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Tejas PatelWeb CorrespondentTuesday, August,14 2007 (New Delhi)"I remember many a time when our senior generals came to us, and wrote to the defence ministry saying that they wanted certain things... If we had had foresight, known exactly what would happen, we would have done something else... what India has learnt from the Chinese invasion is that in the world of today there is no place for weak nations... We have been living in an unreal world of our own creation."The statement was made by then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in Rajya Sabha, in 1963, after India's humiliating defeat at the hands of China. It is an eye opening statement from a leader who always viewed international politics from his own utopian prism.The defeat in the 1962 border war made him realise that there is indeed no place for weak nations in the world politics."In the political and diplomatic fields too, significant changes came through the 1962 episode, bringing more realism," notes the official Indian history of the border war between India and China.The India-China war was an eye-opener for India. But even after 45 years, the people of India are not aware of the circumstances and reasons that led to India's defeat. The popular belief among the masses is that China betrayed Indian trust and attacked our defenses in the Ladakh and North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region.But the government inquiry in the defeat (still classified), the official history of the Government of India (1992), declassified documents from China and United States of America, and a huge amount of research on the subject by Indian analysts and experts reveal startling facts about the war.The most significant reason of our defeat is that the political leadership of that time failed India. It was not Chinese betrayal, but then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and his Defence Minister V K Krishna Menon's arrogant belief that they would solve the crisis through diplomacy and that China would not dare attack India despite the latter's 'Forward Policy'.This policy and the duo's assumption of Chinese in-action in event of crisis was firmly supported by then Intelligence Bureau Director B N Mullick, who, according to some analysts, was also responsible for misleading the political leadership.After going through the available material important factors which possibly led to India's defeat on the eastern front emerge. They are:Erroneous assessment by the political leadership that China will not react to India's 'Forward Policy' in NEFA region and Ladakh.Ill-equipped and ill prepared Indian army.China's unfounded perception of Indian designs to seize Tibet.Damning reportAfter the humiliating defeat, the Indian Army entrusted Lieutenant-General Henderson Brooks and Brigadier P S Bhagat to inquire into the debacle. Although the terms of reference set for them were very limited, the duo dug deep and discovered a great deal about the initial formulation of the "Forward Policy" and how the Indian Army was forced into the conflict by the political leadership of that time.The Henderson Brooks-Bhagat Report is still classified but a British Correspondent, Neville Maxwell, had seen the report and he published a summary of what the report contains. How he got to see the report is unclear but rumour has it that a senior minister passed a copy of the report to him.The Indian Government published an official history - The History of the Conflict with China, 1962, which was written by the History Division of the Ministry of Defence in 1992. Both the reports point out that an ill-equipped and ill-prepared Indian Army was forced to take on superior Chinese PLA.Infact, General K S Thimayya, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) until 1961, wrote in Seminar Magazine in 1962 that, "I cannot even, as a soldier, envisage India taking on China in an open conflict on its own; we could never hope to match China in the foreseeable future. It must be left to the politicians and diplomats to ensure our security."Despite this, the political leadership, backed by the Intelligence Bureau, ordered the army to setup forward posts in all areas that India claimed its own. This included areas which were disputed.The 'Forward Policy', which called for establishing posts in the disputed areas often behind Chinese forward posts, had been continuing since 1954 despite repeated protests by the Chinese Government.Chronology of India-China Border War, 1962Nehru's going ahead with this policy was based on assumptions. He was of the belief that China would not oppose Indian patrols and border outposts out of fear of an India backed by both the United States of America and Soviet Union.The rationale behind the policy was to setup border posts and drive out the Chinese from the areas which India considered its own.Several Indian Army officers opposed the policy as militarily perilous as they were aware that the Indian Army was not adequately prepared to face the Chinese force in the frontiers.The official Indian version of the war states that: "In the years 1959-1960, LT General S P P Thorat, GOC-in-C Eastern Command, had made an appreciation about the magnitude of Chinese threat to Indian borders in the Eastern Sector and had made projections about his requirements to meet that threat. But the Army HQ as well as the Defence Minister paid little heed to Gen Thorat's appreciation. It was not even brought to the notice of the Prime Minister."Politicisation of Army HQInstead of heeding sound military advice, Nehru replaced the military top brass with more submissive officers, who would carry out his orders and eventually lead to India's humiliation. This overt politicisation of the army high command was one of the reasons why India lost.To top it all, irresponsible and jingoistic statements by the political leadership precipitated matters and gave a handle to the Chinese to attack Indian posts in 'self-defense'.Then Home Minister of India, Lal Bahadur Shastri, declared on February 4, 1962 that "If the Chinese will not vacate the areas occupied by her, India will have to repeat what she did in Goa. She will certainly drive out the Chinese forces."Nehru also gave a statement on October 12, 1962, that he had "ordered the Indian Army to throw the Chinese out."Driving out the Chinese forces was an optimistic declaration by the political leadership but the ground situation was different. Indian Army was logistically weak and ill-prepared to take on the superior Chinese forces that were well trained in mountain warfare.Although Indian and Chinese forces were involved in a series of clashes along the border throughout 1962, significant fighting of the India-China Border War took place from October 10, 1962 to November 20, 1962. The fighting took place in Walong, Tawang, and Aksai Chin.According to military analysts, a series of factors led to Indian Army's debacle. The Indian intelligence apparatus in the Himalayas was lacking. They had no clear indication of Chinese strength, mobility and tactics, especially the human wave attacks, states a report.Roderick MacFarquhar, in his book The Origins of the Cultural Revolution, Vol. 3: The Coming of the Cataclysm 1961-1966, blamed the Indian intelligence community for not properly analysing Chinese domestic and diplomatic developments. According to him, they relied on CIA briefings, newspaper account and dispatches from the Indian embassy in Beijing about China's economic crisis, its split with the Soviet Union, and the Taiwan crisis. Depending on these reports, Indian political, army and intelligence leadership concluded that China will not react aggressively to India's 'Forward Policy'.Even militarily, successive inquiries in the border war would reveal, Indian Army was not ready to take on the Chinese. Very few Indian soldiers had operated in mountain areas. The troops were using obsolete weapons unsuitable for mountain warfare and that too were in short supply. The Chinese were well supplied as they had stocked supplies in Tibet and their soldiers were well acquainted with mountain warfare.Logistical, leadership failureThe Indian soldiers, on the other hand, did not even have enough winter clothing and shoes. Even the line of communications was difficult as there was no road network. The supplies and reinforcements for the troops were sent most by air, states the official Indian history.Apart from that the troops were short on artillery and ammunition and the artillery they had was very often immobile in the mountains.Besides, the morale of the forces was at its lowest. The decision making in the army was totally ad-hoc. The official Indian history states: "Some of the decisions were patently incomprehensible. For example, when 2 Rajput were stopped in their way to the plains for reinduction, they were sent to Kameng, a totally new area for them, instead of being sent back to Walong Sector with which they were quite familiar. The result was confusion all around.""Unplanned induction of troops on ad hoc basis and the consequent breaking of original formations ruined the cohesiveness and compactness of fighting formations," the report states.One such incident, which merits attention is the government's order attack and evict the Chinese force that was threatening Dhola Post. The field commanders argued that it was militarily impossible to take on the superior Chinese forces at the point of confrontation, below Thagla Ridge near McMahon Line.According to a study, sometime in September, the Army HQ ordered the troops to capture a Chinese post 1000 yards north-east of Dhola Post and contain the Chinese concentration south of Thagla Ridge. The army official inquiry into the war, the Henderson Brooks-Bhagat Report, while commenting on the order state: "The General Staff, sitting in Delhi, ordering an action against a position 1000 yards north-east of Dhola Post is astounding. The country was not known, the enemy situation vague and for all that there may have been a ravine in between [the troops and their objective], but yet the order was given. This order could go down in the annals of history as being as incredible as the order for the Charge of the Light Brigade."The political leadership and the Army HQ then decided to give the task of attacking and driving the Chinese forces off Thagla Ridge to the newly formed IV Corps. Interestingly, the command of this new formation was given to Lieutenant General B M Kaul, who had never commanded an active fighting outfit.The official history also blamed Kaul for frequently ignoring the chain of command. The report accused him of directly approaching the Chief of Army Staff, bypassing the GOC-in-C and also giving orders directly to junior officers, bypassing a chain of middle officers.General Kaul was subsequently relieved after the ceasefire was announced. He later resigned from the army.No use of IAFAnother important factor, which many analysts and defence experts believe could have altered the outcome of war, was India's decision of not using the air force. The Indian Air Force (IAF) was not used for any offensive action and was only confined to air dropping supplies to the troops.Former Air Vice-Marshal A K Tewary, in an article in Indian Defence Review, said that had India pressed in the IAF, the outcome of the war would have been different."In the final analysis, the use of combat air power would have turned the tables on the Chinese and the 1962 war could well have been a debacle for China," he said in the article.He blamed the IB Director B N Mullick for exaggerated assessment of attack by Chinese bombers on Indian cities if India had used the air force.At one point of time, Nehru got so worried that he sent two letters to then US President John F Kennedy requesting the support of US Air Force in fighting the Chinese. The letters, delivered between November 15 and November 20, 1962, are still classified.But S Gopal, in his biography of Jawaharlal Nehru, has summarised the content of the letters: "Nehru, without consulting anybody in his Cabinet, wrote two letters to Kennedy describing the situation as 'really desperate' and requesting the immediate dispatch of a minimum of 12 squadrons of supersonic all-weather fighters and the setting up of radar communications. American personnel would have to man these fighters and installations and protect Indian cities from air attacks by the Chinese till Indian personnel had been trained.""Nehru also sought two B-47 bombers squadrons from the US to enable India to strike at Chinese bases and air fields, but to learn to fly these planes Indian pilots and technicians would be sent immediately for training in the US," Gopal had written.But on November 20, 1962, China declared a unilateral ceasefire. India lost extensive territory. In NEFA, the Chinese captured huge territory, advanced nearly 200 km and almost reached the Assam plains. In the end, both the sides withdrew their troops 20 km from new boundary lines on December 1, 1962.Appropriate time to strikeSome analysts have suggested that India was at fault in this war and that it pursued an aggressive policy and provoked China, which left them with no alternative but to act in self defense. This assessment is incorrect as historical evidence suggests that China was well aware of Indian moves and was waiting for an appropriate time to strike, which it did, once it got respite from its external problems.China was facing a threat of invasion from Taiwan during the initial months of 1962. But once, that situation eased in June, it committed more troops to border with India.Careful analysis of historical events suggests that Chinese attack October 20, 1962 was a well planned move and it coincided with the Cuban Missile Crisis, an event which brought the world on the brink of obliteration.The Chinese move is appropriately explained by the official Indian history, which state: "It is indeed plausible to speculate that the Chinese deliberately timed their attack to coincide the Cuban missile crisis. The superpowers, who were engaged in a deathly struggle, ensured the required degree of freedom for the Chinese to use force against India without fear of their interference."China declared unilateral ceasefire on November 20, 1962, immediately after the resolution of crisis in the Caribbeans.Indian designs to seize TibetAnother important factor behind the flaring up of the border war between India and China was China's unfounded perception of Indian designs to seize Tibet.According to analysts, after the declassification of documents regarding the 1962 War in both China and India, new facts have emerged about the Chinese deliberations before the war.Chinese policymakers, analysts believe, held the view that India was colluding with the US to detach Tibet from China. A need to punish Indian aggressive 'Forward Policy' in the border areas was definitely a reason for the Chinese attack.But their perception that India was deliberately working towards restoring the status quo in Tibet also played a part in their decision to teach India a lesson.New studies reveal that CIA financed and armed a major resistance movement inside Tibet during the 1950's. China suspected that India was an active party to this movement, a fact which is still unconfirmed. Then Director of Intelligence Bureau, B N Mullick, acknowledged CIA's activities in Tibet during that time in his book The Chinese Betrayal (1971).Whether India knowingly helped CIA in their Tibet operations or not will be known after India declassifies government papers of that time. But China believed India played an active role and it was one of the reasons for which they decided to punish India.Brave soldiersThe 1962 War has left a deep scar on the Indian psyche. The political and military leadership sacrificed officers and soldiers under them despite knowing that the army was not prepared to take on the Chinese forces in a terrain where we were logistically weak and did not have proper supply lines.One thing that united the entire nation in that hour of grief was the exemplary courage shown by the Indian soldiers in the adverse of conditions. It is said that they did not abandoned their rifles even if it meant certain death.Their courage can be summed up in the immortal song, Aye mere watan ke logon, jara ankh me bharlo paani penned by Poet Pradeep after the defeat.The moving song brought tears to the eyes of Indians when it was sung by Lata Mangeshkar at an all party meeting on January 26, 1963 in New Delhi. As the song ended, Nehru could not hold his tears and broke down completely.Till today, the song reminds Indians of the supreme sacrifice of Indian jawans in the Himalayas.http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv...LEN20070022560

UPDATE: Israel, the world champion in the drive for vaccinations against COVID-19, refuses to vaccinate the Palestinians!● First, I need to stress that I admire the Jews; so many of them are in my heart: Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill, George Gershwin, Albert Einstein, Karl Marx, Franz Kafka, Sigmund Freud, and many many more! But I’m afraid they have an Achilles' heel: their refusal to be integrated caused them much trouble over the centuries (you can integrate yourself in the society where you live without totally assimilating and losing your identity). Nowadays, I pity them because they have been hijacked by the Zionists.● Once upon a time, I had a bright radio producer-supervisor who wisely advised me: “Whenever the subject is too sensitive, have some others do the talking instead of you!” That’s why, instead of writing my own text, I prefer to quote some Wikipedia entries: Zionism | Israel and the apartheid analogy | Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions:LEFT: Poster for the 2009 Israeli Apartheid Week, designed by Carlos Latuff. RIGHT: BDS was founded one year after the International Court of Justice had ruled the West Bank Wall illegal.Critics of Zionism view it as a colonialist, racist and exceptionalist ideology that led advocates to violence during Mandatory Palestine, followed by the exodus of Palestinians, and the subsequent denial of their right to return to lands and property lost during the 1948 and 1967 wars. In 1945 US President Franklin D. Roosevelt had met with king Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia and concluded that Israel “could only be established and maintained by force.”Zionism is opposed by a wide variety of organizations and individuals. Among those opposing it are some secular Jews, some branches of Judaism, many in the Muslim world, and Palestinians. Reasons for opposing Zionism are varied, and they include: the perception that land confiscations are unfair; expulsions of Palestinians; violence against Palestinians; and racism. Arab states in particular strongly oppose Zionism for the 1948 Palestinian exodus. The preamble of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, which has been ratified by 53 African countries as of 2014, includes an undertaking to eliminate Zionism together with other practices including colonialism, neo-colonialism, apartheid, and all forms of discrimination.Zionism has been characterized as colonialism, and criticized for promoting confiscation of land, involving the expulsion of, and causing violence towards, the Palestinians. Isaac Deutscher has called Israelis the “Prussians of the Middle East”, as a result of dispossessing 1.5 million Palestinians. Edward Said and Michael Prior claim that the notion of expelling the Palestinians was an early component of Zionism, citing the father of modern political Zionism, Theodor Herzl’s diary from 1895 which states “we shall endeavour to expel the poor population across the border unnoticed—the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly.” [Israeli] Ilan Pappé argued that Zionism results in ethnic cleansings. Saleh Abdel Jawad, Nur Masalha, Michael Prior, Ian Lustick, and others have criticized Zionism for having been responsible for violence against Palestinians, such as the Deir Yassin massacre, Sabra and Shatila massacre, and Cave of the Patriarchs massacre.According to [Israeli] historian Avi Shlaim, throughout its history up to present day, Zionism “is replete with manifestations of deep hostility and contempt towards the indigenous population.” He cites the testimony of Ahad Ha’am, who after visiting Palestine in 1891, published a series of articles criticizing the aggressive behaviour and political ethnocentrism of Zionist settlers. Ha’am wrote that the Zionists “behave towards the Arabs with hostility and cruelty, trespass unjustly upon their boundaries, beat them shamefully without reason and even brag about it, and nobody stands to check this contemptible and dangerous tendency” and that they believe that “the only language that the Arabs understand is that of force.” Some critics claim that Judaism's notion of the “chosen people” is the source of racism in Zionism.In December 1973, the UN passed a series of resolutions condemning South Africa and included a reference to an “unholy alliance between Portuguese colonialism, Apartheid and Zionism.” Parallels have also been drawn between aspects of South Africa’s apartheid regime and Israeli policies toward the Palestinians, which are seen as manifestations of racism in Zionist thinking. In 1975 the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 3379, which said “Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination”. According to the resolution, “any doctrine of racial differentiation of superiority is scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust, and dangerous.”Anti-Zionist writers such as Noam Chomsky, Michael Marder, and Tariq Ali have argued that the characterization of anti-Zionism as antisemitic is inaccurate, that it obscures legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies and actions, and used as a political ploy in order to stifle such criticism.The Apartheid WallIsrael and the apartheid analogy is criticism of Israel charging that it has practiced a system akin to apartheid against Palestinians in its occupation of the West Bank, or against Arab citizens of Israel, describing their status as second-class citizens. The analogy has been asserted by scholars, UN investigators, the African National Congress (ANC), human rights groups and by several Israeli former politicians. Proponents of the analogy say that “a system of control” in the West Bank, including the ID system; Israeli settlements; separate roads for Israelis and Palestinians around these settlements; Israeli military checkpoints; marriage law; the West Bank Wall (“separation fence”); use of Palestinians as cheap labour; Palestinian West Bank exclaves; and inequities in infrastructure, legal rights (e.g. “Enclave law”), and access to land and resources between Palestinians and Israeli residents in the Israeli-occupied territories, resemble aspects of the South African apartheid regime, and that elements of Israel’s occupation constitute forms of colonialism and of apartheid, contrary to international law.Certain laws do explicitly or implicitly discriminate on the basis of creed or race, in effect privileging Jewish citizens and disadvantaging non-Jewish, and particularly Arabs. These include the Law of Return, the Ban on Family Unification, and many laws regarding security, land and planning, citizenship, political representation in the Knesset (legislature), education and culture. The Nation-State Bill, which has been met with worldwide condemnation, has also been compared by members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), opposition MPs, and other Arab and Jewish Israelis, to an “apartheid law”. On 12 December 2019, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination decided that it has jurisdiction to investigate a complaint by the State of Palestine against Israel for breaches of its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.In 1961, the South African prime minister and architect of South Africa’s apartheid policies, Hendrik Verwoerd, [said]: “Israel, like South Africa, is an apartheid state." Since then, a number of sources have used the apartheid analogy. In the early 1970s, Arabic language magazines of the PLO and PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) compared the Israeli proposals for Palestinian autonomy to the Bantustan strategy of South Africa. The concept emerged with some frequency in both academic and activist writings in the 1980–90s, when [Israeli] Uri Davis, [Israeli] Meron Benvenisti, Richard Locke and Anthony Stewart employed the term “apartheid” to describe Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.In the 1990s, the term “Israeli apartheid” gained prominence after Israel, as a result of the Oslo Accords, granted the Palestinians limited self-government in the form of the Palestinian Authority and established a system of permits and checkpoints in the Palestinian Territories. The apartheid analogy gained additional traction following Israel’s construction of the West Bank Wall. By 2013 the analogy between the West Bank and Bantustans of apartheid-era South Africa was widely drawn in international circles. In the US, where the notion had previously been taboo, Israel’s rule over the occupied territories was increasingly compared to apartheid.Hafrada (“separation”) is the official description of the policy of the government of Israel to separate the Palestinian population in Palestinian territories from the Israeli population. In Israel, the term is used to refer to the general policy of separation the government has adopted and implemented over the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The word has been compared to the term “Apartheid” by scholars and commentators. The Israeli West Bank Wall, the associated controls on the movement of Palestinians posed by West Bank Closures, and Israel’s unilateral disengagement from Gaza, have been cited as examples of hafrada. In 2014, UN Special Rapporteur Richard A. Falk used the term in his “Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967”.The International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid (ICSPCA) of 1973 was adopted by the UN General Assembly. The ICSPCA defines the crime of apartheid as “inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group… over another racial group… and systematically oppressing them”.The crime of apartheid was further defined in 2002 by Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as encompassing inhumane acts such as torture, murder, forcible transfer, imprisonment, or persecution of an identifiable group on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, or other grounds, “committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any racial group or groups and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime”.In a 2007 report, UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine John Dugard stated, “elements of the Israeli occupation constitute forms of colonialism and of apartheid, which are contrary to international law” and suggested that the “legal consequences of a prolonged occupation with features of colonialism and apartheid” be put to the International Court of Justice. In March 2011, UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine Richard A. Falk said, “The continued pattern of settlement expansion in East Jerusalem combined with the forcible eviction of long-residing Palestinians is creating an intolerable situation… [and] can only be described in its cumulative impact as a form of ethnic cleansing.”A 2009 legal study was commissioned and coordinated by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) of South Africa on Israel’s practices in the occupied Palestinian territories under international law. The report noted that one of the most “notorious” aspects of the Apartheid policy was the “racial enclave policy” manifested in the Black Homelands called bantustans, and added: “As the apartheid regime in South Africa, Israel justifies these measures under the pretext of ‘security’.” According to the report, Israel’s practices in the occupied Palestinian territories correlate almost entirely with the definition of apartheid as established in Article 2 of the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid. Comparison to South African laws and practices by the apartheid regime also found strong correlations with Israeli practices, including violations of international standards for due process (such as illegal detention); discriminatory privileges based on ascribed ethnicity (legally, as Jewish or non-Jewish); draconian enforced ethnic segregation in all parts of life, including by confining groups to ethnic “reserves and ghettoes”; comprehensive restrictions on individual freedoms, such as movement and expression; a dual legal system based on ethno-national identity (Jewish or Palestinian); denationalization (denial of citizenship); and a special system of laws designed selectively to punish any Palestinian resistance to the system. The study found that: “the State of Israel exercises control in the Occupied Palestinian Territories with the purpose of maintaining a system of domination by Jews over Palestinians and that this system constitutes a breach of the prohibition of apartheid.” The report was published in 2012 as Beyond Occupation: Apartheid, Colonialism and International Law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.The Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din after studying the issue found that the Israeli treatment of the Palestinian population of the West Bank meets the definition of the crime of apartheid under both Article 7 of the 2002 Rome Statute which established the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid (ICSPCA) adopted by the UN General Assembly, which entered into force in 1976.The ‘Jewish State’ bill, which was passed July 2018, explicitly restricts the right of self-determination [only] to Jews. The bill would also allow the establishment of segregated towns in which residency would be restricted by religion or nationality — which has been compared to the 1950 Group Areas Act which established apartheid in South Africa. Opposition members and other commentators have warned that the bill would establish or consolidate an apartheid regime; the Israeli daily Haaretz described it as “a cornerstone of apartheid”. The Ministerial Committee for Legislation unanimously approved the bill in May 2017.Leila Farsakh, associate professor of Political Science at University of Massachusetts Boston has said that after 1977, “the military government in the West Bank and Gaza Strip expropriated and enclosed Palestinian land and allowed the transfer of Israeli settlers to the occupied territories.” She notes that settlers continued to be governed by Israeli laws, and that a different system of military law was enacted “to regulate the civilian, economic and legal affairs of Palestinian inhabitants… Many view these Israeli policies of territorial integration and societal separation as apartheid”.In 2007, in advance of a report from the UN Human Rights Council, Special Rapporteur John Dugard said that “Israel's laws and practices in the occupied Palestinian territories certainly resemble aspects of apartheid.” Dugard asked: “Can it seriously be denied that the purpose… is to establish and maintain domination by one racial group (Jews) over another racial group (Palestinians) and systematically oppressing them?” In October 2010, Richard A. Falk reported to the General Assembly Third Committee that “the nature of the occupation substantiates earlier allegations of colonialism and apartheid in evidence and law to a greater extent than was the case even three years ago.” Falk described it as a “cumulative process” and said “the longer it continues… the more serious is the abridgment of fundamental Palestinian rights.”In 2003, a year after Operation Defensive Shield, the Israeli government announced a project of “fences and other physical obstacles” to prevent Palestinians crossing into Israel. Several figures have described the resultant West Bank “fence” as an “apartheid wall”. In November 2014, former Attorney General of Israel (1993–1996) Michael Ben-Yair urged the European Union to endorse the creation of a Palestinian state, arguing that Israel had imposed an apartheid regime on the West Bank.Henry Siegman, a former national director of the American Jewish Congress, has stated that the network of settlements in the West Bank has created an “irreversible colonial project” aimed to foreclose the possibility of a viable Palestinian state. In accomplishing this, he said, Israel has “crossed the threshold from ‘the only democracy in the Middle East’ to the only apartheid regime in the Western world”. Siegman argues that denial of both self-determination and Israeli citizenship to Palestinians amounts to a “double disenfranchisement”, which when based on ethnicity amounts to racism. He continues to state that reserving democracy for privileged citizens and keeping others “behind checkpoints and barbed wire fences” is the opposite of democracy.John Dugard has compared Israel’s confiscation of Palestinian farms and land, and destruction of Palestinian homes, to similar policies of Apartheid-era South Africa. A major 2002 study of Israeli settlement practices by the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem concluded: “Israel has created in the Occupied Territories a regime of separation based on discrimination, applying two separate systems of law in the same area and basing the rights of individuals on their nationality. This regime is the only one of its kind in the world, and is reminiscent of distasteful regimes from the past, such as the apartheid regime in South Africa.”In 2007, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination reported that Palestinians and Israeli settlers in the occupied territories are subject to different criminal laws, leading to longer detention and harsher punishments for Palestinians than for Israelis for the same offenses. Amnesty International has reported that in the West Bank, Israeli settlers and soldiers who engage in abuses against Palestinians, including unlawful killings, enjoy “impunity” from punishment and are rarely prosecuted. However Palestinians detained by Israeli security forces may be imprisoned for prolonged periods of time, and reports of their torture and other ill-treatment are not credibly investigated. John Dugard has compared Israeli imprisonment of Palestinians to policies of Apartheid-era South Africa, saying “Apartheid's security police practiced torture on a large scale. So do the Israeli security forces.”The World Bank found in 2009 that Israeli settlements in the West Bank (which amount to 15% of the population of the West Bank) are given access to over 80% of its fresh water resources, despite the fact that the Oslo accords call for “joint” management of such resources. This has created, according to the Bank, “real water shortages” for the Palestinians. In January 2012, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the French parliament published a report describing Israel’s water policies in the West Bank as “a weapon serving the new apartheid”. The report noted that the 450,000 Israeli settlers used more water than the 2.3 million Palestinians, “in contravention of international law”, that Palestinians are not allowed to use the underground aquifers, and that Israel was deliberately destroying wells, reservoirs and water purification plants. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel concluded in 2008 that a segregated road network in the West Bank, expansion of Jewish settlements, restriction of the growth of Palestinian towns and discriminatory granting of services, budgets and access to natural resources are “a blatant violation of the principle of equality and in many ways reminiscent of the Apartheid regime in South Africa”. The group reversed its previous reluctance to use the comparison to South Africa because “things are getting worse rather than better”, according to spokeswoman Melanie Takefman.The International Court of Justice stated that the fundamental rights of the Palestinian population of the occupied territories are guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and that Israel could not deny them on the grounds of security. The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has indicated that the policies of restrictions have isolated Palestinian communities and that Israel’s road regime “based on the principle of separation through discrimination, bears striking similarities to the racist apartheid regime that existed in South Africa until 1994”. John Dugard has said these laws “resemble, but in severity go far beyond, apartheid’s pass system”. Jamal Zahalka, an Israeli-Arab member of the Knesset has also said that this permit system is a feature of apartheid. Azmi Bishara, a former Knesset member, argued that the Palestinian situation had been caused by “colonialist apartheid”.In 2008 a delegation of African National Congress (ANC) veterans visited Israel and the Occupied Territories, and said that in some respects it was worse than apartheid. In May 2018, in the aftermath of the Gaza border protests, the ANC issued a statement comparing the actions of Palestinians to “our struggle against the apartheid regime”. It also accused the Israeli military of “the same cruelty” as Hitler, and stated that “all South Africans must rise up and treat Israel like the pariah that it is”. Around the same time, the South African government withdrew indefinitely its Ambassador to Israel to protest “the indiscriminate and grave manner of the latest Israeli attack”.Anglican Archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu has commented on the similarities between South Africa and Palestine and the importance of international pressure in ending apartheid in South Africa. He has drawn a parallel between the movement “aiming to end Israeli occupation” and the international pressure that helped end apartheid in South Africa, saying: “If apartheid ended, so can the occupation, but the moral force and international pressure will have to be just as determined.” In 2014, Tutu urged the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the US to divest from companies that contributed to the occupation, saying that Israel “has created an apartheid reality within its borders and through its occupation”.The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS), modeled after the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments and sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet its obligations under international law, defined as withdrawal from the occupied territories, removal of the separation Wall in the West Bank, full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and “respecting, protecting, and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties”.Many authors trace BDS’s origins to the 2001 World Conference Against Racism in South Africa. At the forum, Palestinian activists met with anti-apartheid veterans who identified parallels between Israel and apartheid South Africa and recommended campaigns like those they had used to defeat apartheid. The forum adopted a document where Israel was proclaimed an apartheid state that engaged in human rights violations through the denial of the Palestinian refugees’ right of return, the occupation of the Palestinian territories, and discrimination against Arab citizens of Israel. The declaration recommended comprehensive sanctions and embargoes against Israel as the remedy.In March 2002, while the Israeli army reoccupied all major Palestinian cities and towns and imposed curfews, a group of prominent Palestinian scholars published a letter calling for help from the “global civil society”. They asked activists to demand that their governments suspend economic relations with Israel in order to stop its campaign of apartheid, occupation, and ethnic cleansing. In April 2002, Steven and Hilary Rose, professors at the University of Bradford, initiated a call for a moratorium on academic collaboration with Israeli institutions. It quickly racked up over 700 signatories, among them Colin Blakemore and Richard Dawkins, who said they could no longer “in good conscience continue to cooperate with official Israeli institutions, including universities.” Similar initiatives followed up. Rafeef Ziadah argues that BDS represents a rejection of the peace process paradigm of equalizing both sides in favour of seeing the situation as a colonial conflict between a native population and a settler-colonial state supported by Western powers.BDS demands that Israel end its “three forms of injustices that infringe international law and Palestinian rights” by: ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall; recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN Resolution 194. These demands are non-negotiable to BDS.Nadia Abu el-Haj has written that “the Israeli state has no right to continue exist as a racial state that builds the distinction between Jew and non-Jew into its citizenship laws, its legal regimes, its education system, its economy, and its military and policing tactics.” BDS supporters further note that the Palestinian liberation movement has always rejected the idea that Israel has a right to exist as a racial state.BDS was founded on 9 July 2005, on the first anniversary of the advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice in which the West Bank Wall was declared a violation of international law. A precursor to BDS is the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), which was founded in April 2004.The global BDS movement is by design highly decentralized and independent. This has allowed thousands of organizations and groups to become part of it. In Israel, BDS is supported by a number of left-wing groups, such as Women in Black, ICAHD, ACRI, and New Profile. Boycott from Within often uses creative performances to display its support for the boycott and the research group Who Profits supplies BDS with information about companies complicit in the Israeli occupation. On campuses in the US, Canada and New Zealand, the student organization Students for Justice in Palestine supports BDS. The left-wing activist organization Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) advocates for BDS among American Jewry. In addition to these, political parties, trade unions and other groups have endorsed the BDS Call.BDS believes that Israel uses culture as a form of propaganda to whitewash and justify its regime of occupation, settler-colonialism and apartheid over the Palestinian people. Therefore, it argues, Israel should be subjected to a cultural boycott like the one against apartheid-era South Africa. The cultural boycott has been supported by thousands of artists around the world, such as English musicians Roger Waters and Brian Eno, and American author Alice Walker. In 2015, more than 1,000 British artists pledged their support for the boycott, drawing parallels to the one against South African apartheid.The Israeli government has threatened and harassed BDS activists. In March 2016, Israeli minister Yisrael Katz stated that Israel should employ “targeted civil eliminations” against BDS leaders. The term alluded to the policy of targeted assassinations that Israel uses against members of Palestinian armed groups. Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan called for BDS leaders to “pay the price” for their acts. In response, Amnesty International issued a statement expressing its concern about the safety and liberty of BDS activists.George Gershwin & Kurt Weill: two great composers of the first half of the 20th century

Please review this long list of Covid related actions taken by the Trump administration, then come back and tell me what else he should have done.Updated August 24, 2020October 2019 - Johns Hopkins Global health security index rates the United States as most prepared for epidemics and pandemics country in five of six categories.Here's the Johns Hopkins study President Trump referenced in his coronavirus news conferencehttps://www.ghsindex.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2019-Global-Health-Security-Index.pdfDecember 1: The earliest traceable and confirmed patient, a 55-year-old man in ChinaDecember 30: Dr. Li Wenliang briefly jailed for ‘rumor mongering’ on WeChat concerning the virus. Dr Wenliang later dies from Covid-19 complications.December 31: China reports the discovery of the coronavirus to the World Health Organization.January 3: CDC Director Robert Redfield sent an email to the director of the Chinese CDC, George Gao, formally offering to send U.S. experts to China to investigate the coronavirus.January 5: CDC Director Redfield sent another email to the Chinese CDC Director, George Gao, formally offering to send U.S. experts to China to investigate the coronavirus outbreak,January 6: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a travel notice for Wuhan, China due to the spreading coronavirus.January 7: The CDC established a coronavirus incident management system to better share and respond to information about the virus.January 7: Chinese authorities confirm they have identified the novel virus as Covid-19.January 9: The first death, of a 61-year-old man from Wuhan, is linked to the pneumonia-like illness.January 9: The WHO reports that "according to Chinese authorities, the virus in question can cause severe illness in some patients and does not transmit readily between people".WHO Statement Regarding Cluster of Pneumonia Cases in Wuhan, ChinaJanuary 10: Public Health England develops an oral swap test for Covid-19.COVID-19 testing - WikipediaJanuary 11: When scientists from China first released information on the COVID‑19 viral genome on 11 January 2020, the Malaysian Institute for Medical Research (IMR) successfully produced the “primers and probes” specific to SARS-CoV-2 on the very same day.COVID-19 testing - WikipediaJanuary 11: The CDC issued a Level I travel health notice for Wuhan, China.January 13: The first international case confirmed in Thailand, a person reported a history of visiting a local fresh market in Wuhan on a regular basis prior to the onset of illness on January 5, 2020.January 17: The CDC began implementing public health entry screening at the 3 U.S. airports that received the most travelers from Wuhan – San Francisco, New York JFK, and Los Angeles.January 19: First case of Covid-19 in the US, a 35-year-old man presented to an urgent care clinic in Snohomish County, Washington. Patient had returned from a visit to Wuhan, China on January 15.January 20: Dr. Fauci announces the National Institutes of Health is already working on the development of a vaccine for the coronavirus.https://youtu.be/vcTJd8WU488“Leadership Takes Many Forms, Including the Quiet Leadership of Example,” - Dr. Anthony S. Fauci - Mega Doctor NewsJanuary 20: Chinese officials confirm that the virus can spread from person to person, as the virus hits more cities across China and the world.January 21: The CDC activated its emergency operations center to provide ongoing support to the coronavirus response.January 23: The CDC sought a “special emergency authorization” from the FDA to allow states to use its newly developed coronavirus test.January 27: President Trump tweeted that he made an offer to President Xi Jinping to send experts to China to investigate the coronavirus outbreak.January 27: The CDC issued a level III travel health notice urging Americans to avoid all nonessential travel to China due to the coronavirus.January 27: The White House Coronavirus Task Force started meeting to help monitor and contain the spread of the virus and provide updates to the President.January 29: The White House announced the formation of the Coronavirus Task Force to help monitor and contain the spread of the virus and provide updates to the President.January 30: Central Hospital of Wuhan banned its staffs from discussing the disease publicly or recording them using text or image that can be used as evidence; situation of individual patients can only be mentioned verbally when doctors change shift.January 31: The Trump Administration:Declared the coronavirus a public health emergency.Announced Chinese travel restrictions.Suspended entry into the United States for foreign nationals who pose a risk of transmitting the coronavirus.January 31: The Department of Homeland Security took critical steps to funnel all flights from China into just 7 domestic U.S. airports.January 31: The WHO Director-General declares the novel coronavirus outbreak (2019-nCoV) a Public Health Emergency.January 31: President Trump condemned for travel restrictions by Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Chuck Schumer.February 3: The CDC had a team ready to travel to China to obtain critical information on the novel coronavirus, but were in the U.S. awaiting permission to enter by the Chinese government.February 4: President Trump vowed in his State of the Union Address to “take all necessary steps” to protect Americans from the coronavirus.February 6: The CDC began shipping CDC-Developed test kits for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus to U.S. and international labs.February 7: President Trump told reporters that the CDC is working with China on the coronavirus.February 9: The White House Coronavirus Task Force briefed governors from across the nation at the National Governors’ Association Meeting in Washington.February 11: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) expanded a partnership with Janssen Research & Development to “expedite the development” of a coronavirus vaccine.February 12: The U.S. shipped test kits for the 2019 novel coronavirus to approximately 30 countries who lacked the necessary reagents and other materials.February 12: The CDC was prepared to travel to China but had yet to receive permission from the Chinese government.February 12:Hundreds of Americans Were Evacuated From the Coronavirus Chinese Epicenter and quarantined on military bases.Hundreds of Americans Were Evacuated From the Coronavirus Epicenter. Now Comes the Wait.February 14: The CDC began working with five labs to conduct “community-based influenza surveillance” to study and detect the spread of coronavirus.February 18: HHS announced it would engage with Sanofi Pasteur in an effort to quickly develop a coronavirus vaccine and to develop treatment for coronavirus infections.February 22: A WHO team of international experts arrives in Wuhan, China.February 24: The Trump Administration sent a letter to Congress requesting at least $2.5 billion to help combat the spread of the coronavirus.February 24: Nancy Pelosi leads a crowd of people through the Chinatown district of San Francisco.Tom Elliott on TwitterFebruary 26: President Trump discussed coronavirus containment efforts with Indian PM Modi and updated the press on his Administration’s containment efforts in the U.S. during his state visit to India.Febuary 28: New Orleans celebrates Mardi Gras, leading to a virus outbreak, because medical officials considered the risk from Covid-19 to be 'low'.Why New Orleans Pushed Ahead With Mardi Gras, Even as It Planned for CoronavirusFebruary 29: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed certified labs to develop and begin testing coronavirus testing kits while reviewing pending applications.February 29: The Trump Administration:Announced a level 4 travel advisory to areas of Italy and South Korea.Barred all travel to Iran.Barred the entry of foreign citizens who visited Iran in the last 14 days.February 29: First reported death from Covid-19CDC, Washington State Report First COVID-19 DeathMarch 2: Joe Biden holds campaign rally in Dallas.March 2: NYC Mayor de Blasio tweets "I'm encouraging New Yorkers to go on with your lives, get out on the town despite Coronavirus"Bill de Blasio on TwitterMarch 3: The CDC lifted federal restrictions on coronavirus testing to allow any American to be tested for coronavirus, “subject to doctor’s orders.”March 3: The White House announced President Trump donated his fourth quarter salary to fight the coronavirus.March 3: Joe Biden holds a campaign rally in Austin Texas.March 4: The Trump Administration announced the purchase of approximately 500 million N95 respirators over the next 18 months to respond to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.March 4: Secretary Azar announced that HHS was transferring $35 million to the CDC to help state and local communities that have been impacted most by the coronavirus.March 4: CNN's Anderson Cooper said Americans should "be more concerned about the flu."March 6: President Trump signed an $8.3 billion bill to fight the coronavirus outbreak.The bill provides $7.76 billion to federal, state, & local agencies to combat the coronavirus and authorizes an additional $500 million in waivers for Medicare telehealth restrictions.March 7: Joe Biden holds rally in St Louis park.March 7: “House Democrats are set to vote on dismantling President Trump’s travel ban this week and rein in the executive branch’s authority to declare travel restrictions.Known as the No Ban Act, the bill would reverse restrictions on the countries under the travel ban and strengthen provisions in the Immigration and Nationality Act that prohibit religious discrimination.”House Democrats schedule vote on bill to dismantle Trump travel banMarch 9: President Trump called on Congress to pass a payroll tax cut over coronavirus.March 9: Dr Fauci states “If you are a healthy young person, there is no reason if you want to go on a cruise ship, go on a cruise ship”.March 9: Joe Biden holds campaign rally in DetroitMarch 10: President Trump and VP Pence met with top health insurance companies and secured a commitment to waive co-pays for coronavirus testing.South Korea’s Early Coronavirus Wins Dim After Rash of New CasesMay 10: South Korea experiences increase in Covid-19 cases after initial success.March 11: President Trump:Announced travel restrictions on foreigners who had visited Europe in the last 14 days.Directed the Small Business Administration to issue low-interest loans to affected small businesses and called on congress to increase this fund by $50 billion.Directed the Treasury Department to defer tax payments for affected individuals & businesses, & provide $200 billion in “additional liquidity.”Met with American bankers at the White House to discuss coronavirus.March 12: President Trump announces a general travel ban from Europe, Eu was outraged.Trump bans travel from Europe to US — here's what you need need to knowMarch 13: President Trump declared a national emergency in order to access $42 billion in existing funds to combat the coronavirus.March 13: President Trump announced:Public-private partnerships to open up drive-through testing collection sites.A pause on interest payments on federal student loans.An order to the Department of Energy to purchase oil for the strategic petroleum reserve.March 13: The Food & Drug Administration:Granted Roche AG an emergency approval for automated coronavirus testing kits.Issued an emergency approval to Thermo Fisher for a coronavirus test within 24 hours of receiving the request.March 13: HHS announced funding for the development of two new rapid diagnostic tests, which would be able to detect coronavirus in approximately 1 hour.March 13: Alphabet/Google owned company tweets “We are developing a tool to help triage individuals for Covid-19 testing. Verily is in the early stages of development, and planning to roll testing out in the Bay Area, with the hope of expanding more broadly over time.”March 14: The Coronavirus Relief Bill passed the House of Representatives.March 14: The Trump Administration announced the European travel ban will extend to the UK and Ireland.March 15: President Trump held a phone call with over two dozen grocery store executives to discuss on-going demand for food and other supplies.March 15: HHS announced it is projected to have 1.9 million COVID-19 tests available in 2,000 labs this week.March 15: Google announced a partnership with the Trump Administration to develop a website dedicated to coronavirus education, prevention, & local resources.March 15: All 50 states were contacted through FEMA to coordinate “federally-supported, state-led efforts” to end coronavirus.March 15: Sanders and Biden debate. The virus is not mentioned.March 16: President Trump:Held a tele-conference with governors to discuss coronavirus preparedness and response.Participated in a call with G7 leaders who committed to increasing coordination in response to the coronavirus and restoring global economic confidence.Announced that the first potential vaccine for coronavirus has entered a phase one trial in a record amount of time.Announced “15 days to slow the spread” coronavirus guidance.March 16: The FDA announced it was empowering states to authorize tests developed and used by labs in their states.March 16: Asst. Secretary for Health confirmed the availability of 1 million coronavirus tests, and projected 2 million tests available the next week and 5 million the following.March 17: President Trump announced:CMS will expand telehealth benefits for Medicare beneficiaries.Relevant Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act penalties will not be enforced.The Army Corps of Engineers is on ”standby” to assist federal & state governments.March 17: President Trump spoke to fast food executives from Wendy’s, McDonald’s and Burger King to discuss drive-thru services recommended by CDCMarch 17: President Trump met with tourism industry representatives along with industrial supply, retail, and wholesale representatives.March 17: Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin met with lawmakers to discuss stimulus measures to relieve the economic burden of coronavirus on certain industries, businesses, and American workers.March 17: Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced a partnership between USDA, Baylor University, McLane Global, and Pepsi Co. to provide one million meals per weak to rural children in response to widespread school closures.March 17: The Treasury Department:Contributed $10 billion through the economic stabilization fund to the Federal Reserve’s commercial paper funding facility.Deferred $300 billion in tax payments for 90 days without penalty, up to $1 million for individuals & $10 million for business.March 17: The Department of Defense announced it will make available to HHS up to five million respirator masks and 2,000 ventilators.March 18: President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which provides free testing and paid sick leave for workers impacted by the coronavirus.March 18: President Trump announced:Temporary closure of the U.S.-Canada border to non-essential traffic.Plans to invoke the Defense Production Act in order to increase the number of necessary supplies needed to combat coronavirus.FEMA has been activated in every region at its highest level of response.The U.S. Navy will deploy USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy hospital ships.All foreclosures and evictions will be suspended for a period of time.March 18: Secretary of Defense Mark Esper confirmed:1 million masks are now immediately available.The Army Corps of Engineers is in NY consulting on how to best assist state officials.March 18: HHS temporarily suspended a regulation that prevents doctors from practicing across state lines.March 18: President Trump spoke to:Doctors, physicians, and nurses on the front lines containing the spread of coronavirus.130 CEOs of the Business Roundtable to discuss on-going public-private partnerships in response to the coronavirus pandemic.March 19: President Trump announced:Very encouraging progress shown by anti-malaria drug Hydroxychloroquine for fighting coronavirus.Carnival Cruise Lines will make ships available for use as hospitals in impacted areas to use for non-coronavirus patients.March 19: Vice President Pence announced tens of thousands of ventilators have been identified that can be converted to treat patients.March 19: The State Department issued a global level 4 health advisory, telling Americans to avoid all international travel due to coronavirus.March 19: President Trump directed FEMA to take the lead on the Federal Government’s coronavirus response & visited FEMA HQ with Vice President Pence for a video call with Governors.March 20: The U.S. and Mexico agree to mutually restrict nonessential cross-border traffic.March 20: Secretary Mnuchin announced at the direction of President Trump that tax day will be moved from April 15 to July 15 for all taxpayers and businesses.March 20: President Trump:Spoke with Sen. Schumer about coronavirus response & stimulus measuresHeld a call with over 12,000 small business owners to discuss relief effortsAnnounced the CDC will invoke Title 42 to provide border patrol with tools to secure the bordersMarch 20: The Department of Education announced it will:Not enforce standardized testing requirements for the remainder of the school yearAllow federal student loan borrowers to stop payments without penalty for 60 daysMarch 20: Secretary Azar announced:FEMA is coordinating and assisting coronavirus testing at labs across the countryThe CDC is suspending all illegal entries to the country based on the public health threat, via Section 362 of the Public Health & Security ActMarch 20: Secretary Azar sent a letter to all 50 Governors that the federal government is buying and making available 200,000 testing swabsMarch 21: Vice President Pence announced to date over 195,000 Americans tested for coronavirus and have received their resultsMarch 21: The Trump Administration announced HHS placed an order for hundreds of millions of N95 masks through FEMAMarch 21: The FDA announced it had given emergency approval to a new coronavirus test that delivers results in hours, with an intended rollout of March 30March 21: Adm. Giroir confirmed 10 million testing kits had been put into the commercial market from March 2 through March 14March 22: President Trump approved major disaster declarations for:Washington StateCaliforniaMarch 22: President Trump announced:Governors will remain in command of National Guard forces & the federal govt will fund 100% of operations costHe directed the federal govt to provide 4 large federal medical stations with 2,000 beds for CA & 1,000 beds for NY & WA.March 22: President Trump confirmed his administration was working with Peru & Honduras to return Americans stranded in both countries as a result of travel restrictions.March 22: Vice President Pence announced:The testing backlog will be resolved by midweek.To date, over 254,000 Americans have been tested for coronavirus and received their results.March 22: President Trump announced that the USNS Mercy will be deployed to Los Angeles.March 22: FEMA issued guidance for tribal governments to seek federal assistance under the President’s emergency declaration.March 23: President Trump signed an executive order invoking section 4512 of the Defense Production Act to prohibit the hoarding of vital medical supplies.March 23: VP Pence announced:313,000 Americans were tested for the coronavirus & received results.FEMA established a supply chain stabilization task force so Americans get supplies they need.HHS will have commercial labs prioritize testing for hospitalized patients.March 23: The White House Office of Science & Technology Policy announced a public-private consortium to:Advance coronavirus research.Provide access to computing technology and resources for researchers.March 23: Attorney General Barr announced:The Justice Department held a National Task Force meeting on hoarding and price gouging.Each of the 93 U.S. Attorney General offices is designating a lead prosectuor to prevent hoarding.March 23: President Trump announced HHS is working to designate essential medical supplies as “scarce” to prohibit hoarding of these items.March 23: The Treasury Department announced it is working with the Federal Reserve to lend up to $300 billion to businesses and local governments.March 24: President Trump announced the Army Corps of Engineers & the National Guard are constructing four hospitals and four medical centers in New York.March 24: President Trump approved a major disaster declaration for the state of Iowa related to the coronavirus outbreak.March 24: Vice President Pence:Confirmed FEMA sent New York 2,000 ventilators.Announced individuals who have recently been in New York should self-quarantine for 14 days.March 24: Dr. Deborah Birx announced the U.S. has conducted more coronavirus tests in the last week than South Korea has over the prior eight weeks.March 24: The U.S. Army issued orders for three army hospitals to deploy their health care professionals to New York and Washington state, at the direction of Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy.March 25: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the #coronavirus outbreak for:TexasFloridaNorth CarolinaMarch 25: President Trump & Vice President Pence held a conference call with 140 non-profit organization leaders, including The Salvation Army & The Red Cross, to discuss coronavirus response efforts.March 25: President Trump signed a bill reauthorizing The Older Americans Act, which supports senior citizens by providing meals, transportation, and other crucial services.March 25: Vice President PenceHeld a conference call with equipment manufacturers to discuss on-going coronavirus response efforts.Announced 432,000 Americans have been tested for coronavirus and received results.Confirmed 4,000 ventilators were delivered to New York.March 25: Vice President Pence held discussions with multiple governors, including the Governor of Indiana & the Governor of MichiganMarch 26: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the coronavirus outbreak for:IllinoisNew JerseyMarylandMissouriMarch 26: President Trump announced the USNS Comfort will depart for NYC on Saturday to assist in the coronavirus response – 3 weeks ahead of schedule!March 26: President Trump participated in a video conference with the leaders of the G20 to discuss the global coronavirus response & the need for countries to share information and data on the spread of the virus.March 26: President Trump held a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss the coronavirus.March 26: Vice President Pence announced 552,000 Americans have been tested for coronavirus and received their results.March 26: Dr. Fauci announced the Federal Government is working with companies to speed up production of potential coronavirus vaccines while those drugs are still in the trial phase.March 27: President Trump signed The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act into law.March 27: President Trump signed a Defense Production Act memorandum ordering General Motors (GM) "to accept, perform, and prioritize federal contractors for ventilators.March 27: President Trump signed an executive order allowing the military to activate members of the Selected Reserve and Ready Reserve to active duty to assist with the Federal response to the coronavirus.March 27: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the coronavirus outbreak for:South CarolinaPuerto RicoMarch 27: President Trump appointed Office of Trade and Manufacturing policy director Peter Navarro to serve as the Defense Production Act Policy Coordinator.March 27: President Trump announced that 100,000 ventilators are projected to be manufactured in the next 100 days, three times the amount typically manufactured in one year.March 27: President Trump announced that Boeing offered the use of three "Dreamlifter" cargo air crafts to transport medical supplies across the country.March 27: Partnering with FEMA, the CDC, and the Coronavirus Task Force, Apple released a coronavirus app which allows users to screen for their symptoms.March 27: President Trump spoke with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson about the global coronavirus response and committed to helping provide ventilators to the U.K. where possible.March 27: Vice President Pence announced that 685,000 Americans have been tested for coronavirus and received their test results.March 27: Emory University began enrolling participants for a phase one clinical trial, sponsored by the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), of a new, potential coronavirus vaccine.March 27: FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor spoke to the director of each of the state's emergency operations about the state-led, federally-supported coronavirus response effort.March 27: The USNS Mercy arrived in the port of Los Angelse to help relieve the strain on hospital facilities in Southern California.March 27: Last workday for the House of Representatives.CalendarMarch 28: President Trump visited Norfolk, VA to send off the USNS Comfort to New York City where it will help relieve the strain on local hospitals.March 28: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the coronavirus outbreak for:GuamMichiganMassachusettsKentuckyColoradoMarch 28: President Trump spoke with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis regarding the coronavirus response effort.March 28: The CDC issued new guidance for residents of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to avoid non-essential domestic travel for 14 days to #StopTheSpread of the coronavirus within the U.S.March 29: President Trump announced that CDC guidelines will be extended through April 30 to promote #socialdistancing and other measures to stop the spread of the #coronavirus.March 29: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the coronavirus outbreak for:ConnecticutOregonGeorgiaWashington DCMarch 29: President Trump met with supply chain distributors including FedEx, Cardinal Health, and UPS to discuss ways to get state and local governments necessary medical supplies to combat the coronavirus.March 29: President Trump congratulated the Army Corps of Engineers for having completed construction on a 2,900 bedroom temporary hospital at the Javits Center in New York.March 29: President Trump tweeted his support for the FDA to expedite the approval process to approve mask sterilization equipment produced by Battelle.March 29: President Trump announced the on-going study of 1,100 patients in New York being treated with Hydroxychloroquine for coronavirus.March 29: President Trump directed the Treasury & Labor Departments to look at reinstating deductions of business expenses at restaurants, bars, and entertainment businesses to help the hospitality industry.March 29: The first "Project Airbridge" shipment of medical supplies from abroad, organized by FEMA, landed at JFK airport, carrying 80 tons of masks, face shields, and other vital medical supplies.March 29: President Trump announced that Cigna and Humana are waving co-pays for coronavirus treatment.March 29: Vice President Pence sent a letter to hospital administrators requesting that hospitals across the country report their coronavirus data to the Federal Government in addition to state authorities.March 29: Adm. Giroir announced that 894,000 Americans have been tested for coronavirus and received their results.March 29: HHS accepted 30 million doses of Hydroxychloroquine, donated by Sandoz, and one million doses of Chloroquine, donated by Bayer Pharmaceuticals, for clinical trials and possible treatment of coronavirus patients.March 30: President Trump announced that one million Americans have been tested for coronavirus and received their results.March 30: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the coronavirus outbreak for:AlabamaKansasPennsylvaniaRhode IslandMarch 30: Secretary Azar announced that the FDA has approved Battelle’s N95 mask sanitization process for use to decontaminate tens of thousands of masks per day.March 30: President Trump announced further private sector commitments to manufacture personal protective equipment by MyPillow, Honeywell, Jockey, Procter & Gamble, and United Technologies.March 30: President Trump announced, to date, FEMA has dedicated $1.3 billion to assist New York State’s coronavirus response.March 30: President Trump announced “more than 14,000” National Guard service members have been activated to respond to the coronavirus outbreak.March 30: President Trump spoke with the nation’s governors about their need for medical supplies.March 30: President Trump announced that in the coming days the Federal Government will be delivering:400 ventilators to Michigan300 ventilators to New Jersey150 ventilators to Louisiana150 ventilators to Illinois50 ventilators to ConnecticutMarch 30: President Trump spoke to Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy and pledged to send $100 million of medical supplies to aid Italy’s battle against coronavirus.March 30: Answering President Trump’s call for the private sector to join the fight against the #coronavirus, Ford Motor Company committed to producing 50,000 ventilators in the next 100 days.March 30: On coronavirus testing, Secretary Azar announced that the U.S. is currently testing nearly 100,000 samples per day.March 30: HHS took steps to accelerate a clinical trial of a potential coronavirus vaccine developed by Janssen Research & Development.March 30: CMS announced new regulatory changes to cut red tape and give flexibility to America’s health care workers by relaxing hospital workforce regulations, expanding child care, meal, and laundry services for health care workers, expanding tele-health reimbursement, and more.March 30: The USNS Comfort arrived in New York Harbor, providing more than 1,000 more hospital beds for patients without coronavirus, to relieve pressure on local hospitals.March 30: The USNS Mercy began treating patients in Los Angeles.March 31: President Trump officially issued “30 Days To Slow The Spread” guidance to mitigate the outbreak of coronavirus.March 31: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the coronavirus outbreak for:OhioMontanaMarch 31: President Trump participated in a conference call with executives of American Network Service Providers to promote connectivity amid social distancing.March 31: President Trump announced that the federal government is stockpiling 10,000 ventilators to be urgently distributed as needed once the coronavirus pandemic hits its peak in the U.S.March 31: President Trump announced that the Treasury Department and SBA are rapidly mobilizing money from the CARES Act’s $349 billion paycheck protection program, with the program set to be “up and running” by April 3.March 31: President Trump spoke to Michigan Governor Whitmer about the state’s need for ventilators.March 31: President Trump announced the Army Corps of Engineers & FEMA will construct:8 facilities with 50,000 bed capacity in CaliforniaA field hospital with 250 bed capacity in Michigan2 field hospitals in Louisiana with 500 bed capacityAn alternative care sight in New Orleans with a 3,000 bed capacityMarch 31: President Trump spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the international effort to defeat the coronavirus and support the global economy.March 31: President Trump and the First Lady spoke with their Majesties King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain about efforts to combat the coronavirus.March 31: Vice President Pence announced that 10 states now have access to federal funding for The National Guard to respond to the coronavirus outbreak.March 31: Vice President Pence announced that 17,000 National Guard Servicemen have been activated across the country to assist in the coronavirus response.March 31: Vice President Pence announced that 1.1 million coronavirus tests have been completed.March 31: Adm. Giroir & Surgeon General Adams issued an open letter to the U.S. health care community about how to optimize the use of ventilators.March 31: The FDA issued an emergency use authorization for a two-minute coronavirus antibody test developed by Bodysphere Inc.March 31: The Treasury Department and IRS launched the employee retention credit, created by the CARES Act to incentivize businesses to keep their employees on payroll, and said businesses can begin using it.March 31: The VA announced that it had expanded virtual services to veterans, continuing to provide care while limiting in-person interactions that could potentially harm vulnerable populations at VA facilities.April 1: President Trump approved a major disaster declaration related to the coronavirus outbreak for:North DakotaHawaiiThe Northern Mariana IslandsApril 1: President Trump spoke to Walmart CEO Doug McMillon about the need to procure gowns for hospitalsApril 1: President Trump spoke to military families whose relocation or reunion with loved ones was impacted by the coronavirus.April 1: President Trump announced that the construction & refurbishing of two additional hospital ships like the USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort are being considered.April 1: Vice President Pence announced that 1.2 million coronavirus tests have been completed.April 1: The White House, HHS, and the FDA worked with Senator Rob Portman to acquire and authorize for use over two million gowns donated to the Strategic National Stockpile by Cardinal Health.April 1: Dr. Birx announced that the White House issued a challenge to universities and states to develop ELISA, or Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays, tests to detect coronavirus antibodies in larger communities more quickly.April 1: The Treasury Department released FAQs to help small and medium businesses understand the paid sick and family leave tax credits now offered under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.April 1: The Department of Labor posted a temporary rule to implement the Families First Coronavirus Response Act in order to provide paid sick and family leave.April 1: In New York City, the USNS Comfort began treating its first patients.April 1: The VA opened its East Orange, NJ medical center to serve non-veteran coronavirus patients to assist the state and FEMA in their response to coronavirus.April 1: The Treasury Department announced that Social Security recipients, including senior citizens, disabled Americans, and low-income Americans who do not file tax returns will have their coronavirus relief payments directly deposited into their bank accounts.April 2: President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to direct 3M to produce more N95 respirator masks.April 2: President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to help 6 companies (General Electric, Hill-Rom Holdings, Medtronic, ResMed, eRoyal Philips, and Vyaire Medical) get the supplies they need to make ventilators.April 2: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the #coronavirus outbreak for:VirginiaTennesseeThe U.S. Virgin IslandsApril 2: President Trump discussed the production of ventilators with GM CEO Mary Barra.April 2: President Trump announced that The Javits Center temporary hospital will be converted into a coronavirus hospital.April 2: President Trump announced that the Department of Defense will be establishing 48 more ICU beds in New York.April 2: President Trump announced that the Federal Government will be establishing a coronavirushospital in Louisiana and Texas.April 2: President Trump took an additional coronavirus test and tested negative.April 2: President Trump ordered the Federal Government to cover the costs of all National Guard operations in states with recently approved disaster declarations.April 2: President Trump sent Senator Chuck Schumer a letter debunking false claims made against the Trump Administration’s coronavirus response.April 2: Secretary Mnuchin and Small Business Administrator Jovita Carranza announced that the Paycheck Protection Program, created by the CARES Act to provide $350 billion in loans to small businesses, will be launched tomorrow.April 2: Secretary Mnuchin announced that the first relief payments will be dispersed within two weeks.April 2: Vice President Pence announced that 1.3 million coronavirus tests have been completed.April 2: Vice President Pence announced that all Blue Cross Blue Shield Members will be waiving out of pocket costs for coronavirus treatment.April 2: Rear Adm. Polowczyk announced FEMA’s Supply Chain Stabilization Task Force has delivered:27.1 million surgical masks19.5 N95 million respirator masks22.4 million surgical gloves5.2 million face shieldsOver 7,600 ventilatorsApril 2: First Lady Melania Trump had a phone call with Mrs. Sophie Grégoire Trudeau of Canada, who is recovering from the coronavirus.April 2: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced $25 billion in federal funding to support public transportation systems in response to the coronavirus.April 2: The Department of Justice and HHS distributed 192,000 N95 respirator masks confiscated from price gougers to health care workers in New York and New Jersey.April 2: The FDA approved the first coronavirus antibody test, developed by Cellex.April 2: The FDA issued new guidance to increase the supply of blood donations, reducing the deferral period for gay men from 12 months to 3 months.April 2: The Department of Education donated 5,760 N95 respirator masks discovered in storage to aid the fight against the coronavirus.April 2: Secretary Pompeo announced that the State Department has now brought home 30,000 Americans stranded overseas as a result of coronavirus-related travel restrictions.April 2: April 2: HHS announced it was relaxing enforcement of HIPAA violations to encourage health care providers to share coronavirus data and information with federal and state health care officials.April 2: The Trump Administration issued recommendations to nursing homes to help mitigate the spread of coronavirus.April 2: HUD announced it was immediately making $3 billion of CARES Act funding available to help America’s low-income families and most vulnerable citizens across the nation.April 2: The Energy Department announced it would immediately make 30 million barrels of the strategic petroleum reserve’s (SPR’s) oil storage capacity available to struggling U.S. oil producers.April 2: Henry Ford Health System to lead national study to determin hydroxychloroquine effectiveness in preventing COVID-19Henry Ford Health System to lead national study to determine drug's effectiveness in preventing COVID-19April 3: President Trump announced new voluntary CDC guidelines that all Americans wear non-medical, fabric or cloth face masks to prevent asymptomatic spread of coronavirus.April 3: The President met with energy execs from Phillips 66, Devon Energy, Continental Resources, Hilcorp Energy, Occidental Petroleum, The American Petroleum Institute, The Energy Transfer Partners, Chevron, & Exxon Mobil to discuss coronavirus’ impact on the energy industry.April 3: President Trump spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss convening the five permanent members of the UN Security Council in an effort to defeat the coronavirus and discuss its impact on the world.April 3: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the coronavirus outbreak for:New HampshireWest VirginiaIndianaArkansasOregonApril 3: President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum blocking the export of N95 and other respirator masks, surgical masks, PPE gloves, and surgical gloves to ensure they are available in the U.S. – designating them as “scarce” under the Defense Production Act.April 3: President Trump announced that Anthem will waive co-pays for coronavirus treatment for 60 days.April 3: President Trump announced that uninsured Americans will have their coronavirus treatment covered, using funding from the CARES Act.April 3: Trump Administration officials spoke to the directors of the two largest health care providers in Louisiana, Ochsner and LCMC Health, to discuss their need for medical supplies.April 3: President Trump directed FEMA to send Ochsner Surgical Gowns.April 3: President Trump announced that 9,000 retired Army medical personnel have volunteered and are assisting the federal response to the coronavirus.April 3: President Trump announced that the DOJ and HHS have together secured:200,000 N95 masks130,000 surgical masks600,000 glovesfrom hoarders and have distributed the supplies to health care workers.April 3: Vice President Pence announced that 1.4 million coronavirus tests have been completed to date.April 3: Vice President Pence announced that 18,000 machines are already available across the country to administer Abbott 15 Minute Coronavirus Tests, with another 1,200 soon to be distributed to states.April 3: Vice President Pence announced that a Project Airbridge flight landed in Columbus, Ohio with medical supplies.April 3: Secretary Azar announced a public-private partnership with Oracle to collect crowd-sourced data on coronavirus therapeutic treatments.April 3: The SBA launched the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, issuing more than 17,500 loans valued at $5.4 billion.April 3: The Army Corps of Engineers is working with states to assess 750 requests for temporary hospital facilities, having completed 673 already.April 3: The FDA announced it would coordinate the national effort to develop blood-related therapies for COVID-19.April 3: The Defense Department’s Joint Acquisition Task Force launched a new portal giving the private sector the ability to submit information and solutions to the DoD.April 3: The State Department announced that they have awarded contracts for 8 new medical facilities, totaling 9,693 new beds.April 3: The Department of Labor issued guidance to help employers reduce their use of N95 respirators, freeing up supply for the coronavirus response.April 3: HUD announced it is making $200 million in Indian housing block grants for Indian Tribes under the CARES Act.April 3: EPA Administrator Wheeler held a call with retailers and marketplace platforms to discuss ways to protect consumers from fake disinfectants.April 3: First Lady Melania Trump held a phone call with Mrs. Brigitte Macron of France to discuss the coronavirus response.April 4: President Trump announced that 1,000 members of the Defense Department’s Medical Corps will be deployed to New York to assist in the fight against coronavirus.April 4: President Trump spoke to commissioners of major league sports organizations including the MLB, NFL, & NBA, recognizing what the leagues, teams, and players are doing in their communities to combat coronavirus.April 4: President Trump tweeted encouragement to American children unable to start their Little League baseball season on time due to coronavirus.April 4: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the coronavirus outbreak for:NebraskaWisconsinMaineNevadaApril 4: President Trump announced that he was considering a second coronavirus task force focused on the economy.April 4: President Trump urged PM Modi of India to allow Hydroxychloroquine to be shipped to the United States.April 4: President Trump announced that the U.S. government has repatriated over 40,000 Americans from 75 countries.April 4: Vice President Pence spoke to Governors of New York, New Jersey, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Maryland.April 4: FEMA obligated $44 million to Iowa under the state’s major disaster declaration to combat the coronavirus.April 5: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the coronavirus outbreak for:South DakotaNew MexicoOklahomaMississippiApril 5: April 5: President Trump announced that by Tuesday, 3,000 military and medical personnel will have deployed to New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to assist in the coronavirus response effort.April 5: President Trump announced that the Trump Administration will be sending New York 600,000 N95 masks tomorrow, including 200,000 to Suffolk County alone.April 5: President Trump announced that the Administration will soon send:300 ventilators to Michigan200 ventilators to Louisiana600 ventilators to Illinois100 ventilators to Massachusetts500 ventilators to New JerseyApril 5: President Trump announced the establishment of a federal coronavirus medical station in Washington D.C.April 5: President Trump announced that Washington has returned 400 ventilators to the strategic national stockpile.April 5: President Trump announced that 1.67 million coronavirus tests have been completed.April 5: President Trump announced that the government has stockpiled 29 million doses of HydroxychloroquineApril 5: Dr. Birx announced that testing in the New York metro area, New Jersey, Louisiana, and Washington has exceeded the testing rate of Spain and ItalyApril 5: Adm. Polowczyk announced that three Project Airbridge flights of medical supplies landed across the US today carrying:1 million gowns2.8 million surgical masks11.8 million glovesApril 5: Adm. Polowczyk spoke to top health officials from states severely impacted by the coronavirus to discuss the supply chain.April 5: Secretary Wilkie announced that the VA is making 1,500 beds available at VA hospitals to help states and localities across the country.April 5: Vice President Pence spoke to governors from states severely impacted by the coronavirus, including Michigan, Louisiana, and Illinois.April 5: FEMA and The Army Corps of Engineers completed renovations at the McCormick Place Pavilion in Chicago, providing an additional 500 hospital beds for the cityApril 6: President Trump announced an agreement with 3M to produce and import 55.5 million N95 masks each month for the next three months.April 6: President Trump held a call with CEOs from pharmaceutical and bio-tech companies to discuss potential coronavirus therapeutics.April 6: President Trump had a “very friendly” phone call with former Vice President Joe Biden to discuss the coronavirus.April 6: President Trump announced that 1.79 million coronavirus tests have been completed.April 6: President Trump approved Governor Murphy’s request to allow New Jersey patients aboard the USNS Comfort.April 6: President Trump approved Governor Cuomo’s request to allow the treatment of coronavirus patients on the USNS Comfort.April 6: President Trump announced that CVS will open two new drive-thru coronavirus testing sites in Georgia and Rhode Island. Both will use Abbott’s rapid coronavirus test.April 6: President Trump announced that the FDA authorized Inovio’s potential coronavirus vaccine for a clinical trial, wile 10 potential coronavirus therapeutic agents are in “active trials” with another 15 potential therapeutics in plans for clinical trials.April 6: President Trump praised the work of the private sector, including Apple and Salesforce, who have agreed to donate personal protective equipment to help defeat the coronavirus.April 6: President Trump announced that The Army Corps of Engineers is building 22 field hospitals and alternative care sites in 18 states.April 6: President Trump announced that 8,450 hospital beds and 8,000 ventilators have been deployed across the country from federal stockpiles.April 6: Vice President Pence announced that to date $4.1 billion has been allocated to states under federal disaster declarations.April 6: Vice President Pence announced that 21,000 National Guard Servicemen have been activated across the country to assist in the fight against coronavirus.April 6: VP Pence announced that thanks to California’s donation of 500 ventilators, the federal government will send:200 ventilators to MD100 ventilators to DE100 ventilators to NV50 ventilators to DC50 ventilators to Guam & the Northern Mariana IslandsApil 6: The CDC began publishing a new, data-centered coronavirus surveillance report on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).April 6: HHS announced an additional $186 million in CDC funding for state and local jurisdictions combatting the coronavirus.April 6: HHS announced it will be purchasing 15 minute coronavirus tests from Abbott for state, territorial, and tribal labs and for the Strategic National Stockpile.April 6: The Department of Education announced a streamlined process making it easier for states to use federal education funding for distance learning during the coronavirus outbreak.April 7: President Trump participated in a conference call with banking executives to discuss how to best deliver financial aid and technical assistance to small businesses.April 7: President Trump announced the SBA has processed “more than $70 billion” in loans to help small businesses as part of the Paycheck Protection Program.April 7: President Trump approved a major disaster declaration for Minnesota related to the coronavirus outbreak.April 7: President Trump announced that in addition to the 8,675 ventilators in the strategic national stockpile, the federal government will be acquiring 110,000 ventilators in the next three months to be distributed to states in need.April 7: President Trump announced that 1.87 million coronavirus tests have been completed.April 7: President Trump announced his intent to ask Congress for an additional $250 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program to loan to small businesses.April 7: Vice President Pence participated in a conference call with over 500 business owners to discuss their needs amid the coronavirus response effort.April 7: CMS Administrator Verma announced that CMS will make available an additional $30 billion in grants this week for health care organizations with increased operating costs due to the coronavirus.April 7: The State Department announced an additional $225 million in health, humanitarian, and economic assistance to reduce the transmission of the coronavirus around the world.April 7: As part of Project Airbridge, UPS and FEMA began shipments of 25 flights with more than three million pounds of medical supplies.April 7: The Department of Transportation finalized a requirement that airlines who receive assistance under the CARES Act continue flights to destinations they were serving before the outbreak, ensuring commercial flights are available.April 7: The EPA distributed over 1,100 N95 masks to the California Office of Emergency Services.April 7: California lends 500 bentilators to other states.Office of the Governor of California on TwitterApril 8: President Trump spoke to over 10,000 faith leaders & more than 3,000 state, local, and tribal officials to discuss the coronavirus response effort.April 8: Secretary Pompeo announced that since January, over 50,000 Americans have been repatriated by 90 countries in over 480 flights.April 8: Under the DPA, HHS announced a $646.7M contract with Philips to produce 2,500 ventilators for the Strategic National Stockpile by the end of May, and a total of 43,000 by December.April 8: President Trump approved a major disaster declaration for Vermont related to the coronavirus outbreak.April 8: President Trump announced that a Project Airbridge shipment of protective gowns landed in Dallas, Texas.April 8: President Trump announced that 10 drugs to potentially be used against the coronavirus are currently in clinical trial.April 8: President Trump thanked Indian PM Modi for allowing a shipment of the life-saving drug hydroxychloroquine to be released to the U.S.April 8: Vice President Pence announced:$98B in forgivable loans were disbursed through the Paycheck Protection Program27,000 National Guard service members were activated across the country to assist in the coronavirus responseApril 8: The CDC issued new guidance for how essential and critical workers who have been exposed to the coronavirus can return to work, with precautions.April 8: Four additional flights as part of Project Airbridge landed across the country, delivering PPE and other medical supplies.April 8: Customs and Borders Protection announced with FEMA that it will detain shipments of PPE in order to keep critical medical supplies within the U.S. for domestic use.April 8: HHS announced an agreement with DuPont and FedEx to rapidly manufacture and deliver 2.25M new Tyvek Protective Suits to the Strategic National Stockpile over the next five weeks.April 8: HHS expanded telehealth services for Native Americans through The Indian Health Service.April 8: HHS authorized pharmacists to order and administer coronavirus tests, further expanding the availability of testing.April 8: HHS awarded $1.3B from the CARES Act to 1,387 health centers in all 50 states, 8 territories, and the District of Columbia to fight coronavirus.April 8: CMS issued updated guidance based on CDC guidelines to protect patients and health care workers in hospitals from the coronavirus.April 8: The USDA announced its approval of Arizona's & California’s request for food stamp recipients to purchase food online, allowing these recipients to purchase groceries for delivery.April 8: The VA announced that it has begun using funding from the CARES Act to pay overtime, hire new staff, and purchase supplies including PPE, beds, and pharmaceuticals.April 9: President Trump spoke with mental health advocates from across the country to discuss their work amid the coronavirus outbreak.April 9: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the coronavirus outbreak for:AlaskaIdahoApril 8: Colonel R. Shane Day, Director of the NCMI stated: "in the interest of transparency during this current public health crisis, we can confirm that media reporting about the existence/release of a National Center for Medical Intelligence Coronavirus-related product/assessment in November of 2019 is not correct. No such NCMI product exists."Defense official says media reports about November coronavirus intel assessment are falseApril 9: President Trump announced that 24 Project Airbridge flights have been completed to date, with an additional 49 flights scheduled.April 9: President Trump announced that there are currently 19 potential coronavirus therapies being tested and another 26 potential therapies in active planning for clinical trials.April 9: President Trump announced that, to date, over 2 million coronavirus tests have been completed.April 9: Vice President Pence announced that $125B in Paycheck Protection Program forgivable loans has been approved to date.April 9: Vice President Pence announced that a total of 29,000 National Guard service members have been activated across the country to assist in the coronavirus response.April 9: Vice President Pence announced that to date 4,100 military medical personnel have been deployed to New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.April 9: The Treasury Department announced that it extended over 300 tax filing, payment, and administrative deadlines to give relief to taxpayers.April 9: Working with the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve announced new lending programs providing up to $2.3T in loans to businesses and state & local governments.April 9: HHS announced it would relax enforcement of HIPPAA for pharmacies and other organizations that are working at coronavirus testing sites, helping these groups focus on testing.April 9: Secretary of Education DeVos announced that $6.3B in CARES Act funding will be immediately distributed to colleges and universities to provide cash grants to students affected by the coronavirus.April 9: Secretary of Education DeVos announced that $6.3B in CARES Act funding will be immediately distributed to colleges and universities to provide cash grants to students affected by the coronavirusApril 9: The EPA announced that more than 11,500 pieces of PPE have been transferred to FEMA, which will be later transferred to state and local agencies across New England combating the coronavirus.April 9: The USDA launched the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Program in Michigan, which will help feed children eligible for USDA school lunch programs who are now home during the coronavirus outbreak.April 9: The USDA announced relief for farmers across the country by giving borrowers 12 months to repay marketing assistance loans (MAL), helping protect farmers from being forced to sell crops to make loan payments.April 13: Sanford Health and Gov. Kristi Noem on Monday announced a comprehensive clinical trial looking at whether an antimalarial drug is effective in treating COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.Sanford Health, Noem announce clinical trial to test drug to treat COVID-19May 10: Study claims that travel from New York City seeded wave of US outbreaks of Covid-19.Travel From New York City Seeded Wave of U.S. OutbreaksApril 13: New York governor Cuomo states ‘the worst is over’ in New York, due to possible reductions in hospital admissions and virus related deaths.April 13: Rutgers Saliva test for Covid-19 approved.New Rutgers Saliva Test for Coronavirus Gets FDA ApprovalApril 15: Nancy Pelosi, on vacation in California, praises CARE act small business funding while eating $13/pint ice cream.April 15: Dr Woo-Joo Kim, M.D.,Ph.D, begins Phase II study concerning use of of Clevudine and Hydroxychloroquine in treating Covid-19 patients.https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04347915?recrs=adf&type=Intr&cond=COVID-19&draw=2&rank=5April 16: CARE act small business loan program runs out of money.https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/16/politics/small-business-loan-fight-congress-negotiations/index.htmlApril 15: Hokkaido Japan experiences second wave of infections.https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52305055April 21: Santa Clara countyidentifies Three Additional Early COVID-19 Deaths in February and March, based on autopsy results from individuals who died at home.County of Santa Clara Identifies Three Additional Early COVID-19 DeathsApril 22: Israel suspends all Covid-19 testing due to defective tests received from China.May 4: Texas begins to open up. Now allowed are elective surgery and dental practices. Religious services, theaters, and inside seating in restaurants allowed with distance and capacity limitations.May 7: Tampa General Hospital is one of 16 sites across the country taking part in an important study that could determine whether the drug hydroxychloroquine can prevent the spread of COVID-19.Tampa General Hospital to Take Part in COVID-19 Hydroxychloroquine StudyMay 21: More than 600 doctors sent a letter to President Trump urging him to reopen the U.S. economy, calling the coronavirus lockdowns a "mass casualty incident" with "exponentially growing health consequences."Doctors raise alarm about health effects of continued coronavirus shutdown: 'Mass casualty incident'May 27: Hydroxychloroquine show to be effective in peer reviewed study:Opinion: Early Outpatient Treatment of Symptomatic, High-Risk Covid-19 Patients that Should be Ramped-Up Immediately as Key to the Pandemic CrisisThe key to defeating COVID-19 already exists. We need to start using it | OpinionJuly 23: CDC recommends schools open onsite.Communities, Schools, Workplaces, & EventsAug 17: How a Free Society Deals with Pandemics, According to Legendary...Aug 23: FDA approves Blood plasma treatment for Covid-19. US allows wider use of blood plasma treatment .Note: Here in Austin, the blood banks have been asking recovered Covid patients to donate their plasma for a couple of months now.-----------------------------------------------------------------References:Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic - WikipediaTIMELINE: The Trump Administration’s Decisive Actions To Combat the CoronavirusLi Wenliang - Wikipediahttps://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa200119https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-29/coronavirus-timeline-from-wuhan-china-to-global-crisis/11903298‘Worst Is Over,’ Cuomo Says as 7 States Ally to Reopen EconomyPelosi Knew About COVID-19 During Impeachment Trial-Then Why Didn’t She Act? (Video) - The LidTimeline: How the new coronavirus spread“Leadership Takes Many Forms, Including the Quiet Leadership of Example,” - Dr. Anthony S. Fauci - Mega Doctor News