resource coming to teach someone else and create a cycle of strength. >> neil: and have a reese's peanut butter cup if you have the time. a lot more on this tomorrow, we will be live again with this. here comes "the five." ♪ >> hello, everyone, i am dana perino, along with jesse watters, greg gutfeld, juan williams, and katie pavli katie pavlich, it's 5:00 in new york city, and this is "the five." the white house coronavirus task force is expected to make a very big announcement on wearing facial coverings in public. officials could be advising that all americans where cloth coverings outside, but not medical grade masks. comes as u.s. cases top 261,000 and the death toll surpasses 6,000. u.s. recoveries are at 9400. while we wait for that briefing, the pandemic devastating the

economy, 700,000 americans lost their jobs in march. this was expected. and the unemployment rate rising to 4.4%. those numbers do not include the massive job losses in the last two weeks. white house economic adviser larry kudlow is saying that things look very bad. you have to understand that there is hope for the future. >> the virus itself and the steps we have taken to mitigate the virus have interrupted a very strong business prosperity. very strong jobs prosperity. and the whole economy is suffering. and i do not think it is going to get any better in the weeks immediately ahead. i do think, however, that this will prove to be temporary. >> dana: washington, d.c., politics coming into play during the crisis after speaker nancy pelosi announced that the house committee will be investigating the trump administration's handling of the outbreak.

president trump tearing into democrats over the news. >> we have seen americans unite with incredible selflessness and compassion. i want to remind everyone here in our nation's capital, especially in congress that this is not the time for politics. endless partisan investigations, here we go again, have already done extraordinary damage to our country in recent years. >> dana: all right, we will get it going here. if i can take a moment of personal privilege, asking permission. i really miss you guys. it's kind of been sad. that we can all come together and do the shows. but it's hard to be away. >> katie: i miss you too, dan dana. >> greg: i always miss you doing the weather, it has been tough. be five i have a new children's book coming out about a frog and a dog, and it will be wonderful

to bring freddy and jasper together as they become one. all right, let's take it around the table. i think we have so many thoughts today. i think a greg, if i can start with you about these jobs numbers, because we knew that this week was going to be a tough one from a health perspective. we have seen that in new york city at the epicenter. but also the job numbers. we know that there is probably some additional bad news to come, but they did start trying to get the loans or grants out today. >> greg: this is what happens when we commit to saving the lives of the most vulnerable people in our country. i will complement day not on an idea, we need a separate task force to say when we can go back to work. addressing specific capabilities for some people. a checklist, perhaps. but i want to stress the good news. there are a couple of really neat things going on. there is a word we are not hearing any more, tribalism. that was at the tip of every

tongue. and there was only one tribe right now. it is americans looking out for each other. another weird thing is how we rejected our evolutionary instinct. we basically told the survival of the fittest to get bent. because we are hurting ourselves. we are hurting all of ourselves in order to save those that evolution says, maybe you should leave behind. as for the probe, we know that the probe would focus, shifts probe or pelosi's probe, if they answer, why do we have these sh? the reliance on china, the long term consequences of that, we know it will not be about that. it will be just like the impeachment virus that caused all of the attention to divert from the coronavirus between december and january into february. so we can't trust them in this vital question. i would love for them to investigate a list of concerns. but none of these people that are shouting had pandemic in

their brain pan, they were off somewhere else. so they cannot be trusted. so positive and negative. >> dana: yes, it equals its self out. jesse, maybe i will take another point of personal privilege, greg mentions an idea that i said on "tucker" the other night, but i tweeted about today. that is the idea to give the current coronavirus task force that is about to brief, the space to focus on the task at hand, and then have a separate presidentially appointed task force where you would have people that could focus on the reopening of the economy. sort of like a sense and bowls land that they could present to the president. he could accept it or not, cherry pick from it. but then you have a group across all industry sectors, nonpartisan trying to figure out how do we get back from this? >> jesse: i will mention that when i speak to the president later, dana, and we will give

you full credit. >> dana: i was hoping. >> jesse: it is a great idea. we can walk and chew gum at the same time, there have to be people in washington looking to open up certain sectors of the economy in certain places, certain age groups and demographics as fast as possib possible. right now you are praying for the velocity of the snapback. we are talking about the v shape recovery. it is not a guaranteed v shaped recovery. it depends on how fast the vaccine comes out and how well we social distance, and do americans feel comfortable immediately going back to their regular lifestyle? are americans going to rush headfirst back into packed restaurants? are americans going to rush back into the small type cabins and fly around? are a large chunk of people in new york city, are they going to stay away? that takes the tax base out there. there could be good things. you could have a manufacturing renaissance or democrats try to

push socialism down our throat. we don't know how it is going to be. but we know that the american spirit still is very strong. i was having dinner last night at the apartment at about 7:00. the windows were cracked, and you heard all of this applause and this cheering coming from outside. and i looked down and there is a hospital, if firehouse right below where i live, and people were lining the sidewalks clapping and cheering for the emts, the first responders, the firemen, and the police. it was a great thing to behold. so when you see people like this, they are on the front lines where you are sheltering. give them the elbow or the salute to keep this, but make sure you acknowledge that they are fighting a really hard to fight and they are doing it for us. >> dana: speak to that a little bit about the outpouring of support for health care workers. and i want to include, not just the doctors and the nurses, but everybody that works at a

hospital. the janitors, the people that cook the food, the security guards. i think we have to remember them as well. >> juan: we sure do, because a lot of those folks, they have to think about their own families in the high level of exposure that they encounter by being at the hospital. right now you also have to say thanks, i understand that a lot of people who might ordinarily use the emergency room as their doctor's office are staying way. that is the right advice. you know that in new york, that's why the president sent that to try to handle emergency cases that are not covid related. what you have is everybody having to pitch in and in a great american spirit to hold us together. because it's like you are saying, dana, we can talk about the doctors. we can talk about the nurses, but don't forget the janitors. don't forget the night watchman and the like. that is true in our society. it is not that everybody is suffering equally.

i think if you are a single mom, there is a tremendous pressure on you from just being home and not having schools open. there are all kinds of differentials. and of course we have a large number of immigrants in this country. not all of them are going to be covered by all the kinds of economic packages that we put forward. i would just say on the whole economic front. i don't think that the politicians, democrats or republicans right now grasp the enormity of the economic trouble that we are going through and what is to come. i think they are thinking about it in terms of recession, and increasingly i think they need to reframe it in terms of even, and i am not trying to be apocalyptic, but thinking of how do we get out of the great depression, because as you said at the very start of the show, right now 4.4%, 6.6 million, but it does not include what happened the last two weeks. so we are looking at something

that is building towards the rest of this month, for sure. and i think the politicians need to say, hey, america, we understand. we feel it. >> dana: katie, i was listening to a podcast this morning where a spa owner had to lay off her staff, and the interviewer said, what about these grants? and she said, well, the thing is that i have a landlord that i have to pay, and then she has equipment that she is leasing that they did not want to give her a break on it either. and she herself has to file for unemployment, but could not get through because of the states being overwhelmed. so the enormity of the problem is going to be like a tsunami washing over d.c. >> katie: and a domino effect, if you can't pay your rent, the person who owns the building can pay the mortgage. and like you laid out with the equipment, it's the same thing for those folks. we know someone who has either has this virus or someone who

has lost their job as a result of the virus. that is certainly in the small part of the bigger picture. but i want to talk about the commission that nancy pelosi and adam schiff and james fiber are bringing up as an investigation. if this is done on behalf of america to protect the united states for a larger pandemic like this, i'm all for it. there are things that can be done in any situation, but if this is going to be used for democrats again to go after the president to protect partisan talking points and power, that will be a real shame. adam schiff is in charge of the house committee. he can look into a lot of things that we need answers to that are coming from china. there are number of scientists now who are on the record saying that to this may come from a lab that they were studying animals in the lab. he can ask questions about that. he can ask about where the doctors are that sounded the alarm in china and why they have disappeared. he can ask about how a pandemic affects the national security of

the united states and what the outcome of that is. and he can ask questions about the chinese influence in american universities. let's not forget in january, one of harvard's top chemists who was arrested for working with china secretly, and he had connections to labs in wuhan china. so there are legitimate things that adam schiff and democrats can be doing to protect america. and i would hope that they'd take the chance to do that rather than to go back through attacks on the president when everybody should be coming together to protect this from happening in the future. >> dana: it is a special committee, but within the legislation that the president signed last week, there is already a special inspector general to do additional oversight. i get the oversight thing, but to your point, there are a lot of questions to be had. and an independent inspector general to address some of those things. we will move on, the white house coronavirus task force, as you can see, they are about to brief any moment now.

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♪ >> jesse: welcome back to the white house coronavirus task force getting ready for another briefing and they might be announcing some new major guidelines. to the white house is expected to encourage everyone to wear some sort of facial covering when outside. it comes after mayors of l.a. and new york city encourage their residents to do the same. health officials will stress that the public not buy up medical grade masks, because they are in short supply is needed for health care workers

and first responders. here is dr. anthony fauci earlier. >> when you are out and you can't maintain that 6-foot distance to wear some sort of facial covering, it is the important point to emphasize that it should in no way ever take away from the availability of masks that are needed for the health care providers. this is an addendum and an end in addition physical separation. not as a substitute for it. >> jesse: dr. deborah birx is still saying caution. to speak of the most important thing is social distancing and washing your hands. we don't want people to get an artificial sense of protection because they are behind a mask. you may be protecting others, but don't get a false sense of security that that mask is protecting you exclusively from getting infected. because there are other ways that you can get infected. because the number of asymptomatic and mild cases that are out there. we want to make sure that

everybody understands that it is not a substitute for the presidential guidelines that have already gone out. >> jesse: so katie, one of the main understandings is wearing something over your face is because it prevents you from touching your face, because that is how it gets transmitted from your hands to your face, nose, mouth, that kind of thing. >> katie: yes, jesse, one of the big questions during the briefing will be why the change here, because the administration and the experts here have been trying to argue that masks or some kind of protective covering of the face protects doctors, but not you. they've been saying that you should wear something only if you are sick. and that logic does not compute. so they are going to have to explain why this is a difference here. you cannot say that we need to protective equipment for doctors and medical workers because it protects them, but tell the general public that it does not do the same. and i have heard the argument

that people in the general public should be covering their face for their protection and the protection of others because they have told us that this virus is asymptomatic and that you can be carrying it and shedding it for weeks on end to others without knowing it. so if you cover your mouth, you have less of a chance than spreading it to other people if you are at the grocery store or something like that. i think there is a big question about why this was the standard. i understand that they don't want a run on medical masks for doctors. we understand that, but the idea that they have been telling people for months now that they should not be covering their face with something, i think that there will be a lot of questions about why that advice was given. especially if it is helpful. >> jesse: we are two of the people that are in and out of new york city, and i don't know about you, but i have noticed the dramatic change in people wearing things over their face in one week. >> greg: i'm actually killmed

killmede. when you look at the briefing, i feel about the stock market. sometimes i feel good, and other times i am shaking my head. what is wrong with you people? because the experts were deliberately wrong on this. they were saying, you will always go back to the thing that they did not want a run on the masks for the health care workers. and i understand that. but then it made the public vulnerable so that they would get sick in front of the health care workers raising their risk. so it points to the question, the question is and is covering your nose and mouth of effective, it is, the question is the shortage. why was there a shortage? that's the scandal. that's the question we need to find out. also, a little bit of optimism, we can consider ourselves lucky that this virus is not as deadly as something like ebola or, because if we had this masks shortage situation, "the five"

would be zero. everybody would be dead. so this is essentially a dry run for something far worse. so we need to know, the big lesson here is about masks, there need to be 3d printers, focusing on just creating tons and tons of masks. if mcdonald's can make 30 billion burgers, we can make 30 billion masks. i know they are more difficult, don't yell at me. my point is, we have to learn from this experience. and any kind of friction, anything you put whether it is a bandanna is going to like a decent fence is better than no fence. that's what the bandanna is. >> jesse: if you ski, you can put your gator on, or if you are great and you have a lot of turtlenecks, you can yank the turtleneck over your nose and mouth. there are a lot of things you can use. >> dana: i love it turtleneck. i really do. a couple of things. we talk about the question of

masks and did the governments and the public health officials think that they might be helpful but tell us otherwise? i don't know, i would like to think maybe not, that we are all learning more information about the virus as we go along, but that will have to be looked into. and you think about, i know we talk about the decisive action to stop flights from china in late january, but we don't do the push on masks until mid-to-late march? so that is confusing. i think there is an opportunity here, i don't know if you can see this, maybe not. i pulled up on my phone the masks, you can't see it. no masks that they were in the plague. and it is like a bird beak, because they put little herbs in it. so that is kind of fashionable at the time, but you think of a place where people can go on and make types of masks, you don't know the fashion that could possibly come out of this. there is a lot of opportunity. >> jesse: yeah, juan, your

whole family can go a matching purple masks, and you will look great. >> juan: it would be like a hip-hop statement. we have to break it out here. we can have a lot of fun. a tough couple of points that i wanted to see if i can help with. one is i think we have information that is evolving. i don't think anybody has been keeping anything from us. about the increasing amount of awareness of how people as katie was saying, asymptomatic people, are nonetheless possibly infected and giving off the kind of virus that would infect other people is an increasing reality. 50% according to what was the latest statistic. so now what they are talking about with these, it is not so much a mask, but any facial covering is that it is protecting other people more than it is protecting you. now remember, we are not in an emergency room. we are not surrounded by people who have the virus. we are surrounded by lots and lots of people.

we can keep social distance and wash our hands. doctors, nurses, technicians are in a different circumstance. it's not like a great conspiracy by the government. i think what you have, and especially surgeon general jerome adams, he was one just like dr. fauci and dr. birx saying, we don't need a run on masks. what we see now is people saying coming anita possibly consider the facial covering so that we can be sure that other people aren't getting infected. and i think that that -- i want to stress that point, because i think it is easily misunderstood as to why all of a sudden the governor -- >> jesse: here is the president with the coronavirus task force at the white house. >> president trump: with kevin mccarthy, future speaker the house, i hope. and he has done a fantastic job for the people of california, and also the people of california have done a fantastic job when you look at the bump. you take a look at the pump and

how they are doing out there. so i congratulate everybody out there. but i feel that we ought to have kevin say a few words. so kevin, please. >> thank you, mr. president. i would like to thank you on the basis of california, governor newsom says the work that you are doing together is working very closely that has been effective in california as well. the vice president and the president. today, mr. president, i want to thank you for the work that secretary mnuchin has done for small businesses. just today alone i saw bank of america had more than 10,000 loans in two hours. for anybody in the small business, i was first in a small business at 25 years old, you get a loan, for your rent, paying your employees, and paying your business is part of the grant. and to small businesses will keep people afloat and get the economy moving again as we get

through the virus. so i want to thank you. >> president trump: it is a great job you're doing. you go ahead. okay, thank you very much, everybody. i want to start by saying that our hearts go out to the people of new york as they bear the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic in america that seems to be the hot spot right now. but you have some others, as you know, that are very bad. very bad. louisiana is getting hit very hard. parts of michigan are getting hit very, very hard. new jersey is surprisingly it is much greater than anybody would've thought. they are doing a really good job. the governor is doing a really good job out there. new york's first responders, the emts, doctors, nurses are showing incredible courage under pressure. they are the best in the world. we will take every action and we will spare no resource,

financial, medical, scientific, we will not spare anything. we will get back into shape. the empire state, the governor is doing a fantastic job. they are all doing very well at the request of the governor as you know. javitt center. we have 2,500 beds and we are going to allow that to be a system where this horrible disease can be looked after, the patients can be looked after. that was going to be more regular medical problems such as accidents and it is very interesting, the governors tell me that we don't have too many accidents. there are very few people driving. so we are going to put that facility into play, which is a big facility. the ship will be saying the way it is. but we are putting that facility into play to help them. and today also, the cdc is announcing additional steps that

americans can take to defend against the transmission of the virus. from recent studies, we know that the transmission from individuals without symptoms is playing a more significant role in the spread of the virus than previously understood. if so you don't seem to have symptoms and it still gets transferred. in light of the studies, the cdc is announcing the use of nonmedical cloth face covering as an additional voluntary public health measure. it is voluntary. you do not have to do it. they suggest it a period of time. but this is voluntary. i don't think i'm going to be doing it. but you have a lot of ways that you can look at it as follows. the cdc is recommending that americans wear a basic cloth or fabric mass that can be purchased online or made at home, probably material that you have at home. these face coverings can be easily washed or reused. i want to emphasize that the cdc

is not recommending the use of medical grade or surgical grade masks. we want that to be used for our great medical people that are working so hard and doing some job. medical protective gear must be reserved for the frontline health care workers who are performing those vital services. the no-mask guidelines do not replace cdc is kind guidance on social distancing including staying in your home when possible. standing at least 6 feet apart for a period of time. again, we are all going to come back together here. we will all come back together and practice hand hygiene that we should do anyway. a lot of things i think are going to spill over. shaking hands may be will stay with our country for a long time beyond us. one of our great doctors was telling me that as you know, we have flews every year, and the

number of people killed by the flu is very substantial. said that if they did not shake hands, that number would be substantially lower. so maybe it will stay -- maybe some of these things long term will be good. but those guidelines are still the best and the safest way to avoid the infection. so with the masks it is going to be really a voluntary thing. you can do it. you don't have to do it. i'm choosing not to do it hurt but some might want to do it. that's okay. and may be good. probably will. they are making a recommendation. only a recommendation, it is voluntary. we taken action to ensure the cost of no barrier to americans seeking testing or treatment of the coronavirus, the largest in nationwide, though blue cross, blue shield system has announced that it will not require any co-pays, which is really something. that is a tremendous statement

from patients of the virus treatment for the next 60 days. similar to the commitments of cigna, humana and some, those are great companies, and they are all doing the same thing. so co-pays for them to do that, we appreciate it. today i can so proudly announced that hospitals and health care providers treating uninsured corona virus patients will be reimbursed by the federal government using funds from the economic relief package that congress passed next month -- last month, that was for the question yesterday, and before yesterday, that should alleviate any concern that on uninsured americans have about seeking the coronavirus treatment. that answers the question pretty well. and pretty much in the favor of our great people. i'm also signing a direct of invoking the defense production

act to prohibit scarce medical supplies by unscrupulous actors and profiteers, the security and secretary, the secretary of homeland security will work with fema to prevent the export of n95 and surgical masks, gloves, and other personal equipment. we need these items immediately for domestic use. we have to have them. but we have done really well with the purchase of items. and you will be hearing about that shortly. we have already leveraged the bpa to stop the hoarding and price gouging of crucial supplies under that authority. this week at the department of human health services working with the department of justice took custody of nearly 200,000 n95 respirators paid 130,000 surgical masks. 600,000 gloves as well as bottles, many, many bottles, and disinfectant sprays that were

being recorded. all of this material is now being given to health care workers. most of it has already been given out, and we have given a lot to new york, a lot to new jersey. a lot of other places. in addition to ensure that health care workers in new york have the protective equipment they need. the federal government in the name of the department of defense is providing about 8.1 million n95 respirators. the department of defense. and we have already given 200,000 of them to new york ci new york city. mayor de blasio needed them very badly. or so we gave them to the mayor de blasio in new york city. we were very grateful. 8.1 million, and we will be increasing that number from 8.1 million to more. that is a lot of n95 respirators. today my team spoke with the ceo of arson or health, and the ceo

of lmm ce, the two largest systems in new orleans. they feel that they currently have enough ventilators. i think a lot of people are going to have enough ventilators and masks that appreciate what we did and all of the things that we have been doing working with them. the ceo warner thomas, who has been very fantastic, i have to say, indicated a need for 230 surgical gowns and i instructed fema to deliver them tomorrow so they will have the 430,000. that is louisiana, new orleans. 230,000 surgical gowns. they will have them by tomorrow. we are expanding the role of the armed forces and our response. the effort, because nobody is better prepared to win the award then the united states military, we are in a war, a invisible

enemy, retired personnel have responded to the nation's call. and are responding all across the country like what i just told you that governor cuomo requested that we do something. and in javits center where we take it over. we will have that manned by the military. it is very tough to get people, more people in the new york area. so we will have it by the military, javits center. national guard members have been acted to build new treatment centers and help in the seamless distribution of medical supplies that includes the national guard. the national guard. the national guard is assisting very strongly, because the states were in many cases unable to have the delivery capability from warehouses and other places that we put the supplies. so i have given approval to use the national guard, the various national guards in the different

states. and they are doing a fantastic job of not only protecting people, but delivering material. the army corps of engineers has assessed more than 100 facilities in all 50 states and is rapidly building temporary hospitals and alternative care sites in many states. new york, new jersey, michigan, pennsylvania, arizona, california, colorado, florida, illinois, new mexico, oregon, washington, wisconsin, ohio. they are doing a lot of work in just those states plus additional's that are being, will be announced probably tomorrow. but they are doing some job, the army corps of engineers. what a job they are doing, and fema, what a job they are doing as we deploy the power of our military will also deploy a scale of her doctors, scientists, and medical researchers. we continue to study the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine and other therapies in the prevention of the virus.

and we will keep the american people found in our findings. hydroxychloroquine, i don't know, it is looking like it is having some good results. that would be a phenomenal thing. but we have it right now in approximately now it has increased to 1,500 people. i spoke with dr. zucker in new york, terrific guy, by the way, doing a good job. and i spoke to governor cuomo last evening and this morning about it. so it has been there for about three and half days. but i think, and many other places that it is being tested too. and we have a tremendous supply of it. we have ordered it in the case that it works. and it could have some pretty big impacts. we will see what happens. my administration is also working to get relief to american workers and businesses. in day one of the patriotic protection program as kevin

said, more than $3.5 billion in guaranteed loans have been processed to help small businesses keep their workers employed during the unprecedented time, this unprecedented time. bank of america has been incredible. the big banks, bank of america has really stepped forward and done a great job. then you have the community banks, the smaller banks. we are already at $3.5 billion going out to incredible people. but that is way ahead of schedule. the sba and the treasury or working around the clock. and our banking partners are really incredible. and they are ensuring that the money gets to small businesses as quickly as possible and then the small business intern take care of employees that they would have had to let go. and now they will keep them. and that is good. and then they can open for business and have their employees. and we will get back to where we were eventually we are going to supersede where we were.

the energy has been especially hard-hit in the crisis this afternoon. i met with greg garland of phillips 66, dave hager of devon energy, harold hamm of continental resources. jeff hildebrand of hill corporation energy. nikki hollow of occidental petroleum, mike summers of the petroleum institute. kelsey warren of energy transfers, mike worth of chevron, and darren woods of exxonmobil. i informed them that we will be making space available in the strategic petroleum reserves to let american producers serve surplus oil that can be sold at a later time. there is a tremendous abundance of oil. primarily because of the virus, the virus has just stopped demand of everything including oil. so we are working with our great energy companies. these are great companies. they employed tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people,

and they have kept america really going for a long time, and no big price hikes, no bake anything. they just kept going. and now they got hit. with all the jobs and all of the good that they do, we are going to make sure that they stay in good shape. america is engaged in a historic battle to safeguard the lives of our american citizens, our future society, the greatest weapon is the discipline and determination of every citizen to stay at home and stay healthy for a long time. and we want them to stay healthy for a long time. so stay at home. this is ending. this will end. you will see some bad things, and then he will see some really good things. and it's not going to be too long. we will heal our citizens, and we will care for our neighbors. and we will unleash the full night of the united states of america to vanquish the virus. and with that, i would like to ask mike pence to come up,

vice president to say a few words, and we will have a couple of other quick talks, a couple of subjects and we will take questions, and it is a beautiful friday in washington, d.c. and our country is a great place. and we are getting better. we are getting better very quickly. this was artificially induced. we just said, they said, close it down. you have to close it down. and we closed it down. and we are healing. we will get a better fast. so mike, if you could come up and say a few words. >> vice president pence: thank you, mr. president. the president just outlined a number of decisions that he made today. the unanimous recommendation of the coronavirus task force. in addition, some good news, dr. deborah birx will reflect on in a moment that some of the areas across america where we see evidence that the mitigation efforts, the american people putting into practice the

president's coronavirus guidelines are having a positive effect. in fact, today, california and washington state where the coronavirus first emerged in the country remain, the cases remain at a steady but low rate. and we know as governor newsom said yesterday that they are not out of the woods yet. we continue to pull resources. but we want to commend people in those states and all across the country for putting into practice the social distancing and all the measures that state and local leaders are advising, and that the president has been advising in the coronavirus guidelines for america. we are also continuing to track significant outbreaks in new york state, new orleans, detroit, chicago, and boston. and as the president indicated, we are prioritizing resources to support health care workers and support those who are dealing with the coronavirus in those communities. on the subject of testing.

now more than 1.4 million tests have been performed across the country. and as you all are aware, 266,000 americans have tested positive for the coronavirus. added instruments, which now can perform a 15 minute test across the country have literally 18,000 of their machines across the nation today, but at the president's direction, fema is acquiring over 1200 more machines to distribute to every state, public health lab in america. and also to the indian health care. and a big news over the last few days is that the fda in record time has approved an antibody test developed by salix. and we are continuing on the white house coronavirus task force to examine ways that we can scale up these rapid tests and innovative new tests, not just at this moment, but the

foundation for testing across the nation in the months ahead. as the president mentioned, he met with energy executives and continues to engage with leaders of businesses all across the nation. we hold a teleconference with commercial retailers. the president's behalf, we thanked them. for the way that people operate malls and shopping centers around the country have embraced and enacted the coronavirus guidelines for america. it has had an enormous impact on their businesses and their industries. but i heard from them, their patriotic commitments with the health of their associates and customers first. and it was deeply inspiring. on the subject of supplies, the president detailed our work in that space that continues to this day. part of the bridge. we had a flight arrived from china today to columbus, ohio.

we continue to work each and every day watching the data about cases. to ensure that in particular, not just the personal protective equipment is available for the health care workers that are on the front lines, but also that ventilators are available. as this epidemic makes its way through regions and communities, we are literally working hour by hour, day by day to make sure that patients, families, and health care providers have the equipment and support that they need. as the president mentioned, we have seen over a billion and a half dollars of loans go out through the paycheck protection program today. we have four available to questions of the cdc today to speak about the new guidelines on the clock face coverings. and to secretary azar a few moments will explain just how the president's decision to make sure that no american will ever have to worry about paying for

testing or for coronavirus treatment, i am pleased to report that at the president's direction, medicaid and medicare already expanded to coronavirus treatment and testing early on. and of course, the president just indicated how major insurance companies are not just waiving co-pays on testing, but they are now waving co-pays for at least 60 days on any coronavirus treatment. now secretary azar will enumerate. and i will make sure that any american knows -- even those with no insurance will be able to receive treatment in the hospital and never have to worry about the bill. i just give a general reminder to every american that if there is evidence across the country that you are putting into practice the coronavirus guidelines for america. every american has a role to play. and i want to thank you on behalf of the president and all of the american people for the way that you are stepping

forward, you are engaging in the social distancing and doing the things that will slow the spread. we encourage you to keep on keeping on. we will get through this, america. we will get through with the coronavirus to that day of renewed health, renewed prosperity that the president always describes. but we will get through there sooner, and we will get through there when we work together. dr. birx. >> thank you, mr. vice president, mr. president. thank you for your words of discipline and determination. that really describes what we are asking of every american to really be disciplined about these guidelines and really determine to stay in that space of execution. you know, we are just in wee week 3 of this full guidance measure. we really do appreciate the work of the citizens of california and washington state, because we

do see that their curve is different. to their curve is different from new york, new jersey, and connecticut. and we really believe that the work that every citizen is doing in those states is making a difference. and it will make a difference for the frontline health care providers. we also are deeply grateful that despite the way the curve looks today, they continued to get ready for a different potential. so that they can ensure that patients if they do get sick have options and availability. to all of the frontline health care workers and what we have referred to as hot stone areas where the number of cases are quite significant, the new orleans, the new york city metro area, including new jersey and connecticut, the incredible work that the frontline health care workers are providing, we really are working now at a much more granular

level talking directly to hospitals to ensure that they have the supplies that they need in coordination with state and local governments, and to work, i think we discussed it yesterday, but i think it was quite clear also and reiterated by governor cuomo today that we have to support one another as each of these different metro areas and other areas moved through their peak of new infections. when we talked about it at the beginning of this week, we talked about this week and next week being incredibly difficult. and we want to recognize the number of americans who have lost their lives to this virus, and recognize the sacrifice that health care providers are making, both in their care, and very uplifted by hearing their messages to families and their compassion for others to provide that kind of support to the individuals in the hospital. we continue to watch in addition the chicago area, the detroit

area, and have some developing concerns around colorado, the district of columbia, and pennsylvania. so as you can see, each of these will follow their own curves. we will be getting more and more of those case over time information in a very granular way to each and every one of you so that you can follow the epidemiologic curves as each of the states, counties, and communities move through this together in solidarity. and really ensuring that we can move supplies creatively around the country to meet the needs of both the frontline health care providers, but also every american who needs our support right now. thank you. >> vice president pence: thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. president, for your continued leadership as we battle the coronavirus. i want to thank all of the members of the h astm and the

health care workers across, including those service workers who serve in the hospitals in the health care facility is, those who clean, those who deliver, those who stock the shelves. all of those going into battle every day against the virus. your country has asked you to serve as never before, and you have responded heroically. i'm going to provide a brief update on the administration's plans to cover the testing and treatment for the uninsured. getting the uninsured access to the care they need is a top priority for president trump. we are already rolling out to the $1 billion in funding from the families-first coronavirus response act to cover providers expenses for testing and diagnosing the uninsured. the cares act signed by the president includes another $100 billion for health care providers. under the president's direction, we will use a portion of that funding to cover providers costs of delivering covid-19 care for

the uninsured. sending the money to providers through the same mechanism used for testing. as a condition of receiving funds under this program, providers will be for be forbidden from balance billing the uninsured for the cost of their care. providers will be reimbursed at medicare rates. we will soon have more specifics on how the rest of the $100 billion will go to providers. we are working to ensure that this funding is distributed in a way that is fast, fair, simple, and transparent. i would also like to remind people that if you have lost employer insurance coverage, you have insurance options that you should look into. you would be eligible for a special enrollment. mack on the health care of exchanges, and depending on your states coming you may be eligible for medicaid. just as president trump is working to ensure that covid-19 treatment is paid for, he is working to support new treatment

options for patients. thanks to the president's leadership, many providers are trying different experimental therapies. and we need as much data as we can collect as quickly as possible on how these treatments are working. today, oracle has developed and delivering to the government and the american people a web portal and platform to gather real-time information about how patients respond to potential therapeutics. while this does not replace the important work of clinical trials, it gives us data rapidly. if you are a doctor or a health care provider, and you would like to help us, you can sign up today to begin reporting on your work. there is a special registration page for providers at covid-19 dot oracle.com. thank you very much. >> president trump: okay, let's go, steve. >> a little bit longer to advise

on face masks, what would people gain from wearing a mask, and why are you opposed to wearing one yourself? >> president trump: i will not wear one myself, it is a recommendation. i am feeling good. i just don't want to be doing, somehow sitting in the oval office behind that beautiful resolute desk, the great resolute desk, i think wearing a face mask as i greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens, i don't know, it somehow, i don't see it for myself. i just come i may be able change my mind, but this will pass, and hopefully it will pass very quickly. now with that being said, if somebody wants to, i mean, most people can just make something out of a certain material. so it is very well designated. it is very simple to do. i want to be doing it personally. it is a recommendation, okay. would you like to say something about that? surgeon general, please.

>> thank you, mr. president, mr. vice president, secretary, and cdc director. i want to thank the folks at the cdc. it is a great question that you ask in a fair question that you ask. i want to unpack the evolution of our guidance on masks, because it has been confusing to the american people. first of all, i want people to understand that the cdc, the world health organization, my office in most public health and health organizations originally recommended against the general public wearing masks, because based on the best evidence available at the time, it was not deemed that that would have a significant impact on whether or not a healthy person wearing a mask would contract covid-19. we have always recommended that symptomatic people wear a mask, because if you are coughing, if you have a fever, if you are symptomatic, you can transmit disease to other people.

what has changed in a recommendation? well, it is important to know that we now know from recent studies that a significant portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms. they are called asymptomatic. and even those who eventually become presymptomatic, meaning that they will develop symptoms in the future can transmit to the virus to others before they show symptoms. this means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity. for example, coughing, speaking, or sneezing. even if those people were not exhibiting symptoms. in light of the new evidence, cdc recommends and the task force recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain. these include places like grocery stores and pharmacies. we especially recommend this in areas of significant community transmission. it is critical, and the

president mentioned this. to the vice president mention this. it is critical to empathize that maintaining 6 feet of social distancing remains key to slowing the spread of the virus. cdc is additionally advising the use of simple cloth covering to slow the virus and to help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others. the cloth face coverings recommended are not physical masks o n95 respirators. those are critical for medical workers and first responders as edited by the current cdc guidelines. as the president mentioned, face cloth covering made it home from, material at low cost can be used as an additional voluntary public health measure. this recommendation complements and does not replace the coronavirus guidelines for america to slow the spread which remains the cornerstone of our national effort to slow the spread of the virus. cdc is always, always looking at

the data. we have told you that from the beginning. dr. birx says that every single press conference. we are evolving the recommendations, and new ones will come as the evidence dictates. so i want to say if you do choose to use a face mask, very important, wash your hands first, because you don't want to put on a face covering with a dirty hand. do not touch your face while you are wearing the face covering. because again, you can take materials from the surface, germs from the surface and bring it to your face. if you choose to wear a face covering, please, please leave the n95, the medical supplies for the medical professionals, health care workers, frontline workers. know that this is not a substitute for social distancing. and please remember that this is all about me protecting you, and you protecting me. this is about us coming together as communities and if people voluntarily choose to wear face coverings, they are wearing it

to protect their neighbors from getting the coronavirus. because they could have asymptomatic spread. mr. president, thank you very much for that. we appreciate the opportunity to update everybody. >> reporter: mr. president, dr. fauci said every state should have stayed home orders right now, do you agree with that? should every state have stay-at-home orders? >> president trump: i leave it up to the governors. they know what they have been doing. we are close to 90% anyway. and stay tuned, we are talking about not in jeopardy. i would leave it to the governors. i like that from the standpoint of governing. and i like that from the standpoint of even our constitution. please. >> reporter: mr. president, the lack of blood supply and the administration yesterday -- >> president trump: we will