June 15, 2020

Trump’s Halting Walk Down Ramp Raises New Health Questions./ NYC Crowding


https://youtu.be/zlAjosYNOIM

The president also appeared to have trouble raising a glass of water to his mouth during a speech at West Point a day before he turned 74, the oldest a president has been in his first term.



NY TIMES

President Trump faced new questions about his health on Sunday, after videos emerged of him gingerly walking down a ramp at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and having trouble bringing a glass of water to his mouth during a speech there.

Mr. Trump — who turned 74 on Sunday, the oldest a U.S. president has been in his first term — was recorded hesitantly descending the ramp one step at a time after he delivered an address to graduating cadets at the New York-based academy on Saturday. The academy’s superintendent, Lt. Gen. Darryl A. Williams, walked alongside him. Mr. Trump sped up slightly for the final three steps, as he got to the bottom.

Another video circulated of Mr. Trump taking a sip of water from a glass tucked inside his lectern on the dais at West Point. Mr. Trump held the glass with his right hand and brought it to his mouth, but appeared to momentarily have trouble lifting his arm farther. He used his left hand to push the bottom of the glass so that it reached his lips.

Mr. Trump posted defensively on Twitter late Saturday night about the video circulating of his walk, and offered a description that did not match the visuals
.
“The ramp that I descended after my West Point Commencement speech was very long & steep, had no handrail and, most importantly, was very slippery,” Mr. Trump wrote. “The last thing I was going to do is ‘fall’ for the Fake News to have fun with. Final ten feet I ran down to level ground. Momentum!”

There was no evidence that the ramp was slippery, and the skies were clear during the ceremony.
The videos again raised questions about the health of Mr. Trump, whose advisers have never fully explained his abrupt visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in November, saying at the time only that it was intended to get a jump on his annual physical.

The White House doctor released a memo this month that summarized Mr. Trump’s yearly checkup, but provided little information beyond blood pressure (normal) and a description of his course of hydroxychloroquine as a prophylactic after the president was exposed to two staff members who tested positive for the coronavirus. The summary was not the customary report released in the past by Mr. Trump and other presidents after a physical.

The president has frequently tried to raise questions about the health and mental fitness of his rivals, while growing indignant when his own is questioned.

New Yorkers day drink in on a Manhattan street, many without masks.

Cuomo Reminds New Yorkers (And Cops) Masks Are Not Chin Guards

Governor Andrew Cuomo put Manhattan and the Hamptons on blast for getting the most complaints for businesses not following reopening rules, and then warned of localized rollbacks of the reopening should the COVID-19 infection rate spike.

"This is a question of violating the law. Not just feel guilty. You're violating the law, alright?" Cuomo said during a press briefing on Sunday in Albany. "This is a very serious situation, and I want to make sure that everybody knows the consequences here. A bar or restaurant that is violating these rules can lose their liquor license."

Cuomo said there have been 25,000 complaints statewide about businesses, particularly bars and restaurants, being out of compliance with the phased reopening plan. In Manhattan's East Village, revelers were seen drinking in close proximity to others, many without masks, on Saturday.
"We have never received more complaints in a shorter period of time," Cuomo said.
Large gatherings with little social distancing or mask-wearing is likely to spur an increase in an uptick of coronavirus spread, Cuomo warned. Without proper enforcement by local governments, there's a possibility the state would intervene and "repause" localized areas.State Liquor Authority officials were inspecting bars and restaurants for violations. Cuomo also reminded New Yorkers they weren't allowed to drink on the street due to open container laws and that not wearing a mask is currently a legal violation.

As the widespread protests against police violence and systemic racism continue, Cuomo said local police need to wear masks too—NYPD officers assigned to demonstrations and other locations have been frequently observed without face coverings. "Police department: Your job is to enforce the law. Why don't you follow the law?" Cuomo said.