President Donald Trump
- America continues our aggressive effort to defeat the virus as we enter a crucial and difficult phase of the battle.
- We continue to send our prayers to the people of New York and New Jersey, and to our whole country. We will beat it together.
- Send best wishes to a very good friend of mine and a friend to our nation, Prime Minister Boris Johnson. We’re very saddened to hear that he was taken into intensive care this afternoon. Americans are all praying for his recovery.
- We have made tremendous progress on therapeutics.
- Across the country, we’re attacking the enemy on all fronts, including medical, scientific, social, logistical, and economic. We’re pressing into action the full power of American government and American enterprise.
- Governor Murphy and Governor Cuomo are going to be using the ship for New York, New Jersey.
- Nationwide, the Army Corps of Engineers is building 22 field hospitals and alternate care sites in 18 states.
- We have deployed 8,450 hospital beds from federal stockpiles. More than 8,000 ventilators have been sent from the National Stockpile to our cities and states, backed by the Defense Production Act, which we’ve used very strongly, very powerfully.
- FEMA and HHS have directly distributed 11.7 million N95 respirators. 26.5 million surgical masks, 5.3 million face shields, 4.4 million surgical gowns, and 22.6 million gloves.
- Project Airbridge – we have succeeded in bringing planeloads of vital supplies into the United States from overseas.
- Because of my actions, under the DPA, I can also announce today that we have reached an agreement with 3M for the delivery of an additional 55.5 million high-quality facemask each month. We’re going to be getting over the next couple of months, 166.5 million masks for our frontline healthcare workers.
- Apple announced that it is now producing plastic face shields for healthcare workers at the rate of 1 million per week.
- Salesforce has donated 48 million pieces of personal protective equipment, including masks, gowns, suits, and face shields.
- I urge all of our nation’s Governors to ensure that the massive deliveries that we’ve made to your states over the past few weeks are distributed as quickly as possible.
- Resources from the National Stockpile need to reach these warriors in the hospitals immediately, and we’re making sure they do.
- States have that responsibility, but we’re working with the states to get them a lot of things that they can distribute.
- If any state is having difficulty distributing supplies, we urge you to use the National Guard to assist in the delivery.
- Conversely, if a state believes that it has surplus equipment or supplies, they’re working with us to rapidly redeploy those supplies to areas of greatest need.
- Thank California Governor Gavin Newsom, who’s doing a tremendous job, and announced California will send 500 ventilators to be distributed to other locations. I think some are going to Arizona. Some are going to Washington, D.C. We think they’re going to Delaware.
- Members of the White House Task Force and I are in close touch with Mayors and Governors and hospital administrators across our country.
- States continue to share detailed information in the amount and utilization rates of medical supplies, so we know what to resupply them. Ideally, they can get it directly, but if they can’t, we have tremendous amounts of supplies.
- We’re going to have a rough week. It’s going to be rough for more than a week, but there’s tremendous light at the end of that tunnel.
- Spoke with former Vice President Biden. He gave me his point of view, and I fully understood that. We talked about 15 minutes, and I appreciate the call.
- Spoke with leaders of the American pharmaceutical companies: Amgen, Genentech, Gilead, Regeneron. These are four the greatest in the world for doing exactly what they’re doing. Currently, 10 different therapeutic agents are in active trials and some are looking incredibly successful, but we have to go through a process.
- Today, a second company announced that the FDA has authorized its vaccine candidate to begin clinical trials.
- CVS is launching two new drive-through testing sites in Atlanta, Georgia, and Providence, Rhode Island. Each location will be able to test up to 1,000 patients per day using the ultra-fast five-minute test developed by Abbott Labs.
- We’re also speeding urgent economic relief to the American worker and families and the employers. As of today, tens of thousands of small businesses have applied for more than $40 billion in relief under the Paycheck Protection Program. These funds will result in nearly 2 million jobs being preserved. Nearly 3,000 lenders have already made loans under the program, and we’re signing up additional lenders. Community banks have been very responsive, and larger banks are also stepping up.
- If we run out of funds, we’ll ask Congress to refill it immediately.
- We are providing $100 billion in direct support for our hospitals. The first $30 billion will be distributed this week.
- Above all, we have been awe-inspired by the exceptional courage of the doctors, nurses, EMTs, and healthcare workers who are the soldiers of this war. No words can ever express the complete measure of our gratitude for these intrepid heroes. One Cleveland patient credited his medical team for not only saving his life through their skill, but forever changing his life through their example of selfless devotion. Another survivor in Houston said simply, “I will consider them my angels forever.”
- As our nation endures the depths of loss and grief, we are also witness to the summit of American virtue, character, and courage. With the love and dedication of every American patriot, we will win this battle, we will defeat this enemy, and we will rise Q Mr. President, you mentioned that you were asking U.S. drug companies to provide treatment to the British Prime Minister.
President Trump was asked if he had been tested for the virus. He responded that he and Vice President have been tested. Vice President Pence stated that he has been tested again today. The President and Vice President were asked about a report by the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services surveying 300 hospitals across the country. The report explains that the number one complaint from those hospitals were severe shortages of testing supplies and a really long wait time. The President responded that the report is wrong.
When asked about lenders experiencing problems with the Paycheck Protection Program, the President chided the reporter saying “I wish you’d ask the question differently. Why don’t you say, it’s gotten off to a tremendous start, but there are some little glitches — which, by the way, have been worked out? It would be so much nicer if you’d do that. But you’re just incapable of asking a question in a positive way.”
Full remarks and additional topics covered in the answer and question portion of the briefing can be found here: April 6 Briefing
