Trump negative for coronavirus again, says wearing masks okay

[webfact]

Trump negative for coronavirus again, says wearing masks okay

By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland

 

U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the daily coronavirus response briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 2, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said he underwent a second coronavirus test on Thursday, using a rapid diagnostic that produced a result in less than 15 minutes, and it determined that he has not been infected.

 

"I think I took it really out of curiosity to see how quickly it worked," said Trump, who also tested negative last month after coming into contact with a Brazilian official who later tested positive for the coronavirus.

 

A White House official said Trump took the newly released Abbott Laboratories test that offers results in 15 minutes or less.

 

At his daily White House news briefing, Trump said Americans should wear protective face masks if they wish. "If people want to wear them, they can" he said. Scarves work just as well, he said.

 

Deborah Birx, a member of Trump's coronavirus task force, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working on a recommendation about masks to add to U.S. guidelines on how Americans can best protect themselves.

 

She said it is critical that people do not "get a false sense of security" that they are protected from the virus by wearing a mask, because there are plenty of other ways that infections can occur.

 

Vice President Mike Pence said Trump is working on a plan to be announced on Friday to compensate hospitals for treating and testing uninsured coronavirus patients.

 

"We don't want any American to worry about the cost of getting tests or the costs of getting treatment," said Pence. "The president will be addressing that tomorrow."

 

Trump announced plans for the U.S. military and federal personnel to operate a makeshift hospital set up in the Javits Center convention center in New York to help the city grapple with a flood of patients.

 

New York has become the epicenter of the U.S. epidemic with more than 47,000 confirmed cases in the city.

 

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, a member of the coronavirus task force, said the government will send to the New York public hospital system a supply of 200,000 N-95 protective masks to help medical workers get through the next month.

 

Trump, who had initially played down the threat from the virus, made use of the Korean War-era Defense Production Act to order companies to produce hospital ventilators essential in keeping alive patients hit hard by the COVID-19 respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus.

 

He said he also used the law to get General Motors Co <GM.N> to produce more N-95 masks.

 

"We have over 100,000 (ventilators) being built right now or soon to be started," Trump said.

 

He said he had just spoken with General Motors Chief Executive Mary Barra, who told him they will soon be ready to start production of ventilators.

 

Trump's physician, Sean Conley, said in a letter released by the White House that Trump was tested with a new, rapid point-of-contact test and the result came back in 15 minutes. "He is healthy and without symptoms," Conley said.

 

(Additional reporting by Alexandra Alper, David Brunnstrom, Eric Beech and Timothy Ahmann; Editing by Sandra Maler, Bill Berkrot and Daniel Wallis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-04-03

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[xtof2]

Always some bad news.

But he has the face of an alcoholic who fell asleep under the tanning lamp.

[Thailand]

Been a huge rush on designer scarves I guess. What a <deleted>.

[Cryingdick]

Thank the Lord he is okay. At least he gets tested unlike some others.

[canopus1969]

The devil looks after its own...

[Boon Mee]

Excellent news that Trump is healthy! ???? 

 

MAGA 

[Katipo]

3rd time lucky. ????

[cyril sneer]

6 hours ago, xtof2 said:

Always some bad news.

But he has the face of an alcoholic who fell asleep under the tanning lamp.

are you one of those lefty liberals who wishes death upon trump and your family members that support him?

[Paul Henry]

It didn't say Trump was healthy,it said he showed negative to Covid19. Mental illness,drug  addiction and compulsive disorders are a different thing.Positive to all!

[Lacessit]

I'm getting a bit tired of the Trump admirers who use "Trump Hater" as a label. Fact is, his initial downplaying of coronavirus is going to cost a lot of American lives and American jobs. COVID-19 cases in the USA are double that of any other country. While one can argue China is concealing the real number of infections, it's still a damning statistic.

Harry Truman kept a sign in his office saying the buck stops here. About time Trump was presented with one.

 

[Justgrazing]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Trump negative for coronavirus again, says

the Doc's had never seen such a tremendously negative test .. In fact it was so negative it was tremendous the Doc's said .. 

[Logosone]

4 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

And who cares if he's doing his best if that isn't good enough?

No Merkel has done nothing similar. She appointed an inept politician to be the head of her political policy. .She didn't appoint her unqualified son-in-law to play a big role in Germany's response to the coronavirus. She left that to experts with presumably years of experience. Ya know, scientists, public health officials and such. But then she respects science. Can you say the same for Trump?

It's a bit early, he's made one mistake. Give the kid a chance. He doesn't have to draft complex models for the pandemic, he just has to use his clout and team of advisers to get things done. It could be the drive to get things done is going to be beneficial here.

 

AKK wasn't her daughter in law, but she was hardly promoted on her outstanding qualifications, was she? Same with UvL.

 

In regards to the scientists at the CDC Trump has been unfortunate to be handed some problems, such as the CDC not designing test kits on time and then not ones that work, which threw back testing. Fauci's flip flops also don't exactly fill one with confidence. It's probably fair to say, based on Trump's meetings with Bill Gates that Trump is not a scientific genius, like with most leaders they will delegate to the experts. Isn't that what Trump is doing?

 

 

[metisdead]

Off topic deflection posts and the replies have been removed. 

[OneMoreFarang]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

"We don't want any American to worry about the cost of getting tests or the costs of getting treatment,"

That's a great idea. 

Is that only restricted to Corona? Should lots of Americans still die because of treatments for other diseases which they can't afford?

Obviously Trump can't admit that Obama did something right...

[OneMoreFarang]

6 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

Thank the Lord he is okay. At least he gets tested unlike some others.

And "the Lord" lets Corona kill all those other people. What a great Lord he is...

[KKr]

1 hour ago, Boon Mee said:

Excellent news that Trump is healthy! ???? 

 

MAGA 

at least on that one type of infection he is, good for him,
how about the result of other health, obsessions and syndrome tests ?

[bristolboy]

5 minutes ago, Logosone said:

It's a bit early, he's made one mistake. Give the kid a chance. He doesn't have to draft complex models for the pandemic, he just has to use his clout and team of advisers to get things done. It could be the drive to get things done is going to be beneficial here.

 

AKK wasn't her daughter in law, but she was hardly promoted on her outstanding qualifications, was she? Same with UvL.

 

In regards to the scientists at the CDC Trump has been unfortunate to be handed some problems, such as the CDC not designing test kits on time and then not ones that work, which threw back testing. Fauci's flip flops also don't exactly fill one with confidence.

It's probably fair to say, based on Trump's meetings with Bill Gates that Trump is not a scientific genius, like with most leaders they will delegate to the experts. Isn't that what Trump is doing?

 

Give the kid a chance? Why would you even consider giving the "kid" a chance? Is that because there's no one out there better qualified?

"It's probably fair to say, based on Trump's meetings with Bill Gates that Trump is not a scientific genius, like with most leaders they will delegate to the experts. Isn't that what Trump is doing?"

Is giving the kid a chance what you call delegating to the experts? Really?

ANd please give up on comparing Merkel to Trump. She appointed politician who had  success in the political field to a political position.  She didn't appoint a relative to a position that he or she was utterly unqualified for. A position that people's lives depended on.

[mrfill]

Well, at last front line medical staff can relax knowing that a scarf will work just as well as a medical mask.

Thank heavens for the perfectly formed massive brained one....

[Logosone]

5 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

Give the kid a chance? Why would you even consider giving the "kid" a chance? Is that because there's no one out there better qualified?

"It's probably fair to say, based on Trump's meetings with Bill Gates that Trump is not a scientific genius, like with most leaders they will delegate to the experts. Isn't that what Trump is doing?"

Is giving the kid a chance what you call delegating to the experts? Really?

ANd please give up on comparing Merkel to Trump. She appointed politician who had  success in the political field to a political position.  She didn't appoint a relative to a position that he or she was utterly unqualified for. A position that people's lives depended on.

It doesn't really matter if Kushner is a relative. What matters is that the US get things done to fight the pandemic.

 

Kushner, for all his mistakes, is well placed to do so. And remember in history Churchill made unbelievable errors that cost lives, at Gallipolli and later as well. It is once the dust settles that the people involved will be judged. And we shall see if Kushner did more good than bad or viceversa.

 

Obviously AKK was totally unqualified for her job, on which lives depended as well, and UvL is not faring a lot better.

 

When I said Trump is delegating to experts obviously I meant Fauci and others, not Kushner, who as is well established isn't an expert in sciences. 

[bristolboy]

1 minute ago, Logosone said:

It doesn't really matter if Kushner is a relative. What matters is that the US get things done to fight the pandemic.

 

Kushner, for all his mistakes, is well placed to do so. And remember in history Churchill made unbelievable errors that cost lives, at Gallipolli and later as well. It is once the dust settles that the people involved will be judged. And we shall see if Kushner did more good than bad or viceversa.

 

Obviously AKK was totally unqualified for her job, on which lives depended as well, and UvL is not faring a lot better.

 

When I said Trump is delegating to experts obviously I meant Fauci and others, not Kushner, who as is well established isn't an expert in sciences. 

"Kushner is well placed to do so." And why is that? Because he's qualified? Why shouldn't a highly qualified person be doing what he's doing? What kind of incompetent lets an unqualified person run a crucial portion of his nation's response to an emergency simply because he's his son-in-law? 

[tropo]

41 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I'm getting a bit tired of the Trump admirers who use "Trump Hater" as a label. Fact is, his initial downplaying of coronavirus is going to cost a lot of American lives and American jobs. COVID-19 cases in the USA are double that of any other country. While one can argue China is concealing the real number of infections, it's still a damning statistic.

Harry Truman kept a sign in his office saying the buck stops here. About time Trump was presented with one.

 

As I am getting tired of the incessant whining about him...

 

Of course you can use "Trump Hater" to describe most people who don't like him. They use every excuse under the sun to disparage him and endlessly insult him in childish ways. There's no middle ground with Trump, you either love him or hate him.

 

The Dems are claiming that he acted too late and that he is downplaying the seriousness of the pandemic. The USA was the 2nd country to restrict flights from China, just days after Italy. It didn't help them much, did it?

 

His impeachment trial was from Jan 16 to Feb 5. He restricted travel from China on Feb 2, before he was acquitted, and now those democratic fools are saying he was too late to respond. Under the circumstances he did very well.

 

His supposed upbeat message about the war on coronavirus is to try to calm down an already panicking public, but Trump haters just don't understand. It should be obvious, but it is ignored, that the factual information about the virus comes from his team of very experienced doctors who just happen to be available for questioning at every WH briefing.

Edited April 3, 2020 by tropo

[Sujo]

Why is it that at his briefings he is at the podium with half a dozen others and none wear masks.

[Logosone]

9 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

"Kushner is well placed to do so." And why is that? Because he's qualified? Why shouldn't a highly qualified person be doing what he's doing? What kind of incompetent lets an unqualified person run a crucial portion of his nation's response to an emergency simply because he's his son-in-law? 

Obviously because he can mobilise resources due to his influence with the president, he also has a team of advisers helping him. 

 

Let's suppose you're highly qualified. It doesn't mean you can get things done. But meeting the President on a daily basis could mean just that.

 

Kushner is not running any crucial position related to the pandemic response, is he? He just used his influence with the President to make some rather ill-fated pronouncements.

[SimpleMan555]

For those calling for President Trump to look to the experts for advice...

From NPR:   
Headline: Should We All Be Wearing Masks In Public? Health Experts Revisit The Question 

"We certainly don't have enough masks in health care," says William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University.  

Some research has shown that cotton T-shirt material and tea towels might help block respiratory droplets emitting from sick people, even if the effect is minimal.
 

"Homemade masks, shawls, scarves and anything that you can conjure up at home might well be a good idea," says Schaffner. "It's not clear that it's going to give a lot of protection, but every little bit of protection would help."

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/03/31/824560471/should-we-all-be-wearing-masks-in-public-health-experts-revisit-the-question
 

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/03/31/824911705/fact-check-should-people-cover-their-faces-with-scarves-like-trump-said

From The New Yorker:
Eric Garcetti, the mayor of Los Angeles.
But don’t go out and buy N95 or surgical masks. Medical workers in hospitals thick with covid-19 cases need those, and there are not enough even for them. For everyone else, a cloth mask, home-sewn or rigged up, or even a “tucked-in bandanna,” combined with social distancing, would at least be a start. “

https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-coronavirus-case-for-everyone-to-start-wearing-masks-or-bandannas

----------------------
IMO: I did not vote for him. but he is the current President of the USA.

Yes he says some really stupid things and has not made the correct decisions 100% of the time, but in the interest of fairness, I believe in giving credit where credit is due. 

 

His use of the word 'scarves' was suggested by an expert in the context of using an alternative method of protecting others while not depleting already limited resources. 

It would seem some here prefer to just complain, find fault or otherwise provide lazy uninformed comments instead of finding productive ways to support those combating this international crisis.

I fully support a discussion of all matters pertaining to this crisis, though commentary purely based in opinion and in direct contradiction to recognized fact-checking sites or the historical timeline are really not useful.

I would suggest we all look towards ways we can support others both here in Thailand and at home...

 

 

[Lacessit]

51 minutes ago, tropo said:

As I am getting tired of the incessant whining about him...

 

Of course you can use "Trump Hater" to describe most people who don't like him. They use every excuse under the sun to disparage him and endlessly insult him in childish ways. There's no middle ground with Trump, you either love him or hate him.

 

The Dems are claiming that he acted too late and that he is downplaying the seriousness of the pandemic. The USA was the 2nd country to restrict flights from China, just days after Italy. It didn't help them much, did it?

 

His impeachment trial was from Jan 16 to Feb 5. He restricted travel from China on Feb 2, before he was acquitted, and now those democratic fools are saying he was too late to respond. Under the circumstances he did very well.

 

His supposed upbeat message about the war on coronavirus is to try to calm down an already panicking public, but Trump haters just don't understand. It should be obvious, but it is ignored, that the factual information about the virus comes from his team of very experienced doctors who just happen to be available for questioning at every WH briefing.

Then I think we can agree we are tired of one another.

i don't hate Trump. I think he's a very successful con man. His other attributes are a matter of record.

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, Justgrazing said:

the Doc's had never seen such a tremendously negative test .. In fact it was so negative it was tremendous the Doc's said .. 

"...another tremendous, beautiful, perfect, wonderful negative test..."

[oceanbluejewell]

History will tell a bitter tale ...

 

Anyone wanting an alternative point of view should read this article.

"When the definitive history of the coronavirus pandemic is written, the date 20 January 2020 is certain to feature prominently. It was on that day that a 35-year-old man in Washington state, recently returned from visiting family in Wuhan in China, became the first person in the US to be diagnosed with the virus the very same day, 5,000 miles away in Asia, the first confirmed case of Covid-19 was reported in South Korea. The confluence was striking, but there the similarities ended." ...

 

 

The missing six weeks: .... 

The sad reality is that as the virus penetrates deeper into a population (saturation) many people will die from this virus.

 

Stay safe and keep calm, America is lite up with COVID 19 like my Christmas Tree!!

 

For daily stats courtesy of Worldometers

 

 

 

 

[soalbundy]

8 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

Thank the Lord he is okay. At least he gets tested unlike some others.

Before all others as well, no que for him, still third time lucky maybe, I'm sure Pence will be praying for a lucky outcome...for himself.

[Logosone]

6 minutes ago, oceanbluejewell said:

History will tell a bitter tale ...

 

Anyone wanting an alternative point of view should read this article.

"When the definitive history of the coronavirus pandemic is written, the date 20 January 2020 is certain to feature prominently. It was on that day that a 35-year-old man in Washington state, recently returned from visiting family in Wuhan in China, became the first person in the US to be diagnosed with the virus the very same day, 5,000 miles away in Asia, the first confirmed case of Covid-19 was reported in South Korea. The confluence was striking, but there the similarities ended." ...

 

 

 

The missing six weeks: .... 

The sad reality is that as the virus penetrates deeper into a population (saturation) many people will die from this virus.

 

 

Not a good article.

 

One the one had it compares a country of 51 million like South Korea with a country like the US with 329 million. Obviously it is much easier to deal with the virus in South Korea.

 

Secondly the authors do recognise that the CDC was to blame for not producing test kits that worked. Like in South Korea private companies offered to do test kits for the CDC, however, they refused. 

 

Yet somehow Trump gets the blame? It was the experts that made the test kits that didn't work. It wasn't Trump.

[tropo]

1 hour ago, Sujo said:

Why is it that at his briefings he is at the podium with half a dozen others and none wear masks.

It would really help if you actually listened to the briefings.

 

Here's your answer from the latest briefing:

 

1:23:10 to 1:24:30  - a reporter asks Trump about their policy on mask-wearing.

 

1:29:20 to 1:31:19  - Dr Deborah Birx discussing mask wearing in more detail, covering their reasons why it has not yet been mandated.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5661&v=n1y9KOesF6w&feature=emb_logo