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Trump drops idea of New York lockdown as U.S. death count crosses 2,000


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Trump drops idea of New York lockdown as U.S. death count crosses 2,000

By Andy Sullivan

 

2020-03-28T173625Z_1_LYNXMPEG2R0KJ_RTROPTP_4_HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS-USA-NEW-YORK.JPG

An empty street is seen near Wall street during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., March 27, 2020. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he would issue a travel warning for the hard-hit New York area to limit the spread of the coronavirus, backing off from an earlier suggestion that he might try to cut off the region entirely.

 

"A quarantine will not be necessary," he said on Twitter.

 

Trump's announcement came as the U.S. death count crossed 2,100, more than double the level from two days ago. The United States has now recorded more than 122,000 cases of the respiratory virus, the most of any country in the world.

 

Since the virus first appeared in the United States in late January, Trump has vacillated between playing down the risks of infection and urging Americans to take steps to slow its spread.

 

Trump said on Saturday afternoon that he might impose a ban on travel in and out of New York and parts of New Jersey and Connecticut, the U.S. epicenter of the disease, to protect other states that have yet to bear the brunt. He offered few specifics.

 

Critics promptly called the idea unworkable, saying it would cause chaos in a region that serves as the economic engine of the eastern United States, accounting for 10 percent of the population and 12 percent of GDP.

 

"If you started walling off areas all across the country it would be totally bizarre, counter-productive, anti-American," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on CNN.

 

Hours later, Trump dropped the idea, saying he would instead ask the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue a "strong Travel Advisory" that would be administered by the three states' governors.

 

The CDC later warned the states' residents against non-essential domestic travel for 14 days. It said the warning did not apply to employees of "critical infrastructure industries" including trucking, public health and financial services.

 

It was the latest reversal for Trump, who has been reluctant to order U.S. companies to produce much-needed medical supplies, despite the pleas of governors and hospital workers.

 

Tests to track the disease's progress also remain in short supply, despite repeated White House promises that they would be widely available.

 

On Saturday, Trump appeared to soften his previous comments calling for the U.S. economy to be reopened by mid-April. "We'll see what happens," he said.

 

Though Trump has apparently opted not to impose checkpoints on highways and airports leading out of New York, some states have imposed limits of their own.

 

New Yorkers arriving in Florida and Rhode Island face orders to self-isolate if they intend to stay, and the governors of Pennsylvania and West Virginia have asked visiting New Yorkers to voluntarily self-quarantine.

 

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu on Saturday asked all visitors to his state who don't come for work reasons to voluntarily self-quarantine.

 

New coronavirus cases in China leveled off after the government imposed a strict lockdown of Wuhan, the epicenter of the disease.

 

The body count continues to climb in Italy, where authorities have blocked travel across the country and prevented people from leaving their houses for all but essential reasons.

 

Any travel restrictions, voluntary or not, might be too late.

 

The number of coronavirus patients in California hospitals increased by more than one-third overnight, Governor Gavin Newsom said.

 

Officials in Louisiana, where Mardi Gras celebrations late last month in New Orleans fueled an outbreak, reported 17 additional deaths and 569 new cases on Saturday.

 

The disease has proven most fatal among the elderly, but Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said on Saturday that an infant had died in his state.

 

American healthcare workers are appealing for more protective gear and equipment as they face a surge of patients.

 

Doctors are also especially concerned about a shortage of ventilators, breathing machines needed for those suffering from COVID-19, the pneumonia-like respiratory ailment caused by the highly contagious novel coronavirus.

 

Hospitals have also sounded the alarm about scarcities of drugs, oxygen tanks and trained staff.

 

On Saturday, nurses protested outside the Jacobi Medical Center in New York, saying supervisors asked them to reuse their masks, putting their own health at risk.

 

One medical trainee at New York Presbyterian Hospital said they were given just one mask.

 

"It's not the people who are making these decisions that go into the patients' rooms," said the trainee, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

 

(Additional reporting by Brendan Pierson, Maria Caspani, Jonathan Stempel and Gabriella Borter in New York, Joel Schectman, Andy Sullivan, Raphael Satter and Michelle Price in Washington, and Lisa Shumaker in Chicago; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

 

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-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-03-29
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the feds have the power to quarantine the states.  commerce clause regulates interstate commerce, which has been used repeatedly to pass laws that ordinary people wouldn't think should come under federal regulations.

 

power is granted to congress, but aside from some political grandstanding, i wouldn't expect much pushback.  is suspect congress would allow trump to do this with an executive order using the emergency decree, and let him take the heat in the press.  as with the war powers act, they'll let the executive branch usurp their powers.

 

this wouldn't be a wuhan-style lockdown.  it would be stopping transit at state borders, leaving internal quarantine up to the local authorities.

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I am not a great lover of the BBC but their veiled comments about this Trump 

are spot on (or as close to the truth as they are able.)

Incidently he can go to a packed Church to celebrate Easter but I will take a rain check

All he thinks about is money not "lets fix this".

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12 minutes ago, rabas said:

You should see what else we have.

I did.  SlowJoe attempted a virus update from his home in Maryland today.  It didn't go so well.  Poor Joe needs to hang it up.  The media cherry-picked his best moments, though.

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1 minute ago, robblok said:

Im sure there are far more qualified people around then Trump. I mean the man is totally unsuitable for the job. I wonder why so many Americans like him must have something to do with the fact its a two party system and they hate voting for the other side. In other words they had to vote for him otherwise their side would lose. Can't imagine people really supporting him or thinking he is a good president, more like if I don't vote for him the other side might win. 

It's a two party system where both sides are racing to the bottom.

You could predict Biden would be the Democratic choice.

 

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55 minutes ago, ChrisY1 said:

Have to feel for American citizens...whilst over 50% approve of him, he remains a nutcase to the rest of the world!

He's never sniffed 50% approval rating in America pre or post election. He's a low to mid 40s approval pretty much everyplace the whole way through through after winning the election with only 46% of the vote. 

Edited by jcsmith
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39 minutes ago, Isaan sailor said:

I did.  SlowJoe attempted a virus update from his home in Maryland today.  It didn't go so well.  Poor Joe needs to hang it up.  The media cherry-picked his best moments, though.

I didn't see it and I don't really care.

But you have a point there. It should be extremely easy to find any person in the USA who is better qualified than Trump.

But the DEMs make a drama out of it...

Let's not forget that many Americans would not have voted for Trump if they would have had anything better than Hillary...

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49 minutes ago, robblok said:

Im sure there are far more qualified people around then Trump. I mean the man is totally unsuitable for the job. I wonder why so many Americans like him must have something to do with the fact its a two party system and they hate voting for the other side. In other words they had to vote for him otherwise their side would lose. Can't imagine people really supporting him or thinking he is a good president, more like if I don't vote for him the other side might win. 

Just a thought - trump is anti government - remember he is / was a disciple of Brennan. Many Americans appear to subscribe to the same line of thinking - underlined by trump's heavy investment in Deep State conspiracy nonsense as demonstrated by his retweeting of alt right memes

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2 hours ago, ChouDoufu said:

the feds have the power to quarantine the states.  commerce clause regulates interstate commerce, which has been used repeatedly to pass laws that ordinary people wouldn't think should come under federal regulations.

 

power is granted to congress, but aside from some political grandstanding, i wouldn't expect much pushback.  is suspect congress would allow trump to do this with an executive order using the emergency decree, and let him take the heat in the press.  as with the war powers act, they'll let the executive branch usurp their powers.

 

this wouldn't be a wuhan-style lockdown.  it would be stopping transit at state borders, leaving internal quarantine up to the local authorities.

I suspect your very much WRONG! Right now trump backed down so it is meaningless what you suspect anyways.

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2 hours ago, natway09 said:

I am not a great lover of the BBC but their veiled comments about this Trump 

are spot on (or as close to the truth as they are able.)

Incidently he can go to a packed Church to celebrate Easter but I will take a rain check

All he thinks about is money not "lets fix this".

trumps plan to pack the church to celebrate is a real fix for democrats. Not sure how it helps the economy but it can help the virus spread

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