Governor Tests Negative For Virus; Trump May Bypass Congress

ACROSS AMERICA — President Donald Trump said he may step in and take executive action if Congress is unable to reach an agreement on the newest round of federal coronavirus aid.

Meanwhile, parents remain leery of getting their kids back to school because of safety concerns underscored by Thursday's report that the governor of Ohio has tested positive for COVID-19.

Despite an end-of-week deadline to agree on details pertaining to the latest round of aid, negotiations were at risk of collapsing Thursday afternoon as Trump met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to discuss the deal.

The meeting came as the president loses patience.

On Wednesday, Trump threatened to take executive action to extend an eviction moratorium, suspend collection of the payroll tax and boost unemployment benefits unless a coronavirus relief deal can be reached quickly, according to the Washington Post.

Meanwhile, a new poll shows parents are overwhelmingly anxious about the new school year.

Most parents feel it’s unsafe to send their children back to school given the risk of coronavirus, and more than 80 percent favor holding school at least partly online, according to a Washington Post-Schar School survey conducted by Ipsos. But parents also express serious concerns with online schooling, and many are drawn to systems that mix the two.

Patch readers feel much the same way.

See: Patch Readers Respond To School Plans

• Should CA Schools Reopen This Fall? Patch Survey Results
• Patch Survey: Masks Important When CT Schools Reopen
• FL Patch Survey: Too Soon To Send Kids Back To School
• Survey: Georgia Schools Can't Safely Reopen Say Half Of Readers
• School Reopening: Parents Wary But Support Opening Schools
• MA Patch Survey: Pessimism About Schools Reopening In Fall
• Should NJ Schools Reopen? Here's What Nearly 27K Residents Think
• Asked If Schools Should Reopen, Patch Readers Say Absolutely Not
• Readers Say Too Soon For NC Schools To Safely Reopen: Survey
• Should PA Schools Reopen? Here's What Nearly 11K Residents Think
• Survey: Half Of Readers Say Virginia Schools Can Safely Reopen

In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine took to Twitter on Thursday night to say he does not have COVID-19, despite testing positive for the disease in the day. DeWine said he took a second COVID test in Columbus, which came back negative.

DeWine initially tested positive for COVID just before he was scheduled to meet the president on the tarmac at Burke Lakefront Airport in downtown Cleveland. His plans to travel with Trump were then canceled.

According to a report by The Washington Post, the governor's initial screening in Cleveland was an antigen test. The test he took later in the day was done via the polymerase chain reaction method, which is used more commonly than the screening required before having contact with Trump.

Also, the U.S. State Department lifted its blanket international travel advisory Thursday, nearly five months after first urging Americans to avoid overseas travel due to the coronavirus pandemic., the Post reported. Instead, the department will revert to issuing recommendations on a country-specific basis.

As of Thursday evening, the U.S. COVID-19 death toll was approaching 160,000 people, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. More than 4.8 million cases have been reported nationwide.

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