Trump Says COVID-19 Is Nothing to Fear—While Getting the World's Best Care
When most Americans get mild coronavirus symptoms, they get tested, wait days (or even weeks) for their results, and stay home from work to avoid infecting others. But when you’re U.S. President Donald Trump or former New Jersey governor Chris Christie (one of Trump’s close associates), you immediately get access to some of the best medical care available.
As my colleagues Abigail Abrams and Abby Vesoulis monitored the viral outbreak linked to the White House, they remembered speaking with average Americans who hadn’t been so lucky. “I thought back to a woman I interviewed a few months ago: She had lost her husband, a Detroit bus driver, to COVID-19 in April after he was twice turned away by a hospital,” Vesoulis says. “If Christie and Trump were feeling as well as they said they were, why did they get elite hospital care when the bus driver didn't?”
In their latest story, Vesoulis and Abrams explore the stark contrast between the COVID-19 care most Americans receive with that of Trump and his coterie. Those inequalities start before hospitalization and continue through treatment—even simply getting tested is a challenge for many Americans because of surprise costs, access issues and long wait times. “Coronavirus testing was supposed to be free, but hasn’t always been,” Abrams says. “Treatment for COVID-19 can cost tens of thousands of dollars, especially if you’re one of the millions of Americans who doesn’t have insurance.” (Trump’s Justice Department is also trying to overturn the Affordable Care Act, which could cause millions of Americans to lose their coverage for coronavirus and countless other conditions.)
The disease is wiping out the health, finances and lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans, but the President’s handling of his own illness reveals little understanding or compassion for their plight—“Don’t be afraid of COVID. Don’t let it dominate your life,” Trump tweeted Monday. “When I went back to talk to the grieving widow for this piece, she was frustrated Trump had been harping that the virus wasn't a big deal,” Vesoulis says. “It was a big deal to the people who lost their loved ones." (That includes TIME’s Arpita Aneja, who wrote a heartfelt story about losing her mother to the virus.)
Trump is now back in the White House despite the possibility he is still contagious, putting all those who work there at risk. The people Vesoulis and Abrams spoke with took precautions by wearing masks and physically distancing from others. Trump and his staffers, on the other hand, seldom wore masks and often held in-person celebrations, rallies and campaign events. “They flouted all these things and got the virus, and yet they get better care than the average American does,” said one woman in the new story. “That makes me really angry.”
It makes the widow who Vesoulis spoke with angry, too. “She's taking this energy to the polls and voting for Democratic nominee Joe Biden,” Vesoulis says. “It will be a solemn day for her, though. Voting used to be something she enjoyed doing with her husband.”
More than 35.8 million people around the world had been sickened by COVID-19 as of 1 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 1 million people have died. Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
On Oct. 6, there were 329,510 new cases and 5,783 new deaths confirmed globally. Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending:
Here is every country with over 400,000 confirmed cases to date ("per cap" is number per 100,000 people):
Today marks the last day for coronavirus restrictions in Auckland—New Zealand’s largest city—Reuters reports. More than 100 cases had sprung up there in August, but the outbreak has been eliminated and physical distancing rules lifted. New Zealand overall is back to near-normalcy as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern heads into an Oct. 17 election she's favored to win, in no small part because of her coronavirus success.
Italian officials announced today that face masks are now required throughout the country, including outside and in indoor private spaces like offices, the New York Timesreports. The requirements come as a second wave of the coronavirus sweeps the country; Italy has reported more than 17,000 new cases over the last week.
"COVID-19 fatigue" is a growing problem in countries across Europe, the World Health Organization said yesterday. The WHO’s recent survey found that pandemic fatigue—or a lack of motivation to keep following health and safety restrictions—affects more than 60% of people in some parts of the continent. “As we enter the coming celebration season, we will need to combat fatigue by meeting the needs of citizens in new, innovative ways,” said Dr. Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, in a statement; he cited virtual or distanced celebrations as one such idea.
The Situation in the U.S.
The U.S. had recorded more than 7.5 million coronavirus cases as of 1 a.m. E.T. today. More than 210,800 people have died. Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
On Oct. 6, there were 43,562 new cases and 705 new deaths confirmed in the U.S. Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending:
Tonight's U.S. vice presidential debate comes just days after President Trump entered the hospital with COVID-19, began an experimental treatment regimen, left the hospital while risking the health of his staff and, after all that, continued to downplay the danger of a virus that has killed more than 210,800 Americans. Expect the pandemic to be a major discussion topic between Vice President Mike Pence (who leads the White House’s coronavirus task force) and Senator Kamala Harris. Both have tested negative for the virus prior to the debate; they are expected to stand further apart than originally planned while being separated by Plexiglass barriers.
Officials in Wisconsin are opening a field hospital outside Milwaukee amid a potentially overwhelming surge in COVID-19 cases, the Associated Press reports. The facility, built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has 530 beds. 853 people are currently hospitalized with the virus across the state, according to the COVID Tracking Project, a record high.
New England Patriots star Stephon Gilmore—the NFL’s 2019 defensive player of the year—has tested positive for the coronavirus, the league said today. Patriots quarterback Cam Newton has also tested positive, as have several Tennessee Titans players. Gilmore’s positive test came shortly after the NFL tightened its protocols and adopted new safety measures, throwing the status of future games into question. Unlike the NBA and NHL, where isolated “bubbles” successfully kept the virus at bay, NFL teams are traveling to one another’s stadiums for games.
The pandemic has been kind to billionaires: a recent report from Swiss bank UBS and PwC found that global billionaires' wealth reached an all-time high—$10.2 trillion—in July 2020. (The previous high was $8.9 trillion in 2017.) Billionaires whose fortunes are tied to tech and healthcare are benefitting the most. “Those that are the innovators and the disruptors, the architects of creative destruction in the economy, are still increasing their wealth,” the report’s authors wrote. “The net wealth of billionaires in entertainment, financial services, materials and real estate sectors lagged the rest of the universe.”
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of October 7, 1 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Why Trump Is a Super-Spreader Of Coronavirus Disinformation
President Donald Trump talks about his ongoing battle with COVID-19 as if it’s already over. But that's only one of his recent lies about the coronavirus, write my colleagues Vera Bergengruen and W.J. Hennigan. “The President of the United States is the top super-spreader of falsehoods about the deadliest disease to hit humankind in more than a century,” they write. Read more here.
This Year's Flu Vaccine Will Be Vital in the COVID-19 Fight
Public health officials have a tough time persuading Americans to get the flu vaccine in a normal year. But some recent surveys suggest that uptake may be stronger this year, my colleague Tara Law reports. The flu shot is an important tool for keeping people out of the hospital this winter—and for getting people more comfortable with the idea of a COVID-19 vaccine, when one is available. Read more here.
Why It Matters When Trump Last Tested Negative
White House officials and President Trump's personal doctor, Sean Conley, have repeatedly evaded questions about when Trump last took a negative test. But without an honest answer, it’s impossible to know how many people Trump came into contact with, and who among those may now also be spreading the virus. Read more here.
How to Find Happiness During the Pandemic
Psychology professor Laurie Santos spoke with the New York Times about concrete ways to boost happiness during the pandemic—a time when everything is conspiring against joy. Her course, the Science of Well-Being, is the most popular in Yale University’s history (and is now free for anyone to take online). Read more here.
2020’s Blockbusters, Busted
Many of this year’s most-anticipated movies—like Dune, Black Widow and No Time to Die—have recently been pushed until 2021 at the earliest. That’s bad news for movie fans, but a critical emergency for theater chains like AMC and Regal Cinemas, my colleague Eliana Dockterman writes. Read more here.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Mandy Oaklander and edited by Alex Fitzpatrick.
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