The Hill’s Coronavirus Report: Richard Edelman says business has to step in the COVID-19 void left by politicized media and episodic government; US reaches 1 million COVID-19 cases

VIEW BREAKING NEWS ON CORONAVIRUS

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

> U.S. hits grim milestone of 1,000,000 cases 

> Trump hosts Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at White House

> Senate to convene May 4, House leaders say it’s not safe yet

> Schumer calls for hearing to investigate Trump’s mishandling of coronavirus relief 

> Mnuchin says no bailout for states with poorly managed budgets 

> 36 positive in Wisconsin after election debacle, casting doubt on in-person Nov. voting

 Is Congress essential? House leaders on Tuesday reversed course on plans to bring the chamber back into session next week amid fears over whether Congress can safely operate business amid the coronavirus pandemic. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), citing discussions with the Capitol physician, announced the change in plans after initially saying Monday that the House would return May 4. This comes as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel (R-Ky.) said Monday that the Senate will convene in the Capitol next week. Certainly, there are pressing health concerns that Congress is rightfully heeding, but if much of the country has managed the ever-tricky transition to working remotely, why can’t our elected leaders do so? More than 56,000 people are dead in the U.S. and essential workers on the front lines of the fight against the virus are working around the clock to save lives and keep the country up and running. Without a remote voting system in place, we are still in a waiting game — and, for so many, there is no time to spare.

THE INTERVIEW

Richard Edelman says America’s corporate leaders have to step in to COVID-19 void left by politicized media and episodic government; CEOs trusted more than White House

Watch the full interview here.

THE HILL’S CORONAVIRUS REPORT

Welcome to The Hill’s Coronavirus Report. It’s Tuesday, April 28.

Editor’s note. 

While people trust family members and close friends — unless they are college students who ran off to Florida’s beaches during spring break — they don’t trust much else. Social trust is what makes communities work. We have built an overlapping, intermeshed system of norms, rules, regulations, expectations that restaurants will be clean, that drugs will be safe, that automobiles will pause at stop signs, that people on the street will not attack us, that our political leaders will tell us the truth — at least more often than not. There is a security in these sorts of social habits that now must be rewired. 

Tens of millions of people who have been furloughed or laid off may not trust their employer as much. Political leaders who reopen their economies too soon, or too late, will have trust problems with their constituents. And as my interview subject today, Edelman Public Relations CEO Richard Edelman, said, if firms choose to sell and not solve the problem their customers, workers and broad society are experiencing, those consumers will “punish” them by shifting their loyalties to other firms that have put the safety and welfare of their workers and customers first.

Edelman’s advice to corporate leaders, politicians and just about any stakeholder with a platform and voice in this crisis is to 1. Show up and do your part; 2. Don’t act alone; 3. Solve — don’t sell; and 4. Communicate with emotion. People are hurting and tens of millions have been run over by this crisis. The problem solving, the empathy, the fixing of holes and gaps in our social safety net have to be real and not contrived. That’s one way to restart the seeds of trust in a stressed out time.

– Steve Clemons 

Your Coronavirus Report team includes Steve Clemons, editor-at-large of The Hill, and researcher Andrew Wargofchik. Follow us on Twitter at @SCClemons and @a_wargofchik. CLICK HERE to subscribe to The Hill’s Coronavirus Special Report. To stay up-to-date on all things coronavirus, visit TheHill.com and SUBSCRIBE to our Overnight Healthcare newsletter for the latest developments from the daily White House coronavirus task force briefings. 

This Wednesday, our new 3D journalism platform The Hill Virtually Live will host an online event — Safeguarding Seniors: Healthcare in a Health Crisis. House Energy and Commerce Committee members Reps. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) and Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) will be joining us to talk about supporting seniors, tackling disparities and the role of innovation in the age of COVID-19. They will be followed by a panel featuring Dr. Patrice Harris of the American Medical Association, AARP’s Nancy LeaMond, Karen Freeman-Wilson of the Chicago Urban League and Alliance for Aging Research’s Sue Peschin. 

REGISTER HERE and follow @TheHillEvents for additional program updates. Join the conversation using #TheHillVirtuallyLive.

CORONAVIRUS NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

There are 3,083, 467  reported cases of COVID-19 in the world. The U.S. reached another grim milestone of more than 1 million cases with 1,002,498 reported as of the time of this newsletter. 213,824 people have died from the virus around the globe. Spain is reporting 232,128 cases. 201,505 in Italy. 166,036 in France. 159,137 in Germany. 93,558 in Russia. 92,584 in Iran. 68,188 in Brazil. 23,240 in Ecuador. 14,514 in Pakistan. 4,793 in South Africa. 

57,266 have died in America from the coronavirus. 

291,996 cases have been reported in New York. 111,188 in New Jersey. 56,462 in Massachusetts. 38,210 in Michigan. 32,848 in Florida. 20,113 in Maryland. 16,325 in Ohio. 13,879 in Colorado. 6,377 in Iowa. 6,081 in Wisconsin.

5,628,374 coronavirus cases have been conducted in the U.S. 112,065 people in America have reported full recoveries from COVID-19.

WASHINGTON WATCH

Schumer calls for hearing on Trump’s ‘abject failure at implementing’ coronavirus relief. Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) on Tuesday blasted the Trump administration for failing to properly implement the four coronavirus relief packages passed by Congress, saying he would call on the GOP-led Senate to begin oversight hearings next week. “This administration has been an abject failure at implementing most of these laws,” Schumer said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Tuesday. (The Hill) 

Mnuchin says no bailout for states with badly managed budgets. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said states that had poorly managed budgets before the COVID-19 outbreak sent their economies reeling should not be rescued by the federal government. “This isn’t just going to be a federal bailout of the states,” Mnuchin said early Tuesday on CNBC. (Bloomberg) 

LAWMAKERS TWEET

Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) 

@RepElaineLuria Temporarily eliminating copays on mail order prescription drugs for TRICARE beneficiaries will protect military families and personnel at military treatment facilities. That’s why I joined @RepLBR in introducing the Help Our Heroes Access Medicine Act.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) 

@RepMattGaetz Americans deserve to know who’s fighting for what. Democrats are fighting for illegal aliens, upgrades to the Kennedy Center, and bailouts for blue states. Republicans are trying to leverage the strength of this economy for our people, our workers, and our businesses.

ACROSS THE NATION

Governors tiptoe toward reopening across the country. Governors are tiptoeing toward allowing businesses to reopen in their states, a gamble that will have ramifications for both the coronavirus epidemic and the economy. On Monday, governors in Texas and Ohio announced phased reopening plans that will allow some businesses to resume operations over the coming weeks if they follow safety requirements. Montana, Colorado and Tennessee will allow retailers and other businesses to reopen this week in some capacity. (The Hill) 

At least 40 Wisconsites test positive after election debacle. At least 40 people who voted in person or worked at polls for Wisconsin’s election earlier this month have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the state health department. These developments are bound to cast more uncertainty on the prospect of in-person voting in the November election. (The Hill) 

Rhode Island pushes aggressive testing, a move that could ease reopening. Extensive testing is seen as an essential tool, experts say, as states contemplate restarting public life, and search for ways to keep a handle on the virus’s path and signs of new outbreaks in the days and weeks that follow. Five percent of Rhode Island’s residents have undergone a test, compared with about 1 percent of people in states like Texas and Georgia, where reopening efforts are taking shape. (New York Times)

WORLD VIEW

  Argentina bans flights until Sept. 1, in one of the world’s most intensive travel restrictions. Argentina announced this week that all commercial flights will be banned to and from the country until Sept. 1 — a restrictive measure that makes the country an outlier as others move toward reopening. The decree, released by Argentina’s National Civil Aviation Administration on Monday, means that airlines cannot sell any tickets for flights to or from the country in the next four months. (Washington Post) 

Malaysia puts the breaks on Ramadan amid virus concerns. In Malaysia, the government has extended restrictions on movement until at least May 12 — midway through Ramadan. The country has closed its borders, banned events and gatherings, shut schools and houses of worship, and allowed only essential businesses to operate. Most people can travel only for necessities — exceptions require police approval — within 6 miles of their home, with one person allowed in each car. (Washington Post) 

SCIENCE

Race for coronavirus vaccine faces early challenges. The world is pinning its hopes on a vaccine to prevent COVID-19. Drug companies are racing to develop a vaccine at breakneck speed, but they’re quickly encountering challenges with clinical trials, production capacity and governmental approval. (The Hill)

BUSINESS

Small business loans above $2 million will get full audit to make sure they’re valid, Mnuchin says. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC on Tuesday the government will audit any company taking out more than $2 million from the Paycheck Protection Program. “I’m going to be putting out an announcement later this morning that for any loan over $2 million, the Small Business Administration will be doing a full review of that loan before there is loan forgiveness,” Mnuchin said on “Squawk Box.” (CNBC) 

Some businesses won’t return relief funds despite pressure from Trump administration. A handful of publicly traded companies say they aren’t planning to return loans received from a small-business rescue program, despite pressure from the Trump administration to repay the funds. Companies in the hotel, cruise ship and medical-device sectors said they are qualified to receive the money under the Paycheck Protection Program and need the funds to stay in business. (Washington Post)

ISSUES, CAUSES, PASSION

Let’s stop asking, “When are we going back to the office?” For the foreseeable future, the world is going to be even more divided between those who have to go into their place of work and those who have the luxury of continuing to work from home. Those of us who have the privilege of leading organizations and teams that go into an office also have an opportunity to rebalance “office” dynamics. Let’s rise to the occasion and make use of that opportunity for the betterment of everyone. (Joe Andrew for The Hill)

GENEROUS SPIRITS

Blue Angels and Thunderbirds flyover to honor coronavirus responders. The U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels and the Air Force’s Thunderbirds gave a loud salute Tuesday afternoon to health care workers and others on the front lines in the fight against the coronavirus with flyovers in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. (NBC News)

ICYMI, STEVE’S INTERVIEWS, 15 MINUTES EACH

> Steve interviews former Senate Majority Leader BILL FRIST 

> Steve interviews NATO Deputy Secretary General MIRCEA GENONA 

> Steve interviews Vanda Pharmaceuticals President and CEO MIHAEL POLYMEROPOULOS

> Steve interviews Seattle Mayor JENNY DURKAN

> Steve interviews Pfizer’s chief scientist MIKAEL DOLSTEN 

> Steve interviews UAE Ambassador to U.S. YOUSEF AL OTAIBA 

> Steve interviews Sen. CHRISTOPHER COONS (D-Del.) 

Watch all Coronavirus Report interviews here.

YOUR WORLD, YOUR STORIES

Family time, reimagined. Luther Berg shared a photo of one of his residents at Brookdale Northridge senior living facility in California. With nursing homes on high alert throughout the country and no visitation allowed, Kathryn Payne (photographed above) now visits with her family through the window of her room. Kathryn’s family visits every day with signs, waving, blowing kisses and talking over the phone.

SEND US YOUR OWN PICS – from your own walks or adventures – during this time of physical distancing but social connection. And SEND US YOUR STORIES of how teleworking is going, what you have learned from homeschooling, new ways to exercise, and special moments or standout heroism you want to share. What’s working for you? What’s comic in these dark days? 

Send to YourStories@TheHill.com. Our thoughts are with you, our readers, and we hope and trust that no matter the weight of burdens on you now — and it’s not a good story for everyone we know — that we all stand together, resilient and confident, on the other side of this. There will be another side.

CLICK HERE to subscribe to The Hill’s Coronavirus Report. To stay up-to-date on all things coronavirus, visit TheHill.com and SUBSCRIBE to our Overnight Healthcare newsletter for the latest developments from the daily White House coronavirus task force briefings.

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