Coronavirus News Update for Oct. 10 – Trump Reverses Course on Stimulus Package

Old Senate chamber in the Capitol

After tweeting that he would end stimulus package talks and not consider such aide until after the election, President Trump reversed course and proposed a $1.8 trillion package that Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin presented to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi Friday morning by phone.  On Saturday, Pelosi told House Democrats that a number of open issues remained in her negotiations, including aid for families and for state and local governments.

The Trump Administration blocked the Centers for Disease Control last month from promulgating an order requiring all passengers and employees to wear masks on all forms of public transit in the United States, two federal officials told the New York Times. The order had been drafted under the CDC’s “quarantine powers” and was backed by Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, but the White House’s coronavirus task force declined to consider it.

Two more members of the White House residence staff tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday, officials there said.  That brings the total number of residence staff who have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent weeks to four.

Meanwhile, cable news network CNN reported that, despite the claims of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the practice of following social distancing on the senate floor is nowhere near as common as McConnell has contended.  The network reviewed hours of footage of the Senate floor that covered the period from September 29 through October 2 and found senators “face-to-face and shoulder-to-shoulder” with one another.

In New York, a federal judge upheld Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plan to limit restrictions on gatherings at houses of worship, finding that the new rules did not violate the free exercise of religion for Orthodox Jews.  Agudath Israel of America, a national orthodox Jewish organization, had sued the governor over the new executive order.

Former Governor Chris Christie, who had tested positive for the coronavirus one day after President Trump announced he had become infected with Covid-19, was released from the hospital Saturday morning.

Microsoft, which has had its employees telecommute as the coronavirus spread, said it would allow some workers to continue the practice after the pandemic is over.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)