Transcripts For CSPAN White House Coronavirus Task Force Briefing 20240713

Earlier today, President Trump along with the White House Coronavirus task force held a briefing on the governments efforts to respond to the nationwide outbreak. I had a very good telephone conversation, extremely good with senator schumer a while , ago. We are working on various elements of the deal. The democrats are wanting President Trump thank you very much. I had a very good telephone conversation, extremely good, with senator schumer a while ago. We are working on various elements of the deal. The democrats are wanting something to happen and the republicans likewise are wanting something to happen. And i think it will. I spoke at length with mitch mcconnell, and there is tremendous spirit to get something done, so we will see what happens, but my ank you all, and i would like to begin by providing an update on what we are doing to minimize the impact of the virus on our nations students. With many schools closed due to the virus, the department of education will not enforce standardized testing requirements for students in elementary through high school for the current year. They have been through a lot. They have been going back and forth. School is open. School is not open. It has been all standardized testing, you know, its we are not going to be enforcing that. So i think you can let people know. I think probably a lot of the students will be extremely happy. Some, probably not. The ones that work hard, maybe not, but it is one of those things. Unfortunate. Very unfortunate circumstance. We have also temporarily waived all interest on federally held Student Loans. They will be very happy to hear that, and i have instructed them to take that action immediately. Today, secretary devos has directed federal lenders to allow borrowers to suspend their Student Loans and loan payments without penalty for at least the next 60 days, and if we need more, we will extend that period of time. Theirers should contact lenders, but we have given them very strong instructions we have , temporarily waived all interest on federally held Student Loans. And more to come on student we have loans, more good news for students, but we will be doing that at a different time. This morning the Treasury Department announced we are moving tax day from april 15 to july 15. To july 15,g it out so that people will have time, and hopefully by that time we will have people getting back to their lives. Families and businesses will have this extra time to file with no interest or penalties. We are getting rid of interest and penalties. If you have refund or credit you would like to claim, you may still file. You can file early if you are owed money by the irs. Other than that, we are moving at all the way out to july 15. No interest, no penalties. Your new date will be july 15. Today our team will also provide an update on our continuing effort to prevent the transmission of virus across americas borders. And i watched what has been happening in california with Governor Newsom, and this morning with Governor Cuomo, and i applaud them. They are taking very strong, bold steps, and i applaud them. And we are all working very closely together. We are working together, including those two governors, but based on the call, i think we can say that with respect to virtually every governor on that call, i think every governor, we had almost all of them, if not all of them, and i would say that you could see for yourselves that the level of respect and esprit de corps, working together, was extraordinary. There was nobody angry, nobody upset. We are able to help them, and that is what we are all about. We want to help. We are doing things that a lot of people wouldnt be able to do, but the relationship with governors and states is, i think, very extraordinary, especially under the circumstances, where this just came upon us. We are working with canada and mexico to prevent the spread of the virus across north america very closely. Yesterdaywhat we did with canada. Secretary of state pompeo will be making a statement in a little while having to do with mexico and the border. And chad, likewise, will be making a statement. This is a joint, comprehensive effort in collaboration with our neighbors. The measure, and all of those measures that we are putting in place will protect the health of , all three nations and reduce the incentive for a mass global migration that would badly deplete the Health Care Resources needed for our people. So we are working very closely with mexico, very, very closely with canada. And the relationship has never been better. We all are we all are working toward the same goal. Our nations Top Health Care officials are extremely concerned about the consequences of mass, uncontrolled, crossborder movement. That would be even beyond but mostly during this global , pandemic. Every week, our Border Agents encounter thousands of nvettedned and u entries from dozens of countries we have had this problem over , decades, for decades. You know the story, but now, with the National Emergencies and all the other things that we have declared, we can actually do something about it. We are taking a very strong hold of that. And we have before, this is now at a level that nobody has ever approached. In normal times, these massive flows place a vast burden on our Health Care System. But during a global pandemic, they threaten to create a perfect storm that would spread the infection to our Border Agents, migrants, and to the public at large. Left unchecked, this would cripple our immigration system, overwhelm our Health Care System, and severely damage our National Security. We are not going to let that happen. So we have a lot of information, and they will be discussing that in a moment. Confront this the centers for , Disease Control has decided to exercise its authority under the title 42 of the u. S. Code to give customs and Border Protection the tools it needs to protect the transmission of the virus, coming through both the northern and the southern borders. So we are treating the borders equally, the northern border and the southern border. They are both being treated equally. A lot of people say they are not treated equally. Well, they are. As we did with canada, we are also working with mexico to implement new rules at our ports entry to suspend nonessential travel. These new rules and procedures will not impede lawful trade and commerce. Furthermore, mexico has taken action to secure our own southern border and suspend air travel from europe. We are coordinating very closely on the air travel going to mexico and then trying to come into the United States. The actions we are taking together with our north American Partners will save countless lives. At the conclusion of my remarks, secretary azar, secretary pompeo, secretary wolf, we are going to also be taking some questions with tony and deborah, who you have gotten to know very well. But they will be discussing certain things, and i think you will find them of great interest. We are going to be providing tremendous amounts of detail over the coming days, but a lot of it will be provided right now, if you would like to find out about it. There has been a week of resolute action, tremendous action, tremendous relationships have developed with people that frankly did not get along, did not like each other, that are now working together and maybe even in some cases learning about each other and liking each other. That is a nice thing. I invoked the defense production act and last night, we put it into gear. We moved the National Response Coordination Center to the of activation. If you take a look at what we did, the level of activation has to a great one, the highest level. We are providing historic support to Small Businesses and to the states. The states need support. Normally they would do this themselves, but because of the federale of it, the government has gotten very much involved in terms of getting the equipment that they need. So we are helping them. It is a responsibility that they have, but we are helping the states a lot. That is why the governors, i think in every case, have been impressed. We enacted legislation, guaranteeing paid sick leave for workers at no cost to employers. I think it is very important. So they get paid sick leave at no cost to employers. We are accelerating the use of new drug treatments, we are advancing legislation to give direct payments to hardworking families. Throughout our country americans , from all walks of life are rallying together to fight the unseen enemy striking our nation. In times of struggle, we see the true greatness of the american character, and we are seeing that. A lot of people are talking about it. We are in 141 countries, from what they are telling me some of , those countries are really working in a unified manner. And they are working very unified with us, almost i could say a good number of them. Doctors and nurses are working nonstop to heal the sick. Citizens and churches are delivering meals to the needy. Truckers are making the long haul to keep shelves stocked. We have been dealing with the big stores and the big chains. Walmart, they have been fantastic, and others. They have all been fantastic. We made it easier for them to andk, and terms of travel travel restrictions. We are lifting restrictions so they can get the trucks on time. You were seen very few empty shelves. And yet the amount of volume they are doing is unprecedented, people want to have what they have to have, what they feel they have to have. And they are also buying in slightly smaller quantities, which is good. Because we are not going anywhere. We are going to be here. So i want to thank all those Great Companies for working so well. Americans from every walk of life are coming together, and thanks to the spirit of our people, we will win this war. And we are we are winning. ,and we are going to win this war. America will triumph and rise higher. We will be stronger than ever before. And we have learned a lot. We have learned a lot. We have learned a lot about relying on other countries and i , can say that i think in a very good and bad way. Some good things came out of it, and some not so good things came out of it. I would like to move now to invite our team to provide information on the new measures to prevent viral spread at our borders. I will start by asking secretary of state pompeo to speak. He is doing a fantastic job. He has been working hard and he working very long, and he is doing the other more normal jobs , of a great secretary of state. But he got tied into this like everybody else and he has been , doing a fantastic job. Mike, please. Secretary pompeo thank you, mr. President. Before i address the efforts we have been engaged into pushback against the chinese virus, i want to assure the people that the state department, the entire National Security team is staying focused on other diplomatic challenges around the world. Those include reducing risk to america from afghanistan, holding the Iranian Regime accountable, and counterterrorism efforts against isis remain a priority for our team. A numberone priority remains of the protection of the American People. The president and our team are focused on it. I want to think my team that has been working long hours to take care of americans who are stuck in places around the world. I will talk about that in a minute. You have all seen dr. Birx with me. State Department Officials are doing great work, but i want to give a shout out to the team from the state department here and around the world that are working overtime to help us push back against this pandemic. Under the president s leadership this week, we have taken two important steps. As the president announced on wednesday, the u. S. And canada jointly agreed to restrict nonessential traffic across the border. This decision goes into effect tonight at midnight. And the restrictions will be reviewed after 30 days. And they exclude traffic across the border other than for work or commerce. We grateful to have such an outstanding friend to the north committed, as we are, to defeating the virus. I also want to announce today that the u. S. And mexico have agreed to restrict nonessential travel across our shared border. Both our countries know the importance of working together to limit the spread of the virus and to ensure the commerce that supports our economy will keep flowing. The United States is glad to have a friend working sidebyside with us in this fight. Secretary wolf will talk more about the details of how we are working alongside our partner in mexico to keep our southern border safe and secure as well. On another note, yesterday the state department issued a levelfour Global Travel advisory. This means and that all International Travel from u. S. Citizens should be avoided. In countries where commercial departure options remain available, u. S. Citizens who reside in the United States should arrange for immediate return to the United States, unless they are prepared to remain abroad for an extended time. If you choose to travel internationally, your travel plans may be severely disrupted. And finally, i want to talk about the disinformation people are seeing on twitter and around the world, some of it coming from governments, some from individuals. I urge everyone, if you see information, information that somehow suggested that this virus emanated from the United States army, information about lockdowns taking place, every american and indeed people around the world should ensure that where they turn for information is a reliable source and not a bad actor trying to , create information that they know is wrong. This is a tough fight. The American People are tougher. Our diplomatic teams are working around the clock to help them keep safe abroad. And we are showing once again the Global Leadership that america has always delivered, and it is great to see other countries rally behind what President Trump and our team are doing. Thank you. Pres. Trump thank you. We will take questions after this. Chad wolf. Secretary wolf let me thank the president and Vice President for their continued leadership and commitment in protecting the American People during this crisis. Early on, the president again took unprecedented actions to restrict travel from areas affected by the coronavirus. And to date dhs has its over , 200,000 individuals coming back from those countries. It has been an immense undertaking, but one that the men and women of accomplished. Dhs have successfully accomplished. Announcement is another example of the extraordinary take the administration is to ensure the safety of the American Public. Before i look at the order, let me address the progress weve made with ou canadian and mexican partners regarding crossborder travel. As we continue to evaluate, and evaluatesures to thatnsense measures reduce risk and prevent further spread, it only makes sense that we looked at the measures that our neighbors are undertaking. We have been working closely with those partners since the earliest days of the virus and outbreak, and again as the president said earlier this week, and secretary pompeo, we reached an agreement with canada and mexico to limit nonessential travel across our land borders. Let me be clear that neither of these agreements with canada or mexico applies to lawful trade or commerce. Essential commercial activities will not be impacted. We will continue to maintain a strong and secure economic supply chain across our borders. A few examples of essential travel include, but are not limited to, individuals traveling for medical purposes, to attend educational institutions, emergency response, Public Health services, and individuals involved in legitimate crossborder trade. Said, theretary agreements with canada and mexico will go into effect on saturday, march 21. We are also working with canada in mexico to take decisive joint action regarding individuals seeking entry between our ports of entry. The cdc order directs the department to suspend the introduction of all individuals seeking to enter the u. S. Without proper travel documentation. That is for both the northern and southern border. The cdc director has determined the introduction and spread of the coronavirus and the departments Border Patrol stations and detention facilities presents a serious danger to migrants, our frontline agents and officers and the American People. , so it is important to note that the department currently apprehends foreign nationals from over 120 countries around the world, the vast majority of those having coronavirus cases. Many of these individuals arrive with little or no identity, travel, or medical documentation, making Public Health risk determinations all but impossible. It is also important to note that the outbreak on our southern border will likely increase the strain on Health Systems in our border communities, taking away lifesaving resources from american citizens. Tonight at midnight, we will execute the cdc order by immediately returning individuals arriving without documentation to canada, mexico, as well as a number of other countries without delay. Is positioned to execute these measures as we continue to keep our borders secure and safe. Before i conclude, let me wrap up by thanking the brave men and women of dhs, specifically cbp, across the government for the work they do every day to keep the American People safe from the coronavirus. The department has a number of frontline officers that have tested positive, as well as others who are selfquarantining, and i am doing everything i can to protect these patriots as they continue to defend our homeland during this crisis. Thank you. President trump thank you very much. Thank you. Todays announcement is the latest in a long line of bold, decisive actions the president has taken to protect americans from the coronavirus spreading across our borders. In within two weeks of china who aboutotifying the the virus, and with only 45 cases in china, we began screening travelers from wuhan. Time, as the outbreak evolved, the president restricted travel from iran and europe. Our Health Experts say that these measures have been effective in slowing the spread to our shores. Just think about this. Italy and the United States both saw their first travelrelated case of coronavirus around the exact same time, the last week of january. And yet we have had precious time to continue our work around vaccines, therapeutics and other preparations, while italy has tragically been overwhelmed with critical patients for several weeks now. The president today is taking action to slow the spread of Infectious Disease via our border. Under section 362 of the Public Health service act, the cdc is suspending the entry of certain persons into the United States, because of the Public Health threat that their entry into the United States represents. This order applies to persons coming from mexico and canada, who are seeking to enter the who wouldlegally, and normally be held in a customs and Border Patrol station. It does not apply to u. S. Citizens or lawful permanent residents. During this pandemic, and number of Health Challenges arise when Illegal Immigrants arrive at our northern and southern borders and are taken into immigration custody. We are talking about significant numbers of Illegal Immigrants. From this past october through february, dhs has processed more than 21,000 inadmissible aliens at the northern border, and more than 151,000 inadmissible aliens at the southern border. Cbp facilities were never designed to hold large numbers of people, and to protect agents and migrants and agents from a pandemic, nor to treat if largea novel virus numbers are infected. When held at border facilities, the migrants are spreading the migrants, cpb agents and other Health Care Workers and even the u. S. , population as a whole. In such circumstances, the social distancing measures the cdc and the president have recommended are simply not possible. On top of that, any resources we are using to reduce the risk of agents,n among cpb healthcare workers and migrants in these facilities are drawing on American Health care system that is already fighting the coronavirus pandemic. That is why the president is taking these important steps to keep americans and ourhealthcas in these immigration system safe from these health risks, as part of our whole of government approach to combating the coronavirus. Thank you, mr. President , for the work that you have been doing throughout this crisis to slow the spread of the coronavirus and to keep our country safe. President trump thank you, very much. Thank you. Thank you, mr. President. So we continue to review data from around the globe, as i know you are. We continue to see signs that , again, individuals under 20, 19 and under, may have severe disease, but the majority and all have recovered to date. We still see that same trend, and frankly, from italy we are , seeing another concerning trend that the mortality in , males seems to be twice in every age group as females. This should alert all of us to continue our vigilance to protect our americans that are in nursing homes. This requires all of the community, when you see the sacrifices that Many Americans have made, the sacrifices of the Service Industry to close the restaurants, bars, so the spread is discontinued, and then you really understand how all americans must make the same sacrifice. We continue to ask you to follow the president ial guidelines of no groups coming together of more than 10. That if anybody in the house is a sick, that everybody quarantines in the household together, and that we continue to focus on those who have the most vulnerability to this illness. To the moms and dads who have children with immuno deficiencies or other medical conditions, we dont know the level of risk. And i know you will protect them in the same way. There just is not enough numbers at this time to really tell them if they are at additional risk or not in the same way that , adults are. I do not have new data. I can see the look on your face saying is shees, seeing something new . I do not have new data, but it is important for us to be as honest as we can and when we do not have data, be clear that we do not know. Finally, no one is immune. I sometimes hear people on the radio or others talking about, i , am immune to the virus. We do not know if the contagion levels are different in age groups, but we know it is highly contagious to everyone. Do not interpret mild or moderate disease as lack of contagion, or that you are immune. You just happen to have a better immune system, an ability to fight the virus in a way that may be older people or people with existing medical conditions cant. And that is why it is very important at this moment that all of you carry that message about the sacrifices that many have made, particularly our Service Providers and frontline Health Care Workers. They are making that sacrifice every day, so that every american can move through this. But we need every american following the guidelines. Thank you very much, mr. President. I want to underscore a couple things i have said to this group. You may recall that just a week ago i said, the two elements of our capability to contain the infection and the possible and the surge of infection this country rely on two things, keeping infections from coming from without in. We have been successful in doing that with china and with europe. Now we have the northern and southern border issues. There is a fundamental public , Health Reason for doing that, because we cannot be preventing people from coming in from one area when they can actually go into the other. So that is an important reason. Understand there is a Public Health reason for doing that. The second thing that i think is really important is what happened in new york today with Governor Cuomo, mentioned about one hour ago some rather strong issues that have been addressed with his recommendations not recommendations, essentially orders. We have a group of recommendations and guidelines that are applicable to the entire country. You know them, we have been over them. Yet there are places, regions, states cities in this country , that are being stressed much , much more than the country as a whole. And one of them is washington, another one california. Governor newsom made important difficult decisions today. Today Governor Cuomo did the , same thing. I want to say that i strongly support what he is doing. And one thing, as a new yorker myself, for those who have not figured it out for my accent, as a new yorker i know what new yorkers can do. We are tough. I was in new york city on september 11, 2001, and i know what the new yorkers can do. With theircooperate governor. Cooperate with your mayor. It is very important. Thank you. President thank you. Vice President pence thank you, mr. President. The White House Coronavirus task force met this morning and we continue at the president s direction to bring the full resources, not just of the federal government, but with our state governments, businesses around america and in partnership with the American People to respond to the threat of the coronavirus. I know that i can speak on behalf of the president with confidence when i say how inspired we are by the way that the American People and american businesses are coming together to help defeat this virus in our country. Millions of americans are putting into practice the president s 15day guidelines. And we encourage everyone, even those not in areas with significant outbreak to review , these guidelines over the next week and more, and put them into practice. And you will continue to do your part. Later today, we will speak with manufacturers around the country and the president and i continue , to be inspired by the way american industry is stepping forward. We have businesses utterly volunteering to retrofit plants to help us meet the needs of our Health Care Workers and our Health Care System in confronting the coronavirus. As the president mentioned, yesterday, following his decision to put fema in the lead, the emergency declaration, we actually met with all the nations governors from the fema National Response Coordination Center. The president and i and our team at the federal level could not for the efforts of all of our governors in implementing the guidance that is being issued not only from our task force, but also in taking strong measures in their own communities to protect their citizens. We want to urge every american to heed your local authorities, listen to their guidance, and also do your part to slow the spread. We reiterated to all the governors that the president , by putting fema in the lead, will continue to implement a plan that is locally executed, state managed and federally supported that puts the health of america first. We received a report today, as the president mentioned, on our legislative team on capitol hill. We are working with republicans and democrats at this very hour to pass an economic recovery package that the president described, and we hope to see the congress act on that early next week. On the subject of supplies, we continue to make progress on testing, thanks to the president s involvement of commercial labs, the public and private partnership more , americans are being tested every day. Tomorrow, the admiral and fema will update the American Public on the status of testing and our support of statebased testing efforts that are literally expanding by the hour. On the subject of medical supplies, we continue to pursue every means to expand the supply of personal protective equipment for the extraordinary and courageous Health Care Workers that are ministering to the needs of people impacted by the coronavirus. We have a policy of procuring, allocating, as well as conserving the resources that we have in our system. And now that the president has worked with congress to make industrial masks fully available for hospitals to be able to purchase and use as protective equipment, we are more encouraged than ever about the availability of those important n95 masks and , over the weekend we will announce a major procurement of masks from the federal government as well. We are also encouraged we are finding new alternatives to increase the supply of ventilators. We mentioned we have a federal stockpile of some 20,000 ventilators on standby, but that does not count the tens of thousands of ventilators in our Health Care System around the country. But the president has challenged us to work to free up ventilators from other sources around the country, and there are two different ways we are doing that. Number one, in our recent discussion with anesthesiologists, we have identified tens of thousands of existing ventilators that can be retrofitted and converted to be ventilators for people who are struggling with the coronavirus. But also on the president s , behalf and on behalf of the task force, we want to continue american, and every American Hospital and health care facility, to postpone any elective medical procedures. This will free up bed space, free up Hospital Capacity for people who are struggling with the coronavirus, and it will also free up equipment that are that our Health Care Workers need. It is inspiring that we continue to receive reports of businesses around america donating n95 masks to their local hospitals, businesses large and small are donating hundreds, in some cases millions of masks. I know how grateful the president is, and we all are. As all of our experts have said many times, while the threat of serious illness to the average american from the coronavirus remains low, every american can do your part to reduce the burden on your health, on your family, the burden on our Health Care System, and especially the threat to the most vulnerable among us, by putting into practice the president s 15 days to slow the spread. And as the president said in his remarks, i know that millions of americans are doing that now and the greatness of the american character is a shining. President trump thank you, mike. Thank you very much. Ok, thank you. You had a call with senator schumer, he said you have agreed to invoke the defense production act to actually make those medical supplies that hospitals say are in severe shortage. Two questions. Is that what you are doing now . President trump it is. I did it yesterday. We invoked it the evening the day before we signed it. And we invoked it yesterday. We have people working hard on ventilators and various other things. You are using it now to tell businesses to make respirators, ventilators . President trump we are, for certain things that we need, including some of the very important emergency i would ventilators, probably more masks to a large extent. , we have millions of masks that will be distributed to the states. The states are having a hard time getting them, so we are using the act. The act is very good for things like this. We have millions of masks we have ordered and they will be here soon. We are having them shipped directly to states. You are signing it, not invoking it, that is what you said yesterday, and you said you would only do it in a worstcase scenario. Are we now in the worstcase scenario . President trump we need certain certain equipment that the states cant get themselves so , we are invoking it to use the powers of the federal government to help the states get things that they need, like the masks and ventilators. What Governor Cuomo done in new york, is there any more consideration for a national of people in their homes . President trump i dont think so. They have done it in new york and california. Those are two hotbeds. I do not think so, because you go to the midwest and other locations and they are watching on television, but they do not have the same problems, they do not by any means have the same problem. New york, california, miami, the governor is doing an excellent job Governor Desantis in , florida. We have some hotspots in florida, too. And the state of washington, but that was largely, if you look at it, that was one nursing home that had problems like you wouldnt believe. So we are working with the governors. And i dont think we will ever find that necessary. What about the what about the 15day guidelines . Are you happy with the progress . President trump i am happy with the progress. But we will have to see the results after 14 days, lets say. We will know by the 15th day to see what we do. But i am certainly honored by the way that the American People are working, because it has because it is work. It is work not to work. This is the first time it has ever happened. And we are working out a financial package for them so they do not work. Who ever heard of this . Usually you work out a financial package to get people working. We are asking people not to work. Social distancing, that new term. That has become the hottest term there is. So im honored by the way the American People are taking this so seriously. Question for you and for the doctor. There has been concern on capitol hill that the phase three fiscal stimulus is too much of favor of corporations, and not enough in terms of individuals. What did your conversations with Chuck Schumer yield on that . President trump i think that really all of that is being discussed now. As an example, we talked about stock buybacks. I dont want stock buybacks. I do not want people spending i do not want executives saying we will buy 200,000 shares of stock. I want that money for the workers, and also for the company, to keep the company going. But not for stock buybacks. I havent spoken to a lot of republicans or democrats on it. We discussed it. But i did not like the buybacks. And i didnt look at and i didnt like it the first time. What about senator schumer . President trump we are discussing that. Are you on the same page . President trump we are not very far away. Dr. Fauci, it was explained yesterday that there has been progress with some potential therapy for those infected with the virus. Any evidence that suggests that it might be used as a prophylaxis against this virus . the answer is no. And the evidence that you are talking about, john, is anecdotal evidence. As the president mentioned yesterday, we are trying to strike a balance between making something that has potential of an effect available to the American People. At the same time we do it, under of a protocol that would give us the information to determine if it is truly saving effective. But the information is anecdotal, it was not done in a clinical trial. So you really cant make a definitive statement about it. Pres. Trump go ahead. Without saying too much, i am probably more of a fan of that , maybe than anybody. But i am a big fan. We will see what happens. We understand what the doctor says is 100 correct. It is early but i have seen , things that are impressive. But we will see. We are going to know soon. We are going to know soon. Including safety, but when you talk about safety, this has been prescribed for many years for people to combat malaria, which was a big problem. And it is very effective. It is a strong drug. So we will see. It was effective against sars . President trump as i understand it. Is that a correct statement . It was effective with sars . Dr. Fauci you have to be very careful when you say it was very effective. It was used in Clinical Trials. They felt that maybe it would work. Was there anything to compare it to . Dr. Fauci you do standard of care care plus the agent you are , evaluating. That is the reason why we showed ebola, those particular interventions worked. About the possible therapies, yesterday you said that they were for immediate delivery. Immediate. President trump we are ordering them, yes. We have millions of units ordered. Bayer is one of the companies, as you know, a big company, one of the companies a very great , company. Millions of units are ordered. We will see what happens. We will be talking to the governors about it, and the fda is working on it now. The advantage is it has been prescribed for many years and Everybody Knows the levels of the negatives and positives. But i will say that i am a man that comes from a positive school, when it comes to, in particular, one of these drugs. So we will see how it works out, peter. I am not saying it will, but i think people may be surprised. By the way, that would be a game changer. So we will known so we will know very soon. We have ordered millions of units. It is being ordered from bayer, and there are a number of companies that also do it. There is no magic drug for the coronavirus right now would , you agree . President i think we only disagree a little bit. I disagree. Maybe, maybe not. Maybe there is, maybe there isnt. We will see. Is it possible that your impulse to put a positive spin on things may give americans a false sense of hope . President trump i do not think so. I think it has got it is a notyetapproved drug. President trump such a lovely question. Look, it may work, it may not work. I agree with the doctor. It may not work. But i feel good about it. That is all it is, just a feeling. You know, i am a smart guy. I feel good about it. But we are going to see. We will see soon enough. And we have certainly some very big samples of people, if you look at the people. A lot of the people are in big trouble. This is not a drug that and obviously i think i can speak for a lot of, from a a lot of experience going because it has been out there for over 20 years. So it is not a drug that you have a huge amount of danger with. It is not like a brandnew drug just created that may have a monumental effect, like kill you. We are going to know very soon, and i can tell you, the fda is working very hard to get out. Right now in terms of malaria, if you want that you can get a prescription. And by the way, it is very effective. It works. And i a feeling it may, am not being optimistic or pessimistic. Ell think we should give it a try. There has been some interesting things that are happening. Some very good things. Lets see what happens. We have nothing to lose. You know that expression . What the hell do you have to lose . What do you say to americans who are scared, though . Dead, 14,006, and millions are scared. What do you say to americans watching right now who are scared . President trump i say that you are a terrible reporter. That is what i say. I think you had a nasty question. And i think it is a very bad signal that you are putting out to the American People the American People are looking for answers, and they are looking for hope. And you are doing sensationalism, the same with nbc and comcast. I do not call it comcast, i call it concast. Let me say something. That is really bad reporting. And you ought to get back to reporting, instead of sensationalism. Lets see if it works. It might come in might not. I happen to feel good about it, but who knows . I have been right a lot. John . Lets go back to the science and logistics. The units that have been ordered are they for distribution to the , general public or Clinical Trials . Pres. Trump as i understand it, we will be taking samples in new york. Governor cuomo is very interested in this drug, and they are going to work on it also, after they get a certain approval. We are waiting for one final approval from the fda, and we will see what happens. We will use it on people who are not doing great, or even at the beginning of not feeling well. And john, what do i have to lose . John, it has been out there for so long. We hear good things. Lets see. Maybe it works and maybe it doesnt. I understand. So that would be a modified access . Pres. Trump we are doing it. And i guess that is what it is called. I would like the doctor to follow up, should americans have hope in this drug . And i want to follow up on peters question, could you issue, address americans in this country who are scared right now . This is a very valid concern that people have. Dr. Fauci there is not much of a difference, and randy were in many respects, is what we are saying. Many respects, is what we are saying. The president feels optimistic, he has a feeling about it. I am saying it might be effective, i am not saying it isnt. It might be effective, but as a scientist, as we are getting it out there, we need to do it in a way that, while you are making it a people making it available to people who might have a hope it might work, you also collecting data that will ultimately show that it is truly effective and deceive under the conditions of covid19. So it really isnt different, it is just a question of how one feels about it. Any reason to believe it is not safe . Dr. Fauci any drug has some toxicities. The decades of experience we have with this drug indicate that the toxicities are rare and in many respects reversible. What we do not know is when you put it in the context of another disease whether it is safe. , fundamentally, i think it will probably be safe, but i like to prove things first. So it really is a question of not a lot of difference. It is the hope it will work versus proving it will work. So i dont see big differences here. People who are working at home, who have their children at home right now, doctors who say they do not have masks to do their jobs. Your message to them . President trump my message to the American People is that incidence ofry low death, you understand that. We will come through this stronger than ever before. If you happen to get it, it is highly unlikely it is looking like it is getting to a number much smaller than people originally thought in terms of the ultimate, the ultimate problem, which would be death. My message to the American People is, number one, you have done an incredible job. Incredible, what you have gone through has been incredible. It was not their fault. It was not the fault of 140 other countries where this has happened. And there is tremendous hope. And i think we are going to come out stronger, better, bigger in every way. I think we will be a better country than we were before, and we learned a lot. We learned on reliance, who to and who not to rely on. The country has been incredible. Including the fact i just spoke with senator Chuck Schumer. We had a wonderful conversation. We both want to get to a good solution. But it has been, really for me, watching and seeing people that speaking getting along well, because we all have one common aim, that is to get rid of the invisible enemy, get rid of it fast, and go back to the economy that we had, and maybe even better. Yeah . Please. The back. President , two questions if you will indulge me. Many Small Businesses are concerned that they have weeks, not months. Pres. Trump we will be helping them. A big focus, including my conversation with mitch and chuck, a big focus of the conversation was a Small Businesses, because they are the engine behind our country, more so than the big ones. They are the engine behind our country. Are you concerned about members of congress that may have used information they learned on updates to sell stocks and profit off of it . President trump i am not aware of it. I saw some names. I know all of them. I know everybody mentioned, Diane Feinstein and a couple of others. I do not know much about what it is about, but i find them to be honorable people. That is all i know. And they said they did nothing wrong. I find them, the whole group very honorable people. , mr. President , the whole burr would include richard , the head of the intelligence committee, and it would also include senator kelly loeffler. So the question is whether or not they should be investigated for that behavior. Pres. Trump you did not mention Diane Feinstein, a democrat. Why didnt you mention her name . I think she is an honorable person, by the way, so i am not upset. You mentioned to people, but you dont mention the one who happens to be a democrat. Any senator . Pres. Trump i find them to be honorable people. You said you see yourself as a wartime president , leading the country through this pandemic that we are experiencing. Do you really think that going off on peter, going off on a network is appropriate when the , country is going through Something Like this . Pres. Trump i do, because i think peter i have dealt with peter for a long time. And i think that peter is not a good journalist when it comes to fairness. But he is asking about your message to the country. President trump the country has to understand that there is, whether we like it or not, some of the people in this room wont like it, there is a lot of great news out there, great journalism, but there is a lot of fake news out there. And i understand it all because i am in the middle of it. When somebody does a story on television, and i know it is false, and i know it is fake and , when they say they have 15 sources, and i know there are no sources, they are making it up, i know that. And i called peter out and i call other people out, too. Is a time to come together. But coming together is much harder when we have dishonest journalists. It is a very important profession that you are in. It is a profession that i think is incredible. I cherish it. But when people are dishonest they truly hurt our country. , in the back. Mr. President , china has been in communication with the United States and and the who since january, yet you shut the border on february 2. And wuhan was locked down january 24. This all happened two months ago. Say, if you had known earlier . President trump i can speak for myself, but i have a Good Relationship with china and with president xi. I have Great Respect for president xi, i consider him to be a friend of mine. It is unfortunate that this got out of control. It came from china. It got out of control. Some people are upset. I know president xi, he loves china. He respects the United States. And i have to say that i respect china greatly, and i respect president xi. Can i ask you more about stock buybacks . Is this a dealbreaker for you . Pres. Trump i never liked the stock buybacks from their standpoint. When we did a big tax cut and when they took the money and did the buybacks, that is not building a hanger, that is not buying aircraft, that is not doing the kind of things that i want them to do. And we are now talking about buybacks. We didnt think we wouldve had to restrict it, because we thought they would have known better. But they did not know better. Not in all cases. Some ended in incredible job, they built plants all over the country. You saw what happened. Until this invisible enemy appeared, we never had an economy like this. But there were some companies that used the money to buy back stock, driving up the price of the stock, artificially in many cases. I dont like that. I dont like it. And as far as whether or not we will allow that when we give them money, because we have to keep these Great Companies in business because of the workers, frankly, for the most part because of the workers. The workers are my numberone concerned. But the way that we take care of the workers is we have to keep the companies going. I am fine with restricting the buybacks. In fact, i would demand that there are no stock buybacks. I dont want them taking hundreds of millions and buying back their stock, because that does nothing. A question for you and dr. Fauci. Pres. Trump secretary pompeo is extremely busy. So if you have any question for him right now, could you do that . You know what i would like for him . I would like him to go back to the state, or as i call it, the deep state department. I would like them to go back into his job. Does anybody have any questions . Mr. Secretary . Can i ask a question . Pres. Trump how about you. Only for the secretary. The exemptions on work travel, can you define that . Can anybody with a work phase across the border . Pompeo we are concerned about Agricultural Workers, there is real concern about Agricultural Workers that need to get across. We need to make sure we do everything we can to keep that part of our economic lifeblood working. We will Work Together and we want to make sure that we keep that alive and functional and prepared for the day that this economy bounces back. Mr. Secretary, the Mexican Government has not announced a travel ban on europe. Have you been in talks with them as to when they are going to do this and what it is they are , telling you . And they are also telling us, said in a press conference this morning that they will not take back any nonmexican citizen, and third parties will have to we do not know what will happen to them. Can you address what will happen to those thirdcountry immigrants that you are saying will not be allowed to enter the u. S. From mexico, and will not be allowed to stay in mexico either . Sec. Pompeo i will take the first one. With respect to travel into mexico, i spoke with the foreign minister about this. I am confident we will get to a good place that protects mexican people and the American People from those who might be traveling into places where we have designations, the zone from china so they are not coming to the United States from mexico. We will make that announcement shortly together. As we implement the cdcs order, we will take a number of individuals who cross the border illegally and repatriate them back to mexico, back to the northern triangle and into any other country. We will continue to work with mexico to make sure that mexican nationals go back, as well as other populations. Are you saying that those who come from cuba, what would you do with those immigrants who are not from mexico . Secretary wolf all of the above. We will send individuals back to mexico, back to the northern triangle countries, cuba, all of them. There are 122 different nations that we see nationalities come across the border and we will be sending them back individually to their countries, but also working with mexico to send additional populations back there as well. Pres. Trump what you said before, the nonmexicans going to mexico, we are not sending them to mexico we are sending them back to their own country. Not to mexico. Why would mexico take people that arent from mexico . We are sending them back, in the case of guatemala, on doors, el salvador and a lot of other countries, they go back to the country from where they came. Please. Secretary pompeo, on the issue of disinformation, is there any particular locus for this disinformation, or is it diffused . Sec. Pompeo we have seen it come from russia and iran and china, where there are coordinated efforts to disparate what america is doing and all the things that President Trump has put in motion here. Other than what you are doing, what are you doing to fight back . Secretary pompeo lots of things. We want to make sure the American People go to trusted sources for their information, but we have made clear in we made clear and we have spoken to those countries directly that they need to knock it off, that we do not approve of it and there are other things we are engaged in to make sure Accurate Information is out there. This idea of transparency and Accurate Information is very important, it is how we protect the American People from Something Like this ever happening again. You encourage the American People to go to trusted sources of information. Does it undermine you when the president stands up here and calls us untrustworthy . Sec. Pompeo next question. In terms of americans who find themselves stranded in places where there are no longer flights to get back to the United States, what efforts are being made to help them . Secretary pompeo i appreciate that question. We are doing lots of things. Morocco, i think we had the first three flights out of morocco. And we are trying to get people back. When people can get back on their own, we urge them to do that. But we have a team stood up at the state department the , Repatriation Task force, working on each of these instances. So we do you know how long . In a sense of how big the problem is . Sec. Pompeo we think we have the largest number identified and we are working on that. Those that are watching who are someplace, you go to the state Department Website and you can log in, and we will track you and try to get everybody back. How long are the border restrictions likely to last along the south and north borders . Sec. Pompeo as long as we need to do it to protect the American People. I could not tell you. Have you determined whether iran is responsible for the rocket attack last week . Pres. Trump maybe we should not say. Sec. Pompeo let me get back to you on that. What we can say with certainty is we have made clear all along that the iraqi shia militias are funded, trained, and equipped by the iranians. We have told the iranians that they will be held responsible for those attacks when they threaten american lives. What about the peace corps volunteers and 60 plus countries, have they all been returned . Sec. Pompeo i know that they were directed to come back, i know that most of them are back but i cannot tell you if we have all of them. Secretary esper is not here, but the troops in iraq and afghanistan, have they been tested or are they able to get tests . How will you get the americans back, and will the military be involved . Sec. Pompeo we will use all the tools we can. The first efforts involve commercial and private flights that will bring them back to a destination in the United States. Some will travel back in other ways as well. We have worked with the department of defense to say where there is space available, we will bring them back on those flights. It is a full government effort. They will help us every place they can. Is there any consideration to relaxing sanctions on iran during the Current Crisis . Sec. Pompeo the whole world should know that humanitarian assistance in iran is wide open, it is not sanctioned. We offered assistance to the iranians. I spoke to the World Health Organization about it. We are doing everything we can to facilitate the humanitarian assistance, and to make sure that the Financial Transactions can take place as well. There is no section on medicines, no sanctions on humanitarian assistance going into that country. They have a terrible problem and we Want Health Care assistance to get to those people. No movement on the sanctions . Sec. Pompeo we are working to deliver security for the American People. Pres. Trump they know the answer. The leaders of iran know the answer. At a time when thousands are working hard around the world to combat the pandemic . Sec. Pompeo i know how much the president values the people on my team. I know how much he valued the work we did at the cia. He watches our team, all the teams who are pushing back against the virus. I know how much he values them. Pres. Trump what a good answer. Mr. President pres. Trump very true, too. Go ahead. Two questions. Secretary pompeo, it has been picked up that there was a virus happening in wuhan as early as december, when did the cdc start letting other agencies know that there was something happening in china, and when did the whole government approach start to happen . Sec. Pompeo i will let the cdc talk about that. Secretary azar we were alerted by discussions that dr. Redfield, the director of the cdc had with chinese colleagues on february 3. It has since been known that there may have been cases in december, not that we were alerted in december. For the president , the other question for you. Pres. Trump one more moment. Secretary pompeo we need to know immediately. The world is entitled to know. The Chinese Government was the first to know of this risk. And that puts a special obligation to make sure that that data gets to our scientists. This is not about retribution. We are in a live exercise to get this right. We need to make sure that even today, the datasets that are available to every country, including the data made available to the Chinese Communist party, is available to the whole world. It is imperative to keep people safe. We talked about not making judgments about what to do, not able to make judgments about what to do, this is not about political gains. It is about keeping people safe. So when you see a delay in information flowing from the Chinese Communist party to the technical people who we wanted to get into china to assist with this, every moment of delay to identify the risk vectors creates risk for people all around the world. It is not about blaming somebody for this, this is about moving forward to make sure that we continue to have the information we need to do our jobs. What message do you think it sends to other countries when you have the president of the United States lashing out at reporters . Sec. Pompeo i have had my frustration with reporters, too. All i ask is you listen to what we say and report it accurately. It is frustrating when that does not happen. We have a responsibility to tell the American People the truth, those reporting it have an equal responsibility to report accurately. What does it say about the country when you are lashing out at reporters . Sec. Pompeo i have seen many things at the state department being reported inaccurately and i have spoken to those reporters about it each and every time, and i will continue to do so. Mr. President pres. Trump if you can finish with the secretary. Sec. Pompeo i think i have worn them out. Pres. Trump is everybody finished . Senator johnson has suggested that you and the Administration May be overreacting, that we should not shut down the economy because thousands of people die on the highways, we do not shut down the economy because tens of thousands die from the common flu. At worst, 3. 4 of americans will die from the virus, he said. So what do you say to people who have that view . That is 11 Million People he is talking about. Pres. Trump the entire world is agreeing with us, because they all have their choice and everybody is doing the exact same thing. We want to shut it down. We will do that and we will see what happens in two or three weeks. If we can save thousands of lives, millions of lives potentially, you could be talking about millions of lives. So if you look at the world, they have smart people in the world, some smart leaders. Everybody is doing it the way that we are doing it. I think we are doing a better job than hopefully most, if not all, we are doing an effective job. We will know better in 14 or 15 days. You are talking about hundreds of thousands, maybe more than that, numbers of people. And we can bring our finances back quickly, we cannot bring the people back. Mr. President , to follow up on that, there are millions of people out there that share that view that say, i do not need to shut things down, i do not need to stay away from stores, i can go to the beach. Those people making multiple actions exponentially is the difference between life and death. Pres. Trump i agree, but i think i want anthony to answer that, because that is what he does. We had a lot of great, talented people telling us what they think we should do. Dr. Fauci i think that is a false equivalency to compare traffic accidents with this. When you have something that is new and it is emerging, and you cannot predict totally the impact it is going to have, and you take a look at what is going on in china and you see what is going on right now in italy, and what is happening in new york city, i do not think that with any moral conscience you could say, lets let it rip and happen and let x percent of people die. I do not understand that reasoning out all. Pres. Trump the secretary of state is leaving. Any other questions . In the back. Excuse me, i did not call on you. York, they fear that supplies will run out in a matter of weeks. Yesterday, the mayor called on you to use the military. He said, the fate of america and the city rests in the hands of one man. He is betraying the city he comes from. I have spoken to Emergency Department nurses who are being told they should not wear n95 masks because the supplies are so low. How do you respond to mayor bill de blasio . Pres. Trump i am not dealing with him, i am dealing with the governor and the governor agrees with me. We have been very much in sync. I guess they are not agreeing with each other necessarily. But the relationship with new york, i love new york. I grew up in new york. The relationship has been very good. And i think that government and the governor have been getting along incredibly well with the federal government. Ok. [talking over each other] a question for secretary wolf. On illegal entries, how will the turnback process work . Will they be taken to a common area, then sent back to Foreign Countries . How will that process work . It is a Public Health crisis. We are trying to limit the amount of contact that we have with these individuals. Not putting them in facilities. It will be very rapid. We will take them into custody and send them back to a port of entry. It will not be 10 days that we currently have. , will they be otm taken to an airfield . That is correct. Is tiers ofproposed checks. Do you believe in that . I want to getp workers money. Whatever is the best way to do it. And i want to keep businesses open. If it is not enough, we will do something later, i am sure. Predicting are unemployment numbers could skyrocket. Some say by as many as 3 Million People applying for unemployment, it would be a historic number. Is a 1000 check going to cut it . President trump we are talking about much more than that. We are also talking about doing phases. We will keep doing it until we get it going. Frankly, once we get the economy back and this enemy is defeated, the invisible enemy, as i call it, once it is defeated and we get the economy back, it will all come back to us very quickly. We have a tremendous economy. We do numbers like no other country has ever done before. Number one in the world. By far. That money comes back to us very rapidly. That when have it so we win the war with the invisible enemy, these companies can immediately start. Not that they have to start rebuilding. What are the projections for job losses in march and april . Pres. Trump we are looking at different numbers. We have a best case and a not best case. The big thing is to defeat the virus. Once it is defeated, everything falls in place very rapidly. I think you are going to have a tremendous upswing. A lot of people agree with me. If you look at your stock market geniuses, some of whom are not geniuses but they think they are, a lot of people think i am right about that. Once we defeat the virus, it will be like a rocketship going up. I believe we will be stronger than ever. You told governors to try to find whatever supplies they have on their own. Some are saying when they go to buy they are being outbid by the , federal government. Pres. Trump that was yesterdays news. That does happen because they want to buy supplies. We want to buy as a backup and sometimes that will happen. Regardless of who gives them, who needs them, we are getting them to them. We are doing the protection act and we have a lot of things cooking right now at a high level. Remember, nothing like this has ever happened before. Over 140 countries. You have supply chains that are broken down for two reasons. Because they cannot supply that much and people are sick. You have interesting things all over the world. You have supply chains that broke down because of the illness and also because of the quantity. We were we are getting it ordered and getting it done. Look, some of you were at the call yesterday when i spoke with the governors. Almost all of the governors. Every one of them was very impressed with what we have done. The Labor Department has told states not to disclose their unemployment numbers. Do you agree with that . President trump i would have to talk to them. I just want to be clear, are you saying that the administration is requiring these industries to create these products or just asking . Pres. Trump so far we have not have to. It is an amazing thing that has happened. We are getting calls from companies. We are being besieged in a beautiful way by companies that want to do the work. They want to help our country. We have not had a problem with that. How do you help out states and localities that are trying to bid on things like ventilators that are being outbid . President trump when they call us, they let us know. If there is a conflict, we will drop our bid. We want them to go first. They are the pointofsale. We have had four or five instances where literally that was happening. We are both trying to get stock. Against, theyg will call us. The smart ones, frankly, will call us. We want them to buy it. It gets to them quicker if they buy it. They know that. It is happening more and more. They are calling and saying we are bidding against each other. They will get it much quicker that way. There are labs across the country that do not have the testing supplies that they need. What specific actions are you taking . Pres. Trump it is going very well. We inherited an obsolete deal. We have made a good thing out of it. Go ahead. We are making tremendous progress in terms of lab testing. They have supplies. We hear of a Public Health lab that has a concern about the supply or that supply. Through fema, we are standing up a Laboratory Task force to answer those questions. Usually it is that the lab people do not understand that they are alternative supplies in the marketplace that they are free to use. We have had to put out some common myths and truths about that. The other day, we were getting calls from governors saying there are no swaps. Abs. O sw our supply people went in the open marketplace and bought 200,000 swabs. They are not listening or checking with us about all of the freedom and capacity out there. It is a complex system with 330 million americans. Sometimes there is a lab that does not understand how much flexibility they have and the supply out there. We are working through the new fema Integration Center that corrects that for folks. Vice president pence more and more tests are being performed every day. As we learn about the tests, our experts continue to look at the numbers and see that some 90 of americans that are tested do not test positive for coronavirus. It can give you a sense of the magnitude of testing going on. Have the number of cases that we reported today. In some cases it is 10 times that that have been tested. Let me stress how important it was in answering these questions governors, that the president stood up fema and the National Response center, where we briefed governors yesterday. Every governor and their state Health Departments have the ability to reach out to our regional fema administrators. That is how we are sorting out those potential conflicts between significant federal purchases and procurements, and as hospitals and state governments are purchasing as well. I think the new streamlined system operating now in all 50 states and our territories of governors and states going through their regional administrator for fema will make it more possible for us to ensure that our hospitals or Health Care Providers have access to what is available on the open market and elsewhere. You what do you say to americans who are scared . Vice president pence do not be afraid, be vigilant. The experts tell us the risk of serious illness to the average american for the coronavirus is low. But we need every american to put into practice the president s coronavirus guidelines. 15 days to slow the spread. Because the coronavirus is about three times more contagious than the flu according to our best estimate. You can contract the coronavirus and have very minor systems if any, not even be aware you have it, and expose someone who is vulnerable to a very Serious Health outcome. That is why we are encouraging people to avoid groups of more than 10, not eat in restaurants but use drivethroughs and wash their hands on a regular basis. Particularly, we will continue as the president has directed, to focus on the most fun role most vulnerable population. Seniors, Underlying Health conditions. It is those people we need to care for. But it will take all of us working together to make sure they are safe. You just said you havent had to require companies to up there production of medical supplies but you said last night that pres. Trump when we need something, we order something. As you know, two days ago, i invoked the act, a big step. Im not sure this had been done before. Certainly not very much. When we need something, we will use the act. Before we even go out, many companies, Great Companies, companies in a totally different business are willing to do things and make things. Thats what they do, they make products. They are willing to make product for us, medical product that we need very badly for the states that the states cant get. And in noe states, way did they do anything wrong, they were stopped up and equipped but they have ever had a thing like this. So they need help from the federal government. You have not directed any companies to start making more ventilators or masks . Pres. Trump i have. How many . They are making a lot of ventilators and a lot of masks. Are there automakers right now who are retooling their production facilities to make ventilators . President trump they will be very shortly. We are working with one in particular that wants to make ventilators. They called us yesterday. They are already working on it. They are going to make ventilators. They said they have done it before, which surprised me, but they can do it easily. You said yesterday you had spoken to the Carnival Corporation chairman and he said he could donate some ships. Pres. Trump he is not giving them. He will let us use them. I spoke with the president , chairman, ceo and owner. That if we need ships for helping people, that carnival would be willing to angeles, news york, wherever that might be. So far we havent needed to. We are being the big hospital ships up in california. We are working with the governor of california. We have not made a determination. We are talking to folks also in seattle. We are discussing where it could be most useful. We have spoken with Governor Cuomo and we are bringing the big hospital ships up to new york harbor. It sounds like you have not taken them up on it yet. Pres. Trump i did. I said if we need it, i will let you know. Right now we dont need it. Secondly, cruise ships have a lot of frequently contacted surfaces. About usingconcerns those as hospitals . Pres. Trump they are very clean. The virus disappears over a time. The ships have been kept very clean pew they have been gone over. The virus on different services, it disappears over a peer big of time. The virus disappears when it is on a surface over a number of days. Or in some cases, hours. Can you name any of the companies that you have asked to start making ventilators . Pres. Trump i will be but first i want to get the approval from the company. I dont want to do be i dont want to be doing that. I will let you know. One company that has openly stated it is general motors. I did not speak to them about announcing it. We have others also. Thank you. Dr. Fauci,he, there is new research out that 13 of the people with the coronavirus got it from someone who is asymptomatic. Does that change the way, the approach that should be taken . Auci the recommendation applies to if you are in physical contact with someone who could be affected versus someone with symptoms. There is some degree of asymptomatic transmissibility. I think people take their eye off the real ball, which is the things you do will mitigate against getting infected no matter whether you are near someone who was asymptomatic or not. It is the same thing, physical separation and the care outlined here. I have a question about testing. When will everyone american who needs a test to get a test . Why not have medical equipment being shipped right now to hospitals . Pres. Trump we are hearing positive things about testing. We dont want every american to go out and get a test. 350 Million People, we dont want that. We want people who have a problem. Theye a problem with are sneezing, sniffling, they have a temperature. We dont need that. Thesee are having is private labs that have come in, they have been fantastic. We have a great system for the future, because as i said, we inherited, meaning this administration, an obsolete, broken system that was not meant for anything like this. Now we have a system that you can see, because look, we are well into this and nobody is talking about it except for you, which doesnt surprise me. There are americans who have symptoms and cannot get tests. What do you say to those . Pres. Trump i am not hearing it. We dont want everybody to go out to get a test. There is no reason for it. There are americans who have symptoms it is being suggested that the real way to get to the end of this is for every Single Person living in this country to get tested. Then you could have people go back to work. Is there any possibility we could get to that point . And how long would that take . thank you for the question. I have heard that before. I dont connect the dots there. I dont think testing everyone will help you implement this. About ags we spoke while ago, you really want to ratchet it up, like Governor Newsom is doing in california or Governor Cuomo in new york, that is how you put an end to the outbreak. Testing is important. It would be nice to know. There are certain things you could do. But lets not conflate testing with the action we have to take. Whether or not you test, do this i am not putting down testing. People seem to link them so much that if you dont have universal testing, you cannot respond to the outbreak. You really can. Trump after listening to the experts, i think it is important that not everybody be tested. If you feel great and you have no symptoms whatsoever, it is not a good thing to be doing. , yesterday you mentioned the possibility of aerosol transmission of the virus. Dr. Fauci that possibility always comes up when you have situations like this. It came up with influencer and with sars. Aerosol means that it can stay in the air for a period of time because the droplets are very small and dont go down pure is it possible . Yes, it certainly is. The clearly what we have seen in the situations where people have gotten infected, from the areas we have experienced, china, south korea, europe, most of it is in a situation where people are close enough to each other that a symptomatic person will have a droplet transmission. It isot ruling out that aerosol, but again, it is not going to substantially change doing this. What is the demand pressure on testing in this country and are we meeting it . Dr. Fauci i get the same calls that many of you get. Someone who goes into a place who has a symptom and wants to to get a test, and for one reason or another, i cannot get it. That is a reality that is happening now. Is it the same as it was a few weeks ago . Absolutely not. Now that we have the private sector involved, the availability and implementation of the availability is Getting Better and better. Having said that, i understand and empathize with the people who rightfully are saying, i am trying to get a test and i cant. So we are not yet at a point where we are meeting the demand pressure . Dr. Fauci the answer is yes. We are not there yet. Because people would not be calling up saying i cannot get a test. Vice president pence i cant emphasize enough about the incredible progress we have made on testing. All of your reporting and Media Outlets around the country as many more tests are performed every day, literally by the tens of thousands. This has only been made possible because several weeks ago the president brought in the commercial labs, these are normas companies, working ormous companies. We have this existing system of state laboratories and the cdc processing tests for certain infections. Given the magnitude of the outbreak, the president itrehended early on that would not be enough to meet the need. I want every american to know that hourbyhour, in partnership with these extraordinary commercial labs, we are making more and more tests available every day. Detail the way we are working with states to distribute those tests. We have focused on states that have been dealing with the most serious outbreaks. Washington, california, new york, and others. We have been making sure the tests are in those areas. Working closely with those governors. American people should be encouraged that the progress we are making tomorrow we will detail that progress. For any american who might be concerned they have symptoms, as the president said, we dont want every healthy american to get a test. If people feel they have symptoms, call your doctor. They are dr. Can call the state Health Authorities and they work closely with our entire team, hhs and fema, and work to identify. More and more tests are available every day. Pres. Trump just so you know, for the 100th time, i, this administration, inherited an obsolete, broken, old system that was not meant for this. We discarded that system. We now have a new system that can do millions of people as you need them. Rid of a broken, old system that did not work. It worked only on a limited basis. We are proud of what we have done. It is incredible what we have done. Serve form will now future problems. Hopefully you dont have a problem like this, but something will come up. We now have a great system. It is almost fully in gear. It is able to test millions of people. Old,e inherited a broken, frankly a terrible system. We fixed it. We have done a great job. We havent been given the credit we deserve, that i can tell you. The one who deserves the credit are the American People. They are doing things that nobody thought they would do. What they are doing is incredible. We are making a lot of progress. We will see you tomorrow. Thank you very much. It is easy to follow the federal response to the coronavirus outbreak at cspan. Org coronavirus. Track the spread throughout the u. S. And the world with interactive maps and charts. Watch briefings and hearings with Public Health specialists. Any time, unfiltered, at cspan. Org coronavirus. Army secretary Ryan Mccarthy and other officials briefed officials on the coronavirus and military branches and their response. Do you want me on this one or that one . Sorry. Is this who wants to be a millionaire