term use, with few drug-drug interactions,” the University of Washington protocol says. “While it is unknown if it is effective to treat COVID-19, there is a favorable risk:benefit and cost ratio. Multiple trials are ongoing, and this recommendation will be updated when further data is available.”
While Trump has talked about the combination of hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin, also known as Zithromax, the University of Michigan recommends against the use of azithromycin for use in treatment of COVID-19, calling the evidence “weak.”
Patients who rely on hydroxychloroquine for other conditions can’t get it.
As we reported last week, patients with lupus have not been able to refill their prescriptions. Anna Valdez, a nurse in California, told us that without the drug, she will likely have a disease flare or have to switch to stronger immune suppressing medicines that could, paradoxically, put her at more risk of serious consequences should she contract the coronavirus.
“When I think about the other people out there with lupus and other autoimmune disorders, we’re all really scared right now,” Valdez said a week ago. “If I get coronavirus, unlike someone else my age, almost 50 years old, who is likely to recover and will be fine, I will likely end up in the ICU.”
According to a report by BuzzFeed News, health insurer Kaiser Permanente seems to be prioritizing getting the drug to COVID-19 patients above patients with lupus. The insurer told a California patient that it would not refill her prescription for hydroxychloroquine. “Thank you for the sacrifice you will be making for the sake of those that are critically ill; your sacrifice may actually save lives,” her doctor’s office said in a message.
A Kaiser regional medical director told BuzzFeed that Kaiser, like other health care organizations, “has had to take steps to control the outflow of the medication to ensure access to severely sick patients, including both COVID-19 and those with acute lupus.”
She said the decision wouldn’t adversely affect lupus patients. “Extensive experience and research show that hydroxychloroquine builds up in the body and continues to work for an average of 40 days even after the last dose is taken. By then, we expect the drug manufacturers to have ramped up production to meet the increased demand.”
Some doctors and their families are hoarding the drug.
We reported that pharmacies and state pharmacy boards are concerned about hoarding by doctors and their families.
“It’s disgraceful, is what it is,” said Garth Reynolds, executive director of the Illinois Pharmacists Association. “And completely selfish.”
“We even had a couple of examples of prescribers trying to say that the individual they were calling in for had rheumatoid arthritis,” he said, explaining that pharmacists suspected that wasn’t true. “I mean, that’s fraud.”
Some state pharmacy boards have put in place restrictions on prescribing of the drug. And the American Medical Association called on doctors to stop hoarding the drug.
“The AMA is calling for a stop to any inappropriate prescribing and ordering of medications, including chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine, and appealing to physicians and all health care professionals to follow the highest standards of professionalism and ethics,” said Patrice A. Harris, president of the American Medical Association.
In a memo to his staff on Thursday, Dr. Craig R. Smith, the chair of surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, responded to the reports of hoarding. “Doesn’t that make you proud?” he wrote sarcastically. Instead, he encouraged randomized double-blind clinical trials to assess whether the drugs work.
There are efforts to increase the supply of the drug, but other moves could tighten it.
Several drugmakers have said they plan to step in. Novartis said it would donate up to 130 million doses of generic hydroxychloroquine globally to support the response to COVID-19. Other companies have also pledged millions of doses.
At the same time, the Indian government last week imposed a moratorium on the export of hydroxychloroquine, except under certain conditions including “humanitarian grounds on case to case basis.” India is a major supplier of generic drugs used in the United States.
Conservative groups and television hosts are talking up the benefits of the drug.
As we reported last week, a conservative business group is pushing the Trump administration to use hydroxychloroquine, saying in an online petition that “red tape, regulation, and a dysfunctional healthcare supply chain” are impeding the ability of plants in the United States to produce the drug.
The Job Creators Network, founded by Republican political donor and Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus, has taken out Facebook ads and texted supporters to sign a petition urging the president to “CUT RED TAPE” and make the drug available.
Fox News likewise has been touting the drug. Tucker Carlson said: “Several days ago, the president expressed confidence in hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the epidemic. That was it for the media. If Trump is for it, they’re against it, even if it might save American lives.” He added: “What reactive children they are. And they immediately began a sustained push to discredit the drug long before the clinical results were in.”
Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Friday tweeted a quote from a conservative activist who falsely called hydroxychloroquine 100% effective at treating COVID-19 and said Michigan’s governor was threatening doctors who prescribe it, Mediaite reported. (The drug has not been shown to be 100% effective and Michigan, like many states, has warned doctors against hoarding the drugs for themselves.) Twitter removed Giuliani’s tweet because it violated the site’s rules.
And cardiac surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz enthusiastically spoke of the drug on Sean Hannity’s Fox News program: “So we don’t want people using this stuff willy nilly. You must talk to your physician. But a lot of doctors here in New York and around the country are getting comfortable with the idea of using this earlier in the course of the treatment of their patients.”
Clinical trials are underway.
New York state, which has been the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, has acquired 70,000 doses of hydroxychloroquine, 10,000 doses of azithromycin and 750,000 doses of chloroquine to be used in clinical trials.
“The president is optimistic about these drugs, and we are all optimistic that it could work,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on March 22. “I’ve spoken with a number of health officials, and there is a good basis to believe that they could work. Some health officials point to Africa, which has a very low infection rate, and there’s a theory that because they’re taking these anti-malaria drugs in Africa, it may actually be one of the reasons why the infection rate is low in Africa. We don’t know, but let’s find out and let’s find out quickly. And I agree with the president on that.”
The University of Minnesota is also enrolling patients in a clinical trial. But it isn’t getting enough volunteers, according to ABC News. In a story Wednesday, ABC reported that the lead investigator is seeking 1,500 volunteers for one clinical trial, “but in the week since he obtained FDA approval, he has managed to recruit only 411.” Only 25 of 1,500 volunteers needed for a second trial had signed up.
Some people are self-medicating with harmful results.
Banner Health in Arizona reported last week that a man died and his wife was hospitalized after the couple, both in their 60s, took chloroquine phosphate, an additive commonly used at aquariums to clean fish tanks. “Within 30 minutes of ingestion, the couple experienced immediate effects requiring admittance to a nearby Banner Health hospital,” the system said.
The man’s wife told NBC News that she saw the president’s briefings in which he promoted the value of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine. “I saw it [chloroquine phosphate] sitting on the back shelf and thought, ‘Hey, isn’t that the stuff they’re talking about on TV?’” she told the network. “We were afraid of getting sick.”
On Saturday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that “chloroquine phosphate, when used without a prescription and supervision of a healthcare provider, can cause serious health consequences, including death. Clinicians and public health officials should discourage the public from misusing non-pharmaceutical chloroquine phosphate (a chemical used in home aquariums).”
What We Don’t Know
Whether the drugs are effective at treating the coronavirus.
One small study in France seemed to suggest that hydroxychloroquine, combined with azithromycin, could work as a treatment for COVID-19. A different small study out of China suggests that hydroxychloroquine was not effective in patients compared with those who did not get the medication.
“I think this is an example where the speed of the virus is moving faster than the speed of the evidence,” Joel F. Farley, a professor at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, wrote in an email to ProPublica.
Juurlink of the University of Toronto said he supports the use of the drugs in patients with serious illness but not those with mild symptoms or to try to keep people from getting infected.
“I might have a completely different answer a month or two from now once we have better data,” he said. “I have no idea whether the advice I’m giving you is good or not, but it’s the best I can come up with as of March 27.”
Update, March 30, 2020: Late Sunday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said that drugmakers had donated tens of millions of doses of hydroxychloroquine to the Strategic National Stockpile and that the Food and Drug Administration had issued an emergency authorization that allows hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to be distributed from the stockpile and prescribed for patients with COVID-19 “when a clinical trial is not available or feasible.” A release by HHS said that “although there are no currently approved treatments for COVID-19, both drugs have shown activity in laboratory studies against coronaviruses. … Anecdotal reports suggest that these drugs may offer some benefit in the treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Clinical trials are needed to provide scientific evidence that these treatments are effective.”


talkingpointsmemo--2020-03-30--Trump Says He’ll ‘Rely On Experts’ On Social Distancing Guidelines From Now On

It ’ s time to leave the precautionary measures against COVID-19 to the experts , President Donald Trump conceded on Monday .
During a rambling , meandering interview on “ Fox and Friends , ” Trump explained his decision to push the social distancing guidelines to April 30 instead of Easter , as he had originally planned .
“ I listened to experts , ” said Trump , citing doctors Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx , the two leading health officials on his White House coronavirus task force .
Later in the interview , Trump told the Fox News co-hosts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Birx ’ s recommendations in the future when determining how long social distancing ought to continue .
“ Well , I ’ ll use my head and I ’ ll make a decision , but I ’ m going to rely on experts , ” Trump said after co-host Ainsley Earhardt asked if he would consider extending the social distancing guidelines after April 30 if necessary .
“ Anthony and Deborah have been doing this for many years , and I ’ m going to rely on them , ” he said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ thing we can do ” is “ declare victory and then not have victory and then have to do it all over again.
” Fauci described to CNN “ New Day ” host John Berman on Monday the process of persuading Trump against lifting the guidelines too soon , saying that he and Birx had “ made it very clear ” to the President that doing so would be catastrophic .
“ Dr .
Debbie Birx and I went in together in the Oval Office and leaned over the desk and said ‘ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look ’ ” the doctor told Berman .
“ He looked at them , he understood them and he just shook his head and said ‘ I guess we got ta do it .
’ ”

It’s time to leave the precautionary measures against COVID-19 to the experts, President Donald Trump conceded on Monday.
During a rambling, meandering interview on “Fox and Friends,” Trump explained his decision to push the social distancing guidelines to April 30 instead of Easter, as he had originally planned.
“I listened to experts,” said Trump, citing doctors Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, the two leading health officials on his White House coronavirus task force.
Later in the interview, Trump told the Fox News co-hosts he would take heed to Fauci and Birx’s recommendations in the future when determining how long social distancing ought to continue.
“Well, I’ll use my head and I’ll make a decision, but I’m going to rely on experts,” Trump said after co-host Ainsley Earhardt asked if he would consider extending the social distancing guidelines after April 30 if necessary.
“Anthony and Deborah have been doing this for many years, and I’m going to rely on them,” he said.
Trump repeated again that the “worst thing we can do” is “declare victory and then not have victory and then have to do it all over again.”
Fauci described to CNN “New Day” host John Berman on Monday the process of persuading Trump against lifting the guidelines too soon, saying that he and Birx had “made it very clear” to the President that doing so would be catastrophic.
“Dr. Debbie Birx and I went in together in the Oval Office and leaned over the desk and said ‘Here are the data, take a look’” the doctor told Berman. “He looked at them, he understood them and he just shook his head and said ‘I guess we gotta do it.’”
Watch Trump below: