COVID19 FAQ for Faith and Community Leaders

March 17, 2020 – Sent by Amanda Robbins, Associate Director

What You Need To Know | President Trump’s Coronavirus Response Efforts

The Administration has compiled COVID-19 Recommended Preventive Practices and FAQs for Faith-based and Community Leaders, to ensure faith and community leaders have pertinent resources (attached here).

We also appreciate all you are doing to share and put into practice the President’s Coronavirus Guidelines for America: 15 Days to Slow the Spread PDF. For updates on the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), continue to refer to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) dedicated website.

President Trump and his Administration are working every day to protect the health and wellbeing of Americans and respond to the coronavirus.

WHOLE-OF-GOVERNMENT RESPONSE

• President Trump signed legislation securing $8.3 billion for coronavirus response.
• President Trump declared a national emergency, inviting States, territories, and tribes to access over $42 billion in existing funding. 
• To leverage the resources of the entire government, the President created a White House Coronavirus Task Force to coordinate response.
• The Vice President named Dr. Deborah Birx to serve as the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator.

TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS

• In January, President Trump reacted quickly to implement travel restrictions on travel from China, buying us valuable time to respond to the virus.
• The President has announced further travel restrictions on global hotspots, including Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and Iran.
• American citizens returning from travel-restricted countries are being routed to specific airports, where they can be screened and isolated as needed. 
• The Administration raised travel warnings to their highest level for other hot spot locations, like Japan and South Korea.
• The President has expanded airport screenings to identify travelers showing symptoms and instituted mandatory quarantines.

EXPANDING TESTING ACCESSIBILITY

• The FDA issued emergency approval for new commercial coronavirus tests to significantly expand testing across the country.
• The President secured legislation that will ensure Americans are able to be tested for free.
• The Administration is working with state and local partners and the private sector to open up drive-through testing sites.
• The Administration is working with the private sector to develop a website that Americans can utilize to determine whether they need a test and, if so, where to get it.
• HHS is providing funding to help accelerate the development of rapid diagnostic tests for the coronavirus.
• The FDA cut red tape to expand testing availability.  
• The Administration is working to provide states with flexibility to approve coronavirus testing laboratories.
• Admiral Brett Giroir – the Assistant Secretary for Health and head of the Public Health Service – has been appointed to coordinate coronavirus testing efforts.

HELPING IMPACTED BUSINESSES

• The Small Business Administration has announced disaster loans which provide impacted businesses with up to $2 million.    
• The President has met with bank executives, insurers, pharmaceutical executives, and other industry leaders.
• The President directed the Energy Department to purchase large quantities of crude oil for the strategic reserve. 
• President Trump has held numerous calls and meetings with business leaders from the pharmaceutical industry, health insurers, grocery stores, retail stores, banks, and more.

SUPPORTING FAMILIES AND WORKING AMERICANS

• The Administration negotiated legislation which will provide tax credits for eligible businesses that give paid leave to Americans affected by the virus.
• The Administration took action to provide more flexibility in unemployment insurance programs for workers impacted by the coronavirus.
• The President has directed the Education Department to waive interest on student loans held by the federal government.
• The President has directed the Treasury Department to defer tax payments for certain impacted individuals and businesses.
• President Trump has called on Congress to pass a payroll tax cut.
• USDA announced new flexibilities to allow meal service during school closures.

INFORMING THE PUBLIC

• The Administration launched a website – coronavirus.gov – to keep the public informed about the outbreak. 
• The President announced guidelines for Americans to follow and do their part to stem the spread of the virus.
• The Task Force is holding nearly daily press conferences to provide the American people with the latest information.
• The Task Force has recommended mitigation strategies to heavily impacted communities, like those in New York, Washington, and California.
• CMS announced guidance to protect vulnerable elderly Americans and limit medically unnecessary visits to nursing homes.

SUPPORTING HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS

• In January, the Administration declared the coronavirus to be a public health emergency.
• The President signed a memorandum directing his Administration to make general-use face masks available to healthcare workers.
• HHS announced it will be purchasing 500 million N95 respirators for the Strategic National Stockpile.
• The President took action to give HHS authority to waive rules and regulations so that healthcare providers have maximum flexibility to respond to this outbreak.
• CMS is giving flexibility to Medicare Advantage and Part D plans to waive cost-sharing for coronavirus tests and treatment.
• CMS created new billing codes for coronavirus tests to promote better tracking of the public health response.
• The Administration announced that health plans with health savings accounts will be able to cover coronavirus testing and treatment without co-payments.

DEVELOPING VACCINES AND THERAPEUTICS

• The Administration is working to help accelerate the development of therapeutics and a vaccine to combat the disease.
• The Trump Administration is actively working with drug manufacturers to monitor any potential drug supply chain issues.
• The Administration is expanding research and consulting with experts to better understand the transmission of coronavirus. 
• The National Institutes of Health has announced the beginning of a clinical trial for a coronavirus vaccine candidate.