Pelosi: Trump must invoke powers
Direction needed to add protective gear, testing, speaker says
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday compared President Donald Trump to “the man who refuses to ask for directions” as she pleaded with the White House to seek input from the nation’s scientific leaders to reverse the rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths.
The Democratic speaker urged Trump to invoke the full power of the Defense Production Act to boost much-needed supplies for coronavirus testing and treatment as a weary nation battles the outbreak.
“Mr. President, admit it, you’ve gone down the wrong path, ask for directions, ask for directions from the scientists,” Pelosi said at the Capitol.
The spread of the coronavirus surged unabated in hot spots around the country Thursday, with one city in South Carolina urging people to pray it into submission, a hospital in Texas bringing in military medical personnel and funeral morgues running out of space in Phoenix.
Record numbers of cases and deaths were popping up throughout the country. Texas reported 129 new deaths Thursday, and a third of the more than 3,400 COVID-19 fatalities registered there since the pandemic began were reported in the first two weeks of July alone. Health officials also reported more than 10,000 confirmed new cases for the third straight day.
In Louisiana, that state had thought it had contained the virus earlier this year only to again see a resurgence of cases, averaging more than 2,000 new confirmed infections a day over the past week.
Florida reached another ominous record with 156 virus deaths reported Thursday as the state continued to experience a swift rise in cases. The state Department of Health reported 13,965 new coronavirus cases.
On the same day South Carolina reported a record 69 COVID-19 deaths — more than double than any other day — the mayor of Charleston asked for spiritual help for people who died in the COVID-19 pandemic, people fighting the virus and their families.
Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg declared Thursday a day of prayer and remembrance in what for centuries has been nicknamed the Holy City for the number of church steeples from many different faiths that dot its Colonial skyline.
In a state that is among the worst in the nation for the rate of new cases, Charleston is one of the biggest hot spots.
“We do turn to God at a time like this,” Tecklenburg said. He was surrounded by pastors of various faiths who also prayed for scientists looking for a vaccine, the mayor, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and Trump.
As Congress considers another financial package to help ease the damage to the U.S. economy caused by the pandemic, the Labor Department announced Thursday that more than a million Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, indicating that companies are cutting more jobs as the resurgent coronavirus scythes through the Sun Belt and some of the nation’s most populous states.
Layoffs in Florida, Georgia and California rose by tens of thousands, the Labor Department said in its weekly report. The number of laid-off workers seeking assistance remained stuck at 1.3 million — a stunning number that, while lower than the previous week, illustrated the devastation wrought by widespread shutdowns. It was the 17th consecutive week that jobless claims surpassed 1 million.
Meanwhile, in Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp is suing Atlanta’s mayor and city council to block the city from enforcing its mandate to wear a mask in public and other rules related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kemp and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, in a suit filed in state court late Thursday in Atlanta, argue that Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has overstepped her authority and must obey Kemp’s executive orders under state law.
“Governor Kemp must be allowed, as the chief executive of this state, to manage the public health emergency without Mayor Bottoms issuing void and unenforceable orders which only serve to confuse the public,” the lawsuit states.
Kemp on Wednesday clarified his executive orders to expressly block Atlanta and at least 14 other local governments across the state from requiring people to wear face coverings.
Kemp’s order was met with defiance Thursday by Bottoms and some other mayors, who said they would continue enforcing the order. The lawsuit forces that showdown, resolving an ambiguous situation with Kemp denying local governments could order masks, but local governments arguing it was within their power.
Kemp said he strongly supports mask-wearing to combat the spread of COVID-19 infections. He traveled the state this month to encourage face coverings. But he has maintained for weeks that cities and counties can’t require masks in public places, saying local actions can’t be more or less restrictive than his statewide orders.
In Arkansas, Gov. Asa Hutchinson issued an order Thursday requiring people to wear face masks in public throughout the state. And in Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis said he’s issuing an executive order requiring face coverings in indoor public areas to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.
More than 3.5 million people in the United States have been infected and over 138,000 have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, 13.6 million people have been infected and over 586,000 have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The true numbers are thought to be far higher for a number of reasons, including limited testing.