Trump: US 'prevailed' on virus
As the White House announced that most people on its grounds wear face masks, US President Donald Trump on Monday praised his administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying "we have met the moment, and we have prevailed" on testing.
"We are testing more people per capita than South Korea, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Finland and many other countries," Trump said at a news conference in the Rose Garden, where he was flanked by large posters that proclaimed: "America leads the world in testing."
"No matter how you look at it, America is leading the world in testing," Trump declared. "The numbers are coming down very rapidly all throughout the country."
The news conference had some contentious moments, as Trump once again clashed with CBS reporter Weijia Jiang, who asked him why he was talking about testing success when the coronavirus was still claiming American lives.
"Why does that matter? Why is it global competition to you if every day Americans are still losing their lives and we are still seeing more cases every day?" asked Jiang, who is Chinese American.
"Maybe that's a question you should ask China," Trump responded. "Don't ask me. Ask China that question, OK."
The US had more than 1,347,000 coronavirus cases as of 9:30 pm EDT Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University, with over 80,000 deaths.
Trump also announced that his administration would give $1 billion to states to increase testing capabilities. But the actual figure, the administration said earlier on Monday, was about $11 billion.
The president dismissed talk that there was a breakdown in White House measures aimed at curbing the spread of the virus after two members of the staff tested positive.
"I don't think the system broke down at all. … It can happen. It's the hidden enemy," he told reporters, adding, "We'll be absolutely fine."
Earlier Monday, the White House issued a directive asking most officials to wear masks or face coverings in public spaces in the public spaces.
Trump didn't wear a face mask during the news conference but all of the reporters asking Trump questions on Monday were wearing face masks.
On Monday, it was announced that parts of New York state and California will reopen this week, but New York City, the city hit the hardest by the coronavirus in the US, won't reopen nonessential businesses and allow large gatherings until June.
"June is when we're potentially going to be able to make some real changes if we can continue our progress," Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday at his daily news briefing.
The city's rate of new hospitalizations, the number of available hospital beds and intensive care beds, remain short of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's thresholds, saying that the city met only four of seven criteria required to reopen.
Cuomo announced that three upstate New York regions will open starting this weekend.
He announced the first wave of reopenings in the state as the number of daily confirmed coronavirus deaths was 161 in the 24-hour period ending at midnight Monday, down from 207 the day before, and the lowest number since March 26, when there were 138 deaths reported, the last time that fatalities were under 200.
"The number of lives lost [is] still too high, obviously, at 161, but better than it has been," said Cuomo. "We see all the arrows are pointed in the right direction."
Cuomo issued the stay-at-home order on March 22, and it is set to expire on Friday. He said that all seven metrics for reopening have been met in three regions: the Finger Lakes, which includes Rochester; the Southern Tier, which borders Pennsylvania; and Mohawk Valley, west of Albany.
A total of 21,639 deaths have now been reported statewide. The death toll and number of cases have largely been in New York City and its suburbs, with far fewer cases and fatalities in the state's more rural regions.
Reuters contributed to this story.
