Watch Live: President Trump Unveils His “Opening Up America Again” Plan

The moment we’ve been waiting for (or at least that Trump has been hyping up) has finally arrived…President Trump is unveiling his “guidelines” to re-open America, officially entitled the “Opening Up America Again” plan…

Trump kicked off the press conference by saying that the US has succeeded in flattening the curve, and that the “peak” is finally behind us.

Some details of the guidelines leaked to the New York Post (and were immediately shared by the newswires), and we discussed them here.

Many New York City and Washington DC-based journalists might be surprised to learn that a large swath of the country hasn’t reported a single new case in a week.

And remember, since futures are soaring thanks to that remdesivir report, Trump is thinking everything really is fixed, as he ticks off the many deleterious effects of the ‘stay at home’ orders, including suicide and drug abuse.

Trump Tells Governors Some States Can Reopen Before May 1; US Cases Top 650k

We Are About to Enter the Worst Days of This Pestilence. Our Public Officials Are Brain-Dead, America, and The World Is About to Experience the Worst Death Rate in Modern History. Take Cover… SRH.

Summary:

• Germany reports jump in new cases, deaths
• Spain reports most new cases in a week
• North Dakota releases plan to reopen state May 1
• US case total passes 650k
• France confirms
• Turkey releases mafia boss from prison
• Global Times editor denies report about leak from Wuhan lab
• Trump reschedules tonight’s press conference for 6pmET
• Switzerland unveils bailout package
• Singapore reports another record daily jump as 2nd wave arrives
• Trudeau says no plans to open border with US to “non-essential” traffic
• Italy reports slight rise in new cases, pullback in deaths
• NJ reports jump in cases
• Phil Murphy opens investigation into nursing home deaths
• Details of Trump’s reopening guidelines are leaking out
• Cali gov says Trump said “what we were hoping to hear”
• More promising reports about remdesivir
• Sweden reports another alarming jump
• Chinese factories on verge of second shutdown
• France coronavirus-linked deaths fall for first time in 4 days
• UK health minister says it’s too early to end lockdown as measures set to be extended
• Trump set to release reopening ‘guidelines’ some time after 3pmET
• Belgium reports more than 1k new cases
• UK extends lockdown by “at least” 3 weeks
• Macron says EU may collapse unless “coronabonds” happen
• 7 Midwestern states drop guidelines for reopening economy
• Britain crosses 100k case threshold
• European Commission President apologizes to Italy
• Russia’s streak of record new cases stretches to 5th day
• Japan expands state of emergency to cover whole country
• WSJ reports medical supplies bound for US are being blocked from export by Beijing
• Cuomo reports 606 more deaths in NYS
• UK planning to announce lockdown extension today
• Party of South Korean president wins 180 of 300 seats in legislative vote
• President Trump to unveil plan to reopen economy Thursday

Update (1820ET): WSJ reported earlier that China is moving to block exports of medically essential supplies manufactured by US companies on Chinese territory, despite the fact that they were lawfully due to be shipped out.

The key paragraphs:

The policies were instituted this month, and Chinese officials have said they are intended to ensure the quality of exported medical products and to make sure needed goods aren’t being shipped out of China. Instead, they have created bottlenecks at a time of urgent need, according to the suppliers, brokers and the State Department memos.

China’s policies have “disrupted established supply chains for medical products just as these products were most needed for the global response to Covid-19,” according to one of the memos sent this week. The State Department said in a statement: “We appreciate the efforts to ensure quality control. But we do not want this to serve as an obstacle for the timely export of important supplies.”

As for these ‘export controls’? Beijing blamed ‘complaints’ from Europe about the quality of certain Chinese-made goods.

To repair its image, China has tried to reshape perceptions about its role in the crisis, leveraging its manufacturing power to export crucial medical supplies to affected countries. Beijing was then hit with complaints from European countries about the quality of masks, gowns and other products they received.

The export restrictions then followed. Chinese customs prohibited the export of medical products without certifications from China’s National Medical Products Administration, even if the goods had been registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. On Friday China added another hurdle, subjecting certain types of surgical protective gear and equipment—including ventilators and masks—to extra checks before they could be shipped overseas.

Interestingly, the editors at WSJ dedicated a surprising amount of column inches making clear that market factors and “legitimate complaints” were contributing to these shortages.

Suppliers said the urgent demand has created a “complete sellers’ market,” with prices changing daily as factories, inundated by offers, dictate minimum purchasing quantities and buying conditions.

“China’s between a rock and a hard place,” said Solomon Matzner, the Shanghai-based founding partner of BioAktive Specialty Products, who assists U.S. and German institutions in sourcing KN95 masks. “They need to get as much product out as possible, but on the other hand, Chinese products are being criticized for quality.”

Is WSJ buttering up the Communist Party censors to try and win favor for an eventual return of their reporters? Or, is it just trying to shield those reporters who haven’t yet left but are due to depart as Beijing kicks out reporters for the WSJ, WaPo & NYT.

Suppliers said the urgent demand has created a “complete sellers’ market,” with prices changing daily as factories, inundated by offers, dictate minimum purchasing quantities and buying conditions.

“China’s between a rock and a hard place,” said Solomon Matzner, the Shanghai-based founding partner of BioAktive Specialty Products, who assists U.S. and German institutions in sourcing KN95 masks. “They need to get as much product out as possible, but on the other hand, Chinese products are being criticized for quality.”

It’s just the latest evidence that the shortages of certain medical supplies aren’t simply due to closed factories; it’s deliberate policy intervention by Beijing.

Update (1710ET): We neglected to note this earlier, but the FT published an interview with French President Emmanuel Macron shortly before the country reported a massive spike in new cases.

Emmanuel Macron has warned of the collapse of the EU as a “political project” unless it supports stricken economies such as Italy and helps them recover from the coronavirus pandemic.  Speaking to the FT from the Elysée Palace, the French president said there was “no choice” but to set up a fund that “could issue common debt with a common guarantee” to finance member states according to their needs rather than the size of their economies. This is an idea that Germany and the Netherlands have opposed. The EU faced a “moment of truth” in deciding whether it was more than just a single economic market, with the lack of solidarity during the pandemic likely to fuel populist anger in southern Europe, Mr Macron said. “If we can’t do this today, I tell you the populists will win — today, tomorrow, the day after, in Italy, in Spain, perhaps in France and elsewhere,” he said. “I believe [the EU] is a political project. If it’s a political project, the human factor is the priority and there are notions of solidarity that come into play . . . the economy follows on from that, and let’s not forget that economics is a moral science.”

Now, why is Macron pitching coronabonds as essential for the survival of the EU as a “political project”, when the primary benefactors would be Italy and Spain? It’s right there in the text: France is the next domino to fall, and Macron knows it. Yet, Germany and the Netherlands remain deeply opposed to the idea.

Too bad for Macron the Europeans are almost as fractious and petty as their colleagues across the Atlantic.

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Update (1700ET): Never a dull moment this Thursday.

For the first time, it looks like investors are getting gassed up on reports about a possible “miracle drug.”

Reports about Gilead’s remdesivir out of a trial in Chicago – trials using the drug are being run around the world on patients in various stages of the illness, though China just shut down two of them for “lack of eligible patients” – are claiming that the drug has shown rapid progress in combating patient’s symptoms.

Futures spike on the news, though keep in mind: This isn’t really anything we haven’t heard before. It’s more reports that the drug “works”, just this time few a few dozen more patients having been tested.

Gilead Sciences climbed 4.4% post-market Thursday as STAT reported severe Covid-19 patients being treated in Chicago with the company’s experimental drug remdesivir are “seeing rapid recoveries in fever and respiratory symptoms.”

Almost all patients were discharged in under than a week, and only two patients died, STAT said, citing comments made this week during a video discussion about trial results with University of Chicago faculty members.

STAT cautions that trials are running at other institutions and full study results can’t yet be determined; Gilead told the news outlet that it’s looking forward to data becoming available.

We’re also getting more details on the president’s “guidelines” for reopening the economy, which, like the remdesivir news, is simply more of the same.

Amusingly, the administration appears to have leaked a copy of the “Opening Up America Again” plan to the New York Post, which published a report that has been digested by newswires.

President Trump’s reopening guidelines suggest a 14-day downward trajectory in coronavirus cases before beginning phased re-opening, although document is said to not offer a specific timeframe for opening up the economy.

As a guide, US President Trump told Governors they call the shots regarding reopening the economy and that some could begin before May 1st if they want to, while he will conduct a press conference on re-opening the economy at 1800EDT/ 2300BST where he will explain guidelines for opening up and an official noted that guidelines will be flexible and on data driven recommendations. Furthermore, phase one of the guidelines recommends closed schools should remain shut, that people maximize distance when in public and that gatherings over 10 people should generally be avoided, while bars should remain closed but large venues such as restaurants, theatres and sporting venues could open with strict physical distancing.

We now wait to hear from the big man himself at 6pmET.

Meanwhile, in America’s neighbor to the north, Canadian Prime Minister said Thursday that he has no plans to reopen the border with the US. There had been some talk earlier in the week about the possibility of reopening the border following comments by President Trump.

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Update (1615ET): According to JHU, confirmed coronavirus cases in the US have topped 650k, with more than 30k deaths.

China Daily✔@ChinaDaily

#US #COVID19 cases top 650,000 with more than 30,000 deaths: Johns Hopkins University. #LATEST

463:10 PM – Apr 16, 2020Twitter Ads info and privacy26 people are talking about this

Meanwhile, Gavin Newsom is beginning his nightly press conference. Early on, he confirmed that 69 new deaths were recorded in California over the last day, bringing the death toll north of 890. Source

Source: HNewsWire ZeroHedge

StevieRay Hansen
Editor, HNewsWire.com
Watchmen does not confuse truth with consensus The Watchmen does not confuse God’s word with the word of those in power…

American health care, as we call it today, and for all its high-tech miracles, has evolved into one of the most atrocious rackets the world has ever seen. By racket, I mean an enterprise organized explicitly to make money dishonestly.

All the official reassurances won’t be worth a bucket of warm spit. The Globals are behind the CoronaVirus, It Is a Man-Made Bioweapon.