7 Major Coronavirus Developments — Battle Between the States — Sunday, March 29, 2020
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7 Major Coronavirus Developments — Battle Between the States — Sunday, March 29, 2020
As of Sunday morning, those three states have suffered 1,056 deaths -- nearly 50% of the deaths in the United States. And, the tri-state area has 66,003 positive tests out of the total 124,123 positive cases in the U.S. It should be noted that New York has the most effective testing program in the country.
WATCH: Former RI Director of Health Dr. Michael Fine on GoLocal LIVE Special Sunday Segment at 2 PM
The battle between the states is emerging. Not since the American Civil War has there been such friction between states and between the federal government and states.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTPresident Donald Trump Saturday night backed away from a possible quarantine on New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Andrew Cuomo, the New York Governor, warned that sealing off the state would lead to “chaos and mayhem” and amount to a “federal declaration of war.”
“It’s a preposterous idea, frankly,” Cuomo told CNN on Saturday evening, hours after the President suggested locking down parts of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to try to slow the coronavirus spread.
Cuomo has also threatened to sue Rhode Island (SEE BELOW).
READ BELOW 7 Major Coronavirus Developments — Sunday, March 29, 2020
7 Major Coronavirus Developments — Battle Between the States — Sunday, March 29, 2020
Testing Failure Wreaks Havoc in Effort to Combat Coronavirus
An expose in the New York Times outlines the impact of failed testing:
"The absence of robust screening until it was 'far too late' revealed failures across the government, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, the former C.D.C. director. Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins, said the Trump administration had 'incredibly limited' views of the pathogen’s potential impact. Dr. Margaret Hamburg, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said the lapse enabled 'exponential growth of cases.'
And Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, a top government scientist involved in the fight against the virus, told members of Congress that the early inability to test was 'a failing' of the administration’s response to a deadly, global pandemic. 'Why,' he asked later in a magazine interview, 'were we not able to mobilize on a broader scale?'"
Testing Problems in Rhode Island
Massachusetts has conducted 35,049 tests so far.
Rhode Island administered just 2,780 total tests in 28 days.
Rhode Island is only conducting an average of 92 tests per day versus Massachusetts' 1,251 per day.
War Between the States
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told CNN on Saturday night that if Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo does not reverse her order of stopping New York vehicles that he will sue Rhode Island.
“It is a reactionary policy. I am concerned about people with the virus coming into my state. We are talking to Rhode Island now and if they don’t roll back that policy I am going to sue Rhode Island. It is clearly unconstitutional," he said.
Ellie Honig, CNN’s legal expert, called Raimondo’s move a “terribly problematic policy.”
On Thursday, the ACLU of Rhode Island called out Raimondo’s policy to stop passenger cars with New York registrations.
“The Governor has taken many steps to address this crisis that carefully balance public health needs and the civil rights of citizens. This one does not. We urge her not to follow through with such an ill-advised and unconstitutional plan,” said RI ACLU Executive Director Steve Brown.
On Thursday, Raimondo signed an executive order mandating that anyone who has traveled to New York by any form of transportation must self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in Rhode Island. This applies to anyone who has been in New York in the past 14 days and going forward.
CDC Travel Advisory for NY, NJ, and CT
The Center for Disease and Control issued a domestic travel advisory for New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut residents on Saturday night.
The CDC said that due to extensive community transmission of COVID -19 in the area, CDC urges residents of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to refrain from non-essential domestic travel for 14 days effective immediately.
This Domestic Travel Advisory does not apply to employees of critical infrastructure industries, including but not limited to trucking, public health professionals, financial services, and food supply. These employees of critical infrastructure, as defined by the Department of Homeland Security (https://www.cisa.gov/publication/guidance-essential-critical-infrastructure-workforce), have a special responsibility to maintain normal work schedules. The Governors of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut will have full discretion to implement this Domestic Travel Advisory.
President Donald Trump tweeted, "On the recommendation of the White House CoronaVirus Task Force, and upon consultation with the Governor’s of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, I have asked the @CDCgov to issue a strong Travel Advisory, to be administered by the Governors, in consultation with the........Federal Government. A quarantine will not be necessary. Full details will be released by CDC tonight. Thank you!"
Numbers
239 Cases in Rhode Island
4,257 Cases in Massachusetts
44 Deaths in Massachusetts
124,123 Cases in the United States
2,238 Deaths in the United States
684,067 Global Cases
31,768 Global Deaths
150,639 Global Recoveries
Global Impact
Now, 192 of the 195 countries in the world have reported at least one case of coronavirus.
GoLocal Coverage on Sunday
1:00 PM WATCH LIVE Governor Gina Raimondo's Press Conference
2:00 PM WATCH LIVE Dr. Michael Fine on GoLocal LIVE
