I would like it, if for once, I turn on the TV to watch a journalist asking questions that's in the mind of many of us and not the usual daily reporting. Some of mine:

• The end point of the models is August, what happens after August? What happens when the measures are put in place are no longer followed, either because we're fatigued or because they're officially lifted?
• Officials, including Boris, insist on using the term "delay" the spread. I have yet to hear an official statement talking about stopping the spread. Are we all going to be infected at some point? It seems like it's a realistic conclusion.
• We're not being told what's going to happen in September because non of the models extend beyond August.
• What are the metrics for success? What are we compromising for? It's understandable what the metrics for success in the first few months, but how about a year from now?
• If modeling is all we have to base our decisions on, at what point do the models suggest that the amounts of deaths that are going to be prevented over the next year, not just the next 3 months, are worthy of shutting down the economy?
• Where are the models about how wrecked the economy will be for each country 3 months from now?
• What happens if we don't get more stimulus bills and what happens if we do? What will be the outcome a universal basic income is adopted at a global level?
• Are the models taking into consideration the fact that they're local and whatever decisions that are based on them are not being implemented internationally? The states of the UNITED states of America and the members of the European UNION have taken different path in their attempt to deal with the current situation, which is a joke. Scientifically, literally everyone has to be on the same page for the lockdwon to work be effective but that's not the case. What are the consequences of that and what do we do about it? If such unions are failing to unite what shall we expect from the rest of the world?
• This is going to be a years-long problem that can only end with a vaccine, isn't it?

Apparently once your a week or so on ventilator your odds drop by alot.
I swear I remember hearing a doctor saying than more than 80% of patients that get on a ventilator (due to this virus), never leave it.

If new york is like most other places, the majority of the ICU cases are people on ventilators.
Right now thats only "4,376 patients in their ICUs" as someone said, earlier on.

Which is a far cry from the 40,000 worst case outcome their models showed.

However, alot of people have mild symptoms before, they turn bad enough they need a ventilator.
Think back a week or more ago, how many confirmed cases + hospitalised did New York state have then?

If this is the "peak" of new daily cases, and hospitalised,... then a week from now, should be the peak of ICU cases, and ventilators.
Then a week or two, following that, should be the "peak" of deaths.

The church was closed the 2nd week in March. They probably got it elsewhere. 

And at the time the statement was made, he was correct to anyone's knowledge.  The comment came before the first case of community spread was discovered the following day.  And during his "inaction" he instituted the travel ban from China, set up the task force, mentioned it in the State of the Union, and asked Congress to appropriate money.  Oh, and he took the time to speak about unprompted while in India.

Trump's comments during that time period were generally, "Maybe it will, maybe it won't, we'll be prepared" types of comments.  That's where all the "downplay" snipped quotes come from.  It's the type of crap you can get from piecing together any meandering comments from Trump.

And there weren't even "months" to do any denying.  Just two weeks after that first case was discovered, the whole country was shutting down.  So, please.  Just knock it off.  Trump's response wasn't perfect, but you're completely re-writing history and trying to cram extra months between the end of February and mid-March.  If anything, Trump did better than the average president because (as much as it grates to hear him use it over and over) he did issue that travel ban when most presidents would have bowed to China.  Without those travel restrictions, we probably get hit around the same time as Europe without the advanced warning of how bad it can be from Italy.

This is the problem.  When you don't know, don't say shit.

If data and information are limited, then you say data and information are limited.  Instead, Trump downplayed it.  Over and over and over. 

I never took much stock of those numbers to start with.

Should be interesting to see how things unfold.

Pretty sure some congregations are still open for business?

Either way, even if they "probably" got it elsewhere, they risked giving it to their entire Church... They are assisting in the spread, thoughts and prayers did nothing.

The Corona Virus was gaining traction in November, 2019. - That is when we should have started to take action the world over.
When did trump take action? That video was late Feb, 2020.

He asserted they had the virus "under control". - That the "numbers are smaller than just about anybody". - And here we are today, the complete opposite of his statements.
https://therecount.com/watch/daily-recount-april-5th-2020/2645643680

That's just it. You don't make assertions before you have all the facts... And evidence. And Trump dribbles rubbish constantly.

He doesn't need defending, he made the statements, he's an Adult.

My partner is an Ambulance officer, I was an Aged and Disability Carer years ago and now a Firefighter and an Emergency Services Officer, so the clinical aspect to all of this and it's effect on certain population demographics isn't exactly new to me... And even then something like a "Mild Flu" without an appropriate vaccine to protect the vulnerable would be absolutely devastating to various populations.

*****************

I feel like Nations with universal healthcare systems seem to be doing really well in handling this... And systems like the USA's seem to be all over the shop.

Excellent.  It's a great criteria to hold a president accountable to, isn't it?

I absolutely do get it.  It's fun to take the president out of context and try to form a narrative.  Anyone actually LISTENING to most of those quotes would walk away with a different impression than the one you and the people who curated those quotes are trying to impart.

I've actually listened to a lot of these press conferences and interviews.  They don't match the tone you're trying to impart.  And using a *snip* to ignore the context doesn't help your cause.

These are all political games.  And I just don't have any time for your excuses.  If you really think this is a time of emergency, then put this kind of gotcha garbage aside and deal with the reality instead of scoring cheap points.