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Trump’s science-based reopening strategy is still full of unanswered questions
On Thursday, Donald Trump released phased federal guidelines for the United States to return to business after the forced closure of the coronavirus pandemic. He had previously called it the most important decision of his presidency, but what he called “a science-based reopening” was more messy and more ill-defined.
First, the good news. The 18-page document explicitly used the word “guidelines”, a far cry from the “total authority” it asserted earlier this week. It delegates authority to state governors and city mayors to weigh the risk-reward ratio of opening businesses, churches and schools, as it should be. It also recognizes the need to move gradually with small steps, and the fact that the United States is vast, roughly the same size as Europe, with different needs in different places.
But there are many ambiguities. The guidelines do not give a firm target date. Trump said some states could reopen “tomorrow,” but declined to name them. The guidelines emphasize the need for testing but do not clarify how much testing will suffice, nor do they establish a national testing strategy. However, testing and tracing contacts have been key to the relative success of countries like Germany and South Korea.
In Australia, 30 people at the Anglicare Newmarch House nursing home in New South Wales have tested positive for Covid-19, a doubling in the number of cases associated with the center overnight.
On Friday morning, an Anglicare spokesman said 10 employees and 20 residents at West Sydney facilities had the virus, a notable increase from the six employees and nine residents diagnosed on Thursday.
An outbreak occurred at home after a nurse worked for six days unaware that she had the virus, as she only had mild symptoms of a sore throat and runny nose. Currently, the federal government’s advice is that health and elderly care workers can be tested if they develop fever or respiratory symptoms specifically. This guide is the same for NSW.
New Zealand records lowest new cases
New Zealand has recorded the lowest number of new coronaviruses with 8 infected people after 4,241 tests were performed in a single day, including at a randomized test station set up outside a supermarket in the resort town of Queenstown.
Only 4 days of level four blockade remain, with the prime minister ready to announce the country’s next move, which remains at 4 or drops to 3, allowing slightly fewer restrictions, on Monday.
Finance Minister Grant Roberston said many countries were choosing to extend their blockades, including the United Kingdom and France, but this should not be taken as an indication of what decision the cabinet would make on Monday.
“This is a long game, a marathon, not a short race,” said Robertson.
Third Japanese cabinet official tests positive
Remaining in the region for now, Japan’s cabinet said on Friday that an official had tested positive for the coronavirus, making it the third case among cabinet office officials.
The case within the cabinet office occurs when Japan has expanded a state of emergency to all regions. The measure allows local municipalities to urge people to stay indoors, but without punitive measures or legal force.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans a press conference later on Friday about the coronavirus, but details are not yet known.
Abe said Thursday that the government is considering cash payments for all in an effort to cushion the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The cabinet official infected in his 50s, but had no close contact with the ministers when he developed symptoms since April 10, an official in the cabinet office said.
China’s GDP shrinks 6.8% in the March quarter
China has reported its first quarterly contraction at 6.8%, its slowest pace on record.
The decline comes after nearly three months of national blockade when the country battled the coronavirus, which emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December and has infected more than 2 million people worldwide.
China’s economy has not contracted since 1992 when the country began publishing quarterly GDP data. In 2019, China already registered its slowest growth in almost 30 years.
For the past month, Chinese authorities have lobbied to bring the paralyzed economy back to work with the reopening of businesses and factories and policies to help households and businesses.
Analysts polled by Reuters estimate that China’s annual growth for 2020 will slow to 2.5% from 6.1% last year, the weakest pace since the last year of the Cultural Revolution.
China has reported more than 3,000 deaths and 80,000 coronavirus infections
Trinh Nguyen
(@Trinhnomics)Oh! GDP is worse than expected with -6.8% yoy for the first quarter and what’s really bad is that March retail sales fell –15.8% yoy in March and the year to date is -19%.
The FAI still fell -16.1% and real estate investment fell less than expected by -7.7% https://t.co/XYA2DCxJZw pic.twitter.com/BGrLF6ib9n
CommSec
(@CommSec)China’s GDP (economic growth)
March quarter: -6.8% (forecast -6.5%)#ausbiz #ausecon #markets #commsec #chinadata
Updated
Trump defer to governors on guidelines for reopening of the United States amid pandemic
Donald Trump and his coronavirus task force have presented a series of federal guidelines to reopen the economy, comprising three phases but ultimately they differ to the governors on when and how to return their state to normal.
The first phase allows you to gradually return to work while minimizing non-essential travel. The second phase would allow meetings of 50 people and non-essential trips. The third allows schools and organized youth activities to be opened, as well as large spaces to operate under “physical distancing protocols.” The third phase would also allow the bars to be reopened, but with “less footroom occupancy” when possible.
The guidelines were unveiled at the president’s daily coronavirus briefing on Thursday. They represent a dramatic change from the strict stay-at-home orders currently in effect in many states. By revealing them, Trump made clear his eagerness to end the national blockade and return the American economy to its pre-coronavirus days.
Mexico will begin to restrict movement between the places most affected by the Covid-19 virus, mostly large cities and places with few infections, the president said Thursday.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador asked authorities on Thursday in cities hitherto unaffected by the pandemic to help us establish sanitation cords to curb the spread. Travel between low and high infection areas would be allowed for “urgent and justifiable” reasons, but authorities would likely establish checkpoints on the highways to check for travelers with symptoms. In the past, that has primarily meant taking your temperatures.
However, López-Gatell said the exact measures have not yet been defined. He said that coronavirus cases have been confirmed in approximately a fifth of Mexicans, approximately 2,470 municipalities and municipalities.
The government is also extending its social distancing measures for another month until the end of May, predicting that the epidemic will peak in Mexico in about three weeks.
Mexico has confirmed about 6,300 infections and reported around 485 deaths.
López-Gatell said that health officials believe the actual number of infections is probably eight times higher. He released lists Thursday that said the country had nearly 56,000 estimated cases, although most have yet to be proven. Currently, Mexico only performs around 4,000 tests per week, and so far has only completed around 21,250 tests.
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