Members of the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force are increasingly adopting a new default when they don’t have a satisfying answer to inquiries about COVID-19: Awkwardly pivot to praise President Trump.
JoinFrom the front lines of office culture and remote work from TPM Reader ANON …
Your first post about closing the TPM offices prompted me to start putting similar pressure on my own colleagues. The news may be bursting with closings and cancellations, but I fear there are as many businesses like mine — a [xxxxxxxx] agency with ~120 employees and four office locations around the country—who even now are still playing catch-up to the reality of this situation.
Hello, friends. As you’ve likely noticed we’ve now gone a few weeks without an Inside briefing. This was first because of my vacation in February. Then we had to cancel one briefing. Now for the last two weeks plus we’ve been in this escalating mode of crisis which all of you are no doubt experiencing in your own lives. For us, as you know, we moved to remote work Wednesday and we’re trying to get our sea legs in this new work, reporting and life reality. Basically, I just wanted to say, we’re aware of this. We apologize for the disruption and we will be getting back to a regular schedule of the access, insight and guidance we provide to Inside members absolutely as soon as possible.
TPM Reader OM offers the perspective of being immuno-compromised and living with the threat of COVID-19:
COVID-19 has hit at a very strange time for me. …
I had a liver transplant on Jan. 22.
One hell of a time to become immuno-compromised.
We’re getting our first breakdown of mortality figures from the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy. They should focus our attention on protecting and isolating the vulnerable. Helen Branswell, a reporter for StatNews who has been a critical source of information through this crisis, is sharing information from a teleconference briefing hosted by JAMA. It’s with a top clinician in Lombardy. One slide gives a breakdown of the epidemic by age.
New York state and city officials have been pressing the FDA for days to sign off both on new tests but also automated testing. They seem to have finally gotten the authorization today. They’ve also gotten the sign-off to have the state approve testing additional capacity within the state. I know I’m focusing a lot on New York. It’s a location of major spread. But I’m also doing so because the issues are relevant to and often paralleled by the same things happening in states around the country.
President says testing delays not his fault.
Trump: "No I don't take responsibility at all." pic.twitter.com/iT3Fj2JT6T
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) March 13, 2020
Calling all political news junkies. Talking Points Memo is hiring an ambitious, New York-based newswriter to cover the epic political stories of our time.
Full posting after the jump.
TPM Reader PH adds some more detail on the school closure issue …
I say ‘chaos’ in the title. But I remind myself and you that everybody here is working in a frightening, unprecedented situation. Here from TPM Reader XX in Washington State …
I see your email about de Blasio being lost …
I’ve written in a couple of times recently about this. I work with schools in Washington. In the heart of the problem. District leadership had been looking to health departments for guidance. They simply didn’t get it in an actionable way. I hope someone with good investigative skills does a deep dive into the Snohomish county health department’s response. Woefully lacking or criminally negligent. Or worse.