Dr. Tedros, the World Health Organization’s director-general, told the press Europe is now the epicenter for the COVID-19 pandemic. France reported 800 cases of COVID-19 in one day, and Spain infection-rate keeps climbing. Fewer cases of the coronavirus in China prove the drastic measures the Chinese government took after it tried to ignore the virus when it first surfaced in November 2019 worked to some extent.
Mr. Trump called the coronavirus a foreign virus, but COVID-19 outbreak is not the work of the Chinese or others, even though the conspiracy theory rumors keep surfacing to deflect attention away from Trump’s lackadaisical response.
Fox News continues to blame the Democrats for the pandemic, but the president had to tone down his virus rhetoric after members of his cabinet told him his reelection is in jeopardy. Mr. Trump immediately reversed gears and held a news conference in the Rose Garden to show his voter base he’s the virus-slayer. But his refusal to take an aggressive stand against the coronavirus outbreak put health officials’ weeks behind in their quest to slow down the spread of COVID-19.
One news reporter asked the president if he planned to take the virus test after he had contact with infected individuals. Ivanka decided to self-quarantine when she found out she had a close encounter with a COVID-19 victim during the Conservative Political Action Conference and once again when the president of Brazil visited Mar-a-Lago. A member of President Bolsonaro’s team tested positive.
The president wants to stop the economic bleeding from the pandemic, but according to economists, Trump’s economic team doesn’t have the credentials or the knowledge to stop Gross Domestic Product growth erosion. Mr. Trump wants to cut payroll taxes to help boost the economy, but that wasn’t part of the Congressional package Nancy Pelosi and Steven Mnuchin put together and sent to the Senate. Forty Republican Congressmen voted against the stimulus package, but it’s doubtful Republican senators will vote against the bill. Mr. Trump said he would sign the bill, even though he didn’t get what he wanted, according to the New York Times.
Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, told the press all Apple stores outside of China will close until March 27th. Apple took a financial beating when its China factories and stores shut down during most of February. Cook would rather take the financial loss that jeopardizes the health of Apple employees, according to the Washington Post.
