James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
5:15 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Beautiful day outside. And I think we have some great things to talk about. I'll start by discussing the Federal Reserve. As you know, it just happened minutes ago, but, to me, it makes me very happy. And I want to congratulate the Federal Reserve.
For starters, they've lowered the Fed rate from what it was, which was 1 to 1.25. And it's been lowered down to zero, to 0.25 or .25. So it's 0 to .25. That's a big difference. It's quite a bit. It's about a point.
And, in addition, very importantly, the Federal Reserve is the — going to be purchasing $500 billion of treasuries and $200 billion of mortgage-backed securities. And that number can increase. But they're going to start with that, and that's really good news. It's really great for our country. It's something that we're very happy. I have to say this: I'm very happy. And they did it in one step; they didn't do it in four steps over a long period of time. They did it in one step.
And I think that people in the market should be very thrilled. And that brings us — we're the strongest country in the world, by far, financially and every other way. And that brings us in line with what other countries are. They're actually — they actually have negative rates. But, look, we got it down to potentially zero. So that's a big step, and I'm very happy they did it.
And you will not hear anything bad about me unless it's about a month or two from now. So I congratulate the Federal Reserve. I think it's terrific. It just came out, just as we spoke. I wasn't going to mention Federal Reserve or anything else, but this came out as we were walking up.
I want to thank the people at Google and Google Communications because, as you know, they substantiated what I said on Friday. The head of Google, who's a great gentleman, said — called us and he apologized. I don't know where the press got their fake news, but they got it someplace. But as you know — this is from Google — they put out a release. And you guys can figure it out yourselves. And how that got out — and I'm sure you'll apologize. But it would be great if we could really give the news correctly. It would be so, so wonderful.
I just had a phone call with very impressive people — the biggest in the world, in the world of stores and groceries and all. And I'll give you the names:
Dave Clark, Whole Foods.
Mark Clouse, CEO of Campbell Soup Company.
Brian Cornell, CEO of Target.
Randy Edeker, Chairman and CEO, President of Hy-Vee.
Jeff Harmening, CEO of General Mills. A great company.
Kevin Hourican, President and CEO of Sysco.
Craig Jelinek, CEO of Costco.
Todd Jones, CEO of Publix Super Markets.
Donnie King, Tyson Foods.
David MacLennan, Chairman and CEO of Cargill.
Rodney McMullan, CEO, Chairman of Kroger — a big company.
Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart. He's been fantastic. Doug was here, as you know, on Friday. And he watched the market go up 2,000 points. On Friday, it went up 2,000 — almost 2,000 points.
Todd Vasos, CEO of Dollar General Corporation.
And Vivek Sankaran, President and CEO of Albertsons.
So these are all phenomenal companies. These are great companies. We had a long conversation with them. And they've — they're going to work 24 hours around the clock keeping their store stocked.
I would like to say that people shouldn't go out and buy. We're going to all be great. We're going to be so good. We're going to do — what's happened with the Fed is phenomenal news. What's happening with all of these incredible companies is phenomenal news.
But you don't have to buy so much. Take it easy. Just relax. People are going in and they're buying more. I remember — I guess, during the conversation, Doug of Walmart said that they're buying more than they buy at Christmas. Relax. We're doing great. It all will pass.
The folks that we spoke to, they've done a fantastic job. They're going to meet the needs of the public. They're going around the clock, if they have to. And they're committed to the communities where they're serving and which they serve so beautifully and have for a long time. And they're buying a lot of additional things to sell.
But again, they — they actually have asked me to say, "Could you buy a little bit less, please?" I think — I thought I'd never hear that from a retailer.
All of them are working hand-in-hand with the federal government, as well as the state and local leaders, to ensure food and essentials are constantly available. And they'll do it. There's no shortages. We have no shortages — other than people are buying anywhere from three to five times what they would normally buy. It's going to be there for a long time.
We're doing numbers, and there's a pent-up demand that's incredible. When this passes, when this goes through, you're going to see numbers — I think, I predict; I guess I'm allowed to predict just like Wall Street people are allowed to predict, and they're pretty much in agreement — you're going to see there's a pent-up demand like — like a lot of people, including me, haven't seen before. But this has to get through.
They know they're getting through the crisis and will require an all-of-America approach, and that's very important. They're committed to remaining open during this crisis. Totally open. They have to stay open. Those stores have to stay open. They supply our country.
Our supply chains in America are the most powerful in the world, and they're all working very hard. They're working around the clock. And the stores are stocking up at a level that's beyond Christmastime. And it's — it's great. It was very reassuring speaking to these people. They have it totally in hand.
There's no need for anybody in the country to hoard essential food supplies. They said to me, "Could you please tell them just go and buy, enjoy it." Have a nice dinner. Relax. Because there's plenty. But you don't have to the quantities because it's hard to refill the stores on a basis as rapid as they're refilling them.
And we're using the full power of the federal government to defeat the coronavirus, and we will do whatever it takes. And we're doing, I think, really, really well. A lot of good things are going to happen.
I want to thank all of the people standing behind me. You know, these are phenomenal people, and we have some of them right over here. But the people behind me have been working around the clock, and they're doing an incredible job.
We see what's happening. We see what's going on in other countries. We're looking at — we're learning from watching other countries, frankly. This is a very contagious — this is a very contagious virus. It's incredible. But it's something that we have tremendous control over.
I think, very important, the young people and people of good health, and groups of people, just are not strongly affected. Elderly people that are not well, or not well in certain respects, are, really, a very dangerous group. We have to watch them. We have to protect them very much. We have to really watch over them and protect them because they are very vulnerable.
And with that, if it's okay, I'm just going to go and make some calls. I'm talking about Federal Reserve. I think it's a tremendous thing that took place just now. I didn't know I'd be surprised on a Sunday. I don't know if that's ever happened on a Sunday before. But I would think there are a lot of people on Wall Street that are very happy. And I can tell you that I'm very happy. I didn't expect this, and I like being surprised.
So our Vice President, who's doing an incredible job, is going to take over. And I will see you probably tomorrow. Thank you very much.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you, Mr. President. And good afternoon. With more than 2,900 cases of coronavirus in 49 states across the country, I want to assure the American people that this administration, all of our partners at the state level, and local health officials have no higher priority than the health and safety of the American public.
And at the President's direction, we will continue not only a whole-of-government approach, but as we'll discuss today, we'll continue to build on a whole-of-America approach to confront the coronavirus across the country.
The health experts continue to confirm to us that based on the latest information, for the American people as a whole, the risk of serious illness remains low. But because the risk is heavily weighted to the most vulnerable — to people with immunodeficiencies and to people who are elderly with serious underlying chronic health conditions — our administration and, I know, state administrations will continue to focus on the most vulnerable. And we will continue to urge every American to be vigilant in practicing good hygiene and taking the advice of the CDC and local health experts to keep those most vulnerable safe.
I know I speak on behalf of the President and our entire team when I say how grateful we are for governors all across the country and the seamless partnership that we have forged with them and with state health officials, with our federal team.
I spoke today to Governor Pritzker of Illinois, and we are in continuous communication with governors a phone call away. They know that they can contact us and address even the smallest need, because as a — as a former governor, I know firsthand that when it comes to health challenges in America, our states are on the ground in the lead, our local health organizations. And we've built a great partnership.
We also want to express great appreciation to the American people. Not surprisingly, it is inspiring to see the way tens of millions of Americans are responding with compassion, with common sense. And we want to express particular gratitude to communities of faith that participated in today's National Day of Prayer. We've seen places of worship implementing policies to keep those most vulnerable safe. And also, we're seeing communities of faith already stepping forward to support and to encourage those most vulnerable.
I heard tell of a church back in Indiana that's actually no longer having services until April 10th, but in the meantime they'll be offering daycare to the children of healthcare workers in Central Indiana. And churches all across the country are taking the opportunity to reach out and put feet on their faith, and it's truly inspiring.
As the President mentioned today, he spoke today to leaders in the grocery store industry and where people buy our food. And we heard, and we're reminded, that America has the most efficient and effective supply chain in the world, and it's working just fine.
As the President said, he received a commitment from those grocery store executives that stores will stay open throughout the days that lie ahead. We were told that hours may be reduced to allow for cleaning and to resupply, but American families can be confident your local grocery store is going to be open; it's going to be well supplied. And they specifically asked us to encourage Americans: Just buy your weekly needs and grocery, because the grocery stores will remain open.
Also, very movingly, those same executives all reiterated their commitment to continue to support local food banks in the way that our grocers continue to do around America.
Tomorrow, the President and I will be briefing all the nation's governors from states and territories, and the District of Columbia, to be speaking about the progress that we're making. And we'll be speaking to them specifically about our widening partnership on expanding testing to the American people.
So allow me to speak to that issue, and then I'm going to recognize Admiral Brett Giroir, who will describe for us the excellent work the Public Health Service is doing. Dr. Birx will describe the importance of the new national public-private partnership for diagnostic testing that is going to open the door to thousands of more tests in real time for the American people in the days ahead.
First, some fundamentals. As the American people know, testing is now available in all 50 states. Either state labs are either conducting the tests themselves, or the CDC is processing tests. They're using the traditional manner of a manual test that allows for 40 to 60 tests a day.
It is among the reasons why the President, several weeks ago, tasked this group at the White House to reach out to commercial labs around the country and forge that public-private partnership that would bring the high-speed — or more accurately, the high-throughput testing for coronavirus available in real time.
And based on the unprecedented speed of the FDA, which last week approved high-throughput coronavirus testings for Roche and Thermo Fisher, we will now have access in the days ahead to more than 2,000 labs across the country that have the equipment today to process coronavirus tests much more rapidly and a much higher volume for the American people.
In terms of delivering those services, more than 10 states — in addition to CDC labs, public health labs, and labs that states can now authorize in their states — more than 10 states have implemented their own drive-through testing sites. And we want to commend New York, Colorado, Delaware, Washington State, Texas, and others that have implemented these on-site places where people can obtain tests.
Most are using the current CDC testing, the manual testing, but we are working closely with our governors, as you will hear momentarily, to make sure that the new testing regimen is available for their remote sites as well.
As I mentioned, as of Monday, we will have more than 2,000 labs coming online with the high-speed testing, and we are connecting states to those testing methods.
We're also working with a number of retail partners to add to the work that states are doing around the country, working to set up parking lot testing centers outside of stores. And Admiral Brett Giroir will detail the progress that we've made over the last 72 hours.
Following the President's declaration of emergency, the Admiral and our Public Health Service have forged a partnership now with FEMA, made possible by that declaration. And they've reached out to all 50 states to create a process that will enable all Americans who need to be tested to go to a community-based testing site outside of usual healthcare facilities.
The focus of these tests, as Dr. Birx will describe momentarily, will be on those most in need. A priority will be placed on healthcare workers and first responders who are out there coming alongside people that are being impacted by the coronavirus. We want to make sure they have access to the testing as a priority.
And then, Americans 65 or over with a cough or a fever or other symptoms will be prioritized over other tests that are extended.
As I mentioned, Admiral Giroir will describe the progress that we've made in just a few moments, but we're going to continue to work very diligently — hour by hour, day by day — in the days ahead to expand testing around the country and access to this extraordinary and unprecedented national public-private partnership for diagnostic testing.
With regard to testing: As we expand testing, we're so pleased that Congress joined with our administration to make sure that cost is never going to be a barrier to anyone getting a coronavirus test.
As you recall, several weeks ago, the President directed a change in our Medicare and Medicaid programs to ensure the coronavirus testing was included. Health insurers were brought in; they all agreed to waive co-pays. But because of the good bipartisan work done in the House of Representatives, now all coronavirus testing is free, and it's free for every American, including uninsured Americans. And we continue to urge passage of the legislation that will be considered by the Senate this week.
Let me say one final word about the testing issue, and that is that we — as the President often says, we're all in this together. And it's absolutely important that as we expand testing resources across the country, beginning by prioritizing the areas that CDC and our state leadership tell us are most important, it's important that the tests are available for people that are most in need and for our healthcare workers and first responders that are — that are helping them and supporting them.
As Dr. Birx will describe, the testing that is available should only be done if for any reason you think you may have the coronavirus. We encourage people to consult their doctor. And if you're — if you're symptom-free, we encourage you to work with us to make sure that testing is available for people that are experiencing symptoms.
It's extremely important that we have the continuing cooperation of every American as we expand testing and make it available during this challenging time in the life of our nation.
With that, I'm going to ask Dr. Birx — oh, excuse me, I'm going to ask Admiral Brett Giroir of the Public Health Service and leader of this great Commissioned Corps behind me to come up and describe the extraordinary work that they have done over the last 72 hours and will be doing each and every day, in conjunction with our states, to expand testing to community-based testing across the country for the American people using this new public-private partnership diagnostic testing.
Admiral?
ADMIRAL GIROIR: Thank you, Mr. Vice President. And thank you for your personal interest in support of our team over the last 72 hours as we worked on this critically important project.
So as the Vice President said, over the past 72 hours, we have developed and are beginning to implement now a process and a program of testing that will enable Americans who are in need of coronavirus testing to be tested effectively and efficiently according to a few principles:
Number one, we want to assure that those most vulnerable and those impacted are able to be prioritized.
Number two, we don't want to do testing that in any way threatens the acute care system. In other words, we don't want people going to hospitals and acute care clinics where, number one, they could infect other people or subject themselves to infections.
And number three, we want to balance the needs across the entire healthcare system among diagnosis but also treatment. In other words, we want to balance the stress on the Strategic National Stockpile and all our commodities so that everyone gets all the materials they need.
So what do we do? Because, as the Vice President said, last week's historically fast approval of high-throughput testing, we are now in a new phase of testing. And you've heard Dr. Fauci talk about the new phase.
So we're going from somewhat manual, relatively slow phases, to a testing regimen that we can test many tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of individuals per week and maybe even more. We will have 1.9 million of these high-throughput tests available this week with numerous labs, up to 2,000, starting to turn the lights on beginning this week and rolling out over the week. That is really a game-changer for us because the back-of-the-shop testing capability is there.
The front of the shop is what we've been really working on. In order to get a test there, you've got to be able to swab individuals, get them into the system without completely paralyzing the entire healthcare system as we know.
So, with the emergency declaration, this was very, very important to us because it really enabled the historically effective processes of working and empowering states — federally supported, state-led efforts — through the normal FEMA mechanisms.
So for the last 72 hours, representatives of FEMA from across the government and our Commissioned Corps have been working on joining the unique and unprecedented public health mission with the historically successful mission of personal — of distribution centers, places for distribution — the pod system of FEMA.
Our Public Health Service — we've already deployed over a thousand officers in support of the coronavirus missions. That includes to the Diamond Princess, to the borders, to the quarantine stations, to the acute care settings where we're caring for nursing home residents in Seattle. So we have a very experienced group, and we brought these together.
So what we've really designed in how we're working with the states: We have contacted all 50 states through the FEMA system — every single region, every single state — to understand where they are.
As the Vice President said, some states are rolling out some of their own community-based testing. They need to be augmented. We believe we've created a model, based on the Public Health and the FEMA system, that is optimized, that can be used for drive-through or potentially walk-through. Each of these pod-based units, we believe, can screen 2,000 to 4,000 individuals a day for testing, with all the appropriate personal protective gear, all the appropriate backend and linkage to the public health system, including testing.
We know that we have the logistics to do that. We know we have the materials to do that. And again, this is federally supported state-led efforts. Many states need the full meal deal. They want dozens of Public Health Service officers to work in protective gear to actually test. They need supplies, like protective gear; they need swabs; they need the logistical supports. Other states only need a fraction of that. They may have all the personnel, but they really need the knowhow, the template, and some of the gear that we provide.
We are going to start implementing this system, this week, in a number of states, primarily those that are the hardest hit right now or are on the rise and the CDC advises us that that's when they need the testing.
I want to emphasize, again, that we're focusing on two very important groups — and you'll hear this said three or four different ways — and the groups that really can be the most impacted or impactful in our outbreak.
Number one is healthcare workers and first responders. This is very important for two reasons. Number one, we have to take care of the healthcare workers and responders, because when America needs them, they need to be available and healthy to provide the care that we all deserve. But it's also important that if they feel they have a risk of having contacted [sic] coronavirus, that we test them so they cannot spread that, for example, in long-term care facilities where the elderly are.
And the second group would be the elderly. And we are classifying that, according to risk, is those 65 years of age or older who have a respiratory symptom and a fever of 99.6. That's a lower number than you've seen before because those who are older do not spike high fevers, like children do — 104, 105. So you set the bar just a little bit lower.
We do that because we know that they're at high risk of bad consequences. And if they test positive, they could engage with their practitioner, telehealth provider, or get in the system to make sure they have just an outstanding outcome.
So that is really where we are. We've made really unprecedented progress. You will see these sites rolling out progressively over the week. This is not make-believe. This is not fantasy. We've developed the model. We've talked to the states. We're focusing in on specific locations now. We will start shipping gear, stuff, tomorrow. We will start deploying officers tomorrow and Tuesday. And we'll begin seeing these sites, in addition to the ones that are springing up now, implemented during this week.
We will have the capability of testing tens of thousands of additional people through these sites every week, in addition to all the capability that's now going to be distributed in the 2,000 laboratories and the major central, core laboratories.
And I know you have a number of questions that hopefully in the question-and-answer session we'll be able to answer for you.
But I think this is just a great linkage. I'm a pediatric ICU doctor. I take care of sick people. I know what happens when you get respiratory illness. The Surgeon General is an anesthesiologist who takes care of people who have respiratory difficulties and manages that.
So we know how this — we know how this works. We've been there. The most important thing we've worked on right now is making testing accessible because of the advances of the FDA and private industry to make these high-throughput tests. Now we can work on the front end.
With the emergency declaration, we have all the tools, and all of government has really come together with industry, not just government and states. It's really been private industry, the manufacturers, to bring the swabs, the personal protective gear, the laboratory testing, the shipping, the fronts with Walgreens and Walmarts working as potential sites.
This has been something, in my mind, that has been unprecedented, the entire society approach working so intensely over the past — certainly over the past weeks, but incredibly on this project over the past 72 hours.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Admiral. And let me say we are moving out, now that we have the public-private partnership with the major commercial labs. And now you have our Public Health team as well as FEMA moving out, connecting to the states, to deploy these point-of-distribution community centers.
