Posted on 03/26/2020 12:13:07 PM PDT by Conserv
President Trump on Thursday outlined plans for his administration to classify each county across the United States based on its risk for an outbreak of coronavirus and use that information to create targeted guidelines.
In a letter to the nation's governors, Trump spoke optimistically about expanded testing capabilities that would allow officials to identify which areas of the country are grappling with outbreaks and where the virus is spreading.
Based on that surveillance testing data, federal agencies would determine if a specific county is high-risk, medium-risk or low-risk for the virus. The administration is simultaneously working on new guidelines for social distancing that would apply to an area depending on its classification, Trump wrote.
"With each passing day, our increasingly extensive testing capabilities are giving us a better understanding of the virus and its path," Trump wrote. "As testing gives us more information about who has been infected, we are tracking the virus and isolating it to prevent further spread. This new information will drive the next phase in our war against this invisible enemy."
It's unclear how quickly the administration expects to be able to roll out the extensive classification system. The federal government's initial response to the virus was hampered by a slow rollout of nationwide testing availability, and many regions are still facing shortages.
Trump had a call with governors earlier Thursday that was closed to the press. He and Vice President Pence have been in regular contact with state leaders to coordinate the response to the virus, which has infected more than 75,000 Americans and killed more than 1,000 people in the U.S.
In the letter, which was somber and serious in tone, Trump nodded toward his goal of reopening at least parts of the economy by Easter Sunday, which is less than three weeks away.
"There is still a long battle ahead, but our efforts are already paying dividends," he wrote. "As we enhance protections against the virus, Americans across the country are hoping the day will soon arrive when they can resume their normal economic, social and religious lives."
But governors have largely been implementing strict measures in their respective states to try to blunt the spread of the virus. Governors in Idaho, Michigan, California, Illinois, Ohio, New York and other states have issued stay-at-home orders or shuttered nonessential businesses.
State leaders in both parties have dismissed Trump's Easter time frame for easing those restrictions, saying public health will take priority and warning the peak of cases may be occurring around that time.
Even public health experts in Trump's administration have tempered the president's ambitious goal for loosening restrictions. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told reporters on Tuesday that officials still needed more data to determine whether areas without current outbreaks might face them soon.
"I think people might get the misinterpretation you're just going to lift everything up and ... that's not going to happen," Fauci said. "It's going to be looking at the data."
HA HA HA!! We were saying the virus map looks a lot like the 2016 election map.
You mean the people like the NYC refugees Cuomo says don’t have to self-quarantine for 14 days cuz WuFlu’s everywhere...
I believe you are correct.
People, we need to gain some sanity here.
Who’s saying it will be “over” by Easter?
Then do a blue /red overlay on the map.
Nothing is ‘over’ until we say it is!
I see the words “racist policy” in the offing...
This is a great idea. The increase in granularity provided by county-level data will certainly focus the virus fight on the urban areas (typically run by Democrat mayors) where it is needed, rather than the whole state approach with mixed urban and rural settings.
Of course, the urban elites are fleeing to their rural second homes and are probably infecting the rural residents. Maybe there should be a ban on escaping the cities.
I don’t think Trump said it would all be “over by Easter”. He was talking about limited relaxation of quarantines at that time. Probably focused in the rural counties.
Interesting, and not surprising.
Step 1, they'd have identified the high-risk groups,
Step 2, completed isolating those groups, and
Step 3, called upon the rest of us return to work.
That this 3-Step process has NOT yet happened only causes massive cynicism and distrust of government (even more than already exists).
Trump made that tweet about getting us back to work the other day.
A family member immediately responded “Trump just called bullsh*t”.
I think that’s what happened. Now he can’t just do a 180 and turn on a dime, but I think you are going to see a ratcheting down and shift in direction.
Look for the unequivocal support of states and localities shutting things down to end.
Sounds good. I trust Trump to steer things back, appropriately.
Indeed!.....I hope they have some stern measures so it doesn’t happen
Texas Governor Abbott is telling anyone from New York, New Jersey, New Orleans they WILL BE QUARANTINED if they attempt to do this!
But your point is still valid.
COVID-19 in Idaho Where did you get "Idaho wants to quarentine for 21 days."?
Nobody is talking about this virus being over by Easter, including President Trump.
He is hoping that many locations around the country can get back to some productivity by Easter - those that don't have the need for full-blown "mitigation" strategies, and can instead rely on "contact tracing".
Makes perfect sense.
I understand caution. But no one from New York is ever going to visit Cattaraugus County.
I mean exactly those people. Anyway, all the public accommodations in my county are closed, so....
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