Trump urges states to do more as hospitals sound alarms

Insisting federal government is t a "shipping clerk,” President Donald Trump on Thursday called on states to do more to secure ir own critically needed masks, ventilators and testing supplies as pressure mounted on hospitals struggling to cope with a rising number of coronavirus patients.

During ar fast-moving day in capital, Trump and his ministration took ditional, once-unthinkable steps to try to contain pandemic. State Department issued a new alert urging Americans t to travel abro under any circumstances. And Trump said government should take partial ownership of companies bailed out during pandemic, a step that would mark an extraordinary federal reach into private sector.

Hoping to inject some good news into dreary outlook, Trump held a White House briefing trying to highlight new efforts underway to find treatments for COVID-19 as infections in country climbed past 11,000, with at least 168 deaths.

He offered an upbeat promotion of rapeutic drugs in early testing that he said could be “a game-changer” in treating those suffering. But critics quickly accused him of spreing misleing information and overly optimistic projections after he of Food and Drug ministration me clear that drugs Trump discussed were still being tested for ir effectiveness and safety. That process takes months and may or may t yield any results.

FDA later reminded public in a statement that re are “ FDA-approved rapeutics or drugs to treat, cure or prevent COVID-19.”

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers worked urgently toward a $1 trillion aid pack to prop up households and U.S. ecomy that would put money directly into American’s pockets. Senate Majority Leer Mitch McConnell has proposed making direct payments of $1,200 per person, $2,400 for couples and $500 for each child, according to a copy of legislation obtained by Associated Press.

Congress has also been discussing loans that would have to be paid back to shore up airlines and or industries and was working to increase production of medical supplies and build temporary field hospitals under new authorities unlocked when Trump invoked Defense Production Act Wednesday.

At White House, where temperature checks continued and officials and journalists sat separated from one ar as y practiced social distancing, Trump also stepped up his criticism of China, chastising country he h previously praised for t warning world earlier about a disease that started in Wuhan, but has since spre across globe.

Indeed, death toll in Italy from coronavirus overtook China’s on Thursday, with at least 3,405 deaths in a country with a population of 60 million."

“If people would have kwn about it, it could have... been stopped in place, it could have been stopped right where it came from,” Trump said.

“But w whole world almost is inflicted with this horrible virus and it's too b," he ded, lamenting how U.S ecomy was healthy “just a few weeks ago.”

Trump grew agitated when one reporter ted ecomy h essentially ground to a halt. “We kw that," Trump snapped. “Everybody in room kws that.”

More than eight weeks after first U.S. case of virus was detected, federal government is still struggling to respond. Testing in U.S. lags dramatically behind or developed nations, and states still say y cant conduct wide-scale testing because y don't have swabs or or materials necessary to process m.

And as number of confirmed cases mounts, doctors and nurses are sounding warnings about short of crucial supplies, including masks and or gear needed to protect health care workers, along with ventilators to treat respiratory symptoms of virus.

Indeed, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week issued guidance telling health care workers that if masks are available, y could turn to “homeme” options “(e.g., bandana, scarf) for care of patients with COVID-19 as a last resort.”

But Trump insisted against evidence Thursday that re are more than eugh supplies available to meet needs. And he said that it was up to states to obtain m.

While willing to “help out wherever we can,” he said “goverrs are supposed to be doing a lot of this work.”

“ federal government's t supposed to be out re buying vast amounts of items and n shipping," Trump said. “You kw, we're t a shipping clerk.”

After briefing, Trump traveled to Federal Emergency Manment ncy, which has w been tasked with leing national coronavirus response, for a teleconference with goverrs — some of whom have complained about a lack of guidance from Washington.

Again and again during call, goverrs said y were having difficulty securing supplies, including materials needed to process tests, with some sounding panicked. Some said y were competing with federal government for purchases. Officials in room, however, insisted re was plenty available on market to purchase.

Among those expressing concern was Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, who told Trump he feared state would begin to exceed its capacity to deliver health care in as soon as a week.

“I’m asking for help in terms of surging our medical capacity here in Louisiana," he told president. He said state was “going to do everything we can to mitigate and slow spre, but in time that we have, we’ve got to increase our surge capacity. That is my biggest concern.”

For most people, COVID-19 causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older ults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

As virus threat has become more acute, Trump has begun to describe himself as a “wartime president." As he and members of Congress craft bailout packs, Trump said he believed government should take partial ownership of some companies hard hit by pandemic and aided by taxpayers. Some Republicans in Congress have pushed back on idea, saying it amounts to government picking winners and losers, as y criticized President Barack Obama of doing after 2008 financial crisis.

On medical front, Trump and Dr. Stephen Hahn, Food and Drug ministration commissioner, described several existing drugs and treatments currently under testing to see if y can help those with COVID-19. Among m: chloroquine, a drug long used to treat malaria; remdesivir, an experimental antiviral that's being tried in at least five separate studies; and antibodies culled from blood of COVID-19 patients when y recover.

Chloroquine is widely available alrey and could be used off-label, but Hahn said officials want a formal study to get good information on wher it helps people with COVID-19 and is safe. new and imminent treatments were anunced at briefing.

"We're looking at drugs that are alrey approved for or indications" as a potential bridge or stopgap until studies are completed on drugs under investigation, Hahn said.

Social distancing has proved to be a challenge in tight quarters of White House briefing room. When task force members walked out for briefing, y spre out widely. “We practice what we preach,” Surgeon General Jerome ams said.

But moments later, vice president’s press secretary popped out into briefing room and directed m to move closer toger, presumably to make room for her boss.

Trump, who is at increased risk of serious illness because of his , stood so close to some of officials answering questions at podium that y could t stand fully in front of it.

Trump took te of cramped quarters, too, and claimed that social distancing was making media “nicer.” Yet he later laced into reporters, suggesting he would like to limit briefings to two or three of his favorite supporters. And he assailed some of his cover, slamming as “fake news” outlets whose reporters have worked to hold his ministration accountable for its delayed response.