AP: U.S. health official says pandemic clearly can be controlled
“A day after White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said ‘we’re not going to control the pandemic,’ a top Trump administration health official said Monday that Americans have already proven they can do that through basic safeguards shown to work. ‘I think we can control the pandemic,’ Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Brett Giroir said on a call with reporters…” (Alonso-Zaldivar, 10/26).

POLITICO: As coronavirus cases surge, Trump has another message
“With one week left in the election, President Donald Trump is perfecting his closing argument about the pandemic gripping much of the nation: Don’t worry about it. In rally after rally, tweet after tweet, Trump is encouraging his supporters and everyone else to stop talking about the coronavirus. His key message: It’s not that big of a deal, vaccines are on the way and if people get sick, most of them will survive it just as Trump and his family did. … Trump’s closing argument on Covid-19 comes as Joe Biden and his surrogates pound the president over his early handling of the pandemic, his inconsistent public health messaging, his inaccurate claims about the threat and his pledges of a vaccine arriving far sooner than health officials expect. It’s also coming just as the U.S. hits new daily records of coronavirus cases ahead of the Nov. 3 election…” (Cook, 10/27).

Washington Post: President Trump falsely declares coronavirus is ‘ending’ as virus rates spike and financial markets dip
“…Over the past week, the nation has suffered a 20 percent increase in new diagnosed cases, a 13 percent rise in hospitalizations, and an 11 percent rise in daily deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University, with the seven-day average of new cases reaching its highest level ever. The increase has been driven by spread in rural communities and northern states, including Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and parts of Michigan, all of which could play a decisive role in the presidential contest…” (Scherer/Dawsey, 10/26).

Additional coverage of the Trump administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing outbreaks among White House staff is available from The Hill, NBC, POLITICO, TIME, and Washington Post (2).