The White House will talk to local leaders about coronavirus. No media allowed

Amid a national emergency over the spread of the novel coronavirus, White House officials will hold a conference call with state and local government officials from around the country on Wednesday. But the public won’t be allowed to listen in.

An online invitation for the call, obtained by the Miami Herald, notes that the call “is not intended for press purposes and is not on the record.”

“Media should not be invited to participate in this conference bridge call and will be asked to disconnect at the inception of the conference,” the invitation says.

An invitation for a previous briefing on March 11 did not state that it was closed to press.

White House spokesman Judd Deere did not respond to questions about why the Wednesday briefing was being closed to the press and whether the White House would ask local and state government officials on the call to withhold information from the public.

“This is part of the White House’s constant contact with state and local governments to provide updates on COVID-19 and response efforts,” Deere said in an email Monday.

“No other Administration has been as transparent and as accessible as President Donald J. Trump, and that has continued during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Deere added in a later email. “The White House is hosting regular press briefings with members of the Coronavirus Task Force, which includes the top infectious disease specialist in the country, to update the American people on the Administration’s whole-of-government response and best practices to stay healthy. We are also conducting regular briefings with state and local officials, members of Congress, and various industry stakeholder groups to ensure they have the most up-to-date information on the virus. Any characterization that this White House is not being transparent is categorically false and fake news.”

Deere did not address how many other similar briefings the White House has held so far.

Jeff Branch, a legislative advocate for the Florida League of Cities, told the Herald that similar calls were held last Wednesday and Thursday. Branch said he was on last Wednesday’s call and that the information the White House officials shared was “very general.”

“Just regular update information on how many test kits, here are websites, [etc.],” Branch said. “I’m hoping the one on Wednesday will be more direct information.”

An email inviting state and local leaders to the March 11 call said that call would include “Senior Administration Officials.” Branch said he didn’t recall which White House officials participated.

“Federal officials have been working diligently to communicate with State, local, and tribal officials on the Federal government’s efforts to prepare and respond to COVID-1,” the email said.

The email about the March 11 call added that “the risk to the American public remains low.”

The League of Cities, which represents more than 400 municipalities across the state, told its members about Wednesday’s briefing in an email Monday morning.

“On Wednesday, March 18 at 1:00 p.m. ET, White House senior officials are hosting a briefing call for state and local government officials,” the email said, adding a link to sign up for the call.

On Friday, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency and invoked the Stafford Act, which gives FEMA authority to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic as the death toll rises and more Americans become infected.

He had previously referred to intensifying news coverage and calls for dramatic steps to combat the virus a “new hoax” by Democrats and the news media.

This story was originally published March 16, 2020 at 3:36 PM.