Debriefing the COVID-19 Briefing: April 23

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CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang joins Major tonight.

President Trump suggested coronavirus patients could be treated with bleach or alcohol injections or doctors could “hit the body” with UV rays.  His comments came after Bill Bryan, who leads DHS’s science and technology directorate, presented “emerging results” from a study that showed direct sunlight, heat and humidity, and certain disinfectants degraded the virus on surfaces and in the air.

The president appealed to Dr. Deborah Birx who said she had not seen an effective heat or light treatment for patients.

POTUS said such treatment would be a good thing to look at and he “just threw it out as a suggestion.”

 “I’m here to present talent…[and]…ideas,” the president declared after reminding reporters he is president.

The president is open to extending mitigation protocol into the summer.  “Until we feel it's safe, we're going to be extending.” Recall the president initially said Easter could be a re-opening date.

Mr. Trump also handed Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s potential primary challenger a gift. Repeatedly, the president said “I am not happy with Brian Kemp” after the governor committed to reopening spas and beauty parlors.

POTUS said “we are very close to a vaccine” but declined to put a timeline on it. He also denied that he had stopped pushing hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for coronavirus. POTUS had not mentioned it unprompted since April 13. He again denied having seen the VA study that showed adverse effects from the drug.

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