Trump says virus testing ‘not a problem,’ but doubts persist
WASHINGTON — The White House released new guidelines Monday aimed at answering criticism that America’s coronavirus testing has been too slow, and President Donald Trump tried to pivot toward a focus on “reopening” the nation.
Still, there were doubts from public health experts that the White House’s new testing targets were sufficient.
Monday’s developments were meant to fill critical gaps in White House plans to begin easing restrictions, ramping up testing for the virus while shifting the president’s focus toward recovery from the economic collapse caused by the outbreak. The administration unveiled a “blueprint” for states to scale up their testing in the coming week — a tacit admission, despite public statements to the contrary, that testing capacity and availability over the past two months have been lacking.
The new testing targets would ensure states had enough COVID-19 tests available to sample at least 2.6% of their populations each month — a figure already met by a majority of states. Areas that have been harder hit by the virus would be able to test at double that rate, or higher, the White House said.
The testing issue has bedeviled the administration for months. Trump told reporters on March 6 during a visit to the CDC in Atlanta that “anybody that wants a test can get a test,” but the reality has proved to be vastly different.
Questions over Kim’s health highlight intelligence limits
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s prolonged public absence has led to rumors of ill health and worries about how it could influence the future of what one analyst calls Northeast Asia’s “Achilles’ heel,” a reference to the North’s belligerence and unpredictable nature.
But there’s a basic question debated by the media and government intelligence services: Are the rumors even true?
The exact state of Kim’s health matters because it could determine the stability of the dynastic government in Pyongyang and the security of nuclear weapons that the nation has repeatedly threatened to use on its neighbors and the United States.
It’s a problem that outside nations have faced for decades. Gathering intelligence on perhaps the world’s most secretive, suspicious and difficult-to-read country is incredibly difficult. And there’s probably nothing North Korea guards more closely than information on Kim’s health, which is only likely shared among a small portion of the elite, including his powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong.
At the heart of the intelligence shortcomings about North Korea is its extremely closed nature. But there is also plenty of blame leveled in South Korea at efforts there.
Virus is expected to reduce
meat selection and raise prices
DES MOINES, Iowa — Meat isn’t going to disappear from supermarkets because of outbreaks of the coronavirus among workers at U.S. slaughterhouses. But as the meat plants struggle to remain open, consumers could face less selection and slightly higher prices.
Industry leaders acknowledge that the U.S. food chain has rarely been so stressed and that no one is sure about the future, even as they try to dispel concerns about shortages.
On Sunday, the meat processing giant Tyson Foods ran a full-page advertisement in the New York Times and other newspapers outlining the difficulty of producing meat while keeping more than 100,000 workers safe and shutting some plants.
“This means one thing — the food supply chain is vulnerable,” the statement said. “As pork, beef and chicken plants are being forced to close, even for short periods of time, millions of pounds of meat will disappear from the supply chain.”
Company spokesman Gary Mickelson said the Tyson family thought it was important to explain their perspective.
Milwaukee police find 5 dead
in house; suspect in custody
Police found five people shot to death Monday inside a Milwaukee home and arrested the man who dialed 911 to report the slayings, the city’s police chief said.
The police department received a call around 10:30 a.m. from a man who said his family was dead, Chief Alfonso Morales said during a brief news conference. When officers arrived at the house on the city’s north side they found five victims ranging in age from 14 to 41, the chief said.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Mayor Tom Barrett told reporters at the house that a baby was found alive in the house. Investigators believe the shooter decided to spare the infant.
By wire sources
