Coronavirus US live: Trump plays golf as death toll nears 100,000

After Donald Trump said on Friday that he believes places of worship should be deemed as essential services, Minnesota’s Democratic governor, Tim Walz, issued an executive order addressing the issue. Places of worship in the state will now be able to open at 25% of capacity. Individuals or households in the buildings must maintain six feet distance.

Walz said he still encouraged citizens to worship remotely. “I am under no illusion whatsoever: Every move we make that loosens up increases the risk,” Walz said.

President Trump’s slapdash order to temporarily suspend most travel from Europe to the US in an effort to contain the spread of Covid-19 in March was widely criticized for the mayhem it prompted at airports and border entry points. But a new Washington Post story reveals how that decision and the muddled messaging surrounding it may well have sealed the country’s coronavirus fate.

While Trump points to his travel ban of China as evidence of his proactive response, mounting evidence indicates the outbreak was “driven overwhelmingly” by Europe:

The images [of airport chaos] showed how a policy intended to block the pathogen’s entry into the United States instead delivered one final viral infusion. As those exposed travelers fanned out into U.S. cities and suburbs, they became part of an influx from Europe that went unchecked for weeks and helped to seal the country’s coronavirus fate.

Epidemiologists contend the U.S. outbreak was driven overwhelmingly by viral strains from Europe rather than China. More than 1.8 million travelers entered the United States from Europe in February alone as that continent became the center of the pandemic. Infections reached critical mass in New York and other cities well before the White House took action, according to studies mapping the virus’s spread. The crush of travelers triggered by Trump’s announcement only added to that viral load.

And about that China ban, which has become the bulwark of Trump’s defense of his administration’s response:

When Trump moved to block travel from China in January, there were few indications of disruption at affected airports. But while the president has depicted that decision as one he made before anyone else recognized it was necessary, in reality major airlines were forcing his hand.

Delta and American had announced on Jan. 31 they were suspending routes to China before Trump announced the restrictions. United informed the White House it had already decided to do the same but was willing to hold off on announcing it publicly if Trump was prepared to act swiftly in issuing an order, officials said. Eager to claim credit for acting to contain the virus, Trump’s announcement came within hours.

Trump arrived back at the White House following this morning’s golf outing at 2.41pm, according to a pool report.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have reported 1,595,885 cases of coronavirus, an increase of 24,268. The number of deaths had risen by 1,852 to 96,002.

The figures, which have just been announced, were correct as of 4pm ET on Friday, and compared with the same count a day earlier.

If you’re wondering about any discrepancies, it’s possible that the CDC figures do not reflect cases reported by individual states.

Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson has warned of a second peak of Covid-19 in the southern state nearly 30 days after the first during his coronavirus response media briefing on Saturday in Little Rock.

The state’s health department reported 163 new coronavirus cases with two more lives lost in the last 24 hours, he said. That’s the third straight single-day increase of 150 or more, which includes a single-day high of 455 new cases on Thursday.

The Republican governor has come under criticism in recent weeks from critics who claim the state is rushing to reopen, though on Saturday he stressed the second peak can be attributed to record levels of testing across the state.

Much has been made of armed protesters descending on state capitols in the US, demanding the easing of lockdown restrictions. But there is unrest in Europe too, with protests against the prospect of mass vaccinations against Covid-19 (should one be developed) and the tightening of civil liberties.

The Guardian’s Philip Oltermann has more details:

For the ninth week running, thousands gathered in European cities to vent their anger at social distancing restrictions they believe to be a draconian ploy to suspend basic civil rights and pave the way for “enforced vaccinations” that will do more harm than the Covid-19 virus itself.

Walking towards the focal point of the protests down the Straße des 17. Juni boulevard, one woman said she believed the Covid-19 pandemic to be a hoax thought up by the pharmaceutical industry.

“I’d never let myself be vaccinated,” said the woman, who would give her name only as Riot Granny. “I didn’t get a jab for the flu either, and I am still alive.”

The alliance of anti-vaxxers, neo-Nazi rabble-rousers and esoteric hippies, which has in recent weeks been filling town squares in cities such as Berlin, Vienna and Zurich is starting to trouble governments as they map out scenarios for re-booting their economies and tackling the coronavirus long term.

Even before an effective vaccine against Covid-19 has been developed, national leaders face a dilemma: should they aim to immunise as large a part of the population as possible as quickly as possible, or does compulsory vaccination risk boosting a street movement already prone to conspiracy theories about “big pharma” and its government’s authoritarian tendencies?

You can read the full article below:

The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized China’s handling of the pandemic and the vice-president, Mike Pence, continued with that line today during an interview with Breitbart News.

“China let the world down and the World Health Organization was their willing partner in withholding from the United States and the wider world vital information about the coronavirus that would have made it possible to stand up a national response sooner,” Pence said. “… Make no mistake about it that China will be held accountable for what the world has gone through because of their lack of transparency.”

Trump has already threatened to withhold funding for the WHO unless it makes unspecified reforms. Most countries have pushed back against Trump’s criticisms, many of which were later proved to be incorrect.

“This is the time for solidarity,” said the European commission’s spokeswoman Virginie Battu-Henriksson. “It is not the time for finger-pointing or undermining multilateral cooperation.

In normal times, basketball fans would be fearing up for the start of the NBA finals. However, the season has been on hiatus since March as the sports world has shut down during the pandemic. The latest plan to restart involves the NBA playing at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida in late July. The complex has three arenas as well as several hotels that could house players, coaches and support staff, enabling them to isolate from the general population.

“The NBA, in conjunction with the National Basketball Players Association, is engaged in exploratory conversations with The Walt Disney Company about restarting the 2019-20 NBA season in late July at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida as a single site for an NBA campus for games, practices and housing,” Bass said. “Our priority continues to be the health and safety of all involved, and we are working with public health experts and government officials on a comprehensive set of guidelines to ensure that appropriate medical protocols and protections are in place.”

Players and other staff would be subject to regular testing to ensure Covid-19 did not spread through the league.

A few sports in the US have started to resume already: Nascar and UFC have held events without live audiences, while Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will team up with NFL legends Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in a charity golf tournament tomorrow.

Elsewhere, Hall of Fame player and current Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing confirmed he is being treated in hospital after contracting Covid-19.

“I want to share that I have tested positive for Covid-19. This virus is serious and should not be taken lightly,” the 57-year-old Ewing said in a statement. “I want to encourage everyone to stay safe and take care of yourselves and your loved ones. Now more than ever, I want to thank the health care workers and everyone on the front lines. I’ll be fine, and we will all get through this.”

Ewing was one of the most dominant players of his generation, and played for the New York Knicks from 1985 to 2000. He also won two Olympic gold medals for the US, including as a member of the famed 1992 Dream Team.

Hertz is the latest high-profile company to file for bankruptcy during the pandemic. The car-rental company’s business has been hit by the downturn in travel during the pandemic, particularly at airports, where it does much of its trade. Hertz said it hoped that by declaring bankruptcy it can continue to operate.

“The impact of Covid-19 on travel demand was sudden and dramatic, causing an abrupt decline in the company’s revenue and future bookings,” said the company in a statement. Hertz added that it did not know when activity would return to normal.

Hertz has been in the car rental business since 1918, when it began offering Model Ts to customers. Other well known business that have declared bankruptcy during the pandemic and subsequent economic problems include JC Penney and clothing company J Crew.

Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, has issued an exemption for some foreign athletes who compete in professional sporting events in the United States from entry bans imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“In today’s environment, Americans need their sports,” Wolf said in a statement issued by the department announcing the exemption. “It’s time to reopen the economy and it’s time we get our professional athletes back to work.”

Reopening the economy in a safe manner is a critical part of the United States’ response to the COVID19 pandemic. United States professional sports leagues and associations either suspended their seasons or postponed the start of their seasons in response to the spread of COVID-19, but now certain professional sporting groups organizing the United States’ largest sporting events, including Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Professional Golfers’ Association Tour (PGA Tour), the National Hockey League (NHL), the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), are prepared to resume sporting events with limited attendance and other public safety measures.

Professional sporting events provide powerful first- and second-order benefits to the national economy, even if attendance is curtailed, due to advertising and broadcasting revenue, hospitality and food service requirements, and commercial cleaning needs. In addition, the sporting organizations that manage the professional leagues are situated to do so in a controlled manner, as they act as a single point of contact to manage player movement and the scheduling of events, and can take other measures to ensure player, staff, and fan safety is appropriately addressed. Professional live sporting events also provide intangible benefits to the national interest, including civic pride and national unity.

Based on the benefit live sporting events provide to the national economy, and the need for these sporting events to have full access to their athletes, support staff, and team and league leadership, I hereby determine that it is in the national interest to except from Proclamations 9984, 9992, 9993, and 9996, aliens who compete in professional sporting events organized by certain professional sporting groups, including their professional staff, team and league leadership, spouses, and dependents.

I will work with the professional sporting groups, including MLB, the NBA, the PGA Tour, the NHL, the ATP and the WTA, to identify the specific athletes, essential staff, team and league leadership, spouses, and dependents covered by this exemption. This exemption does not exempt those identified individuals from inspection by Customs and Border Protection or any other agency requirements, to include flight funneling enhanced medical screening if applicable as outlined in previously issued Federal Register Notices, when applying for entry into the United States. I may add or remove athletes, essential staff, team and league leadership, spouses, and dependents from the list to which this exemption applies based on my assessment of whether an exemption for such individuals is in the national interest, including the plans of the relevant professional sporting groups to support sporting events in the United States that do not cause an unnecessary risk to the public health.

Video has emerged of Trump’s long-awaited return to the links on Saturday at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia.

Our Martin Pengelly has more on the president’s first time back at one of his private golf courses in 75 days, which even critics would admit projects a sense of normalcy with more than 1.6m confirmed coronavirus cases in the US and the death toll approaching six figures.

“There’s a lot of things to think through,” coronavirus taskforce member Dr Deborah Birx said on Friday. “I know you can do this. I know the American people can do it. Please, as you go out this weekend, understand you can go out.

“You can be outside, you can play golf, you can play tennis with marked balls, you can go to the beaches if you stay 6ft apart. But remember that that is your space, and that’s a space that you need to protect and ensure that you social distance for others.”

The Navajo Nation, which spans parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, reported 95 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, bringing the total number of positive cases to 4,529 with 149 deaths, CNN reports.

On Monday this week, the Nation surpassed New York state for the highest Covid-19 infection rate per 100,000 people in the whole US. The Nation is now in another 57-hour weekend lockdown, with all residents required to stay home, except essential workers, first responders and healthcare workers.

This week, Poppy Noor spoke to Larry Jackson, 16, who is doing much to raise national awareness of the situation in his community:

Thirty per cent of people in the Navajo Nation still don’t have clean running water or electricity,” he said. “We are being told to regularly wash our hands but for a lot of people that’s a 40 miles-plus trip. Plus our resources are really low on the Navajo Nation – there are only six hospitals.”

The Guardian’s own reporting revealed the Navajo Nation received its relief package six weeks after it was promised – only receiving it after suing the federal government. Meanwhile, Indian Country reports that the $8bn relief package set aside for almost 600 Native American Tribes is “woefully inadequate”.

Here’s the full piece: