WTF Just Happened Today

Friday, April 10, 2020

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• Editor’s note: I’m apparently not very good at following my own publishing schedule. WTF Just Happened Today? was supposed to be off today for Good Friday (and will be Monday, April 13, in observance of Easter), but here we are. As a result, today’s post is short – more of a limited/supplemental edition. And, as a reminder, WTFJHT publishes Monday-Friday, except for federal, market holidays, and some random holidays, including Donald Trump’s birthday. Anyway, have a great, socially distant weekend and remember to wash your damn hands (and to tip your blogger)!

1/ The Trump administration continued to push to reopen much of the country by May 1 despite concerns from health experts and economists of a possible COVID-19 resurgence if Americans return to their normal lives before the coronavirus is under control. At his daily briefing on Thursday, Trump said “Hopefully, we’re going to be opening up — you could call it opening — very, very, very, very soon, I hope.” But on Friday, Trump walked that back, saying “we’re not doing anything until we know this country is going to be healthy,” adding “We’re looking at a date, we hope we’ll be able to fulfill a certain date.” CDC guidance on social distancing is set to expire April 30. Trump added that he was creating a new council of doctors and business leaders devoted to “opening our country,” which will be separate from the Coronavirus Task Force. (Washington Post / CNBC / CBS News / Politico)

• CDC Director: ‘Very Aggressive’ Contact Tracing Needed For U.S. To Return To Normal. (NPR)

• [Opinion] I’ve read the plans to reopen the economy. They’re scary. “Even if you can imagine the herculean political, social, and economic changes necessary to manage our way through this crisis effectively, there is no normal for the foreseeable future. Until there’s a vaccine, the US either needs economically ruinous levels of social distancing, a digital surveillance state of shocking size and scope, or a mass testing apparatus of even more shocking size and intrusiveness.” (Vox - Ezra Klein)

• [Opinion] Getting Down to Planning the Next Year and the Interim New Normal. “Put simply, we won’t be able to get back to even a semi-normal social and economic life until we have a system in place that will prevent us from rapidly falling right back into a cycle of more outbreaks, lockdowns, deaths in the tens of thousands and economic shocks.” (Talking Points Memo – Josh Marshall)

2/ New projections from the departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services show a spike in coronavirus infections if shelter in place, school closures, and social distancing orders are lifted after 30 days. The