OLYMPIA,
Wash. (AP) — Hundreds of people gathered at the Washington state
Capitol on Sunday to protest Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order
designed to combat the spread of the coronavirus, holding signs that
read “End The Shutdown” and “Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Covid 19!”
Earlier
Sunday Inslee again blasted President Donald Trump’s call to “liberate”
parts of the country from social-distancing decrees, saying Trump is
fomenting a potentially deadly “insubordination” before the pandemic is
contained.
In
Olympia, some protesters wore masks while others waved American flags
and pushed baby strollers. Tyler Miller, one of the organizers of the
event, had said rural areas should be treated differently than more
urban locations with more coronavirus cases. He also said Inslee’s
decisions on what constitutes essential businesses has been unfair and
unconstitutional.
At
the rally, Miller spoke to attendees through a bullhorn: “We cannot
have a government and a governor that does not listen to his own
citizens.”
Inslee’s comments about Trump and the protests were on ABC-TV’s “ This Week.
” Protests have occurred across the country, including in Utah, Idaho
and Oregon. But both Democratic and Republican governors have said
strict social distancing is essential to curbing the pandemic’s spread.
Asked
about Trump’s tweets last week that included “Liberate Michigan” and
“Liberate Virginia” from governors’ orders, Inslee replied: “I don’t
know any other way to characterize it, when we have an order from
governors, both Republicans and Democrats, that basically are designed
to protect people’s health, literally their lives, to have a president
of the United States basically encourage insubordination, to encourage
illegal activity.”
“To
have an American president to encourage people to violate the law, I
can’t remember any time during my time in America where we have seen
such a thing,” Inslee continued.
The
Democratic governor said Trump’s statements were “doubly frustrating”
and exhibited “such a schizophrenia” because they contradict guidelines
on reopening state economies issued last week by the White House.
On
Friday, when asked about about the planned protest in his own state,
Inslee said people were “welcome” to express their First Amendment
rights but encouraged those at the rally to practice social distancing.
Washington
has about 11,800 confirmed virus cases and at least 634 deaths,
according to the state Department of Health. As of Friday, the health
department said there were 11,802 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the
state but “data cleaning” late Saturday showed 190 of them were among
people who live out of state, authorities said. The corrected number of
confirmed cases in Washington now stands at 11,790, the agency said
Sunday.
Inslee,
who also criticized Trump’s tweets on Friday, has said he is planning
to reopen the economy in phases, likely starting with businesses. The
governor has said some restrictions could potentially stay in place
beyond May 4.
State
authorities said Sunday they were recalling 12,000 COVID-19 test kits
distributed to municipalities, tribal nations and state agencies because
of possible contamination issues but that patients aren’t at risk and
test results aren’t affected.
UW
Medicine alerted the state to the problem, which involves a fluid that
preserves nasal and oral patient samples during transport. A handful of
vials containing the fluid were an unusual color, leading UW Medicine to
notify state officials, the Department of Health said. The kits were
procured by UW Medicine and donated to the state by China-based Lingen
Precision Medical Products.
An email sent to Lingen for comment wasn’t immediately returned Sunday.
The state said it was working to replace the test kits as quickly as possible.
Washington
state had the nation’s first confirmed coronavirus case in January and
the first deadly cluster at a Seattle-area nursing home.
For
most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as
fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. But it can cause
more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death for some people,
especially older adults and people with existing health problems.
On
Friday, Washington state Republican legislative leaders released their
plan for reopening Washington’s economy. It specifies some lower-risk
industries — such as residential construction, auto dealers and solo
landscapers — that could reopen soon.
WASHINGTON
(AP) — The coronavirus is touching all levels of society and increasing
tensions as governments start to ease restrictions that health experts
warn should be done gradually to avoid a resurgence of the illness that
has killed more than 165,000 people.
The
mounting pressure was evident in the United States. The Trump
administration says parts of the nation are ready to begin a gradual
return to normalcy. Yet some state leaders say woefully inadequate
federal action, like a lack of testing supplies, is hindering their
response to the illness.
After
insisting the country’s virus testing system was without fault,
President Donald Trump said Sunday evening he would be using the Defense
Production Act to compel increased manufacturing of testing swabs. He
also remained defensive, however, vowing that there were enough swabs to
go around. “Swabs are easy,” the president said, bringing one to his
news briefing and waving it in front of reporters.
Trump
also defended protests by his supporters, who have been gathered to
demand state governors lift controls on public activity that were meant
to stop the spread of the virus. The president has invoked their
rallying cry and said Sunday night, “these people love our country. They
want to go back to work.”
Shutdowns
have disrupted economic, social, cultural and religious life and
plunged the world into an economic slump unseen since the Great
Depression in the 1930s.
The
International Monetary Fund expects the global economy to contract 3%
this year. Tens of millions of workers have lost their jobs and millions
more fear they’ll be next.
A
few countries are acting to ease restrictions and resume economic
activity, but most of the world agrees the steps must be gradual.
China,
where the pandemic began, has lifted travel and other restrictions, but
customer traffic has been slow to return. And masks and temperature
checks are routine.
India
eased the world’s largest lockdown to allow some manufacturing and
agricultural activity to resume — if employers can meet social
distancing and hygiene standards. Companies are required to transport
and shelter their workers, which few of them are able to do. India also
recorded its biggest single-day spike in cases, adding more than 1,500
as it works to increase testing, stock up equipment and prepare hospital
beds for more patients.
Germany
intends to begin allowing some small stores, like those selling
furniture and baby goods, to reopen. Albania plans to let its mining and
oil industries reopen, along with hundreds of businesses. New Zealand
extended its lockdown another week, but workers at some businesses such
as construction and manufacturing will be able to resume their jobs
soon.
The
number of confirmed infections with the new coronavirus has surpassed
2.4 million, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The true
figures are likely significantly higher since mild infections can be
missed, testing is limited and some countries tried to underplay their
outbreaks or were too overwhelmed to effectively count them.
The death toll in the U.S., the worst-hit country by far, was more than 40,000 with over 750,000 confirmed infections.
The
virus has reached all levels of society. At least 20 employees at
Afghanistan’s presidential palace have tested positive, said a senior
government official who asked to remain anonymous because he was not
authorized to comment on the subject.
It
wasn’t clear whether President Ashraf Ghani had been in contact with
any of the employees or whether he had been tested himself. Ghani has
reportedly been self-quarantining. At 70 and a cancer survivor, Ghani is
at a high risk for serious illness.
The
virus claimed an unlikely victim, as well: tens of thousands of tulips
in full bloom in Japan. They were a centerpiece of an annual festival
near Tokyo that was canceled this year. But people were still gathering
to admire the flowers, so the decision was made to raze them. All that
remains are red and yellow petals lying smashed on the ground.
“This
situation is now about human life,” said Takahiro Kogo, a city official
overseeing the park. “It was a heart-wrenching decision, but we had to
do it.”
___
Perry
reported from Wellington, New Zealand. AP journalist Rahim Faiez in
Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed to this report as did AP writers
worldwide.
Victoria Coates, a former top official on the National Security Council, on Sunday denied new allegations she was the author of an inside-the-White House tell-all book by “Anonymous.” “The allegations published in Real Clear Investigations are utterly false. I am not Anonymous, and I do not know who Anonymous is,” Coates said in a new statement. Cleta
Mitchell, Coates’ lawyer, wrote that Real Clear Investigations “peddled
false statements citing only anonymous sources, despite on-the-record
denials from Javelin LLC (the literary agent for Anonymous), the White
House, and three well-respected members of the Trump Administration—and
now Dr. Coates as well.” “We are continuing to explore all available legal options,” Mitchell added. Coates was accused of being the author of the book, “A Warning,” and a New York Times essay deeply critical of President Trump, written under the pen name “Anonymous.” In
the book, published by the Hachette Book Group last November, the
writer claimed senior administration officials considered resigning as a
group in 2018 in a “midnight self-massacre” to protest Trump’s conduct,
but ultimately decided such an act would do more harm than good. Trump
in February renewed questions about the identity of “Anonymous” when he
told reporters that he knew who it was. Asked whether he believed the
person still worked at the White House,
Trump responded: “We know a lot. In fact, when I want to get something
out to the press, I tell certain people, and it’s amazing, it gets out
there. But, so far, I’m leaving it that way.”
Victoria Coates denied new allegations she wrote the inside-the-White House tell-all book by “Anonymous.”
"After an exhaustive investigation, the White House
believes it’s cracked the case, identifying Trump's turncoat as his
former deputy national security adviser, Victoria Coates, according to
people familiar with the internal probe," the Real Clear Investigations
story claimed. Coates served as national security adviser for the Middle East and North Africa before joining the Energy Department as a senior adviser this past February. The
Real Clear Investigations story added: "Rather than fire Coates, the
White House has quietly transferred her to the Department of Energy,
where she awaits special assignment in Saudi Arabia -- far from the
president." The Trump administration in February denied the accusations behind the job move. “We
are enthusiastic about adding Dr. Coates to DOE, where her expertise on
the Middle East and national security policy will be helpful,”
Secretary Dan Brouillette said in a statement. “She will play an important role on our team.” “While
I’m sad to lose an important member of our team, Victoria will be a big
asset to Secretary Brouillette as he executes the president’s energy
security policy priorities,” National Security Adviser Robert C. O’Brien added. Fox News' John Roberts contributed to this report.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday that Democrats and the White House
are inching closer to a deal that will replenish the $350 billion
coronavirus emergency fund and said the vote could be as early as next
week. Mnuchin told
CNN that he hopes that the $450 billion package will be voted on in the
Senate on Monday, and pass the House on Tuesday. President Trump talked
about the package during an evening press briefing and told reporters that he thinks “you could have a nice answer tomorrow, but we’ll see.” Trump
has released a three-phase strategy to reopen the country, sending the
S&P 500 index up 28 percent since its low late last month. The U.S.
economy has been stung by the coronavirus outbreak due to state
shelter-in-place orders and concerns about a second wave once
restrictions are lifted. The Wall Street Journal reported that
Republicans and Democrats clashed on some key points about the new
deal, but both sides have agreed to compromise. The report said that
Republicans wanted the money to replenish the emergency fund for small
businesses, but Democrats want to the package to include additional
funding for food stamps and testing. Mnuchin said the new bill would replenish the fund and also free up $100 billion for testing and hospitals. “We’ve made very good progress,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, told CNN. Schumer and Senate Democrats have been working directly
with Mnuchin and the administration on their proposals for more funding
-- instead of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. -- with
some hoping that with the president’s support of an agreement, McConnell
and Senate Republicans will be forced to approve a measure. McConnell,
R-Ky., issued a joint statement last week with top House Republican
Kevin McCarthy of California urging quick funding for the Paycheck
Protection Program. The Senate is away from Washington through
May 4, though it convenes twice each week for pro forma sessions that
could be used to pass more coronavirus aid — though only if no senator
objects. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has been criticized by
Republicans again for holding up funding, told “Fox News Sunday” that
there has been progress on reaching a deal, and that small businesses
will see relief in the near future. “They
will have more money as soon as we come to an agreement -- which will
be soon,” she said. “And I think people will be very pleased because
these small businesses must thrive in a community where they’re, again,
health is essential to them opening up.” Fox News’ Brooke Singman, Ron Blitzer and the Associated Press contributed to this report
Members
of the Boogaloo Movement, attend a demonstration against the lockdown
over concern about COVID-19 at the State House, Saturday, April 18,
2020, in Concord, N.H. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
AUSTIN,
Texas (AP) — Stores in Texas can soon begin selling merchandise with
curbside service, and hospitals can resume nonessential surgeries. In
Florida, people are returning to a few beaches and parks. And protesters
are clamoring for more.
Governors
eager to rescue their economies and feeling heat from President Donald
Trump are moving to ease restrictions meant to control the spread of the
coronavirus, even as new hot spots emerge and experts warn that moving
too fast could prove disastrous.
Adding
to the pressure are protests against stay-at-home orders organized by
small-government groups and Trump supporters. They staged demonstrations
Saturday in several cities after the president urged them to “liberate”
three states led by Democratic governors.
Protests
happened in Republican-led states, too, including at the Texas Capitol
and in front of the Indiana governor’s home. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott
already said that restrictions will begin easing next week. Indiana Gov.
Eric Holcomb — who signed an agreement with six other Midwestern states
to coordinate reopening — said he would extend his stay-at-home order
until May 1.
For
the first time in weeks, people were able to visit some Florida
beaches, but they were still subject to restrictions on hours and
activities. Beaches in big cities stayed closed.
Meanwhile, infections kept surging in the Northeast.
Rhode
Island, between the hot spots of Massachusetts and New York, has seen a
steady daily increase in infections and deaths, with nursing home
residents accounting for more than 90 of the state’s 118 deaths. The
state’s death rate of around 10 people per 100,000 is among the nation’s
highest per capita, according to data compiled by the COVID Tracking
Project.
Massachusetts
had its highest number of deaths in a single day on Friday, with 159.
Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, citing health experts’ advice, said
states should wait until infection rates and hospitalizations decline
for about two weeks before acting.
Trump,
whose administration waited months to bolster stockpiles of key medical
supplies and equipment, appeared to back protesters.
“LIBERATE
MINNESOTA!” “LIBERATE MICHIGAN!” “LIBERATE VIRGINIA, ” Trump said in a
tweet-storm in which he also lashed out at New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a
Democrat, for criticizing the federal response. Cuomo “should spend
more time ‘doing’ and less time ‘complaining,’” the president said.
At
his Saturday briefing with reporters, Cuomo cited more progress. The
state’s daily increase in deaths fell below 550 for the first time in
more than two weeks as hospitalizations continued to decline.
But
the crisis is far from over: Hospitals are still reporting nearly 2,000
new COVID-19 patients per day, and nursing homes remain a “feeding
frenzy for this virus,” he said.
“We are not at a point when we are going to be reopening anything immediately,” Cuomo said.
Several
hundred people rallied in Texas’ capital, chanting “Let us work!” Many
clamored for an immediate lifting of restrictions in a state where more
than 1 million have filed for unemployment since the crisis began.
The
rally was organized by a host of Infowars, owned by conspiracy theorist
Alex Jones, who joined protesters on the Capitol steps. Jones is being
sued in Austin over using his show to promote falsehoods that the 2012
Sandy Hook school massacre in Connecticut was a hoax.
In
Indianapolis, more than 200 people stood close together outside the
governor’s mansion, carrying American flags and signs demanding that
Gov. Holcomb lift restrictions. Indiana’s state health department
reported 529 new cases between April 7 and midday Friday, raising the
total to more than 10,600. The number of deaths rose by 26, to 545.
Elsewhere,
a few hundred demonstrators waved signs outside the Statehouse in New
Hampshire, which has had nearly 1,300 cases of the virus and more than
three dozen deaths.
“Even
if the virus were 10 times as dangerous as it is, I still wouldn’t stay
inside my home. I’d rather take the risk and be a free person,” said
one of the protesters, talk show host Ian Freeman.
Trump is pushing to relax the U.S. lockdown by May 1, a plan that hinges partly on more testing.
Public
health officials said the ability to test enough people and trace
contacts of the infected is crucial before easing restrictions, and that
infections could surge anew unless people continue to take precautions.
Vice
President Mike Pence delivered a commencement address at the U.S. Air
Force Academy in Colorado, a trip aimed at showing the country is on
course to gradually reopen.
Major
cities in Brazil also saw protests Saturday by hundreds of people
denouncing pandemic lockdown measures also opposed by President Jair
Bolsonaro, a fierce critic of stay-at-home measures imposed by state
governments.
In Asia, some nations that until recently appeared to have the outbreak under control reported fresh flareups.
Singapore
reported a sharp, one-day spike of 942 infections, the highest in
Southeast Asia, mostly among foreign workers staying in crowded
dormitories. That brought the total to almost 6,000 in the city-state of
6 million.
Total
cases topped 10,000 in Japan, where Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said
he’s concerned that people are not observing social distancing and
announced a 100,000-yen ($930) cash handout to each resident as an
incentive to stay home.
There
have been tentative signs that measures to curb the outbreak are
working, with the rate of new infections slowing across Europe.
France
and Spain started dismantling some field hospitals, while the number of
active cases in Germany has slowly declined over the past week as
people recover.
France’s
national health agency said Saturday that the number of virus patients
in intensive care dropped for the 10th straight day, and overall virus
hospitalizations have fallen for three consecutive days. The country has
seen almost 20,000 virus deaths.
The
agency urged the French public to stick to strict confinement measures,
which have been extended until at least May 11: “Don’t relax our
efforts at the moment when confinement is bearing fruit.”
Spanish
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said his government will seek to extend
the state of emergency to May 9 but begin easing the total confinement
of children beginning April 27.
Children
are thought to be a major source of transmission even if they rarely
fall ill from the virus. They’ve been confined to their homes for five
weeks, prompting parents to ask that they be allowed to at least take a
daily walk.
Sánchez
announced in a televised news conference late Saturday that kids would
be able “to get out of their houses for a period on a daily basis,” but
the specifics needed to be ironed out with experts.
The
national lockdown would be rolled back only when Spain’s embattled
health system is ready for a possible rebound of infections, he said.
The
virus is believed to have infected more than 2.3 million people
worldwide. While most recover, the outbreak has killed at least 155,000
people, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally based on figures
supplied by health authorities around the globe.
The
number almost certainly underestimates the actual toll. Nearly
everywhere, thousands have died with COVID-19 symptoms — many in nursing
homes — without being tested for the virus, and have thus gone
uncounted.
___
Jordans reported from Berlin. Associated Press journalists from around the world contributed to this report.
A Florida hurricane may be about to hit Washington, D.C. Laura Loomer, a 26-year-old conservative provocateur running for Congress
in the Sunshine State, is gaining strength with activists and donors
buzzing about the possibility she is the conservative answer to New York
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “She’s the Republicans' AOC,” longtime GOP strategist Roger Stone
gushed to The Post. “She’s young. She’s energetic. She’s feisty. She’s
anti-establishment, and she has an enormous national following, as does
AOC, which can help finance a congressional race.” Like
the Queens/Bronx congresswoman, few took Loomer seriously when she
declared her candidacy in the heavily-blue 21st district back in August
2019. Long considered a fringe GOP voice, with stints at James O’Keefe’s
Project Veritas and the Canadian far-right Rebel Media, she is most
well known for her strident criticism of Islam, which has resulted in
bans from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Medium, Paypal, Venmo, GoFundMe,
Lyft, Uber, Uber Eats and MGM Resorts. But she is raising serious
money. Loomer’s campaign collected $204,786 in the first quarter of
2020, according to April filings with the Federal Election Commission,
bringing her total haul to nearly $600,000 — significantly more than her
eight GOP primary rivals combined. Among her more than 9,000
individual donors are some big names: Home Depot billionaire Bernard
Marcus ($2,800) and Eric Javits, a former US ambassador ($1,000). Karen
Giorno, a 30-year veteran of GOP politics who served as Donald Trump’s
2016 Florida state director, is running Loomer’s campaign. The district
is home to the president’s Mar-a-Lago club and now his official residence. Critics
have frequently labeled Loomer’s commentary as racist and Islamophobic.
After news emerged that Sayfullo Saipov, the suspect in a terrorist
attack in New York City which killed eight people,
was an Uber Driver, Loomer called for the creation of ride-share app
that would not employ Muslims. She told The Post the remark was intended
to “raise awareness” about vetting drivers and that she was “not sorry”
about it. New Yorkers may remember her better for such colorful stunts as disrupting a Trump-mocking rendition of Julius Caesar at Shakespeare in the Park, chaining herself to Twitter’s New York headquarters, protesting a women’s march in Foley Square, and placing a burqa on the fearless girl statue on Wall Street. Loomer said her social-media gag order was partly what inspired her run. “They
silenced me and violated my civil rights,” Loomer told The Post. “I
started thinking to myself, that what happened to me will happen to
everyday Americans who don’t have my soap box.” In addition to
taking on big tech, Loomer has marketed herself as strongly pro-Israel,
tough on terrorism, pro-gun and an unswerving supporter of President
Trump. If elected, Loomer said she planned to take on AOC and her Squad mates — several of whom she casually refers to as “Jihadis.” “I
am a one-woman squad,” she said. “Republicans need more firepower. They
need people who aren’t going to cower in fear of these women.” Campaign
manager Giorno said, “The experience I had on the campaign with Donald
Trump is really one of the reasons why I took a look at Laura Loomer.
She reminded me a little bit of Donald Trump. She is very frenetic, in a
good way, constant energy, high expectations of herself and others …
she impressed me and I don’t get impressed very easily.” Team
Loomer said they expect to blow out the crowded GOP field in the Aug.
18 primary before heading into a final matchup with the Democratic
incumbent — Lois Frankel, a former West Palm Beach mayor elected to
Congress in 2013. In 2016, she prevailed over Republican Paul Spain with
62.7% of the vote, even as Donald Trump went on to win the state by
more than 100,000 votes. Stone said Frankel is a weaker incumbent than Queens Rep. Joe Crowley, who AOC famously knocked off in a huge upset.
