I didn’t quite notice this exact phrasing when Trump was discussing rallies... The president skirted questions about how the businesses could reopen without schools reopening as well. “It’s a good question, I think the schools are going to be open soon,” he said. The White House’s own plan to “Open Up America Again” suggests that schools and organized youth activities “that are currently closed should remain closed” during Phase 1. “I hope we’re gonna have rallies. I think they’ll be bigger than ever,” Trump said. When the rallies have to be spaced out, with attendees spaced out, “it loses a lot of flavor,” Trump noted. In these extraordinary times, the Guardian’s editorial independence has never been more important. Because no one sets our agenda, or edits our editor, we can keep delivering quality, trustworthy, fact-checked journalism each and every day. Free from commercial or political bias, we can report fearlessly on world events and challenge those in power. Your support protects the Guardian’s independence. We believe every one of us deserves equal access to accurate news and calm explanation. No matter how unpredictable the future feels, we will remain with you, delivering high quality news so we can all make critical decisions about our lives, health and security – based on fact, not fiction. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – and it only takes a minute. Thank you. On the protestors who gathered around the country and flouted distancing measures, Trump said, “They seem to be very responsible people to me.” Here’s more background on those protests: Asked to address his “LIBERATE” tweets, Trump said he is “very comfortable” with what he posted. He noted that some states are going too far with social distancing measures. “I think some things are too tough,” he said. “And if you look at some of the states you just mentioned, that it’s too tough.” But states are currently following federal guidelines encouraging Americans to stay home. In order to enter Phase 1 of the plan to reopen the country, the US needs to be doing about 4.5m tests per month, Giroir said. By the end of April, the US will have access to 5m more swabs, which will help speed up those efforts, he noted. The public health officials on the task force have outlined the different types of tests available, including antibody or serology tests that check for immunity and RNA tests that check for the presence of the virus. Yesterday, to speed up testing and address supply shortages, the FDA announced that it would allow a broader range of swabs to be used for tests, including some that would be easier to manufacture. But the messaging from Dr Birx, Dr Fauci, and Dr Brett Giroir, the Assistant Secretary for Health, is that there will be enough testing, soon. Trump, meanwhile, has been insisting that the testing capacity is already where it needs to be. “If about 1 out of 10 people are positive,” Giroir said, then health officials know that they are testing enough people. “We’re working with states to unlock the full potential” for them to conduct up to a million tests a month, Dr Deborah Birx said. Experts are advising laboratories and assessing what their needs and shortages are. Dr Anthony Fauci made the point that it’s a “reasonable assumption” that if someone has developed antibodies for the virus, they’ve had the infection and are protected. But scientists aren’t sure how long that antibody protection lasts. In South Korea, a growing number of recovered patients appear to be relapsing. Korean authorities reported that 163 patients have tested positive for the virus after making a full recovery. “We need to be humble and modest that we don’t know everything” about Covid-19, Fauci said. Fact check: Testing again “Our best scientists and health experts assess that states today have enough tests to implement the criteria of phase one if they choose to do that,” Mike Pence said. Physicians groups, academic labs, and local leaders have all said they do not have the ability to do enough testing. One example is Rhode Island. Here’s some reporting from the AP, from earlier today: Trump has promoted a 15-minute test developed by Abbott Laboratories as a “game changer.” Federal officials initially distributed 15 machines to public health labs in U.S. states and territories, along with 250 to the Indian Health Service. Alaska received 50. But governors say they didn’t get enough cartridges needed to run large numbers of the tests. Rhode Island received only 120, much fewer than they were promised. Raimondo said when the state tried to get more, Abbott and others that make the test cartridges directed her to the federal government, which in turn told her to go directly to the companies. The state has now received 850 tests, far fewer than it requested, Raimondo said Friday. “Following the announcement of our reopening guidelines, there have been some very partisan voices in the media and politics who have spread false and misleading information about our testing capacities,” Trump said. State and local leaders have complained that they are having trouble getting equipment, including swabs, needed to ramp up testing. Fact Check: Testing Trump is touring the US’ testing capacity. Overall, the US had administered more than 3.5m coronavirus tests so far, according to the Covid Tracking Project. Recently, it matched the rate of testing per capita of South Korea, though other countries, including Germany, we have tested a larger proportion of its population. From a very slow start, the US, with a population of 329 million, had ramped up to a testing rate of one in every 100 people — similar to South Korea. Germany has done even better, testing every 1 in 63 people. The UK, however, is behind, having tested only 1 in 230 people. In America, despite the recent increase in testing, backlogs are reported in labs across the country, and many people with symptoms — including health workers — are still struggling to access tests. Trump says he will be sending out $19bn in relief to farmers, in addition to $28bn $ in bailout money sent to farmers to offset the impacts of his administration’s tariffs on imports. The additional aid will take the form of “direct payments to farmers as well as mass purchases of dairy, meat and agricultural produce to get that food to the people in need,” he said.