Pandemic in America

A clear majority of the American public, including self-identified Republicans, do not believe the disinformation that President Donald Trump keeps pushing around the spread of corona virus. And even members of the president’s own party are sceptical of his argument that getting the country back to work needs to be as prioritised as public safety measures.  A  new survey  conducted by Ipsos exclusively for The Daily Beast provides some of the clearest evidence to date that the president’s attempts to paint a rosy picture about the corona virus’ spread throughout the country are not resonating beyond a small segment of the populace with a small exception for those who say they’re getting their information from Fox News.  A full 73 percent of respondents, including 75 percent of Republicans, said that it was not true that “anyone who wants to get tested [for the virus] can get tested.” Just 17 percent said it was true. Only 20 percent of the public, ...

As Trump invokes presidential powers to fight the coronavirus, he sows confusion along the way Eager to demonstrate that he is in control of a viral outbreak that is spreading rapidly across the country, President Trump has ramped up efforts to show he is using some of his broadest powers as commander in chief. But the unprecedented push has been plagued by growing confusion about how far his authorities actually extend and how much he is willing to use them. He blindsided New York’s governor Saturday by publicly announcing a potential quarantine order on the state’s residents, only to retreat from the idea hours later. This came a day after he authorized his government to use the Defense Production Act a move on which he’d been taking an on-again, off-again stance, but it remains unclear whether that power will be used. And he is due to issue guidelines next week about whether the country should continue social distancing practices . But he’s vacillated between all but dec...

C.D.C. issues a travel advisory for the New York region, after Trump backs off his quarantine threat. President Trump said on Saturday night that he would not impose a quarantine on New York, New Jersey and Connecticut but would instead issue a “strong” travel advisory to be implemented by the governors of the three states. Mr. Trump made the announcement on Twitter just hours after telling reporters that he was considering a quarantine of the three states in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus to Florida and other states.