US coronavirus update: Latest on cases, deaths and reopening

The Trump administration will not implement the draft 17-page recommendation from the Center for Disease Control to reopen America, a senior CDC official confirmed to CNN.

What is in the document: This guidance provides more detailed advice beyond the reopening guidelines that were submitted by the government last month, including specific advice for schools and churches.

A senior CDC official confirmed to CNN that last night it was clear that the White House would not implement their draft 17-page recommendation to reopen America – after being asked.

“We are used to dealing with the White House that asks for things and then chaos happens. The team of people at CDC spent hours responding to requests from Debbie Birx, “said the source, referring to the White House coronavirus task force officer, Dr. Deborah Birx. “The 17-page report is a request from the White House Task Force to produce this recommendation. That is our role. To compile this guide. “

A task force official gave CNN the following statement:

Another administration official told CNN that the CDC leadership had not seen the document before it leaked.

A senior administration official said the draft document obtained by CNN last week was the subject of intense internal debate over the past week, but in the end, members of the task force felt it was too specific and might not help because the national guidelines recalled very much different. the situation in each country.

The White House was also the target of intensive lobbying efforts from certain sectors that wanted to influence the guidelines, said the senior official.

At the White House briefing yesterday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany repeated the White House initiative to let the country’s governors implement their own guidelines.

“This is an effort led by the governor. The president said that the governors made the decision to move forward and we encourage them to follow our phased approach, “McEnany said.

The CDC official told CNN that this was part of the ongoing friction that had occurred between US health agencies and the White House.

The decision was then made by the CDC to pivot and try to get their recommendations implemented at the state level through state institutions.

Part of the debate regarding these recommendations relates to what is recommended for business.

“The CDC, the White House task force and White House principles do not agree on how strong the public health response must still be,” the official said.

According to CDC officials, the agency was notified by US Department of Labor officials – all of whom were part of the government process – that under the proposed agency guidelines, some restrictions had to be placed on entities such as churches and businesses. too strict, and the business will be left vulnerable to legal liability if a worker contracts or dies due to Covid-19 at work.

“In the absence of laws, these are regulations, and if there are no regulations, those are recommendations. They think it’s too open for the court to interpret if something happens to work. It doesn’t matter whether OSHA plays ball or not, “said the CDC source.