3/30/20: Members of the Coronavirus Task Force Hold a Press Briefing

The President: Okay, thank you very much. Thank you. Very comfortable here. Much space. And we appreciate you being here. Yesterday I announced that we would be extending our social distancing guidelines until the end of April. This is based on modeling that shows the peak of deaths will not arrive for another two weeks. The same model also shows that if we followed these guidelines very vigorously, we could save more than 1 million American lives. Think about that: 1 million American lives. Our future is in our own hands, and the decisions and sacrifices we make will determine the fate of this virus and, indeed, the fate of our victory.

We will have a great victory. We have no choice. Each of us has a role to play in winning this war. Every citizen, family and business can make a difference to stop the virus. This is our shared patriotic duty. There are difficult times ahead over the next 30 days, and these are very vital 30 days. We are putting everything on the line in these 30 days. Very important because we have to return. But the more we dedicate ourselves today, the faster we will come out on the other side of the crisis. And that is the moment we are waiting for.

The more we commit now, the sooner we can win the fight and get back to our lives. And they will be wonderful lives, perhaps better than ever. Today we reach a historic milestone in our war against

coronavirus

. More than 1 million Americans have been tested so far, more than any other country by far; not even close, and tested accurately. And I think what I would like to do is ask Secretary Azar, who has done a fantastic job, to come forward and say a few words about the fact that we have already reached substantially over 1 million tests. Please.

Thanks Alex. Secretary Azar: Well, thank you, Mr. President, for his leadership in marshalling all the resources we have for this unprecedented testing effort. And thank you, Mr. Vice President, for leading an economy-wide testing approach. As the President mentioned, today the United States reached more than 1 million samples analyzed, a figure that no other country has reached. We are now testing almost 100,000 samples a day, a level no other country has reached. I want to thank all the partners who have been involved in this effort. That includes every man and woman at the FDA and CDC, including Director Redfield and Commissioner Hahn.

Together, the FDA and CDC have worked to balance the need for testing on an aggressive scale with the scientific rigor that Americans expect. Working with our testing coordinator, Admiral Giroir, they have now truly unleashed the ingenuity of the private sector and our state and local leaders, centerpieces of America's historic approach to testing. I want to thank the state and local leaders who have used their resources and knowledge on the ground to lead testing and make it much more accessible to Americans who need it. I am also grateful to FEMA, with whom we are now working closely to provide state and local partners with what they need.

I also want to thank CMS, where Administrator Verma has given healthcare providers unprecedented flexibility to expand testing and treatment capacity, and ensured that testing is paid for. Finally, we would not be where we are today without the many American companies, entrepreneurs, and scientists who have worked day and night to develop, starting today, 20 different emergency testing options. Since the FDA typically responds to clearance requests within 24 hours, the number of options grows almost every day. The FDA has also opened up new options for using available tests, such as self-swabbing and new reagent options. I also want to thank the FDA and other components of HHS for incredibly quick action on other tools we need.

This weekend we are working to obtain 30 million Sandoz tablets and 1 million Bayer tablets of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, which are potential treatments against COVID-19. And we authorized Battelle's new decontamination machines, each of which can sterilize thousands of essential N95 masks for reuse every day. So thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership and thank you to everyone who has helped get us to where we are today. Thank you. The President: Thank you very much. Thank you. I would like to ask Dr. Hahn to come, the FDA, because we have some really good stuff. First of all, the numbers have been incredible in testing, but in the coming days we will go even faster.

And we have something from Abbott Labs, which is right here, and it's a five-minute test, very accurate. And maybe I can demonstrate it as we listen to our FDA Commissioner - the work he has done in the approval process. A moment ago we talked about chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine. I thought about mentioning it, but Alex already did, but now we have it under test with 1,100 people in New York. And it was only the rapid approval of the FDA that allowed us to do it. It was a really quick approval. And doctor, please say a few words. And this is the first in line for Abbott's five-minute test.

Dr. Hahn: Thank you, Mr. President, for his leadership. Thank you, Mr. Vice President, for your leadership of the

task

force

. I am very proud of the work of FDA staff over the past few months to accelerate the availability of testing in this country. I also incredibly appreciate the ingenuity and willingness of private industries to work with us quickly to develop and distribute those tests. We have had a substantial addition to testing with the authorization of point-of-care testing, especially the Abbott point-of-care test, which the President took out of the box. A point-of-care test is a test that gives you a result at the place where you receive care.

This is truly a patient-centered approach, whether in the doctor's office, a hospital, an emergency room, an urgent care center, or a drive-through testing site. Just like testing for the flu or strep, where you go to the doctor and you can get tested, you can get an answer within minutes of getting tested. Now, with the approval of those tests for Abbott and others, they are available nationwide. They are planning to increase the number of tests that can be done across the country over the next month. And patients can get the answer in just 15 to 5 minutes. And then, of course, an appropriate treatment plan can be given.

At the FDA we are also working quickly with Abbott and other testing approaches. And these tests typically take months to develop. I was on the phone today with the CEO of Abbott. He told me it's typically a 9 to 12 month approach to developing a point-of-care test. They did this in collaboration with the FDA and the US government in a matter of weeks. Abbott has shared that they will be doing these tests tomorrow and then ramping them up. I would just like to emphasize one thing: the most innovative and safe products come from the private sector in partnership with the government, taking a collaborative approach, as in this case.

And the other point here is that Abbott and the FDA worked together to make sure that we had a rapid, reliable and accurate test to market. Thank you. The President: Thank you, doctor. Great job too. Really great job. Thanks Steve. That's why the pharmaceutical company Sandoz has been working very closely with us. And as Alex mentioned a little bit, 30 million doses of hydroxychloroquine have been delivered to the United States government. And Bayer has donated 1 million doses of chloroquine, which will soon be distributed to states and state health officials across the country. Teva Pharmaceuticals is also donating 6 million doses of hydroxychloroquine to U.S. hospitals.

There are 6 million doses. So the private sector, as you would say, Steve, has been amazing, what's happened. Truly amazing. And we'll introduce you to some of the top business executives in the world today, no matter where you go, and tell you a little bit about what they're doing. And then we have many more. The FDA has also cleared Battelle's N95 respirator mask sterilization kits. It's something amazing. I've been asking myself, "Why do we throw away these masks?" If you look at some of these masks, they are important pieces of equipment. And I say, "How come you throw them away?

Why don't they use sterilization techniques?" And I got a call from Mike DeWine, the governor of Ohio, and he's a fantastic guy, a fantastic governor, and he said, "We have a company called Battelle and they're having a hard time getting government approval." FDA." I called Dr. Hahn and in a very short time they got approval. Steve, we really appreciate it. I want to thank Mike and I want to thank Steve. And they will be able to do it: each machine can now disinfect 120,000 masks per day. Now, think in that. Each machine can disinfect 120,000 masks a day.

It will be like a new one. It can go up to about 20 times for each mask. So each mask can go through this process 20 times. will soon be shipping to Seattle, Washington, and also Washington, D.C. So that's going to make a tremendous difference in the masks. This morning I spoke to our nation's governors to help every state get the medical supplies they need. Vice President Mike Pence called on our nation's hospitals to begin daily reporting total bed capacity, ICU bed capacity, ventilator capacity, and levels of vital medical supplies. And Mike, thanks for the great work.

Thank you so much. In New York, the 2,900-bed hospital under construction, which is now completed; They finished it in three days; You could say that three and a half days, at the Javits Center, will be completed today. It will be, and when you look, then they are going up. I think we're going to add a few more beds, which will be finished today. And we have opened up... wow, there goes our box. And my hair waves and it's mine. (laughs) The only thing you can't do with yours. If it's not yours, you have a problem, if you're president.

And nearly 3,000 medical beds will come into operation. The US Navy ship Comfort also arrived today, equipped with 12 operating rooms and 1,000 hospital beds. Work has begun on additional temporary hospital sites, including a 600-bed nursing home in Brooklyn and numerous floors of a high-rise building on Wall Street. So it's been really amazing what they've done, and the Army Corps of Engineers, what they've done. They've built, they just completed, think about it, a 2,900-bed hospital in New York in just three days, maybe four days. And the whole city is talking about it. On top of that, we float on a large ship, which will have 1000 rooms, which will be used for patients outside of what we focus on.

And that will free up a lot of space for what we are focused on. So, it's been great. The Army Corps of Engineers has also awarded contracts for the construction of alternative care facilities at Stony Brook State University, Old Westbury State University and the Westchester Community Center. Today we will send 60 ambulances to New York City. We have a total of 60. We will receive some additional ones, and up to 190 more will follow in different locations. To date, FEMA has committed more than $1.3 billion in federal support to New York State. So we're spending a lot of money in New York.

It's hot... it's a hotbed. No doubt about it. And we're putting a lot of time and effort into New York, New Jersey. I spoke a lot with Governor Cuomo. I spoke a lot with Governor Murphy in New Jersey. And we're... we're really doing the work. People are very im

press

ed, and I'm very im

press

ed by the people at FEMA, the people at the Army Corps of Engineers because what they've done, I've never seen anyone do anything like that. In addition to the 8,100 ventilators we've already delivered over the next 48 hours, we'll be delivering more than 1,000. We're leaving: 400 ventilators are going to Michigan very soon, 300 are going to New Jersey, 150 ventilators are going to Illinois, 150 are going to Louisiana, and 50 are going to Connecticut.

FEMA and HHS have already delivered 11.6 million N95 respirators, 26 million surgical masks, 5.3 million face shields, 4.4 million surgical gowns and 22 million gloves. And I don't know if you just saw it. It has just come through the wires that Ford has just announced, recently, that they will produce, together with General Electric Healthcare, 50,000 respirators, and they will do so in less than 100 days. In addition to that, we have other companies that make ventilators, including General Motors. But we have nine other companies that make ventilators. As we outgrow what we need, we will ship them to Italy. We will send them to France.

We will send them to Spain, where they have tremendous problems, and to other countries that we can. But the fact that we are doing so much in such a short time is a tribute to our great companies. More than 14,000 National Guard

members

have been activated and can help supplement state and local effortsto distribute personal protective equipment, where we are sending a lot. We have loaded planes arriving. We have 51 shipments from various places around the world, and they are landing. This morning our first large cargo plane landed and we are receiving them from all over the world.

And we're also sending things we don't need to other places. I just spoke with the Prime Minister of Italy and we have additional capacity. We have additional product that we do not need. We are going to send approximately 100 million dollars in surgical, medical and hospital items to Italy. And Giuseppe was very, very happy, I assure you. They are having a very bad time. This afternoon we are joined by CEOs of major American companies who are doing their patriotic duty by producing or donating medical equipment to help meet our most urgent needs. What they are doing is incredible.

And these are big companies. Honeywell's Darius Adamczyk... you know that. And Darius has been someone I've dealt with in the past and he's a great leader of a great company. Debra Waller of Jockey International. A friend of mine, Mike Lindell from MyPillow. Boy, do you sell those pillows? It's amazing what you do. David Taylor of Procter & Gamble and Greg Hayes of United Technologies Corporation. And I just want to tell all of you that America is very grateful to you and what you've done. You have done an incredible job and we thank you very much. I'd like you to come up and say a couple of words, so to speak, about your companies.

Mike, come up. Come on, guys, please. Let's go up. You have to say what you're doing because it's been really amazing. Go ahead, Mike. Mr. Lindell: Well, MyPillow is a vertically integrated American company, which has been

force

d to adapt to the changing business environment as a result of the pandemic. MyPillow's unique position as a US company operates as a manufacturer, fulfillment distributor and direct-to-consumer. Given our current lines of business, we are experiencing first-hand the effects of this pandemic. What MyPillow has done: We have established an internal working group that is monitoring the future needs of businesses across the country as a result of this pandemic.

And given our position, we have begun researching and developing new protocols to address the current and future needs of American businesses across multiple sectors, how businesses will prepare when they reopen, and changes to their current operations to adapt to future threats. and pandemics. MyPillow has designated some of its call centers to help American businesses deal with the many issues that have arisen from this pandemic. We have dedicated 75 percent of my manufacturing to producing cotton masks. In three days, I reached 10,000 a day. By Friday I want to reach 50,000 per day. I am proud to manufacture our products in the United States and I am even more proud to be able to serve our nation in this great time of need.

Thank you, Mr. President, for your call to action when... you have empowered companies like MyPillow to help our nation win this invisible war. Now, I wrote something off the cuff, if I can read this. The President: Okay. Mr. Lindell: (Laughter). Go gave us the grace on November 8, 2016 to change the course we were on. God had been removed from our schools and lives. A nation had turned its back on God. And I encourage you to use this time at home to come home and get back to the Word, read our Bibles, and spend time with our families.

Our President gave us so much hope when, just a few months ago, we had the best economy, lowest unemployment and rising wages. It was incredible. With our great President, Vice President, this administration and all the great people of this country praying daily, we will get through this and return to a place that is stronger and safer than ever. The President: That is very nice. Thank you so much. Thanks, Mike. I appreciate it. Please come up. I didn't know he was going to do that, but he's a friend of mine and I appreciate him. Thank you very much Mike.

Please. Mr. Adamczyk: First of all, Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, the entire administration and all agencies, thank you for your strong leadership during this time of crisis. It shows and it is making a difference. Secondly, I would like to thank all the healthcare workers. You're putting yourself in harm's way every day and we really respect what you're doing, and we couldn't be grateful enough for it. And I can tell you that more help is on the way. We, like Honeywell, are an industrial technology company. And one of the businesses we are in: we protect the industrial worker.

But what we are doing today is reusing much of that equipment to serve the healthcare worker. A few days ago we announced the launch of a new manufacturing plant in Rhode Island. We are going to hire 500 employees. We already have 200 on board. And we will begin production of N95 masks in the next two weeks. Additionally, today we announced the launch of another manufacturing facility in Arizona. We are going to hire another 500 people. And we will begin production at that facility in mid-May. In total, we have already doubled our production of N95 masks. It will double again in the next 60 days.

And then within the next 90 days, we will have 5 times the capacity we have today. In addition, we will provide other security equipment to support all efforts being made. Lastly, I will thank all Honeywell employees and also announce a $10 million fund for them, for all hourly and administrative employees who are having a difficult time during this time of crisis. Thank you, Mr. President. The President: Thank you very much. Fantastic. Thank you. Normally I would shake his hand, but we're not supposed to anymore. Then it's okay. Great job. Thanks to Honeywell. Please go ahead. Debra, please. Ms. Waller: Thank you, Mr.

President and Mr. Vice President, for your guidance during this unprecedented time. And I feel very honored to be here today. Founded by a minister 144 years ago, Jockey International is a family-owned business based in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Since 1876, we've been providing socks and underwear to generations of families. It is part of our DNA to roll up our sleeves and help our country in its time of need. During World War II we manufactured parachutes for the military. And today, we look forward to serving this great country by providing support to healthcare workers who are on the front lines of this fight.

As the president and vice president have said, it is an all-America approach and we are committed. Jockey has had a long-standing partnership with Georgia-based Encompass Group, serving the healthcare community. When we learned of the critical need for PPE, we knew we had to help. That meant restarting production of level three isolation gowns. Jockey, Encompass, FEMA, and the FDA performed a monumental lift in just a few days to get it ready for production. As a result, we hope to begin delivering between 30,000 and 50,000 gowns per week, helping those who need it most right now. Additionally, this week we will also donate 10,000 units of medical gowns to frontline doctors and nurses at the Javits Convention Center in New York City.

We could not have done this without the collaboration of the administration, federal agency representatives, and Congressman Bryan Steil. Thank you very much, Mr. President and Mr. Vice President, Mr. Vice President. The President: Thank you very much. Mrs. Waller: Thank you. The President: Fantastic job. Thank you so much. Mr. Taylor: Thank you, Mr. President and Mr. Vice President, for meeting today. I am proud to represent the men and women of Procter & Gamble, who work every day, 24 hours a day, to create and manufacture essential cleaning, hygiene and healthcare products for families around the world. These include healthcare workers and institutions caring for those on the front lines.

P&G people are the faces of brands you know and trust: brands like Tide, Pampers, Bounty, Charmin, Mr. Clean and Vicks. In addition to manufacturing, packaging, and shipping these essential items, they worked together to transform our plants and make things we'd never made before, like hand sanitizers and face masks. Some of them are already reaching national, state and local agencies. Some of them are already in hospitals. Around the world, PNG people work every day to serve everyone – the consumers. And they are working together to bring together the full power of our research and development, our engineering, our manufacturing and our communications capabilities to ensure that we make a difference for the consumers we serve and for the entire audience we can make a difference to. difference. difference a.

I want to thank you and I am so grateful for what you do every day in service to others. Thank you, Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, for meeting us today. The President: Thank you. Please. Mr. Hayes: Mr. President. Good afternoon. I'm Greg Hayes from United Technologies, and on behalf of the 240,000 United Technologies employees and the 70,000 Raytheon employees who will be joining UTC this Friday, I first want to thank the president and vice president. President for his leadership during what is truly a war. It's a different war than anyone has fought before, but it's a war we are uniquely qualified to help with.

As one of the largest defense contractors in the world and with some of the best technology, we're using that technology to try to solve some real-world problems. Today, we are working with the Air Force to try to assist pilots as they transport medical evacuees with the COVID-19 virus, so that they can be protected and the patients can be protected. Once again, we are also working with logistics. And if you think about a war, strategy is important, but logistics wins the war. I believe it is imperative that FEMA, along with Mr. Navarro's office, coordinate all of these activities.

Last week we donated about 90,000 pieces of personal protective equipment to FEMA. Next week we will have another almost million. Again, working through our supply chain partners around the world. Also today, this week, we begin manufacturing face shields. Using the additive technologies we have and the machines we have available at UTC, we will be able to produce approximately 10,000 shields in the next four weeks; again, all the necessary equipment. We are willing to help in any way we can. We don't need the Defense Production Act to ask us to act. All the people at UTC and Raytheon are focused on this war and winning it.

Again, I also want to thank all of our employees for their work during this crisis, as well as frontline doctors and other first responders. Thank you so much. The President: Thank you very much. Thank you. Fantastic. Big company. Those are big companies. Thank you so much. I would like to ask Seema to come forward and say a few words about what they are doing, what is happening and how positive it has been. I really appreciate it. Come on, Seema Verma. Administrator Verma: Thank you, Mr. President. And let me start by saying that I want to extend my deepest condolences to those who have lost loved ones to the

coronavirus

.

We are all thinking of you. Today is Doctor's Day, and even without it, I want to send a message of gratitude to the foot soldiers in this war: men and women who are providing care and comfort to Americans who have been affected by the virus. Your country is grateful. And, in short, as the President has said, we are immersed in a war against an invisible enemy. In times of war, peacetime assumptions must be reviewed and adjusted to meet the demands of the moment. And so, under the President's leadership, CMS is waiving a wide and unprecedented range of regulatory requirements.

Now, many health systems will not need these waivers and should not use them if they don't need them, but flexibilities are there. In times of crisis, regulations should not hinder patient care. And there are several components to our announcement today, but the first is CMS Hospitals Without Walls, and this will allow hospital systems to create new treatment sites outside their facilities to expand capacity and be able to safely separate patients. infected. with the coronavirus and those without. Now, FEMA is doing incredible work, setting up temporary hospitals in New York and other areas. But under these waivers, we are empowering local communities to complement and augment FEMA's work and allowing hospital systems to leverage capacity that already exists in their communities, making use of dormitories and hotels or gyms, and allowing the main hospital Focus on those who need the most intensive care.

There are surgical centers today that are delaying elective surgeries and may have excess capacity that can be devoted to hospital-like care. We're alsomaking changes to the Medicare program to make testing easier. So some people who need a coronavirus test can't leave their house or patients who are in a nursing home, and now we will pay for labs to go to these places and perform tests. And we are also expanding the workforce. Today we are taking steps to relax some of our regulations and allow hospitals to increase their workforce. And we are allowing a wide range of flexibilities so that we can allow healthcare workers to operate at the maximum of their license.

And we are also allowing our hospitals to provide more support to our healthcare workers. Under current regulations, they can only provide minimal support to healthcare workers, but now we will allow them to provide childcare, meals and laundry services. And then there's also telehealth. The President has already led a dramatic expansion of telehealth to the 62 million seniors in our country who have Medicare. And we are very proud of all healthcare - healthcare providers and patients who have rapidly implemented telehealth. But today we announced that we are going even further and paying doctors to make phone calls to their patients and provide care over the phone.

And we are getting rid of long-standing barriers to telehealth in the Medicare program, allowing emergency rooms to use telehealth and eliminating requirements that some visits be conducted face-to-face. And I also want to mention that, on Saturday, the president ordered CMS to offer advance payments to healthcare providers who are experiencing cash flow problems. We know that many providers are complying with our recommendations to delay non-essential elective surgeries and should not be penalized for doing the right thing. Now, I've barely scratched the surface of all the flexibilities we're offering to workers and health systems. These flexibilities will provide much flexibility to regulations that are not tailored to the unprecedented needs of this emergency.

And doctors, nurses and other health care professionals who work long hours, sacrifice time with their families and risk their lives will have the flexibility they need to meet the needs of the coronavirus pandemic. And there are many heroes in this war, but I want to take the opportunity to thank the CMS team. These people have worked day and night. The flexibilities that are in this regulation, in any regulation, typically take CMS a year, but we did it in two weeks, and I couldn't feel more honored and privileged to serve alongside these dedicated public servants. Thank you.

The President: Thank you very much, Seema. Fantastic work. And you're doing a great job. So, we are in the middle of something that is very difficult, but we are going to win; It's just a question of when. We want to do it as quickly as possible. We want to have as few deaths as possible. And we'll meet again tomorrow to get some stats and some updates on where we are, where we think we're going, and the timing. I think the moment will be very important because we have to recover our country. We have to get our country back to where it was and maybe beyond where it was because we have learned a lot.

But we will have lost a lot of people. And in many ways, they are heroes. And if you look at what is happening with our medical professionals, it is a danger. They are... they are warriors. Men and women are doing work that I don't think anyone has ever seen. I see them today getting off planes, going to New York, going to the most dangerous places, the most dangerous areas. And they go in there and they just want to get the job done. And you see the numbers. You see the numbers like I see the numbers. I have some friends who are incredibly sick.

We thought they were going to have a smooth stay. And, in one case, he is unconscious, in a coma. And you say, "How did that happen?" So I just want to thank all the great professionals: men and women, doctors, nurses, paramedics, first responders and law enforcement officers. By the way, if you look at New York and see how the effect this has had on law enforcement, it's been incredible. They are great people: firefighters. Good people. They are helping in many different ways. So thank you very much. And if you want, we will answer some questions. John, please.

Press: Thank you, Mr. President. Yesterday he said that he would extend the guidelines until the end of April and that he would give us specific details tomorrow. The President: Correct. Press: Do you expect the guidelines that have been in place for 15 days to remain in place? Could there be any modification? You also have some travel restrictions that arise for reconsideration. The President: Yes. La Prensa: That of the EU on April 13. The President: Correct. La Prensa: Canada-United States-Mexico Border. The President: Sure. They will stay. Press: -- April 21. The President: They will stay. Press: What will happen to all that?

The President: They will stay and we may add a few more, but the guidelines will be more or less the same. Maybe it's even hardened a little. But they are having a big impact. They are having a tremendous impact and we are starting to see it. And that's the key: we're starting to see the impact they're having. Press: And if I could ask you too. You talked about Ford now ramping up production. The President: Yes. The Press: -- of fans. The government sends... The President: Correct. La Prensa: -- thousands of ventilators throughout the country. It is evident that the supply is increasing.

But when you compare the production curve to the hospitalization curve, can you guarantee that everyone who needs a ventilator in the coming weeks will be able to get one? The President: Well, I think some are ramping up to a level that they're not going to have to, John, and I think we've also kept a reserve: we have almost 10,000 ventilators in our lineup. We've got them. We have held back just because we made reservations. We didn't want to give them to them because we don't know where the emergency happens, this happens, it happens very quickly. It comes so fast.

And we have 10,000; we will probably send some of them now. We have been shipping a lot to Michigan and other states. We'll probably send some additional ones to Michigan. New York has done very well, but we can add something more to New York. We are adding them to the areas that have problems. Even Alabama all of a sudden blew up a little bit, as you've seen the last few days, and we're sending them to Alabama. So, we have 10,000; We save them for this very specific purpose. It seems like a lot, but it's not when you think about it.

But we are manufacturing a lot and when you see, they are talking about hundreds of thousands manufactured in a very short period of time because if you look at what, now we have 10 companies, at least, making the ventilators. And we say: "Go ahead." Because, honestly, other countries will never be able to do it. It is a very complex piece of equipment and it is large and expensive. Press: So do you think, as we approach this peak in a couple of weeks, that there will be enough for the American population? The President: I think so. Yes I think so.

I think we're going to be in very good shape. And today we had a great call with the governors. And I actually said, I hope the media is listening to this call because it was a very good call. And that was selected at random: mostly Democrats and Republicans. I think, for the most part, they were saying thank you for doing a great job. And we discussed it at the end of the call. People are really very happy with what we are doing. Now, the circumstances are terrible because of what's going on, but I think they're very impressed by the federal government.

I saw that beautiful ship floating today, you know, weeks ahead of schedule; almost four weeks ahead of schedule... to New York Harbor. The comfort. And I saw the Mercy floating toward Los Angeles a week ago, almost a week ago. And they are supplied. They are really ready to go. They are packed with talent and huge amounts of equipment. And the Navy and everyone else involved prepared it very quickly. It's just amazing what they can do. They have prepared themselves. That's why I'm so impressed by the people involved. Mike and I were talking about that earlier: the level of genius to put it all together so quickly.

This wasn't... a month ago, no one had heard of this. Nobody had any idea. The Mercy was

hold

ing up. She spent a month in maintenance. And when they found out we needed it, and I was surprised, they said, "Sir, we're ready to go." I said, "What do you mean? You won't be ready for three weeks." "No, sir, we are all ready to go." It was incredible. So... and we have had many cases like this. I think the construction of the hospital (2,900 beds) in a matter of days (a few days) is simply incredible. Governor Cuomo was impressed and Gavin Newsom was impressed by what we've been doing with Gavin in California and the Los Angeles area in particular, but really in San Francisco.

All over. All over California. When you look at what we're doing with Michigan, we get along very well with Michigan. It's a great, great place. We're shipping a lot of stuff to Michigan because it's becoming a hotbed, especially in a specific area, as you know. It's really hot. It's become... I don't know, it might even, at some point, replace it. But you have to take care of it. So the relationship that we have with the governors, I just wish they could do it, because we get a lot of calls from a lot of different states and I wish they would have listened.

Even something called by the governor of Ohio, where he has a company that does sterilization, but they have a problem because the FDA is not moving quickly. And I call Steve. And Steve comes in and says, "We'll do it." They checked and did it almost immediately. And originally they were approving it for 10,000 masks. And then it was supposed to be for 80 and in the end they approved it for 120,000. I mean, that's a tremendous number. And I was wondering why don't they sterilize these masks? And I figured maybe you couldn't do it. But then I looked at them and they looked like, you know, it's not fabric.

It's something that looks like it can be sterilized and that's what they've done. And that's the machine that's actually there. They have a piece of the machine there. I won't bother showing it to you. And this is incredible, when we talk about 5 minutes, 15 minutes, and very precise and not as disturbing as the other tests. So, we've just gotten better. We are doing things that no one else ever thought of. Please. The Press: The DMV has issued stay-at-home orders, but Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia went quite far. He issued a 70-day stay-at-home order. Is that constitutional in the first place?

And secondly, do you think it's justified to go ahead and issue 70-day guidance at this time? The President: Well, we are letting the governors do practically whatever they want in their states with our supervision, and they consult us in all cases. Some go further than others, as you know. I mean, I could give you a lot of examples, but I won't because we never want to be controversial. But some of the governors have gone a step further. Press: Did he consult you at any point? The President: And people are questioning it. People are questioning it. But look, staying home, for what we're talking about, doesn't bother me at all.

People should stay home. That's what we want. OAN, please. OAN. La Prensa: Two thousand four hundred and five Americans have died from coronavirus in the last sixty days. The President: Yes. The Press: Meanwhile, there are 2,369 children who are murdered by their mothers through elective abortions every day. There are 16,500 children murdered every week. The President: Yes. Press: Two states have suspended elective abortion to have more resources for coronavirus cases. That's Texas and Ohio. Do you agree with states putting coronavirus victims above elective abortions? And should more states do the same? The President: Well, I think what we are doing is that, as a group, the governors (that is, the Republicans and the Democrats) are simply working together to solve this problem.

That's been... what you're mentioning has been going on for a long time and it's a sad event. Many sad events in this country. But what we are doing now is working on the virus. We are working on that hidden enemy and I think we are doing a great job, the best job possible. When Tony and Deborah came out with figures yesterday to say that if we did nothing, we could lose 2.2 (up to two points) and maybe more, I don't know. Maybe further. But 2.2 million people if we did nothing. And I can't tell you what the unfortunate final balance will be, but it will be a very small fraction of that.

I think we're doing a tremendously good job with what we're doing. La Prensa: Do you support Texas and Ohio? The President: Please go ahead. Please. Press: Are you ever considering a nationwide stay-at-home order? I know there are many states that have implemented them, but others have not. Just wondering if you were considering some kind of broad stay-at-home order. And then I also have a question for Dr. Birx, if you don't mind. The President: Yes. Well, we have talked about it. We... you know,There are - obviously, there are some parts of the country that are in much bigger trouble than others.

There are other parts that, frankly, have no problem. So hopefully we can keep it that way doing what we're doing. So we talked about quarantine, as you know, the other day. A group approached me and wanted to quarantine. And I said, "Let's think about it." And we did it. And we study it. And when the night came, it was something very difficult to handle, very difficult to enforce, and something we didn't want to do. But we made an announcement and I think it's working well. I mean, I see... I look at the streets. If you look at New York, where it is... today I looked at Fifth Avenue.

They were showing a shot of Fifth Avenue in prime time and there was hardly anyone on Fifth Avenue. I've never seen that before. There was no car. There was nothing. That's why I think the people of this country have done an incredible job. If we do, we'll let you know, but I think it's pretty unlikely at this point. Press: And can I also ask Dr. Birx a quick question? The President: Yes. The Press: So, Dr. Birx, if you don't mind, you mentioned today that this model that predicts 100,000 deaths is if we do things almost perfectly. So I wanted to know are we currently doing things almost perfectly or are there more things we need to be doing to limit... you know, not exceed that 100,000, 200,000 model?

The President: Please. Come. Dr. Birx: Thank you. I think it's a really excellent question and tomorrow we will review all the charts and all the information that we brought to the President to make a decision. But when you, and I just want to thank the data team that is working day and night to get it, I mean, I usually get my data around 2 a.m. of them and they assimilate all the data from all the states. And when you look at all the states together, they all move on exactly the same curves. And that's why we really believe that this should be a federal guide, so that each state understands that today it can look like two cases: that it becomes 20, that it becomes 200, that it becomes 2000.

And that's what we are trying to prevent. And I think states still have that opportunity, but they're going to have to make all of these recommendations. I mean, these recommendations are recommendations that the world is using. So we really recommend that every governor and every mayor look very carefully and make sure that their communities are using this guidance. The President: Thank you very much. Thank you. It's amazing. If you look at Louisiana, for a long time it came to nothing. And suddenly one day I look and I see a lot, a lot, a lot, and then it explodes.

And now we are working very carefully and powerfully with them. We're building hospitals and a lot of different things for Louisiana. So it is very important. Yes please. Forward. La Prensa: Mr. President, Dr. Fauci has warned that this could be a cyclical and seasonal virus. So, and maybe you both could comment on this, and so could Dr. Birx. Are you prepared for this to happen again, say, in the fall? All the efforts that are going on right now to contain this, to be proactive, and you... The President: Yes. They were prepared. I hope it doesn't happen.

Doctor, would you like to say something about this? I hope it doesn't happen, but we are certainly prepared. DR. FAUCI: In fact, I would anticipate that would happen because of the degree of transmissibility. However, if it comes back in the fall, it will be a totally different ball game than what happened when it first hit us earlier this year. There will be several things that will be different. Our ability to go out and be able to test, identify, isolate and trace contacts will be much better than it was just a couple of months ago. Additionally, we have a number of clinical trials looking at a variety of therapeutic interventions.

We hope that one or more of them will be available. And the most important thing, as I mentioned many times in these

briefing

s, is that we have a vaccine that is on the right track and many other candidates. So, I would anticipate that, you know, within a year to a year and a half, we could do it in an emergency use. If we start to see a sign of efficacy, we may even be able to use a vaccine next season. So things are going to be very, very different. What we are going through now will be more than just lessons learned;

They will be things that we will have at our disposal that we did not have before. The President: Okay. Please. Forward. Press: Mr. President, Scott, thank you. Scott Gottlieb, his former FDA commissioner, wrote a roadmap for recovery after the coronavirus. The President: Yes. Very interesting. I saw it. The Press: Suggests... the roadmap suggests that everyone wear a mask in public. Is that something the

task

force thinks is a good idea? The President: Well, we haven't discussed it to that point, but it's certainly something we could discuss. We are certainly getting the number of masks that you would need.

We're in the process of talking about things. I saw your suggestion about it. Then we'll take a look at it. For a period of time, not forever. I mean, you know, we want our country back. We won't wear masks forever, but it could be for a short period of time. After we get back up and running, people could - I could see something like this happening for a period of time, but I expect it to be a very limited period of time. The doctors will come back and say "for the rest of our lives, we will have to wear masks." The Press: Is it... the roadmap also talks about doing GPS for social distancing, maybe tracking people's phones and hotels to isolate people, giving them free hotel rooms?

Are those ideas you're seeing? The President: Well, GPS... is a very serious idea. I've been hearing about it: GPS. So what happens? Does a siren sound if you get too close to someone? That's pretty serious. But he is someone, he was with me for a long time. He worked...did a great job at the FDA. So let's take a look. I just... I just got it a while ago. He sent it. Very good. Forward. Let's try it. La Prensa: Sir, what do you say to the Americans who are upset with you for the way you... The President: Here we go.

The press: During the last few months have you downplayed this crisis? "We have it very under control in this country. The coronavirus is very under control in the United States. It's going to go away. It's like a miracle. It's going to go away." March 4: "We have a very small number of infected people in this country." March 10: "We are prepared. We are doing a great job with this. It will pass. Just stay calm. It will pass." The President: Well, isn't it? Will disappear. Press: What do you say to Americans who think they got this wrong? The President: And I want you to remain calm.

And we are doing a great job. If you look at those individual statements, they are all true. Keep calm. Will disappear. You know it, you know it's going to go away and it will go away. And we are going to have a great victory. And it's people like you and CNN that say things like that. That's why people don't want to listen to CNN anymore. You could ask a normal question. The statements I made are: I want to keep the country calm. I don't want panic to spread in the country. I could cause panic much better than you.

It could do a lot: It would make you look like a minor leaguer. But you know what? I do not want to do that. I want our country to be calm and strong, fight and win, and everything will disappear. And it's incredible the work that all these people are doing, bringing everyone together, the work that they're doing. I'm very proud of the work they're doing, what Mike Pence is doing, what the task force has done, what Honeywell, Procter & Gamble, Mike and all these people have done. I am very proud. It's... it's almost a miracle, and it is... the way it all comes together.

And instead of asking a nasty, sarcastic question like that, you should ask a real question. And other than that, I'm going to go to someone else. Please go ahead. Please. The Press: You expressed some concern in the past that medical supplies were going out the back door. The President: Yes. Press: -- and that, perhaps, some hospitals were doing worse things than hoarding. The President: Well, I expressed what a tremendous power in the business told me. He said that at a hospital in New York, over a long period of time, they were supplying 10,000, maybe at most 20,000 masks in a short period of time.

And suddenly, it gives 300,000. And I said, "No matter how bad this is, could it be possible?" He said no. "So there's only a couple of things that can happen. Is it going out the back door? And I reported it to the city and let the city take a look at it. But when you go from 10,000 masks to 300,000, Mike , during the same period of time, something is happening. Now, I'm not making any charges, but when everyone is looking for masks, and, by the way, that's another thing: we are making a lot of masks. And the sterilization process will save. a lot of time and a lot of masks.

But when you have the largest distributor of products that distributes to many of the big hospitals and hospital chains, and he mentions a statistic like that, and I know you're trying to make a big deal of it, but you shouldn't. Don't. It will be. You should actually go to the hospital and find out why. You shouldn't ask me. I'm just saying that's the way it is. The President: I should go there like a big reporter. But it's okay. You should go there, go to the hospital and find out: How come you got 10,000 masks and had the hospital full?

New York City...always packed. And how come you now have 300,000 masks? Despite the virus and everything, you have three... how do you go from 10 to 300,000? And this is something very serious. I mean, I could see 10 to 20, or 10 to 40 or 50 or something like that. But how do you go from 10 to 300,000 masks? So what I think you should do is like... I'm sure you're a wonderful investigative journalist. You should go to the hospital and find out why. Okay, yeah. La Prensa: Are you asking your Department of Justice to investigate you, sir? The President: Steve, please. Press: You said there are difficult times ahead in the next 30 days.

What will the American economy be like when (inaudible) is on the other side? The President: Well, it's very bad for the economy, but the economy is second on my list. First, I want to save many lives. We are going to recover the economy. I think the economy is going to recover very quickly. Steve just asks about the economy, what it's like. We basically shut down our country, and we did it to keep people apart, keep people apart. They don't work in offices or travel together on airplanes. You know, we really closed it. And, you know, another 150, 151 countries are pretty much on lockdown.

But here we are... we had the largest economy in the world. We had the greatest economy in the history of our country. And I had to go from doing great work for three years to closing it. But you know what? We are going to develop it and we will do it quickly. And I believe that, in the end, we will be stronger for it. We learned a lot. We learned a lot. And I have to say that we have had excellent relations with many countries. China sent us some stuff, which was fantastic. Russia sent us a very, very big plane full of medical things and equipment, which was very nice.

Other countries sent us things that surprised me a lot, they surprised me very happily. We learned a lot. We are learning a lot. And we're also learning that the concept of boundaries is very important, Steve. It's very important. Having boundaries is very, very important. But we have done an incredible job. The economy is going to recover. My goal is to save lives. That's the only approach I can have. We are going to recover the economy and we will do it quickly. Yes please. La Prensa: To follow up. The President: Go ahead. The Press: Mr. President. The President: Please.

Press: Thank you, Mr. President. You said several times that the United States has increased testing. I'll speak a little faster... or a little louder. Mr. President, you have said several times that the United States has increased testing, but the United States is still not testing as many people per capita as other countries like South Korea. Why is that? And when do you think that number will be on par with other countries? And Dr.... The President: Yes, well, it's... it's very much on par. La Prensa: Not per capita. The President: Look, look, per capita. We have areas of the country that are very narrow.

I know South Korea better than anyone. It's... very tight. Do you know how many people there are in Seoul? Do you know how big the city of Seoul is? Press: But the question is about (inaudible). The President: Thirty-eight million people. That's bigger than anything we have. Thirty-eight million people, all very united. We have vast farmlands. We have large areas where they don't have many problems. In some cases they don't have any problems. We have done more tests. What I didn't do... I didn't talk about per capita. We have done more testing, by far, than any country in the world.

Our testing is also better than any country in the world. And when you look at that, as simple as it may seem, it's a game changer, andall countries want that. Each country. So instead of asking a question like that, they should congratulate the people who have done these tests, because we inherited... this administration inherited a broken system, a system that was outdated, a system that didn't work. It was fine for a small group of people, but once you got past that, it didn't work. We have built an incredible system, where we have now conducted more tests than any other country in the world.

And now the technology is really booming. I just talked to... well, I talked to a lot. I'm not even going to mention it. I spoke to several different testing companies today and the work they have done and the work they are doing is incredible. But when Abbott comes out and does this so quickly, it's really unreal. In fact, I have to say that there is a company that stands out in its work, and I think I can say this; I don't want to insult anyone but Roche. Roche has been incredible in the testing work they have done.

And they are increasing it exponentially. It's up, up, up, up. And you should congratulate yourself instead of asking a really sarcastic question, because I know exactly what you mean by that. I should congratulate the men and women who have done this work, who have inherited a flawed testing system, and who have made it great. And if you don't say it, I'll say it. I want to congratulate all the people. you have done a fantastic job. And we'll see you all tomorrow. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.