President Trump, Vice-President Pence and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin lead the daily coronavirus briefing on COVID-19 mitigation efforts from the White House.

[Video Below – Transcript Added]

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, everyone. Thank you. Progress being made. And I appreciate you all joining us.

Last night, the FDA announced groundbreaking new policies to further increase testing very substantially so. All states can now authorize tests developed and used within their borders, in addition to the FDA. So the states are very much involved. They have been involved from the beginning. But we’re stepping it up as much as we can, and the testing procedures are going well.

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Earlier today President Trump held a conference call with a who’s-who of executives in the restaurant industry.  One of the key aspects to the call was President Trump asking the CEO’s to continue food service operations despite the dine-in closures.  The reason is simple: the alternative, the retail supermarket industry nationwide, cannot compensate for the closure of restaurants in the total food production supply chain. [Ground Reports]

(WHITE HOUSE) – Today, President Donald J. Trump spoke by telephone with restaurant executives representing hundreds of thousands of hardworking Americans about the response to COVID-19. The executives thanked President Trump and his Administration for the whole-of-government response and for his efforts to ensure the public has the most accurate and up-to-date information.

The President reminded the restaurants that they can help flatten the curve and slow the spread of this virus in communities across the country by encouraging their customers to use drive-thru, pickup, or delivery options.

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By today the closure of dine-in restaurants should be in full swing across almost all areas. Understandably there’s going to be an operational lag as many of those restaurants don’t have the systems or equipment in place for exclusive take-out or pick-up services (ie. carry-out containers); though hopefully many are responding quickly to the changes.

The upstream consequence of the restaurant disruption is going to be even more pressure on grocery outlets already seeing additional traffic. Many people now shifting from meals “outside the home”, back to the more traditional “home-cooked” meals etc. Which brings up the question of the retail supermarket capacity to meet that extra demand.

This coronavirus event is like a nationwide pre-Hurricane shopping experience.

There have been numerous reports of wide-scale shortages in retail food markets. On the positive side this experienced supply chain has the ability to scale-up very fast (depending on region). However, on a national scale this is the first time the entire country has needed this level of increased retail food distribution simultaneously. To cope with the volume most stores appear to have reduced their hours of operation.

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National Economic Council (NEC) Director Larry Kudlow held an impromptu press conference to describe what sectors of the U.S. economy may need direct financial assistance to bridge revenue gaps from mandated government policy. The stock market is not the U.S. economy.

Calling this type of financial assistance a “bailout” is not a fair term considering the financial impact was created by government instruction.  Government orders to shut down restaurants creates a financial loss for restaurants who also have bills and payroll obligations to meet.  These types of affected businesses will need immediate assistance.

Airlines, hotels, resorts, private parks, gyms, restaurants and various entertainment companies/industries may also need a direct infusion of cash or deferred tax payment to compensate for financial losses.  Again, these businesses have been impacted by government ordering their closure. Depending on the size of the business, the need for gap funds may be urgent.

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Vice-President Mike Pence and the COVID-19 task force will be holding a press briefing from the White House at 3:30pm ET.  Livestream Links Below

WH Livestream Link – Fox News Livestream Link – CSPAN Livestream Link

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White House trade advisor Peter Navarro appears on CNBC to discuss the White House’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, and the administration’s plan to help stimulate the economy.

Navarro gives examples of the public-private partnership working together with logistics of getting critical supplies distributed; also Navarro discusses the importance of timely and targeted stimulus measures.   Additionally, Navarro outlines the construct of a likely executive order to shift medical supply manufacturing back to the U.S.

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National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow discusses what economic options the U.S. government has to mitigate and assist businesses and individuals dealing with the financial impacts of coronavirus.

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Note to Mr. Kudlow: Do not trust Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Fauci is a purposeful panic seller. His goals are not the administrations goals.

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White House trade and manufacturing advisor Peter Navarro discusses the administration effort, a possible executive order, to shift U.S. dependency for critical health sector and pharmaceutical products back to domestic production.  [Important Discussion]

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Telling people to remain calm and simultaneously forcing people to remain in their homes would seem to be a contradiction in messaging; potentially only worsening the panic.  However, this is one of those, “well, yes it’s unconstitutional except when….” moments, that may have rather profound consequences.

The Democrat mayor of Hoboken New Jersey has announced a mandatory curfew between 10pm and 5am where all residents are not permitted to exit their residence; and all bars must close due to the coronavirus.

I don’t know if this is the first ‘mandatory’ coronavirus curfew, or even how such an effort could feasibly be enforced, but it’s likely not going to be the last:.

New Jersey – 10:45pm ET – Hoboken Mayor Ravinder Bhalla announced a citywide curfew will be in effect starting Monday. The curfew also places major restrictions on bars and restaurants.

The curfew will be in effect from 10 p.m.- 5 a.m.starting on Monday, and until further notice.  Residents will be required to stay home, except for emergencies, or if needed at work by their employer.

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Canada completes the North American cycle with their ratification of the USMCA to replace NAFTA. Mexico and the U.S. ratified the new trade agreement last year and January respectively.  The Canadian parliament did so yesterday.

CANADA – Canada on Friday formally approved the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), taking the last legislative step to implementation of the deal to replace the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The trade deal, ratified by the Mexican legislature last June and by Congress in January, was formally ratified by the Canadian Senate Friday, and shortly thereafter received royal assent, the Canadian governor general’s approval.

The deal was passed through the legislature before Parliament shut down for five weeks in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

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