Peter congressman frank lucas is the Top Republican on the science, tech and space committee. Gopal ratnam covers Technology Issues for cq roll call. Thank you both for being on the communicators. Gopal thank you. Cspan has unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the Supreme Court and Public Policy events. You can watch all of cspans Public Affairs programming online or listen on our free radio app and be part of the National Conversation through cspans daily Washington Journal Program or through our social media feeds. Cspan, created by americas Cable Television companies as a Public Service and brought to you today by your television provider. President trump met with the American WorkforceAdvisory Board on the economy. He was joined by his daughter ivanka and several cabinet embers and Business Leaders. Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States accompanied by the honorable vanka trump. [applause] President Trump thank you very much. Busy time. Were making a lot of progress with the whole situation that came in from a place called china as you probably know. You probably see. But we have a little work to. Do and well get it done. Were having some very good numbers coming out in terms of the comeback, the comeback of our nation. And i think its going very rapidly. And its going to be very good. But right now, were in that process of building. And its an honor that youre with us today. We very much appreciate it. Im delighted to welcome members of the workforce policy Advisory Board. And i want to thank ivanka. She works very hard on this board. She works very hard to get jobs. Its made in the u. S. A. And jobs in the u. S. A. I saw a group of your people yesterday having to do with ships. Youre involved in that partnership and its fantastic what theyre doing in wisconsin. It was really a great day. The secretary of treasury is with us, and hes worked very hard. And i think hes got some very good things to say and some pretty big news and the commerce secretary, secretary of labor of scalia and secretary education and jovita. Where is jovita . Jovita carranza. Thanks to Iowa Governor kim reynolds who has done terrifically. Hi, kim. Nice to see you. Thank you very much. And eric holcomb, governor of indiana. And we always recognize eric because hes how tall are you, eric . Hes a pretty tall guy, right . We have one thats a little taller. You know where that is . Alaska. You know that, right . Youre doing a great job. We appreciate it. As well as the c. E. O. S who have signed our pledge to american rkers, maryland, of Lockheed Martin. Sebastian thurn and i. B. M. I want to thank you all. Youve been here from from the beginning very much from the beginning and we appreciate very much. Today, we built the greatest economy in the history and literally in the history of the world, the greatest weve ever had. The greatest the world has ever seen. And now, we have to bring it back because we had to close in order to save millions of lives. We added 2. 5 million jobs last month which was incredible. The largest monthly increase in history and more than double the previous record. So were bringing it back. We had the greatest ever. And we had to close it. And now, we bring it back. And we start off with 2. 5 million jobs in one month. I would say thats pretty good, maryland, right . I would say thats the highest ever done. And likewise, retail sales surge by nearly 18 last month. That was the biggest jump ever recorded. So thats great. The stock market is seeing you go back a week. One week. So the best 50 days in its history, best 50day increase in the history of the stock markets. Our pledge to americas workers has secured commitments to over 16 million job and training opportunities from employers nationwide and some of the employers are with us and theyve been fantastic. I want to thank the American People for doing such an incredible job. They understand whats happening. And they see how fast were turning it around. This to just state that is americans of all backgrounds that were talking about to have the chance we want to gem get in the chance to learn and to build a successful career. Want to train americans and hiring americans. Before the pledge and this is a very big factor. I mean, we have a a problem that has 22 different names. But ill just call it the plague, but before the plague struck we had the lowest africanamerican, hispanic mericans and Asian Americans jobs, 60 million jobs. Women were thriving. Best numbers ever. And since my election, more than half of those jobs, more than half, first time thats ever happened went to women. But now, we want to get that all back. The africanamerican group got hit very hard. The Hispanic American Group got hit very hard. Essentially all groups got hit hard but now, its coming back. To further increase opportunity im expanding the federal workforce ill sign an executive order to preare replace outdate and really outdated its called degree based hiring with skill based hiring. And we want it based on skill. The federal government will no longer be narrowly focused on where you went to school, but the skills and the talents that you bring to the job, we want that skill to be there. We want it based on merit. Weve looked at merit for a long time and weve been able to get it done. And today signing is a very, very important one. I think maybe before i sign, ill ask ivanka to say a few words. Well go around a little bit. Well pick a few people and we sign and well go back to work. Thank you very much, ivanka. Thank you, mr. President and its an honor to be here. We con veend our sixth meeting with the Advisory Board and we got an update on the teams response to your bold call to action. First, were going to be launching with rometti a Massive Advertising Campaign that directs those who need to learn a new trade to secure a job to the resources to enable them to do that. So were very excited about the launch of this private sectorled and driven campaign to match americans with the training they need and ultimately the job that exists. The Advisory Board is creating a series of pilot programs and Scott Pulsifer and Doug Mcmillan have been running these groups where we think about how we create the resumes of the future and allow people to find Job Vacancies based on skill. And for employers to connect with the unemployed workers based on skill. So creating a lot more efficiency so that process. Ith your once again leading by example. We are always seeking to recruit and retain the best and the brightest to serve the American People. Last december, you fought for and secured paid leave for every federal worker. This was a first. Creating a workplace that reflects our American Values in both work and family, and helping us retain our amazing talent. Its also why you fought so hard this spring when covid struck to secure paid sick leave for Small Businesses and additional funding for childcare providers helping millions and millions of americans remain employed and providing relief to Small Businesses across the country. This is going to insure a faster and stronger recovery. Today, were taking that next step as you mentioned and signing an executive order that directs federal agencies to hire based on skills and knowledge not just outdated degree requirements. This will allow us to better recognize the talents and confidences of all americans we hire. You built once the most inclusive economy in this countrys history, and youll build it again. Through our pledge to americas workers, the private sector has committed to investing in the training and education of over 16 million American Students and workers. And this continues despite the st change that dash the plague ushered in. Companies have been leading the way. And theyve been using their pledge commitment and fulfilling it by providing free training for American Workers laid off as a result of covid. I met one of the students that went through the program and received your scholarship in conjunction with the pledge, and it was incredible. His name was tony. E was a lifelong truck driver. Through a series of setbacks the company went under. He signed up for a course in tech and is a Software Engineer providing for his family, absolutely loving what he does. And there are many, many stories like tonys that hopefully will inspire millions across the nation. Maryland houston also an early pledge sirne of lock hed martin committed to hiring during the pandemic using Virtual Technology and other techniques to insure recruitment processes of with more people teleworking from home, we have a lot to accomplish in the months ahead. Im excited to extend this working group and to reform our federal hiring practices as we think about building that inclusive American Economy as we transition to greatness. Thank you for today. And its a pleasure to have you joins. President trump thank you very much, honey. It has been a labor of love. Ivanka loves helping people. Its a wonderful thing. Maryland, how about starting you . Well, thank you, mr. President. Its really an honor to serve on this policy board. I must say i agree with you, advisor trump and the secretary. We had a great effort over the last several meetings and put forward some strong recommendations that help help to match the skills together with the jobs that are there. At Lockheed Martin we are on a path to hire 12,000 people and a lot of it is around making sure that we are getting the kind o apprenticeships and scholarships so they can link up to jobs and operations. President trump well, youve done a great job. I got to see it again. I mentioned that it was so impressive what i saw the whole group yesterday of yet. It was great to be there. Youve done well with it. We appreciate it please, sebastian. Its a great honor, to meet you and i want to thank you for keeping us safe and moving us forward. This has been a vital time for all of us, 30 million unemployed. Its our chance to redefine how education looks like and moving to a world where people can have access and move forward their livelihood. Visionary. The you mentioned tony, a truck driver that was driving trucks for 10 years. His truck broke down. He couldnt find the new engine that he needed. He was unemployed. And came across a group of scholarship that you launched. And in 10 months time was able to become a Software Engineer. They have so much opportunity in this great nation to bring people forward. And i think this is the time to do it. President trump thats a great story. Amazing story. Jeannie, please. Jeannie well, first,th mr. President , thank you for your leadership during this time. And you used an important word when you described ivankas contribution here as a labor of love because this is something what the team has done collectively will have a longterm impact as well as shortterm. And we are solving problem or working towards helping solve one of the most important programs for growth for the country as well. So to help anyone from any social economic background. Thanks to secretary ross and to ivanka for having led us through this. And i think what weve put on the table is substantive change. I know its changed a company like mine. Weve adopted and in 15 of our hires were people from nontraditional backgrounds. And so its really what this is all about, i think and giving everyone a Bright Future in this era. So thank you for that. President trump thank you very much. Good job. Eric, go ahead, please. Eric i want to extend my appreciation. What youre doing is leveling the playing field. Theres been a lot of people, a lot of havenots that will have an opportunity to join the haves. And to to do it during a time of such challenge, but to recognize the opportunity thats here and to do it now, there couldnt be a more important time. So i appreciate everyones effort around this table and your leadership on this front. President trump and indiana is doing very well, im hearing. Good thing. We are. We are moving in the right direction. Weve got 93,000 unfilled jobs right now that we need to fill. Weve ushered in 100,000 jobs in just three and a half years,. The previous record was 93,000 in four years. These are 28 an hour. So this is what its all about. Skilling up the workforce. President trump great job. Thank you very much. Kim . Kim well, thank you, mr. President. What i appreciate about your administration, its an administration of action. You identify barriers and gaps and you help bring the right people together to find the solutions and enact those. So thank you very much. Its been an honor to be a part of this Advisory Board. I appreciate how with the leadership of the ivanka and secretary ross, we really have identified the various elements, connected the elements whether its been consistent data, definition, goals and messaging. And i look forward to really amplifying that in the state of iowa. By executive order i created an Economic Task force. I brought several c. E. O. S, Business Leaders and nonprofits to utilize their expertise in the way of innovation and adaptation and creativity adjusted within weeks to the coronavirus and everything that this group has talked about will fold so well into what were trying to do at the state level. And when you think about that happening in every state across the country, we really are going to come back stronger and better and really help provide opportunities for every single americans. President trump and we see it now, kim. Next year i think its going to be amazing. Its going to be an amazing year. Larry, would you like to Say Something . Larry i spoke just before you came. But ill repeat the v shape recovery. Every number is showing a vshape recovery now. Private survey, government statistics. Restaurants, truckers, durable goods makers, apple mobility and travel. Gasoline demand. Use said, the jobs went up really three million in may. We had tremendous retail sales actually today in the income report we had tremendous consumer spending, 8 at an annual rate per month thats a great story. And i still think well get 20 by the owned the year. If we get another 5 in First Quarter of next year, we will be right back to the peak in 2019 where you got us the first time with the growth policies. And i just want to say, ivanka, i gave you you a big pitch, did the best i could. Private sector reskilling and retraining, and not only will people come back to the labor force when theyre reskilled, theyll come back with higher wages and theyll come back with more confidence. And it will make a huge difference as it already has. And so ive added to the four pill lars of growth, the president good. Tax cuts, deregulation, energy unleashing, fair trade deals, and private sectorled reskilling. How is that, sir . President trump thats great. Thats great. And im very happy what you said about early next year. I think next year is going to be an incredible year. Wilbur, would you like to Say Something . Yes, mr. President , thank you for the opportunity to help ivanka and the others on this group. Ive been very, very impressed with the productivity of this Advisory Board. Most Advisory Boards create a big thick book that the end. It goes in the library and nothing happens. This group every single meeting theres a specific tangible thing that gets followed up and it gets implemented. So its really been a heartwarming thing to see how productive these folks have been. And i congratulate all of them. Thank you very much. Thank you. Gene, please. Gene thank you, mr. President. You mentioned 3. 5 Unemployment Rate just a few months ago. You did so many things for the American Worker during these three years. You know, back in the summer of 2016, the Congressional Budget Office said we would be at 5 unemployment in february. They said that between then and february 2020, theyd said we create 10. 7 million. We created more. And there was tax cuts that brought us there which was just a wonderful thing for the American Worker as jobs were being created and wages were rising. But there was other work going on. What you see today is a manifestation of other things that were being done that are now going to have their data really help workers. We are coming back. Larry mentioned some of the numbers. We know that the train will be important. And were fortunate that very Extraordinary Group and as secretary ross has said a group that really generated valuable product. They were working quietly to help train American Workers. I spoke earlier about a new apprenticeship rule that we adopted at the Labor Department that will be very helpful. This will be an important part of the rebound. Trump President Trump thank you, gene. Steve . Steve you knew how to create jobs and created aner enormous amount. We know how to reopen the economy safely working with congress we put 3 trillion in. Its beginning to work. That our work isnt going to be done. We need a few more tools. But were going to get everybody back to work. Im confident were going to see a, a strong third and Fourth Quarter as we reopen. Thats great, steve. Thank you very much. Anybody else would like to Say Something . Anybody . Anybody . This is your chance. Go ahead, please. Mr. President , i just want to say as you domestic policy chief what an extraordinary day today. And heres why. Its not just the work of this council and the leadership of i advantagea, it is the executive order that youre about to sign that completely resets the playing field. The federal government is the largest employer in the country with 2 million employees. 2 3 of American Adults do not have a college degree. Your signature that is recalibrating the workforce away from being degreeonly to skill set is transformational. And the opportunity you for you to fight for all americans, i think about tony that ivanka talked about that sebastian talked about from a truck driver to a Software Engineer next potentially into the federal government because of this executive order that is focusing on skills rather than degrees. Congratulations and thank you for your leadership. Its extraordinary. President trump thank you very much. Anybody . Jovita . Yes, President Trump, thank you very much for your strong leadership. You know, sit in the audience here as part of a participation of this particular Advisory Board and im a recipient of the type of programs that you are actually implementing and supporting. Started as a box handler in a World Largest logistics company. When i hear about the dedication of the workforce and establishing some comprehensive training. I took advantage of every Training Opportunity there was in that private sector. Perhaps youll see another administrator similar to me similar to the programs youre going to support. Nershipuse of this part it has fortified Small Businesses, sustained the viability and also protected their employees a baseline of about 60 million employees. And so i thank you again for putting Small Businesses front and center. And one other comment. Im looking at all of these private sector companies, super leaders in your various sectors. Ou are the primary contractors for the the subcontractors that i represent as an advocate for Small Business administration. So once you reinstate your viability, the Small Business sector will follow suit soon after. So thank you again, president. President trump thank you very much, jovita. Thank you very much. Mr. President please. I just appreciate your unrelenting focus on creating opportunities for all americans, and that begins with opportunities in education and i so appreciate your leadership there. And its been a privilege to be a part of this, ivanka and secretary ross. Thank you for your work here. We are privileged to carry out your vision in policy and action as Governor Reynolds said. Thank you for your leadership. President trump choice, right . Thats what we want. Please. I was just going to say, thank you, mr. President from a universitys perspective, its perceived as skills vs. Degree. Ut it is tied to lasalle because they can better articulate the skills that they now have for the future of work. And the reality is that too is that its also more fair, its more equitable, more prosperous for our workforce. What it is about is what you can demonstrate not how you you acquired it. It creates a much more equitable pathway and w. G. O. Is the best education providor has been focused on how do you articulate the outcomes of achieving a degree in a skills and competency based way. And so it is true that tied the lasalle bud so this is a huge step in the right direction. So thank you very much. President trump i agree with you, 100 , i must say. Do. Ok. Where do we sign . And congratulations to everybody in the room. His means a lot. Ok. Well do that for maryland who will take this. [applause] President Trump thank you very much. President trump ok. Thats very good. E have pens for everybody. [applause] all right. Phase two. Thank you very much. Well, thank you all very much. We appreciate it. This is really an important day for a lot of reasons. But this is one of them. Thank you all for being with us. We appreciate it very much. Thank you very much. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2020] cspans washington journal every day. Were taking your calls live on the air on the news of day and discussing policy issues that impact you. Coming up saturday morning, scott opinion pollster rasmussen discusses how the coronavirus is shaping public opinion. And Larry Friedman on changing policing in camden, new jersey and te effectiveness of community policing. Watch cspans washington journal live at 7 00 eastern sad morning. And be sure to join the discussion with your phone calls, facebook comments, Text Messages and tweets. At the first Coronavirus Task force Briefing Since april, Vice President pence told reporters that President Trump has the right to hold Campaign Rallies despite federal guidance against large gatherings. The Vice President and members of the task force also talked about efforts to combat the recent rise of Coronavirus Infections in a number of states. Vp. Pence good afternoon, and Vice President pence good afternoon. And to our audience out west, good morning. We just completed the meeting of the task force. We have many s for this briefing. I want to thank secretary azar, dr. Birx and dr. Fauci, dr. Redfield at the cdc as well as our attorney general, admiral giroir of the u. S. Public Health Service and dr. Hahn and seema verma. We will make a series of presentations to update the American People on the status of the coronavirus pandemic in the country and then be available to take questions. But we very much appreciate the attendance of all who are here and all of you who have made time to tune in. As we reported today, we have now more than 2,500,000 americans that of contracted the coronavirus. And sadly we have lost more than 126,000 of our countrymen to this disease. And i know i speak for the president and for every american when we express our sympathies and our deepest condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones. Despite of those losses, despite those losses, since the end of our 45 days to slow the spread and the beginning of efforts to open up america, thanks to the cooperation of the American People, the efforts of governors and state health officials, efforts i want to proudly say the entire federal team under the leadership of President Trump, we have made truly remarkable progress in moving our nation forward. We have all seen the encouraging news as we open up america again, more than 3 million jobs in the last job report. Retail sales are rolling and, of course, the extraordinary progress in new york, new jersey, connecticut and new orleans areas that just a matter of a month ago were struggling under the weight of this pandemic. And now have arrived at a very, very different place. As we stand today all 50 states and territories across this country are opening up safely and responsibly. But with cases rising, particularly over the past week throughout the south, President Trump directed our task force to brief the American People on several topics. First, we want to share with you as dr. Birx will, what we are seeing in the rise of new cases that today surmounted 40,000 new cases in a single day. Secondly, we want to speak about what we have done and what we are doing at the federal level to support the state effort, particularly in the states will where we see rising cases. Well talk today about how this moment in the coronavirus pandemic is different than what we saw two months ago to better equip the American People to respond and ultimately we will speak about what every american can do to play their part in reducing the spread and the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. For our part, also, ive spoken to governors in arizona, in florida, in texas in the last 12 hours, and dr. Birx and i will be traveling on sunday to texas, on tuesday to arizona, and i will be traveling to florida on thursday of next week to get a ground report. And on monday we will conduct what would be our 26 weekly call with the entire white house Coronavirus Task force and all of the nations governors as we meet this moment. As i mentioned, it is important gathering today i think that we take, take a step back and think about how far we have come as a country. When the president tapped me to lead the Coronavirus Task force, we had one mission. That was to save lives. President trumps decision to suspend all travel from china in january to stand at the white house Coronavirus Task force, in february to halt travel from and travel from other places around the country all , contributed to giving our nation time to stand up a broadbased response. The whole of government response that we spoke about so many times at the podium throughout this pandemic. We at the state Department Also coordinated the repatriation of 95,000 americans and then came the moment when we brought this chart to the president of the United States on the counsel of our very best scientists. The president was presented with a decision that if we did nothing, no intervention, the possibility existed at that moment that we could lose between 1. 5 to 2 million americans, but with intervention and mitigation, calling on the American People to embrace the mitigation efforts, social distancing that we called for for 15 days to slow the spread that would become 45 days to slow the spread. Our best scientists believed that we could reduce the number of american fatalities to a number ranging between 100,000240,000. The president made that decision, and we unveiled the 15 days that became the 45 days to slow the spread. As we see where we are today as a nation, because of what the American People have done, because of the incredible work of our healthcare workers, because of our partnership with governors in every state we did just that. We slowed the spread. We flattened the curve. We saved lives. In the midst of that we exponentially scaled testing capacity, partnering with private sector commercial laboratories. We now reached some 30 million tests across the country conducting some 500,000 tests a day. In that partnership with governors, also, the president directed us to make sure that states had what they needed and when they needed it. And at this point, i am pleased to report that the federal government both delivered and facilitated the delivery of billions of supplies of face shields and gowns and gloves and masks, and we continue to be on track to construct more than 100,000 ventilators in 100 days. I spoke to governors last night. They confirmed to me again what fema has reported. We have no outstanding requests from any state at this time for personal protective equipment or medical supplies. Let me say that again. In the affected areas, particularly the states down south that are seeing rising cases, we have no outstanding requests. But as i told we are ready at a moments notice to search personnel, to expand capacity and to support their healthcare , response. In the midst of all of that, i think it always bears saying that because of the great work of our healthcare workers and because of american manufacturing, no american who required a ventilator has ever been denied a ventilator in the United States. I consider that nothing short of a national accomplishment. We searched Hospital Capacity in areas of the greatest anticipated need and we send sent military and National Guard personnel. These charts show the progress that we made in new york and new jersey and new orleans all demonstrate the efforts of the people of those states in cooperation with the federal government and all the great healthcare workers to show the progress that we made in areas that were once deeply impacted, there and are paying to people of each of those dates for the sacrifices they made during those great and a challenging times. But at the close of the 45 days to slow the spread we unveiled a plan to safely reopen america again. Now all 50 states and territories are moving forward. And as i said we are seeing america go back to work, and in much of the country we are seeing jobs expanding and Economic Activity expanding. Our focus today is very much on rising new cases across the american south. Our First Mission was to save lives. Once we came out of the 45 days to slow the spread, what are task force has been focused on over the course of the past two months is to partner with states to save lives and safely reopen. We have had 17 meetings of the white house Coronavirus Task force in the intervening days since we began the process of opening up america again. And we have been working very closely with states to move that agenda forward. As the president has made clear we want to open our economy up and we want to move america forward, even while we take and continue to take steps necessary to protect lives and the health of the American People. We stand here today because with the rising cases among southern states, President Trump asked us to brief the American People to give details on what we are seeing, what we are doing, and how its different from two months ago. As you may recall, after seeing over all cases drop from a 30,000 a day average in april t0 25,000 a day in may, first few weeks in june actually saw cases averaging roughly 20,000 new cases a day. We now have seen cases begin to rise precipitously across the south. In fact, 34 states, 34 let me make sure i got my numbers exactly right here. As we reported early on, 34 states across the country though are experiencing a measure of stability that is a credit to all the people of those states. When we speak about stability, we are talking about not necessary states where there are no new cases, but these would be states where there are either no new cases and no rising percentage, or no combination of those two things. There may be states across the country that are seeing a modest increase in cases but their percentage of positive rates is remaining very stable, and but nevertheless, there are 16 states with rising cases and rising percentages. We will focus on those states today. The first thing we would share with the American People is that while there is a penchant in the National Debate to use a broad brush and to paint an entire state one color, if there are rising cases in the state, this is actually a better picture of the data that we analyze every single day. Dr. Birx will take a few moments to unpack the specific outbreaks in texas, florida, arizona and california. But the first thing we would convey is that from this new positive results in the last three days you can see the concentration of new cases in specific parts of states and, very specifically in parts of the country. Secondly, we want the American People to understand that its almost inarguable that more testing is generating more cases. To one extent or another, the volume of new cases coming is a reflection of a Great Success of expanding testing across the country. As i said at the top we are , testing more than ever before, some 500,000 people a day and perhaps we could go to that testing chart just to show you the acceleration of testing that has taken place over the course of this pandemic if it is a bear. It has truly been a remarkable and it is that a public and private partnership from the very outset. One of the things were seeing among the cases of your disk in florida and we had this in texas and elsewhere is that roughly half of the new cases are americans under the age of 35. Which is at a certain level very encouraging news, as the experts tell us, because as we know so far in this pandemic that younger americans are less susceptible to serious outcomes of the coronavirus. The fact that we are finding more younger americans who have contracted the coronavirus is a good thing. We will speak about the testing and admiral giroir is here and can detail any questions that you might have about testing going forward. Thirdly, we will talk about what these new numbers mean, how we can address them. Dr. Fauci will speak about that in just a moment, particularly in the affected areas. And the other area that we spend a great deal of time thinking about is hospitalization. We track new cases every day on a county by county basis but we also track hospitalization. And the map on the left of your screen shows you how we look at it and how we ensure that hospital and healthcare test resource and support they need. How we ensure that hospitals and Health Care Workers have the resources and support that they need. Again as in the matter of new cases come you can also see with hospitalizations it is highly focused highly detailed and highly specific. Secretary azar will speak about hospitalization, the work of hhs to make sure that our hospitals around the country have the capacity to meet this moment. As dr. Birx may reflect as well, we are encouraged that we were as two months ago we were seeing some 15 of new cases being hospitalized. Now that number is averaging roughly 5 around the country, which is also encouraging news to say the least. We have 16 states that we are focusing on. I would just reiterate to the American People the most useful thing to note is where it is happening seeking take the steps necessary to do your part. Rest assured in our conversation with the governors in all of the most impacted states, we continue to be assured that Hospital Capacity remains strong and they know the federal government stands ready to provide them with the personal protective equipment or supplies or even expanded capacity and personnel to meet any moment. At this point we are told in all of the states most deeply impacted that hospitalization remains very, very broadly available. Finally i want to speak about the progress that weve made as a country on the most difficult aspect of this. I said at the beginning that our hearts and our prayers go out to the families who have lost loved ones in the course of the coronavirus pandemic, and i know i speak on behalf of everyone in this country when i extend our sympathies to the more than 126,000 families that have lost loved ones. As the president has said many times, one life lost is too many. Nevertheless, i believe at this point in the course of the pandemic we can still take some comfort in the fact that the fatalities are declining all across the country. There literally was a day two months ago this week where we lost 2500 americans in a single day. This week, because of the extraordinary work of our healthcare workers, because of the availability of a new medicines like remdesivir becausetreatment, and of the cooperation of the American People heeding the guidance that we gave at the federal level and state and local officials gave, this week there were two days were lost less than 300 americans. You can see from this chart what has been a precipitous decline from some of the worst moments of this pandemic. Again, i have a heavy heart anytime i recite these numbers, but the fact that we are making progress, reducing the number of americans that we have lost and are losing, i hope, and encouragement. Because as we see new cases rising, and were tracking them very carefully, there may be a tendency among the American People to think that we are back to the place that we were two months ago, that we are in a time of great losses and great hardship on the American People. The reality is, we are in a much better place. With the efforts President Trump mobilized at the federal level, with the efforts of this team, this whole of government approach, the efforts of governors across the country, our incredible healthcare workers, and the cooperation of the American People. We are in a much stronger place. The truth is we did slow the spread. We flattened the curve. We were able to stand up the resources and the capacities and our Healthcare System to be able to meet this coronavirus in a way that would put the health of all our country first. Also cared for the most vulnerable, and continue to focus resources and testing and supplies on the most vulnerable seniors with serious underlying conditions and i believe with all my heart that we have continued to save lives. We created a Solid Foundation for whatever challenges come, either in the days ahead or in the months ahead here thats a credit. Thats a credit i believe to our president , to our federal team and state partners. But mostly it is a credit to the American People and our healthcare workers. And so we stand today, we believe we have made progress. But we are reminded we see cases rising across the south, that we still have work to do and so we say to every american, particularly those in counties and in states that are being impacted by rising cases, that now is the time for everybody to continue to do their part. And i think youll hear from this podium today a particular message to younger americans, younger americans across the sunbelt and the role that you can play in protecting the vulnerable and making sure that while the coronavirus doesnt represent as significant a threat for serious outcomes to a younger american, none of us would want to bring the disease back to our parents or grandparents, moms and dads, an elderly friend or a friend who has an immunodeficiency and cause a serious outcome as well. So we leave you just with the guidelines for all of the phases. When we put out the guidelines to open up america again, we laid out at the outset, guidance for responsible reopening. States across the country are doing just that. 34 states are reopening safely and responsibly and seeing low and steady cases, not seen a rise in the percentage of positives here and in the 16 states that are being impacted, particularly those that we will focus on today, we would just encourage every american to follow the guidelines for all the faces. Continue to practice good hygiene, wash your hands, avoid touching your face, disinfect frequently. People who feel sick should stay home, and when it comes to businesses, social distancing, protective equipment, temperature checks, testing and isolation. These are the guidelines for all of the phases and they are good practices to implement if youre in a community that is affected or even if you are not. We are all in this together. The progress we made you saw in and new york, new jersey, connecticut and new orleans, was the result of the American People stepping forward. Of federal,guidance state and local authorities and we can turn and we encourage you to continue to do that. At home and at work and in your community but for those in the areas most affected, we want to encourage you to listen to and respect the guidance of your state and local authorities. This is different than two months ago both in our ability to respond and in the nature of those being infected and younger americans have the particular responsibility to make sure they are not carrying the coronavirus into settings where they would expose the most vulnerable. Lastly, as i prepare to bring doctor birx to the podium, i encourage you to continue to pray. Pray for the families who lost their loved ones, pray for the healthcare workers on the front lines. Continue to pray. By gods grace, every day, each of us do our part to heal our land. With that i will introduce the coordinator for the White House Task force doctor deborah , brooks. Thank you. Thank you for that great introduction. Just to remind everybody where we come from the last four months, we had a great deal of understanding about the differential disease, differential infections. Everybody is susceptible to infection. But we know it leads to a spectrum of disease and we have much better detail about whos vulnerable and why. As the Vice President said, at one time, we were diagnosing people in the icu after they came into the emergency room. Thanks to the millennials who have been heeding our guidance, theyve been coming forward and getting tested. Whereas before we told them to stay home now we are telling , them to get tested. This is a great change for us because it allows us to find the , asymptomatic and mild diseases we could not find before. As dr. Redfield talked about yesterday, from the serology test, we have a great understanding of what was happening in march and the number of asymptomatic and mild conditions that led to individuals that have antibodies, but never come forward with significant disease. We now know whos at risk for significant disease. We now know and particularly the elderly and those over 80 and individuals with comorbidity and they span the entire age group. We do know we have people in the Younger Age Group with significant type one diabetes and also individuals with significant obesity. Risk factors comorbidity not , necessarily sure age. Age. Ecessarily with as we call on individuals to protect one another by passing we dontn the street, necessarily know what they have. We have been trying to focus on protecting one another. That is for the highest mortality and weve been able to to, Clinical Care has dramatically improved and want to thank nih working on updating the clinical guidelines around the u. S. And around the world using this must updated information improve disease courses for those in the hospital. Treatment in the hospital that we didnt have in march and april. With improved methods of oxygenation which is quite important. Improved treatment of oxygenation with individuals on the ventilator who respond well to steroids. Research on going on what we call the acute set of keen storm. Ytokine storm. Often, where they respond well to steroids and research thats ongoing often in the later stage when people are on ventilators, the seriously ill may need steroids and other items and that is being researched and research being done on clotting. Now we have new therapeutic such as remdesivir. And we have reallocated to state facing increased hospitalizations as well as monthly allocations weve been sending out. We can go start where the Vice President left off and this disease tackled community the community. Testing of the Community Level and working with Community Groups to understand the spread in those communities. Weve been trying to map the epidemic and new positives down to the level of communities to understand where spread is occurring, so we can match our prevention interventions to those areas. As we discussed, it is difficult for you to see because the top line on this graph is new york and we should remember where we were and the slope, the early slope you can see in the case of the new york cases, the rapid acceleration. On the same side, you can see california, that is the blue line thats passing the orange line and also texas in green, florida and orange. Arizona at the bottom. As dramatic as these slopes are, they are not equivalent to the original acceleration we saw in new york. That doesnt mean we arent absolutely focused on working with the governors in those communities to stop the spread of the virus in those states. This shows through the entire country, we are tracking statebystate, obviously this axis is vastly different than the one on the prior slide but you can see weve been tracking closely north carolina, working with the state and local Public Health authorities to respond to the changes there as well as South Carolina at the bottom. Ill just go quickly through these so you can see. Oklahoma is at the bottom of the slide. Next slide, you can see idaho and oregon. Those are the ones in the light blue and dark green for you see inflection in those slopes. These inflection points and understanding when they occur and why are critical for understanding how to prevent the spread. The Vice President talked about as we created an alert system that brings together what we just talked about, rising cases with an understanding of test positivity. This chart, which is difficult to see, those states on the far side of the highest test positive that you can see a higher level of the graph. Those of the states we have concerns about because of the rising number of cases and rising test positive. This explains the extent of community spread. States have increasing cases falling test positive, it tells us there getting into the communities defining a symptomatic cases. Asymptomatic cases. This puts on one slide the states we have that weve been talking about across the south where we have our greatest concern. The two top states with the largest increase in test positives are texas and arizona followed by florida, mississippi, South Carolina, alabama, georgia, louisiana, and utah. Those last we are tracking them closely as we look at that individually. Finally, next slide. You can see we are tracking, this is when you hear about 2 or 3 of counties under specific alerts, it doesnt matter the size of the county