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The @USATODAY team is tweeting facts & updates from our pandemic coverage to provide context during President Trump’s coronavirus task force briefing. Follow links to our reporting @usatodayDC.
CDC Director Robert Redfield told the Washington Post that a combination flu season with another round of coronavirus this winter could overwhelm the healthcare system. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/22/coronavirus-cdc-director-redfield-warning-second-wave/3002165001/
Many health experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have warned of a possible second wave of infection.
"There's a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through," Redfield told the Post.
CDC chief Redfield told the Post the US was lucky coronavirus didn't hit earlier during flu's peak: "It could have been really, really, really, really difficult in terms of health capacity." https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/22/coronavirus-cdc-director-redfield-warning-second-wave/3002165001/
Until there’s a vaccine “it’s unfortunately not unlikely that we may see a second wave or even a third wave,” an FDA director who oversees vaccines said. https://bit.ly/2RVp2SR
COVID-19 is such a new disease that there is no solid data on the immunity of survivors, but it's expected to convey at least some immunity. https://bit.ly/2RVp2SR
Trump insisted US labs have “tremendous capacity” to analyze tests. But USA TODAY found shortages of critical supplies needed to do the tests around the country. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/21/coronavirus-trump-claims-there-plenty-tests-states-disagree/2997841001/
USA TODAY fact check: Trump claimed the US has the lowest mortality rate. But under several metrics, the US rate is worse than many other countries, experts say. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/22/coronavirus-trump-says-us-mortality-rate-one-worlds-lowest/3002516001/
A USA TODAY fact check found more than 100 countries have lower mortality rates than the US, although many of those countries reported comparatively few cases.
Health care providers say they can’t conduct tests because they lack swabs and a chemical “reagent” crucial to the process. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/21/coronavirus-trump-claims-there-plenty-tests-states-disagree/2997841001/
Public health experts and labs told USA TODAY that a major problem was a shortage of supplies at testing sites where mucus samples are taken.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham: "I worry that our friends and neighbors in Georgia are going too fast too soon."
Georgia has not seen a 14-day downward trajectory in a rate of new cases. 90,000 tests have been conducted in the state of 10M million people.
The @USATODAY team is tweeting facts & updates during today's briefing to provide context from our journalists’ reporting. Stick with this thread to learn more about the topics that come up.
PPP launched April 3 with an initial $349B for small businesses. In less than two weeks, 1.6M loan apps exhausted the funds. https://bit.ly/2XSHxv4
