What A Day - You Can't Always Test Who You Want

Episode Date: April 20, 2020

Congress is nearing a deal on a new round of funding for small businesses, hospitals and to ramp up testing — which experts say is still in too short supply. Plus, the latest on antibody tests and why they are so unreliable. Around the world, Norway debuts a new voluntary tracking app and 100,000 people go to a funeral in Bangladesh, in defiance of social distancing rules.And in headlines: a mass shooting in Nova Scotia, Kim Jong-un denies “nice note,” and San Clemente sands its skatepark. 

It's Monday, April 20th. I'm Akilah Hughes. And I'm Gideon Resnick. And this is What A Day coming to you on a day that will forever be known as Core 20. I mean, I'm not saying that I'm celebrating, but I'm celebrating. On today's show, experts say we're still too short on coronavirus tests, then some headlines. But first, the latest. As this COVID-19 pandemic is a global crisis, we have to all come together to fight it on a global scale. Let's tell our leaders that we need them to strengthen the health care systems all around the world so that a crisis like this never happens again.

Yes, that was Paul McCartney speaking as part of One World Together at Home, a livestream special curated by Lady Gaga to support health care workers and the World Health Organization. But in news, Democratic leaders in the House and Senate and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said yesterday that they were getting close to a deal on a funding package that has been stalled for quite some time. So Gideon, walk us through what we know about this. Yeah, so this is a $450 billion deal. A big part of it will go to replenish the small businesses loan fund that quickly ran out during this pandemic. Mnuchin said that the deal could look something like this 300 billion for that small business fund, which is called the Paycheck Protection Program, plus 50 billion for the Small Business

Administration's Disaster Relief Fund. And then there's also 75 billion for hospitals and 25 billion for testing. And so the entire reason that this deal had been held up for almost two weeks is that Republicans only wanted to pass money for the small business part of this, while Democrats wanted hospital and testing funding as well. It appears that they got that. However, Democrats are still looking to add money for state and local governments, which Mnuchin is saying is unlikely for this particular deal. So possibly a deal. And Mnuchin was, you know, kind of optimistic about all this. He said the Senate could vote as soon as today. How is that going to work? Well, it's a great question. And there is a pretty ridiculous catch to it,

something that could delay this a little bit longer. The members of Congress are spread out throughout the country, and there's a possibility of passing the package by a voice vote, which would mean they wouldn't have to return to the Capitol. But if you do that, one member of Congress can throw a wrench in the plan, which is exactly what happened when Congressman Thomas Massey of Kentucky wanted his colleagues to show up in person for the passage of the last relief bill. It's always Kentucky. We just can't keep our shit out of the way. We're always in it. Sorry. It's disappointing. I believe the fifth. We could end up seeing a remote voting plan developed, though, in another scenario, which would help usher the United States Congress out of the 19th century.

Yeah, here's hoping. Well, let's talk about the small business loan program for a second. You know, there were some issues getting it operational. And now we've also seen some slightly questionable loans that have gone out to what I would describe as not exactly small businesses. Yeah, that's right. One example of this was Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, not the easiest company name to say, which got $20 million despite the fact that the loans are capped at $10 million. Basically, the way that the program is supposed to work is that companies with 500 or fewer employees can qualify for that $10 million. and the loan and the interest can be forgiven if the companies make promises like keeping most of their workforce and using the money for payroll

rent and utilities and other such vital needs but ruth's and some other larger companies were able to get more because of a provision that allowed for them to get loans for subsidiaries they had with less than 500 employees. Now, there's nothing legally wrong with it, but lawmakers are concerned that these are the kinds of places getting money while tons of struggling independent small businesses wait in line. To this point, Democrats have said they want to set aside loans for minority-owned businesses and businesses in rural areas that have struggled to access the program, a stipulation that may appear in this new funding deal with the White House. We'll have to see. All right. So also over the weekend, we saw more of the push and pull between governors and the administration about when it would be safe to begin reopening the country. Public health

officials and experts think the country needs to dramatically scale up its testing capacity, me too, before the lockdowns can lift. But what else did we find out? Okay, so Vice President Pence said on Sunday that there was a, quote, sufficient testing capacity for any state to go into phase one of the reopening process. Raised a lot of eyebrows. We talked about that on a previous episode, but it's the first part of easing some lockdown restrictions like reopening movie theaters and restaurants with strict social distancing rules attached to it. Pence said the administration expects that the current 150,000 tests per day can be doubled to 300,000 per day with labs across various states. All well and good,

but the governors of those states, including the Republican governors of Maryland and Ohio, and the Democratic governors of Michigan and Virginia said that they have all kinds of shortages that are preventing them from doing this. It's not like they haven't wanted to. And those shortages are from swabs to reagents and more in between. And some found the suggestion that they weren't doing enough to actually be downright insulting. I think this is probably the number one problem in America and has been from the beginning of this crisis, the lack of testing. And I've repeatedly made this argument to the leaders in Washington on behalf of the rest of the governors in America. And I can tell you, I talk to governors on both sides of the aisle nearly every single day.

The administration, I think, is trying to ramp up testing. They are doing some things with respect to private labs, but to try to push this off to say that the governors have plenty of testing and they should just get to work on testing, somehow we aren't doing our job is just absolutely false. Every governor in America has been pushing and fighting and clawing to get more tests, not only from the federal government, but from every private lab in America has been pushing and fighting and clawing to get more tests, not only from the federal government, but from every private lab in America and from all across the world. And we continue to do so. Look, we've increased our testing in Maryland by 5000 percent over the past month, but it's nowhere near where it needs to be. Yeah, so that was the Republican

governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan, on CNN on Sunday. During a briefing later in the day, Trump said that the administration would use the Defense Production Act to increase production of test swabs, though the administration hasn't provided any further details on it yet. All right, well, you know, I guess we'll just have to keep listening to what he has to say. But, you know, even a doubling of daily tests, which would be difficult to get quickly, isn't going to be enough, according to many experts. Isn't that right? Yeah. I mean, right now the country is doing around 150,000 tests per day that we know of. The Harvard Global Health Institute estimated over the weekend that that has to be more than tripled over the next month in order to open up safely.

So what they're saying is between now and around mid-May, they're estimating that there needs to be around 500,000 to 700,000 daily tests. Their researchers are saying that the current percentage of positive tests, positive IDs that is, for the virus in the United States, around 20%, is just too high. The World Health Organization has recommended a maximum rate of 10%. And for comparison, in a country like South Korea, where we know that there's been a lot more testing, the rate is closer to 3%. Basically, the logic goes, if this number is high, it's suggesting that testing isn't widespread enough. And if the testing isn't widespread enough, you have the potential of a lot of people walking around still spreading this virus unknowingly. Yeah. The other key to letting Americans start to ease back into any semblance of normal life are these antibody tests we've heard about for the virus, also called serology tests.

These are the tests meant to identify people who've built up immunity to the virus. These have kind of started rolling out, but there are major issues. So what's the latest on that? Yeah, so months ago, the federal government drew criticism for not allowing for companies to quickly develop tests to identify who had been infected. These are the diagnostic ones that we all know and love that go a thousand feet up your nose. Now, the opposite right now is actually happening with early antibody tests. The FDA has allowed about 90 companies to go to market without proper vetting. And what has happened, as demonstrated by numerous examples, but one specifically in a New York Times piece, there were about 20,000 tests secured by community leaders in Laredo, Texas. The company that sold

them was touting something like a 93 to 97% reliability rate. But the officials there said that it was more like 20% after they actually tested people with them. Yeah, it's a big problem. And researchers are saying that one of the other big issues is that certain tests are only looking for certain things. For example, one might find antibodies that spring up in your actual body during the infection, while another looks for antibodies that peak four weeks after infection. Also, the rapid tests, which are not done in labs, are showing these kind of yes or no, up or down results, which are seen as not nearly as reliable as lab-administered ones, which can actually show you how many antibodies a person has. So that's important because it's still unclear what level of antibodies would give someone immunity and how long that immunity would last for. So if somebody finds out yes or no that they have them, it doesn't tell you enough information to actually know that you can safely go about your day and your lives.

So that's some of where things stand on testing. But Akilah, wrap us up with what else is happening around the world. All right. So lots is happening. According to The Washington Post, Americans at the World Health Organization transmitted real-time information about COVID-19 to the Trump administration since the beginning of the outbreak. And this puts a bit of a damper on the president's claims that his administration didn't know enough to act on the coronavirus threat in time. And all of this came to light days after Trump pledged to halt funding in the neighborhood of $400 to $500 million per year

to the World Health Organization pending his investigation. In Bangladesh, a politician's funeral drew a crowd of more than 100,000 people. And no, they were not all six feet apart. There are growing fears of a new outbreak there. And yesterday, there were reportedly 91 total COVID-19 related deaths in Bangladesh. But officials believe that number to be way, way higher since, you know, they've also had difficulty obtaining tests. And in Norway, a new app is available to help track infections and let users know if they've come in close proximity to a carrier. It's voluntary to use the app and voluntary for users to decide whether they will self-isolate after exposure. It's being introduced as Norway plans to open kindergarten and some

schools starting next week. And that is the latest. It's Monday, WOD Squad. It's 420. Roll another blunt. But every day of April this year is technically 420. We're starting a new week at home. We want to check in. So Giddy, have you seen any excellent Instagram Lives?

Well, there was one that took place on Friday starring a couple members of the extended WOD squad. That was pretty good. There were some... Who was it? High quality. You know, people can find out on their own, you know, check it out.

There were some good movie wrecks in there. There were some exciting new ways to make caffeinated beverages, some more foamy than others. Yeah, so I encourage a rewatch for that. But broadly speaking, though, if you're going through Instagram and you're like, all right, this person's going live, that person's going live. What is actually keeping your attention? How long are you watching these things for and what's drawing you in? I will say I have a habit of clicking all of them. But the moment they're boring or if I'm the only person there, I like ghost really quick. I'm not even going to wait for them to react to be like, oh, Akilah's here.

I'm like, no, I'm not. No one else is here. Like there's no equivalent button that's like who all going to be there for an Instagram live. So you just end up in there. But I the one that has really held my attention, and it's funny because I don't actually participate, is this 80s-themed workout class that's truly just like Richard Simmons on steroids in the year 2020. And I love it. I'm going to have to find the name of it, but I'll post it on my Instagram story tomorrow.

But I, oh my God, it's great. I mean, the music they choose, the outfits, the moves are things that shouldn't exist. Your body shouldn't be thrusting all the time. And yet I can't stop watching it. That sounds great. I don't like the idea of like knowing that I've, it's like when you're told like somebody has entered the chat, right?

Like, so when I see my own name pop up, when I'm like clicking on an IG live, I'm like, oh, I got it. It's time. So you like, you can't even hang around for a minute. Like the moment you know that you're there, you're like, actually, I'm not, I'm not here. It's sort of like, it's the same response I have

if I like accidentally am scrolling too fast and I like something from like some random person and I'm like, I've been seen, like gotta hide, gotta hide. Yeah, like let me just delete my account. That's fair. Well, you know what? That's that on the temperature check. Who haven't you checked on?

You can always message those people you added on Facebook before you realize it was a mistake and see what they're up to. And if they say something weird, just block them. You got nothing to lose. But we will check on you tomorrow. Let's wrap up with some headlines. Headlines. A shooter killed at least 13 people in Nova Scotia this weekend, including one Royal Canadian Mounted Police Officer.

The violence began on Saturday night in rural Portapique, about 60 miles north of Halifax, and it ended 12 hours later at a gas station where police killed the suspect in a standoff. Though gun ownership is common in Canada, shootings are rarer than in the United States. This attack is believed to be Canada's deadliest in over 30 years. On Saturday, President Trump told reporters that his relationship with North Korea and their leader Kim Jong-un was going great. In fact, he said he'd recently received a quote, nice note from the man. But that was news to Mr. Kim. On Sunday, North Korean officials fervently denied any correspondence between the Supreme Leader and the yelling guy on TV

and went on to warn that using their relationship as a, quote, diversion or, quote, for selfish purposes would be a bad idea or what Donald Trump calls an idea. No word on how Trump is handling the public rejection, but if his press conferences are any indication, he'll likely just wave his hands and say none of this ever happened like the world's shittiest magician. What? Like an insane side plot to be happening during the main plot we don't even need side plots it's too much plot already yeah seriously uh a mobster who was charged then

acquitted in the six million dollar lufthansa cargo heist that's depicted in the classic film goodfellas currently streaming on netflix for my fellow members of the wise guys quarantine movie club shout out rise up uh got a compassionate release from prison on Friday where he was serving an eight-year sentence for an unrelated crime. 85-year-old Vinny Asaro was put behind bars in 2017 after a road rage incident led him to do what any normal 80-year-old man would do, direct two members of the Bonanno crime family to light a car on fire. Asaro had a stroke last year, which puts him at risk of COVID-19,

and that's what led a Brooklyn federal judge to call for his release. Mr. Asaro, now that you're at home, please find a quarantine safe alternative to lighting cars on fire like Quiplash or looking out the window. Yeah, I think you'd be pretty good at Quiplash. The city of San Clemente just pulled off one of the craziest skateboard tricks of all time. The backside fill a skate park with 37 tons of sand to fakie. You can tell I wrote that joke and I know what I'm talking about. The California city did this to render their own town's park unskatable after kickflip crazed skaters continued to use it and ignored no trespassing signs meant to encourage social distancing. Officials took a similar approach in Venice, California, burying a popular beachside skate park. All this has led to one of the unholiest alliances of all

time between skaters and prominent conservatives. Senator Ted Cruz called the action in Venice an abuse of power and tweeted, quote, to all those lefties defending California's idiocy, skating alone poses zero health threat to anybody. Skaters, don't be deceived. Ted Cruz is not your friend. He has called the police on you before, and he will do it again. Ted is the definition of harshing a mellow. He is all harsh. And those

are the headlines. That's all for today. If you liked the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, blaze it 420, and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just thousands of ads for coronavirus-related products that are suddenly showing up in your feed like me, What A Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at crooked.com slash subscribe. I'm Akilah Hughes. I'm Gideon Resnick. And please wear a face mask when

you set fire to cars. It's just the safer alternative. It's healthy for you and for those around you. Think of a car. What a day is a product of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Charlotte Landis. Sonia Tun is our assistant producer. Our head writer is John Milstein, and our senior producer is Katie Long. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka.