LIVE BLOG: COVID Task Force Press Briefing for Trump's latest Trick Bag because “flu ended WWI”

… “Testing, Testing, Testing,” again playing a very dangerous political game. States, not the Federal Government, should be doing the Testing – But we will work with the Governors and get it done. This is easy compared to the fast production of thousands of complex Ventilators!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 20, 2020

Doesn't seem to be forever, seems to be for right now, amid a divide in the advice POTUS has been getting about whether he should do it now.

“in Wuhan more than 1800 teams of epidemiologists, with a minimum of 5 people/team, [were] tracing tens of thousands of contacts a day. Contact follow up [was] painstaking, with a high percentage of identified close contacts completing medical observation”https://t.co/EFIBVDDqA7

Our new video from the series “A guide to Russian propaganda” is here and it's about the top-secret Soviet technique of Reflexive Control, the art of manipulating your victims into making self-defeating decisions – all under the radarhttps://t.co/ilupKdgGTK pic.twitter.com/F47wUhH2wM

If you carry a hammer, you expect a nail.
If you carry a stapler, you expect some paper.
Who exactly do these people expect to kill? https://t.co/6GPr3FFBza

A lot of the “liberate” footage is meant to make these events look big.

Here’s what the protest in Ohio today really looks like.

pic.twitter.com/0uxRuG0IxS

Coronavirus conspiracy theorists Diamond and Silk recently wondered if “somebody” can use 5G towers to infect people with the virus to fill supposedly “empty” hospitals. The two are Fox News hosts and surrogates for the Trump campaign. https://t.co/RxwUKMY9zd pic.twitter.com/WAt5u63vhW

US daily numbers via @COVID19Tracking:

Newly-reported deaths:
Today: 1,528
Yesterday: 1,654
One week ago (4/13): 1,450

Newly-reported cases:
T: 23K
Y: 27K
4/13: 25K

Newly-reported tests:
T: 138K
Y: 167K
4/13: 129K

Share of tests positive:
T: 17%
Y: 16%
4/13: 19%

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) April 20, 2020

another first-rate ad https://t.co/QuQ9KEHcCi via @YouTube

H/t @CKummer for the correct link for this data. (It takes you to a make-your-own-chart page, where you can compare any countries that you choose. )
https://t.co/zyT5M0o9mL

Eg here it is with Italy, China, Germany added pic.twitter.com/rNhoQ76T7l

— James Fallows (@JamesFallows) April 20, 2020

Here’s our piece from last night on coronavirus and the spread of misinformation:https://t.co/t2BIazxfnz

— Last Week Tonight (@LastWeekTonight) April 20, 2020

@KremlinAnnex pic.twitter.com/TtCw2QWzkC

— Kremlin Annex (@KremlinAnnex) April 17, 2020