COVID-19 Timeline Project

 Video of the Daily Coronavirus Task Force Team News Briefing.
In a White House COVID-19 briefing, President Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner stated: “You also have a situation where in some states, FEMAAcronymFEMA - The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The agency's primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the United States and that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities. allocated ventilators to the states and you have instances where in cities they’re running out, but the state still has a stockpile and the notion of the federal stockpile was, it’s supposed to be our stockpile.” It’s not supposed to be state stockpiles that they then use.”
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker arranges for a private shipment of 1 million N95 masks transported by the National Guard to a stockpile for redistribution, after a shipment of 3 million masks were confiscated in the port of New York.
Acting US Navy Secretary Thomas Modly relieves USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) Captain Brett Crozier of his command for sending a request for assistance over non-secure email to a “broad array of people” rather than up the chain of command, requesting assistance after COVID-19 spreads through his crew.
 Stay-At-Home Ordered: Tennessee, Texas, Maine, Oklahoma (partial advisory)

 Video of the Daily Coronavirus Task Force Team News Briefing.
US Dept of Labor Report: The total number of people claiming initial jobless benefits for the week ending April 4 was 6.6 million, a decrease of 252 thousand from the previous week.
Andreas Geisel, Berlin, Germany, interior minister announces a shipment of US-made FFP2 masks [ed: European N95 equivalent] for Berlin’s police force was “confiscated” in Bangkok, presumably diverted to the US. Mr Geisel said the diversion of masks from Berlin amounted to an “act of modern piracy”, urging the Trump administration to adhere to international trading rules.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear says his administration is doing everything it can to prepare hospitals to be inundated with cases of COVID-19, but nearly every time the state has placed an order for medical protective gear the federal government has prevented its transfer.
 Stay-At-Home Ordered: Alabama

 Video of the Daily Coronavirus Task Force Team News Briefing.
Acting Navy Secretary Thomas B. Modly addressed the crew of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt on Monday afternoon via the ship’s internal loudspeaker system. In a profane and defensive address that one crew member described in an interview as “whiny, upset, irritated, condescending,” Modly took repeated shots at the integrity of Capt. Brett E. Crozier, who was removed from command last week, and eventually injected partisan political tones into the address by attacking former Vice President Joe Biden, who has repeatedly criticized Crozier’s removal.
The HHSAcronymHHS - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. said the Trump administration did not distribute supplies from the National Strategic Stockpile to states based on their individual needs during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the House Oversight and Reform Committee. HHSAcronymHHS - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. also told the oversight committee that there was no more personal protective equipment, or PPEAcronymPPE - Personal Protective Equipment, for medical use. Includes face masks, disposable gloves, and disposable protective garments. Intended to protect medical workers from catching contagious diseases and to prevent the spread of diseases to other patients by medical workers., that could be distributed to the states because the Trump administration had already sent out its last shipments. The remaining 10% of PPEAcronymPPE - Personal Protective Equipment, for medical use. Includes face masks, disposable gloves, and disposable protective garments. Intended to protect medical workers from catching contagious diseases and to prevent the spread of diseases to other patients by medical workers. is reserved for federal workers and will not be distributed to states, HHSAcronymHHS - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. staff told the committee.
On Twitter, citing Larry KudlowLarry KudlowLawrence Alan Kudlow is the Director of the United States National Economic Council. He assumed that role in 2018 after previous employment as a financial analyst and a television financial news host. Kudlow began his career as a junior financial analyst at the New York Federal Reserve.: “No one could have predicted the exponential rise of this.[coronavirus]”
A federal watchdog is corroborating warnings by governors and front-line health-care workers that hospitals’ ability to combat the coronavirus pandemic is being impeded by shortages of tests, protective gear, staff and space, as well as inconsistent government advice.Some hospitals are so desperate for protective masks that they are scrounging them from auto-body shops and nail salons. At least one hospital is making its own hand sanitizer by mixing gel used for ultrasounds with alcohol from a nearby distillery.
 Stay-At-Home Ordered: Missouri

 Video of the Daily Coronavirus Task Force Team News Briefing.
FEMAAcronymFEMA - The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The agency's primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the United States and that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities. describes Project Air Bridge: The air bridge was created to reduce the time for U.S. medical supply distributors to receive personal protective equipment and other critical supplies into the country for their respective customers. FEMAAcronymFEMA - The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The agency's primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the United States and that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities. covers the cost to fly supplies into the U.S. from overseas factories. Per distributor agreements, 50 percent of supplies on each plane are for customers within hot spot areas with most critical needs. The remaining 50 percent is fed into distributors’ normal supply chain to their customers nationwide. HHSAcronymHHS - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and FEMAAcronymFEMA - The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The agency's primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the United States and that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities. determine hot spot areas based on CDCAcronymCDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the leading national public health institute of the United States. A federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services data.
Top Trump administration officials had considered a partnership in which Hanes and Fruit of the Loom manufactured millions of cloth face masks and the U.S. Postal Service would have helped deliver them. Dr. Robert KadlecDr. Robert KadlecDr. Robert Kadlec is the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). was the key driver of the idea and had vocal support from deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger. but the idea lost traction amid heavy internal skepticism as being too difficult.
An analysis of death records in the Madrid, Spain, region covering the second two weeks of March suggests that the real number of coronavirus deaths could be twice as many deaths as official figures state.

 Video of the Daily Coronavirus Task Force Team News Briefing.
The federal government ends funding for coronavirus testing sites. In a few places testing sites will close as a result. Criticism continues that not enough testing is available.
President Trump Press Briefing: As an answer to a reporter question on re-opening the country for normal life; “What metrics will you use to make that decision?” Trump while pointing to his head: The metrics are right here. That’s my metrics.
 States he has “absolute authority” to ease social distancing guidelines. “I don’t know that I have had a bigger decision,” “Hopefully it’s going to be the right decision.
 “We have to get back to work. We have to get our country open. But we could have lost 2 million people … so I’m very honored by our decisions, all of us … I have a big decision coming up. And I only hope to God that’s it’s the right decision.”
 “The germ has gotten so brilliant that the antibiotic can’t keep up with it … there’s a whole genius to it … not only is it hidden, but it’s very smart.”
Nonprofit watchdog agency “American Oversight” files FOIA requests with the federal government investigating whether mismanagement in the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus has put lives at risk, and whether the White House’s attempted control of information has served the president’s own political interests over the health of the public.
Most of the country operating under stay-at-home orders, drivers are spending less time on the road – which means fewer accidents and insurance claims. The top 10 insurers, who together own 72% of the market, have all announced programs to return more than $7.5 billion to their customers in coming weeks.
More than 2,200 coronavirus deaths have been reported in nursing homes, but the federal government isn’t tracking them. The numbers are likely a significant undercount, given the limited access to testing and other constraints, state officials and public health experts say.

 Video of the Daily Coronavirus Task Force Team News Briefing.
Defense Department briefing on the spread of the Coronavirus in the US military. This briefing immediately follows after the first US service member dies of the Coronavirus onboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.
One question is asked of testing service members who participated in the Military World games in Wuhan, China, in October.
President Trump declares funding to the WHOAcronymThe World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution, which establishes the agency's governing structure and principles, states its main objective as 'the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. will be put on hold for at least 60 days, and accuses the organization of “mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus.” The U.S. is the single largest contributor to the WHOAcronymThe World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution, which establishes the agency's governing structure and principles, states its main objective as 'the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health..

 Video of the Daily Coronavirus Task Force Team News Briefing.
The SBAAcronymSBA - The Small Business Administration is a United States government agency that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. has stopped accepting applications for two programs meant to help small firms survive the coronavirus outbreak after funding ran out. Funds for the $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, to keep workers on payrolls have been exhausted, and money also has lapsed for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, or EIDL, offering government loans and emergency grants of as much as $10,000. Funding was provided under the recently approved CARES ActCARES ActThe Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (H.R. 748), also known as the CARES Act, is a law intended to address the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. As a result of bipartisan negotiations, the bill grew to $2 trillion in the version unanimously passed and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27. Unprecedented in size and scope, this legislation is the largest-ever economic stimulus package in U.S. history, amounting to 10% of total U.S. gross domestic product..
The White House releases guidelines for “Opening Up America Again,” stating these guidelines are a three-phased approach, based on the advice of public health experts.
OSHAAcronym The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance. issues a memo “Discretion in Enforcement when Considering an Employer’s Good Faith Efforts During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic.” This memo says OSHAAcronym The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance. will not hold employers liable for failing to follow CDCAcronymCDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the leading national public health institute of the United States. A federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services guidelines as long as they made a “good faith” effort to meet compliance standards during the duration of the Coronavirus pandemic.

 Video of the Daily Coronavirus Task Force Team News Briefing.
US Dept of Labor Report: The total number of people claiming initial jobless benefits for the week ending April 18 was 4.4 million, a decrease of 795 thousand from the previous week.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker spends over $1.7 million to obtain needed medical supplies from China, without President Trump and the Federal government’s knowledge. Pritzker cites his fear that if he hadn’t gone behind the Federal Government’s back the supplies would have been seized before they arrived in his state. White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere responded that Pritzker, “through ignorance or incompetence or a propensity to politicize everything,” was wrong, and that the administration had been providing Illinois with resources.

 Video of the Daily Coronavirus Task Force Team News Briefing.
President Trump Tweet: “In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!”
The HHSAcronymHHS - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. sends a letter to FEMAAcronymFEMA - The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The agency's primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the United States and that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities. questioning the criteria being used to determine how PPEAcronymPPE - Personal Protective Equipment, for medical use. Includes face masks, disposable gloves, and disposable protective garments. Intended to protect medical workers from catching contagious diseases and to prevent the spread of diseases to other patients by medical workers. is being distributed.
Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp announces that certain businesses can reopen this week in a move that breaks from the majority of state leaders and defies the warnings of many public health officials. Kemp said specifically that fitness centers, bowling alleys, body art studios, barbers, hair and nail salons, and massage therapy businesses can reopen April 24. Theaters and restaurants will be allowed to open on April 27, while bars and night clubs will remain closed for now.

 Video of the Daily Coronavirus Task Force Team News Briefing.
President Trump signs a proclamation suspending issuance of certain immigrant visas.
 President Trump clarifies his executive order barring new immigration will apply only to people seeking green cards, last 60 days, and won’t affect workers entering the country on a temporary basis. He will review the executive order at the end of that 60-day period and decide if it should be renewed.
 The suspension features an exceedingly loose fit between ends and means: While the proclamation cites the impact of the novel coronavirus on U.S. jobs, the visa categories affected by the suspension have only a minimal effect on employment of citizens or lawful permanent residents.

 Video of the Daily Coronavirus Task Force Team News Briefing.
Research indicates that the on-going “Reopen America” protests are not a grassroots campaign, but actually a coordinated AstroturfingAstroturfingTooltip content effort.
An Arkansas county so rural it has just three incorporated towns and not a single stretch of interstate suddenly emerged this week as one of the nation’s coronavirus hot spots. A farm employee was the first to test positive in early April. Now 14 staffers and more than 680 of the prison’s nearly 1,700 prisoners have the virus, according to test results reported this week.
A grant to a New York nonprofit EcoHealth AllianceEcoHealth AllianceEcoHealth Alliance is a non-governmental organization which employs a 'One Health' approach to protecting the health of people, animals, and the environment from emerging infectious diseases. The nonprofit is a global organization focused on scientific research that aims to prevent pandemics and promote conservation in hotspot regions worldwide. aimed at detecting and preventing future outbreaks of coronaviruses from bats has been canceled by the NIHAcronymThe National Institutes of Health, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, one of the world's foremost medical research centers., apparently by direction of President Trump because the research involved the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. NIHAcronymThe National Institutes of Health, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, one of the world's foremost medical research centers. notified EcoHealth AllianceEcoHealth AllianceEcoHealth Alliance is a non-governmental organization which employs a 'One Health' approach to protecting the health of people, animals, and the environment from emerging infectious diseases. The nonprofit is a global organization focused on scientific research that aims to prevent pandemics and promote conservation in hotspot regions worldwide. that future funding for the project was canceled, and that it must immediately “stop spending the $369,819 remaining from its 2020 grant”—an unusual move generally reserved for cases of scientific misconduct or financial improprieties.
Before the pandemic, 1 in 7 Americans relied on food banks, according to Feeding America, a national network of the charities. Now, demand has doubled or tripled at many organizations, U.S. food bank operators told Reuters. And yet farmers are destroying produce, dumping milk and culling livestock because the pandemic has upended supply chains, making it impossible for many to get crops to market. Grocery stores struggle to stock shelves because suppliers can’t adjust to the sudden shift of demand away from shuttered restaurants to retailers, which requires different packaging and distribution networks.
The FDAAcronymFDA - The Food and Drug Administration is a federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments. warns that doctors should not use the malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19 patients outside a hospital or a clinical trial, citing reports of “serious heart rhythm problems.” An increasing number of studies and reports have raised safety issues, making the drugs an example of how President Trump’s embrace of unproven medical ideas has potentially endangered Americans’ lives and put health agencies in a tough spot.
 Alaska – Stay-at-home order expires. Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, eased restrictions on several kinds of businesses starting April 24, giving Alaska among the first restarts in the nation. All businesses will be allowed to open at full capacity on May 22.
 Oklahoma – Did not have a statewide stay-at-home order. Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, lifts restrictions on businesses starting with salons, barbers and pet groomers on April 24. Restaurant dining, movie theaters, gyms, houses of worship and sporting venues reopened statewide — with certain restrictions — starting May 1. The state will be set to move into phase three of its reopening June 1

Tens of millions of pounds of American-grown produce is rotting in fields as food banks across the country scramble to meet a massive surge in demand, a two-pronged disaster that has deprived farmers of billions of dollars in revenue while millions of newly jobless Americans struggle to feed their families. While other federal agencies quickly adapted their programs to the coronavirus crisis, the Agriculture Department took more than a month to make its first significant move to buy up surplus fruits and vegetables — despite repeated entreaties.
Coronavirus testing capacity across the country has appeared to grow substantially over the last week.
 Colorado – Stay-at-home order expires. Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, asked Colorado to transition to a “safer at home” approach, in which retail businesses could open for curbside pickup and real estate showings could resume. On May 1, personal care businesses can reopen with precautions. Mr. Polis said he still expected people to maintain 60 to 65 percent physical distancing.
 Montana – Stay-at-home order expires. Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat, allows reopening in phases, beginning with houses of worship on April 26, retail stores on April 27 and restaurants and bars on May 4. Montana is one of the few states where schools have the option to reopen this academic year, and a few schools will begin to reopen starting May 7. 

 Video of President Trump in a question and answer session with reporters.
President Trump orders meat-processing plants to continue operating, using the Defense Production Act declaring them critical infrastructure with growing disruptions to the food supply. Meatpacking plants have become incubators for the virus as employees work side-by-side in dangerous conditions. At least 22 plants have closed at some point after clusters of employees tested positive for Covid-19. Twenty meatpacking and processing workers have died from coronavirus, and at least 6,500 have been affected, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
 The Executive order uses language similar to the NAMIAcronym North American Meat Institute; an industry trade and lobbying group representing the meat packing industry email of 21 April. Adam Pulver, a Public Citizen attorney, states the “degree of collaboration” between Trump administration officials and industry in the emails is “astounding.” 
 South Dakota – one of the states that never had a state-wide stay-at-home order. Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, announces a “back to normal” plan offering guidelines for businesses to reopen if the surrounding area had seen a downward trend in cases for 14 days. She said the approach “put the power of decision-making into the hands of the people — where it belongs.” No associated re-opening date.

Armed protesters enter the Michigan capitol building, protesting Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s “stay-at-home” orders, while lawmakers debate extending the emergency stay-at-home declaration. Some lawmakers donned bullet-proof vests. Whitmer’s emergency declaration expires at midnight and Republicans are unwilling to extend it, calling for businesses to be reopened.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan Press Brief: Maryland has recently purchased half a million tests from LabGenomics, a South Korean company, for $9 million. When the Korean Air jet carrying the tests flew into Baltimore/Washington International Airport it was met by National Guard troops and state police. The tests are now being guarded by National Guard troops and state police at a secret location because of concerns that they might be seized.
The research community is reacting with alarm and anger to the NIHAcronymThe National Institutes of Health, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, one of the world's foremost medical research centers.‘s abrupt and unusual termination of a grant to EcoHealth AllianceEcoHealth AllianceEcoHealth Alliance is a non-governmental organization which employs a 'One Health' approach to protecting the health of people, animals, and the environment from emerging infectious diseases. The nonprofit is a global organization focused on scientific research that aims to prevent pandemics and promote conservation in hotspot regions worldwide., a New York City nonprofit. Some researchers fear the project has become a casualty of an overtly political attempt by the Trump administration to shift attention away from its own troubled response to the pandemic and blame China. Termination of this funding disrupts a 15 year collaboration between EcoHealth AllianceEcoHealth AllianceEcoHealth Alliance is a non-governmental organization which employs a 'One Health' approach to protecting the health of people, animals, and the environment from emerging infectious diseases. The nonprofit is a global organization focused on scientific research that aims to prevent pandemics and promote conservation in hotspot regions worldwide. and a leading Chinese virologist who studies coronaviruses that infect bats, based at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), located in the city where researchers first identified SARS-CoV-2.
Tribal governments were supposed to get $8 billion in direct emergency relief from the $2 trillion CARES ActCARES ActThe Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (H.R. 748), also known as the CARES Act, is a law intended to address the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. As a result of bipartisan negotiations, the bill grew to $2 trillion in the version unanimously passed and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27. Unprecedented in size and scope, this legislation is the largest-ever economic stimulus package in U.S. history, amounting to 10% of total U.S. gross domestic product.. More than a month later, they haven’t received any of it. Tribal communities are among the most vulnerable to the coronavirus. They face some of the highest rates of health conditions like diabetes, heart disease and asthma; they are often in remote parts of the country, where it’s tough to quickly disseminate resources and where families live in small homes shared with elderly family members who are particularly at risk. And the Indian Health Service, which provides health care to nearly 3 million Native Americans, is already notoriously and chronically underfunded.
Federal data released this week shows that the number of deaths recorded in the U.S. this year is higher than normal, outpacing deaths attributed to COVID-19 in states that have been hit hardest by the virus. The data provides the first look at death trends this year across the country and offers more evidence that the official tally of coronavirus deaths is low.
 Alabama – Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, allows the state’s stay-at-home order to expire, transitioning to a “safer at home” model. Retail stores are allowed to open first, with restaurants, salons and gyms opening May 11 and entertainment venues opening May 22.
 Idaho – Stay-at-home order expires. Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, said Idaho could move into stage four of its reopening June 13, when large venues can open.
 Texas – Gov. Greg Abbott allows his stay-at-home order to lapse, a move that gives Texas, the nation’s second-largest state, one of the shortest such orders in the country. Mr. Abbott, a Republican, said that Texas had expanded testing and stocked up on protective equipment. All retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls are allowed to reopen May 1 with limited capacity.
 Tennessee – Stay-at-home order expires. Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, announced reopening plans for most counties in the state, starting with restaurants on April 27. Retail stores were to follow on April 29 and gyms on May 1, all under restrictions for social distancing.