Trump said Thursday he has tested negative for COVID-19 a second time.
April 3, 2020, 7:31 PM
7 min read
As the coronavirus task force weighs additional measures to take amid the pandemic, including whether to recommend facial coverings in public and possible domestic flight restrictions, President Donald Trump continues to resist a nationwide stay-at-home directive, despite his top health official stressing more strongly than ever that strict social distancing is key to saving American lives.
The president indicated at Thursday’s briefing that the government would recommend some sort of mask of facial coverings advisory to all Americans — even presumably healthy ones — be worn in public in an effort to cut down on the transmission of COVID-19, a reversal from initial guidance.
While Capitol Hill lawmakes are officially on recess, Democrats are pushing another round of relief amid a volatile stock market and nearly 10 million jobless claims in the past two weeks, but the Senate’s Republican leader is raising concerns over the cost.
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Here are Friday’s most significant developments in Washington:
Here are the latest developments in the government response:
New White House procedure: Anyone who comes close to Trump must get rapid COVID-19 test
The White House has confirmed a new procedure is now in place requiring anyone who comes into close proximity with the president, such as in meetings, to get a rapid COVID-19 test.
“As the Physician to the President and White House Operations continue to protect the health and safety of the President and Vice President, starting today anyone who is expected to be in close proximity to either of them will be administered a COVID-19 test to evaluate for pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic carriers status to limit inadvertent transmission,” Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere said in a statement.
The White House is declining to elaborate on why this policy is being implemented now, other than to say that decisions are being made in consultation with the White House physician.
This development comes just a day after the president said he received his second negative test results.
The tests will not apply to members of the press at this time.
— ABC News’ Jonathan Karl, Jordyn Phelps, Katherine Faulders and Jon Santucci
Kudlow says he won’t ‘sugarcoat’ it, U.S. economy is ‘going to get worse’
Larry Kudlow, the president’s top economic adviser, warned of the dire economic situation the country faces amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s going to get worse in the weeks ahead, there’s no question about it,” he told reporters Friday. “We have not seen the worst of it, I don’t want to sugarcoat it.”
Kudlow declined to offer a numerical figure for how bad he forecasts unemployment numbers to get, but when asked on FOX News whether the country is looking at double-digit unemployment figures, he didn’t mince words.
“The numbers are going to come in very badly, they’re going to look terrible in the weeks ahead. How much longer, I don’t really want to forecast. That’s up to the health people. But there’s no question that it will be bad,” Kudlow said.
His comments came after a Friday report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed U.S. employers cut 701,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate rose to 4.4% from 3.5%.
It marks a sharp reversal from the administration’s tone just a few weeks ago, when Kudlow himself said there was no need for “massive, federal throw money at people plans” and the administration was looking at “micro” economic stimulus actions.
Kudlow said the administration’s focus remains on implementing the current stimulus and not in writing a future plan, but he added, “if we need to do more, we will do more.”
— ABC News’ Jordyn Phelps
What to know about coronavirus:
