Course Cancellation Form - New York State Department Of Health: Fill & Download for Free

A number of world leaders are referring to the Covid-19 crisis as a “war”. And I don’t think that’s too incorrect of an analogy. Goodness, no one has ever complained about the “war on crime” or the “war on drugs” or the “war on opioids”, etc.So, here’s the thing, my dear…we are the United States of America. United. States. We are fifty separate entities enjoined under a name and a federal government that was originally formed to provide a single monetary unit for and an army to protect our country. And as such, although we do share some federal laws, for the most part, each state acts independently. Which is why some states have strict guns laws, some have more lax. Some states have allowed recreation and/or medical marijuana sales, and some do not. Some states have a maximum speed limit of 65 mph, and some have 80 mph. And so on.For the most part, the Federal Government allows the governors to make decisions for their states about many issues. Which is why the city of New York is completely locked down through mutual agreement of the mayor and governor while here in Arizona, while we are following the state and federal governments’ request to social distance and self-quarantine and many of our businesses are closed so not to encourage gatherings, we are can still move around. I understand a few states haven’t even closed restaurants. Those may be the states President Trump was speaking of. Or maybe he is frustrated because Cuomo went on and on (and on and on and on—-we got the idea that NY really needs ventilators in the first 30 minutes) and was not appreciative when the lion’s share of ventilators and PPE went to NY despite Washington, Oregon and California are in need as well. And I understand Cuomo’s main concern is for his state and too bad for the west coast, but President Trump has to try to think of the good of every state and every citizen. And then, of course, instead of being “whoops” when all those supplies were found in the NYC’s warehouse in Edison, NJ, Cuomo tried to make it sound like them being overlooked by the NY Health Commission was Trump’s fault. (Yes, Trump’s hench people snuck all those pallets into New Jersey on the sly.) So yeah, perhaps the State of New York needs to “do more” about creating a better chain of communication among the different state and city departments.Here’s another example. New York City’s, Boston’s and Chicago’s mayors all cancelled their St. Patrick’s Day parades and festivities slated for March 17th, 2020. Louisiana and New Orleans governments made no move to shut down or reduce Mardi Gras celebrations. Now the biggest number of tourists and partiers were there for the week leading up to March 25th, most showing up the Thursday or Friday before Fat Tuesday. That meant both the governor and mayor had almost a week prior to say: No. Stop. But they didn’t. And now they are getting criticized because it looks like all those people converging together and then heading back home are not only going to make New Orleans the next Covid-19 hotspot, but a lot of folks went home infected. So of course, the governor and the mayor immediately blamed the Trump and his administration “not telling them how serious the disease is.”. Hmmm…it appears neither of them read or watch world or national news-and hardly believable. I am not a state or city leader, but if I saw three major cities closing down one of their biggest street parties, I might want to re-look at my own plans.So, yes, I think it’s frustrating to the President that the state leaders aren’t stepping up to lead. Should my state, Arizona, be “sheltering in place”? Maybe. Should EVERY state be “sheltering in place”. Maybe. But this is a decision each governor has to make based on the distinct and individual circumstances of their state. But this is the time for our state and city leaders to shine, and all I see is many of them—-not all, of course—-I am very impressed by Cuomo and even that boob de Blasio has surprised me—-wringing their hands and whining. Sometimes you have to help save yourself.

Read the following timeline that I kept for the first half of the year & I think you’ll come up with an answer to this question all on your own:CORONA VIRUS NATIONAL TIMELINE;12/1/2019 British Lancet reports as first day of symptoms for a patient in their January 2020 magazine.12/31/19 WHO, China announced that dozens of people were being treated of pneumonia from an unknown cause in Wuhan China.China officially reported the new disease Dec. 31, 2019. I1/3/20 Trump rally - Miami Fl1/7/20 WHO sent a genetic map of the viral DNA to the world community.1/9/20 Trump rally - Toledo, Ohio1/11/20 China state media announced that one person had died from a novel coronavirus.1/14/20 Trump rally – Milwaukee Wisconsin1/20/20 Japan, South Korea, and Thailand all announced confirmed cases of coronavirus.1/21/20 Washington State confirmed a case of coronavirus in man who had traveled to Wuhan China1/22/20 REPORTER: “Have you been briefed by the CDC and and are there words about a pandemic?”Trump: “We have. No not at all and we have it totally under control. It's one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It's going to be just fine."1/23/20 China imposed a strict lockdown,aggressive containment measures in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, suspending flights and trains and shutting down subways, buses and ferries in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus.1/24/20 TRUMP "China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus," Trump tweeted at the time. "The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!"1/28/20 Trump rally - Wildwood, New Jersey1/29/20 memo, Peter Navarro, WH trade advisor: wrote that the "increasing probability of a full-blown COVID-19 pandemic" could infect as many as 100 million Americans and kill "as many as 1-2 million souls." That same day -- in which the coronavirus task force was also formed -- Navarro made no mention of the possibility when asked a question about the impact of the coronavirus while appearing on CNBC promoting the USMCA trade agreement1/30/20 Trump rally - Des Moines, Iowa1/30/20 For the sixth time in history, the World Health Organization declares a "public health emergency of international concern," a designation reserved for extraordinary events that threaten to spread internationally.1/31/20 US restricts entry of non-Americans from China effective 2/2/202/5/20 At a House subcommittee hearing on the coronavirus on Feb. 5, Ron Klain, White House Ebola response coordinator under the Obama administration, took issue with the characterization of the travel restrictions as a travel “ban.”“We don’t have a travel ban,” Klain said. “We have a travel Band-Aid right now. First, before it was imposed, 300,000 people came here from China in the previous month. So, the horse is out of the barn.”“There’s no restriction on Americans going back and forth,” Klain said, “...today, 30 planes will land in Los Angeles that either originated in Beijing or came here on one-stops, 30 in San Francisco, 25 in New York City. Okay? So, unless we think that the color of the passport someone carries is a meaningful public health restriction, we have not placed a meaningful public health restriction.”2/26/20 Trump: “When you have 15 people and the 15 within a couple days is going to be down to close to zero.”2/26/20 Alex Azar: “ and we can expect to see more cases within the United States.”2/10/20 Trump: “In April this virus supposedly it dies with the hotter weather.”2/11/20 WHO names novel virus COVID-19 so as not to stigmatize any people or places.2/13/20. CDC Dr Robert Redfield: “This virus is probably with us Beyond the season or be on this year2/23/20 On this date only three labs in the United States are able to test for coronavirus2/25/20 Alex Azar: “This is an unprecedented potential severe health challenge.”2/26/20 CDC announced a California man to be the first case of COVID-19 in a person who had no travel history to an out break area or contact with an infected person.2/26/20 Trump: “ The risk to the American people remains very low.”2/28/20 Trump rally - South Carolina, he referred to the coronavirus as the Democrats' "new hoax."2/28/20 By the end of February the US had tested a total of only 472 people for coronavirus.2/29/20 First death due to COVID-19 in the US.3/2/20 Trump rally - Charlotte North CarolinaTrump similarly compared the impact of the virus to the flu, saying it was "a problem" but that "we closed our borders very early." Thousands of people attended the rally, held at the Bojangles' Coliseum(Perhaps the last rally held)DATE UNKOWN, prior to 3/4/20Trump: “We have it very under control in this country. The coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. It is going to disappear. It’s like a miracle. It will disappear.”PRESIDENT TRUMP’s LEADFOX NEWS FOLLOWS:For weeks, they downplayed the coronavirus, with Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham telling their audiences that news coverage of the virus was aimed at hurting Trump politically3/4/20 Trump: “We have a very small number of people in this country infected.”3/6/20 Trump: “ it will go away.”3/6/20: Trump: “ I like the numbers where they are. I don’t need to have the numbers double”3/6/20 Trump: “Anybody who wants a test can get a test. Anybody that needs a test and that’s the important thing and the tests are all perfect.”3/9/20 FOX Trish Regan says Chinese Virus is an “impeachment scam”3/10/20 Trump: “We are prepared. We are doing a great job with it. It will just go away.. just stay calm. It will go away.”3/10/20 Dr Jerome Adams, surgeon general:We will see more cases. Unfortunately we are likely to see more deaths. “3/11/20 Trump refuses to declare a national emergency. WH people have said it would contradict his message that this is just a flu and would spread fear. (Per Politico)3/11/20 Trump cancels Milwaukee rally slated for 3/25/203/11/20 US suspends entry of people from Europe3/11/20 Dr Fucci; “We will see more cases and things will get worse than they are right now.”3/12/20 Dr Fucci “ if I hear of anybody getting tests easily like they do in other countries are doing it, we’re not set up for that. That is a failing, Yes, that is a failing, let’s admit it. “3/14/20 Jordan enforced a total lockdown today after just a few cases. It worked. As of 4/1/20 they have just 274 cases mcompared to neighbors Israel 5,500 cases, Saudi Arabia 1,563 & Iraq 700 cases.3/14/20 Trump: “I’d rather be ahead of the curve than behind it and that’s where we are.”3/15/20 Dr Fucci: “Not everybody tomorrow is going to be able to get a test”3/15/20 dr. Fauci said that The lag in testingwas in fact a failing, do you take responsibility for that?Trump: “ No I don’t take responsibility at all.”3/15/20. Fox News: “We will certainly have tens of thousands of cases within the US. Hopefully we won’t hit hundreds of thousands of cases.3/16/20 Dr Fucci: “You are always behind where you think you are. When you think you’re here you’re really here.” (gesturing a white distance with his arms.)3/16/20 mr. President very simple question, on a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate your response to this crisis?Trump: “I’d rate it a 10.”LOOK UP FULL QUOTE3/17/20 Trump: “This is a pandemic. I thought it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.”3/18/20 Trump signed the Defense Production Act. It went into effect on 3/23/20, but wasn’t first used until 3/27/20 When General motors was ordered to ramp up ventilator production.3/24/20 Trump appeared on Fox News and downplayed COVID-19 saying that it is just a flu.At this point in time 16 states had already issued stay-at-home orders, the Tokyo Olympics were postponed for a year, and New Jersey planned to release 1,000 prisoners to protect them from the virus3/25/20 Trump rally – Tampa Florida was canceled only due to the lack of securing a venue. They switched to a Milwaukee, WI “Catholics for Trump” rally, but finally canceled that due to coronavirus concerns.3/27/20 DPA first used to force GM to ramp up ventilator production3/27/20 Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) said during a new conference on Thursday that she would not issue a shelter in place order that 21 other states have enacted to prevent further spread of COVID-19.“Y’all, we are not Louisiana, we are not New York state, we are not California,” Ivey told a reporter who had asked about a potential order. “And right now is not the time to order people to shelter in place.” (538 cases)3/28/20 Trump: “ it’s going away.”3/28/20 6.6 million people filed for unemployment this week.3/28/20 Trump accounts for the shortage of masks for healthcare workers by accusing them of stealing masks. “Where are the masks going? Are they going out the back door?”“... and you ought to look into it as reporters.”3/30/20 Trump on Fox & Friends; “ We inherited a broken test for COVID-19.” Personally I don’t see how that’s possible being that you can’t have a test for a disease prior to the existence of the disease.3/31/20 NY has 78,795 Covid-19 cases.174,000 cases in the US with 3,000 deaths.4/1/20 Covid-19 US cases surpass 200,0004/1/20 33 states now have stay-home orders4/1/20 Fl Gov DeSantis(R) placesstay-at-home order beginning midnight 4/2/20A petition titled “SHUTDOWN FLORIDA” had nearly 400,000 signatures on The world’s platform for change by Wednesday morning. It read: “Florida Governor Ron Desantis our family are in risk, please SHUT DOWN Florida.4/1/20 Mississippi orders stay-at-home4/1/104/1/20 Trish Regan, after exit from Fox;It’s going to be a painful month—data indicates the next 2-3weeks may be some of the most difficult we’ve seen. Be grateful for family & know that as hard as these days are, America CAN & WILL prevail. No partisanship, please. We must be UNITED. We WILL get thru this—TOGETHER. 🇺🇸4/2/20 Dr Anthony Fauci has told all states it’s time to stop allowing any exemptions to social-distancing guidelines, and warned that forcing people to stay home across the nation is the “only thing we have” in the federal government’s arsenal to fight back against the coronavirus pandemic.4/2/20 Georgia governor(R) orders shelter in place. Admits in video that he didn’t know asymptomatic people could pass Coronavirus to other people.4/2/20. Jarod Kirshner. Says Strategic stockpile not meant for states.Wrong - read definition4/3/20 Trump. Finally signs executive order prohibiting hoarding & price gouging.4/6/20 Department of defense stated that the White House had green lit the production of over 39,000 N95 masks over the next 3 to 4 months using DPA. No company was mentioned as manufacturer, projected cost of the project will be $133 million. For reference, N-95 mask usage in the US is 1.5 billion annually in a normal year. This year we will need between 2.6 to 7.3 billion. So this order accounts for only about 1% of our total need.4/6/20 Trump Press conference. Reporter:” I know you don’t want to talk about the inspector general report, but testing is such a big issue in this country. When can hospitals expect to receive a quick turnaround of test results?”Trump paraphrasing; States and hospitals are supposed to be doing their own testing, we are the federal government, we are not supposed to be standing on the street corners doing testing. initially speaking the tests were old & obsolete and not really prepared. we have a brand new testing system and “you should say congratulations, great job instead of being so horrid in the way you ask a question.”4/13/20 TRUMP LIED @ news conference;President Donald Trump is making false and exaggerated claims about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Feb. 24 trip to San Francisco’s Chinatown. Pelosi urged people to shop and eat there at a time when tourism was suffering because of the novel coronavirus, which originated in China late last year.* Trump falsely tweeted that “Crazy Nancy Pelosi” had deleted a video from Twitter of her visit to Chinatown. “She wanted everyone to pack into Chinatown long after I closed the BORDER TO CHINA,” Trump said. But there is no record such a video was ever posted on Twitter by Pelosi.* At an April 13 coronavirus briefing, Trump falsely claimed that during her visit Pelosi said, “‘Let’s all have the big parade — Chinatown parade.'” Pelosi didn’t say that. In fact, that parade had taken place on Feb. 8, more than two weeks before Pelosi went to Chinatown.* At a coronavirus briefing on April 15, Trump exaggerated when he said Pelosi “was trying to have, in San Francisco, parties in Chinatown, because she thought it would be great.” Pelosi didn’t mention parties during her visit, although she urged people to come to Chinatown to shop and eat.* Trump also falsely said Pelosi visited Chinatown “to show that this thing doesn’t exist,” referring to the novel coronavirus. Pelosi never suggested that it didn’t exist. She stressed the need for “prevention, prevention, prevention” — urging people to be “concerned and vigilant,” but not “afraid.4/13/20 Trump claimed today that he has “total” authority to override governors and force states to rescind shutdown orders.“When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total and that's the way it's got to be. It's total, and the governors know that," Trump said in response to one of the questions at a press briefing.“You have a couple of bands of Democrat governors but they will agree to it," Trump continued. "The authority of the president of the United States, having to do with the subject we're talking about [reopening state economies], is total."4/14/20 NYC Mayor Bill fe Blasio; officially more than 10,000 people in New York City of died from the pandemic, however 3778 people who likely died from the virus didn’t get tested or died before results arrived.4/16/20 WSJ US jobless claims top 20 million since start of shut downs. Over 5 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in each of the latest 3 weeks.Unemployed workers will receive an extra $600 and weekly benefits from the federal government on top of state payments, But essential workers such as doctors nurses and other medical personnel have not been slated to receive bonus pay via the stimulus.4/17/20 Apple News & WSJ; US coronavirus Deaths reach 4,591 in 24 hours. The prior record was 2569 on Wednesday. Thursday new cases were about the same as Wednesday 31,451. 31,000 deaths in the US this far according to Johns Hopkins. About 1/3 of Global infections are in the US.4/17/20 Trump On a call stated to Governors, “ you’re going to call your own shots. We’ll be standing right alongside of you and we’re going to get our country open.”4/18/20 Trump At a press conference when speaking of the travel ban and US fatalities from Covid-19, he said, ” I really believe it could’ve been billions of people had we not done what we did.” Someone needs to tell him that the US population is 330 million.4/19/20 (date) Trump has been tweeting about taking back the country, Second amendment uprising and encouraging protesters in Michigan Minnesota & Virginia, All three states with Democratic governors.4/19/20 Dr Anthony FauciSpoke about the protest to Governors Shelter at home orders.; “I think the message is that, clearly, this is something that is hurting from the standpoint of economics, from the standpoint of things that have nothing to do with the virus,” Fauci said. “But unless we get the virus under control, the real recovery, economically, is not gonna happen.”“If you jump the gun and go into a situation where you have a big spike, you’re gonna set yourself back,” he continued. “So as painful as it is to go by the careful guidelines of gradually phasing into a reopening, it’s going to backfire. That’s the problem.”4/20/20 Trump tweet, “In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!”4/20/20 Texas reopened parks, resuming regular non-essential medical services Weds.4/22/20 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that U.S. states are safely starting to reopen businesses, even as some public health officials warned that relaxing restrictions too quickly could trigger a new surge in cases of the coronavirus.Currently 811,000 ill & 45,000 deadSouth Carolina was one of 11 states that never ordered statewide shelter-in-place. Instead they ordered “stay home or work”4/24/20 Georgia will begin to reopen on 4/274/27/20 Tennessee will begin to reopen,4/28/20 Covid-19 cases:US 1,010,356 cases 56,797 deaths23,195 new cases on 4/27/2038,958 new cases on 4/24/20 (max thus far)Georgia 24,225 cases 994 deaths4/30/2” U.S. President Donald Trump implied the Obama administration left behind "bad," "broken," and "obsolete" COVID-19 diagnostic tests. Totally false of course, Obama had left office 3 years prior to the first appearance of Covid-19 & it would be impossible to create tests for a virus prior to the virus’ first appearance.THE PRESIDENT: And you have to understand: When we took over, the cupboards were bare. And the thing that — frankly, it’s not as tough as the ventilator situation. We’re the king of ventilators. But what we have done is — on testing, we’re doing numbers the likes of which nobody has ever seen before5/1/20 TN shelter-in-place lifted5/14/20 Trump, Allentown PA We have the best testing in the world. It could be that the testing is frankly, uuuh, overrated? Maybe it is overrated. But whenever they start yelling we want more, we want more, you know ‘cause they don’t want to give you credit. We have more cases than anybody in the world, but why? Because we do more testing. When you test you have a case, when you test you find something is wrong with people. If we didn’t do any testing we would have very few cases.”Quite obviously he is mistaken. One can have a disease without being tested for the disease. Testing itself is not the end-all, it’s not to keep count of how many people have the disease. It is to determine who has the disease, isolate them, trace contacts, test and isolate them. This guy thinks it is all about him and testing is only being done to increase the count and make him look bad. He hasn’t a clue and unfortunately he is in charge.When 1 reporter asked Trump which provision in the Constitution gives the president the power to open or close state economies. Trump answered, "numerous provisions. We'll give you a legal brief if you want," but didn't point to any specific sources of authorityFACT CHECK:“State and local governments have strong police power to protect their citizens and so I’m unaware of any way in which the federal government could basically try to override anything the states and cities have been doing to protect the public health of their citizens," said William Buzbee, a professor at Georgetown University Law School and an expert in federalism.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that "states have police-power functions to protect the health, safety, and welfare of persons within their borders." Isolation and quarantine orders are among those police-power functions, which are "derived from the right of the state to take action affecting individuals for the benefit of society," the CDC page on the topic says.One reporter asked Trump which provision in the Constitution gives the president the power to open or close state economies. Trump answered, "numerous provisions. We'll give you a legal brief if you want," but didn't point to any specific sources of authority.States follow science, not politicsToday, coalitions of governors on both US coasts announced pacts to follow science, not politics, in decisions on when to reopen economies4/14/20 TRUMP “THE STORY OF WHO?”“Today, I am instructing my administration to halt funding of the World Health Organization while a review is conducted to assess the World Health Organization's role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus,"Trump said at a press conference Trump claimed: “The WHO failed to investigate credible reports from sources in Wuhan that conflicted directly with the Chinese government's official accounts. There was credible information to suspect human-to-human transmission in December 2019, which should have spurred the WHO to investigate immediately. Through the middle of January, it parroted and publicly endorsed the idea that there was not human-to-human transmission happening, despite reports and clear evidence to the contrary. The delays the WHO experienced in declaring a public health emergency cost valuable time, tremendous amounts of time.”As The Washington Post wrote today, the WHO "declared a global health emergency [by January 30], after which the president continued to downplay the outbreak and compare it to the flu." The Trump administration finally recommended social distancing in mid-March“The WHO pushed China's misinformation about the virus, saying it was not communicable and there was no need for travel bans," Trump said. "They told us when we put on our travel ban, there was no need to do it, don't do it, they actually fought us."Trump further argued that his China travel ban announced on January 31 saved "thousands and thousands" of lives, while the WHO was "very much opposed to what we did."A USA Today article said "there is no public record of WHO at any point actively criticizing the US or any other country for deciding to implement a coronavirus-related travel ban" and that the WHO "opposes all travel bans during a pandemic, not just Trump's." Health experts say Trump's travel ban had little effect on the pandemic's spread. The WHO on January 24 said it "advises against the application of any restrictions of international traffic based on the information currently available on this event."6/20/20 Trump at Tulsa rally sId that he had told his people to slow down testing since more testing raised DT he number of known infected.WikipediaAmerican governmentSee also: Veracity of statements by Donald TrumpUS President Donald Trump and his top economic adviser Larry Kudlow have been accused of spreading misinformation about the coronavirus. On February 25, Trump said, "I think that whole situation will start working out. We're very close to a vaccine."[204][205][206][207] At the time, SARS-CoV-2 had been "community-spreading" in the United States undetected for weeks,[208] and new vaccine development may require a minimum of a year to prove safety and efficacy to gain regulatory approval.[209] In an interview with Sean Hannity on March 4, Trump also claimed that the death rate published by the WHO is false (that the correct fatality rate was less than 1 percent, and said, "Well, I think the 3.4 percent is really a false number."),[210][211][212] that the potential impact of the outbreak is exaggerated by Democrats plotting against him, and that it is safe for infected individuals to go to work.[213][214] In a later tweet, Trump denied he made claims regarding infected individuals going to work, despite footage from the interview.[214]The White House has accused the media of intentionally stoking fears of the virus to destabilize the administration.[215] The Stat News reported that "President Trump and members of his administration have also said that US containment of the virus is 'close to airtight' and that the virus is only as deadly as the seasonal flu. Their statements range from false to unproven, and in some cases, underestimate the challenges that public health officials must contend with in responding to the virus."[216] Around the same time that the "airtight" claim was made, SARS-CoV-2 was already past containment because the first case of community spread of the virus was confirmed, and it was spreading faster than severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus with a case fatality rateat least seven times the fatality rate for seasonal flu.[217][218][219]On March 2, Trump told the media that he had heard that a COVID-19 vaccine would be available in "a matter of months", with "a year [being] an outside number". This came right after Trump attended a discussion where his senior health official Anthony Fauci told him it would actually take "a year to a year and a half" (at a minimum, Fauci later said). During that discussion, Trump repeatedly quizzed the leaders of pharmaceutical companies on the time needed to produce vaccines, stating: "I like the sound of a couple of months better". The length of time required is due to vaccines requiring multiple rounds of tests before being approved for the public's use.[220]On March 4, Trump wrongly blamed the Barack Obama administration for making "a decision" that delayed COVID-19 testing by the Trump administration. The policy in question had never been modified by the Obama administration, despite plans to do so. The policy's overall legal roots date to 2004, before the Obama administration. Under the umbrella of Emergency Use Authorizations, the old policy stated that laboratory-developed tests "should not be used for clinical diagnoses without FDA's approval, clearance, or authorization during an emergency declaration". However, this policy was historically treated as a recommendation and generally unenforced, with no clear legal authority of the FDA in this area. The Trump administration continued to require laboratories to apply to the FDA for approval, but allowed the laboratories to test while the FDA processed the applications.[221]On March 6, Trump over-promised on the availability of COVID-19 testing in the United States, claiming that: "Anybody that wants a test can get a test." Firstly, there were criteria needed to qualify for a test; recommendations were needed from doctors or health officials to approve testing. Secondly, the lack of test supplies resulted in some being denied tests even though doctors wanted to test them.[222][223]On March 19, Trump falsely claimed that the drug chloroquine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for COVID-19. This led the FDA to state that it had not approved any drugs or therapies for COVID-19. While Trump claimed that "we're going to be able to make that drug available almost immediately", the leader of the FDA stated that the drug would still need to be tested in a "large, pragmatic clinical trial" on subjects infected with COVID-19.[224] While Trump promoted chloroquine as a potential "game changer", senior health official Anthony Fauci stated that positive results thus far were still based on "anecdotal evidence" and not "definitive" evidence from clinical trials.[225] Trump also remarked that re-purposing existing drugs for COVID-19 is "safe" and "not killing people" (chloroquine is a form of treatment for malaria, while its derivative hydroxychloroquine is a form of treatment for lupus or arthritis), however most drugs may cause side effects.[226] Potentially serious side effects from chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine include irregular heartbeats, tinnitus, blurred vision, muscle weakness or "mental changes".[226][227] Overdoses of these drugs have been documented in scientific literature, including fatal overdoses.[226] Demand for chloroquine in Lagos, Nigeriasharply increased after Trump's comments, with three people overdosing by March 23.[228] A married couple in their 60s living in the state of Arizona ingested a fish tank cleaner product containing chloroquine phosphate; the man died while the woman survived in critical condition. The woman stated that they intended to self-medicate against the coronavirus after hearing Trump tout the potential benefits of chloroquine during a public briefing.[229][230]On March 21, Trump addressed a shortage of ventilator supply in the United States, claiming that carmaker companies General Motors and Ford "are making them right now". The companies were in fact not producing ventilators. The Associated Press news agency estimated it would take at least several months for the carmaker companies to change their factories' production abilities.[231]Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York City, claimed that it was a misperception that the disease “hangs in the air" as it " takes direct person-to-person contact”, “If you’re under 50 and you’re healthy, (...) there’s very little threat". He pledged to keep schools open, even if pupils are sick. He declined to cancel St. Patrick’s Day parade and then did. He resisted calls to cancel regular street sweeping and then did. He gave wrong instructions during a photo oppublic 3-1-1 call.[232]PROTRUMPIAFaye Cosma Faye Cosma 96% of his actions have had absolutely nothing to do with Wall Street but the safety of the American people. Here are just some of those actions with sources:Since January, while the Democrats were focused almost entirely on impeaching our President, Trump formed the Coronavirus task force to begin taking action in fighting it.- He also banned travel from China which a number of Democrats attacked him for and called him “racist” over.- Since January, he has been working daily with the heads of the CDC, HHS, FEMA, the heads of healthcare providers, just to name a few, giving them essentially unlimited funding and resources to fight this.- He signed an executive order to allocate funding and medical resources to help fight the spread: Executive Order on Prioritizing and Allocating Health and Medical Resources to Respond to the Spread of Covid-19 | The White House- He signed an order to assist all state governors in assisting to aid them in their responses to any and all hazards and threats as a result of Covind-19: Memorandum on Providing Federal Support for Governors' Use of the National Guard to Respond to COVID-19 | The White House- He signed an EO toprevent hoarding of health and medical resources necessary to respond to the spread: Executive Order on Preventing Hoarding of Health and Medical Resources to Respond to the Spread of COVID-19 | The White House- He signed a policy to allow for the National Guard to be deployed in all 50 states to assist where ever needed: Memorandum on Providing Federal Support for Governors' Use of the National Guard to Respond to COVID-19 | The White House- On March 9th, the Trump Administration announced the release of two groundbreaking regulations from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Interoperability and Patient Access final rule and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) 21st Century Cures Act final rule: Delivering the Future of Healthcare | The White House- His administration created a 15-Day Initiative to proactively slow the spread of the virus: 15 Days to Slow the Spread | The White House- Trumps Coronavirus Task Force worked with the FDA to expedite testing and diagnostics: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Issues New Policy to Help Expedite Availability of Diagnostics- Trump and his Coronavirus Taskforce worked to expand Medicare telehealth coverage that will enable beneficiaries to receive a wider range of healthcare services from their doctors without having to travel to a healthcare facility: President Trump Expands Telehealth Benefits for Medicare Beneficiaries During COVID-19 Outbreak- Since January, he has been proactively banning travel from foreign countries, not just China, to further their proactive measures in fighting against the spread of the virus: Trump administration expands travel ban- President Trump Meeting with Nurses on Coronavirus ResponseList: 74 actions taken by Trump to fight virus and bolster economyWHOLE-OF-GOVERNMENT RESPONSE* President Trump declared a national emergency, inviting States, territories, and tribes to access over $42 billion in existing funding.* Trump signed legislation securing $8.3 billion for coronavirus response.* Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, ensuring that American families and businesses impacted by the virus receive the strong support they need.* To leverage the resources of the entire government, the president created a White House Coronavirus Task Force to coordinate response.* Vice President Pence named Dr. Deborah Birx to serve as the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator.* The president has held multiple teleconferences with our nation’s governors to coordinate response efforts and offer his full support.* The president has approved major disaster declarations for impacted states like New York, Washington, and California.