WHO urges for 'extreme vigilance' in end of lockdown as concerns over second wave of coronavirus COVID-19 rise
- White House staffers to wear masks but not Trump
- Fears for a second wave in Asia
- European countries exit lockdowns
- NYC ‘could open’ in June
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Australians emerging from their homes as COVID-19 restrictions lift are being urged to stay vigilant and hygienic to prevent a second wave of cases.
Chief Nursing Officer Alison McMillan urged anyone with cold or flu symptoms to stay at home and away from others.
“As you begin to move around more and you get back to some of your normal activities, let’s keep up that amazing effort that everyone has done,” she said.
“If there are any signs that you are sick, please, please stay at home and call your GP to see about getting tested.”
WHO urges for 'extreme vigilance' in end of lockdown as concerns over second wave of coronavirus COVID-19 rise
Chief Nursing Officer Alison McMillan urged anyone with cold or flu symptoms to stay at home and away from others.Hand hygiene was of top importance, as was sneeze etiquette.
“Remember to wash your hands before you eat, after you go to the toilet and certainly after you cough or sneeze,” Ms McMillan said.
“The surfaces you touch could be infected, so really important when you’re touching things, make sure you’re using the hand sanitising products regularly as you go about your business.”
An extra 18 cases of coronavirus were diagnosed in the 24 hours to 3pm Tuesday, taking the national total to 6964.
Almost 900,000 tests have been used during the pandemic so far.
TOP DOCTOR WARNS OF REOPENING IN US TOO SOON
A senior US health official, set to testify on Tuesday before the Senate, will warn against the risks of reopening the economy too soon, saying it might lead to “needless suffering and death”, the New York Times says.
The comments came with the United States recording more than 1.35 million infections and in excess of 80,000 deaths, according to Reuters’ figures, while worldwide the number is almost 4.2 million infections and 285,000-plus deaths.
WHO urges for 'extreme vigilance' in end of lockdown as concerns over second wave of coronavirus COVID-19 rise
“If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines to ‘Open America Again’, then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country,” the newspaper quoted Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as saying in an email.
“This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal.”
Fauci said the danger of trying to open the country prematurely was his major message for the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions committee at the meeting, the paper said late on Monday.
President Donald Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, told Fox News the United States had crossed 9.30 million virus tests, with more than 394,000 done on Monday.
The rise in infections has put pressure on US efforts to boost testing capacity with health officials, including Fauci, having flagged the challenge of testing those in greatest need.
TRUMP ORDERS ALL STAFF TO WEAR MASKS … EXCEPT HIM
Donald Trump has ordered White House staff to wear masks after US Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary tested positive for coronavirus infection last week.
According to a report in Bloomberg, the White House made the announcement in a memo addressed to staff on Monday (local time), saying employees didn’t need face coverings while working at their desks. Mr Trump told reporters that he “required” the memo.
“We’ve had just about everybody I’ve seen today has worn a mask,” Mr Trump said at a press conference, which ended abruptly when he clashed with two reporters and walked out.
WHO urges for 'extreme vigilance' in end of lockdown as concerns over second wave of coronavirus COVID-19 rise
US President Donald Trump, sans mask, told reporters at the White House all staffers would be “required” to wear face masks.Staff working in the West Wing to wear masks at all times in the building, except when they are at their desks, a senior administration official has confirmed.
Mr Trump is still unlikely to wear a mask or face covering, aides say.
The West Wing is where the daily operations of US President Donald Trump’s administration are carried out.
The memo from the White House Management Office read: “Staff who sit in the West Wing are not required to wear a facial covering while at their desk if they are appropriately socially distanced from their colleagues.
White House adviser Jared Kushner was not exempt from a directive that all White House staff wear masks. “Unless you absolutely need to conduct in-person business in the West Wing, we respectfully ask you to avoid unnecessary visits,” it added.
WHO urges for 'extreme vigilance' in end of lockdown as concerns over second wave of coronavirus COVID-19 rise
With Mr Trump’s valet and Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary both testing positive for the deadly coronavirus last week, pressure is growing on the White House to take further steps to protect the 73-year-old president’s health.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany (L) looks on with other White House staff as US ,Mr Trump has been resistant to wearing a mask himself and has not put one on in public, though he said he tried some on backstage during a visit to a mask factory in Arizona last week.
Mr Pence briefly isolated himself over the weekend after the aide, Katie Miller, was diagnosed with COVID-19. The vice president returned to work on the White House grounds on Monday, though it was unclear if he entered the West Wing or met with Mr Trump.
The president is in the age group that is considered high risk for complications with the coronavirus, which has killed tens of thousands of people in the US alone.
WHO urges for 'extreme vigilance' in end of lockdown as concerns over second wave of coronavirus COVID-19 rise
The White House said last week it was stepping up precautions for people who are around Mr Trump and Mr Pence, both of whom have resumed travel outside Washington. The two men are being tested for the virus daily and close associates are receiving tests daily as well.
“In addition to social distancing, daily temperature checks and symptom histories, hand sanitiser, and regular deep cleaning of all work spaces, every staff member in proximity to the president and vice president is being tested daily for COVID-19 as well as any guests,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement on Monday (local time).
After Mr Pence’s spokeswoman Katie Miller tested positive for the virus last week, Mr Trump was asked whether people in the West Wing would begin to wear masks. He responded that people already were doing so, but he and his guests that day had not donned masks, and staff in the West Wing were not wearing them either.
A Secret Service agent puts his mask back on after Donald Trump’s press conference at the White House.
MUSK ‘RESTARTING’ CALIFORNIA TESLA FACTORY
It comes as Tesla chief Elon Musk announced he is resuming production at the company’s California car assembly plant, defying authorities and escalating a feud over the US state’s pandemic shutdown.
Musk made the announcement on Twitter after several days of raging online and a lawsuit seeking to resume operations at the factory.
“Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules,” Musk said in a tweet.
“I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.” Musk said, moments later, that state officials had approved the reopening but that the move had been blocked by local authorities.
“California approved, but an unelected county official illegally overrode,” he said. “Also, all other auto companies in US are approved to resume. Only Tesla has been singled out. This is super messed up!” Musk’s move comes amid rising disputes over the pace of easing the lockdowns imposed by states to contain the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
Over the weekend, Musk threatened to move Tesla’s headquarters and factory out of California as a result of the standoff.
“Frankly, this is the final straw. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately,” Musk tweeted as part of a series of angry messages just before the company filed the lawsuit seeking to force authorities to allow a reopening.
On Monday, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin voiced support for Tesla’s effort to reopen its factory and a Texas county said it would welcome the firm.
“I agree with Elon Musk,” Mr Mnuchin, the top US economic official, told US television.
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TOP STORY | US President Donald Trump ends coronavirus news conference abruptly after spat with Asian-American reporter
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