Top White House advisers predict as many as 240,000 US deaths from coronavirus - live updates - USA TODAY
Top White House advisers predict as many as 240,000 US deaths from coronavirus - live updates - USA TODAY |
- Top White House advisers predict as many as 240,000 US deaths from coronavirus - live updates - USA TODAY
- Trump Extends Social Distancing Guidelines to April 30 as U.S. Cases Top 140,000 - The New York Times
- Coronavirus live updates: More American deaths than 9/11; US projections of 240,000 fatalities; Dow's worst 1st quarter ever - USA TODAY
- Trump Signs $2 Trillion Bill as U.S. Virus Cases Pass 100,000 - The New York Times
| Posted: 31 Mar 2020 03:43 PM PDT CLOSE  President Trump announced at the coronavirus task force briefing that over 1 million Americans had been tested for coronavirus. Wochit Trump says impeachment 'probably' distracted him from fighting coronavirusWASHINGTON – President Donald Trump had a hard time deciding Tuesday whether impeachment distracted him from fighting the coronavirus – but he eventually claimed it "probably" did. "Well, I don't like to think it did – I think I handled it very well," Trump said. "But I guess it probably did ... I mean, I got impeached." He added that, "I certainly devoted a little time to thinking about it." Trump echoed the claims of supporters who blamed the administration's slow response to the coronavirus on the president's impeachment case. The Senate impeachment trial – which began with the swearing-in of senators on Jan. 16 and ended with Trump's acquittal on Feb. 5 – "diverted the attention of the government," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaking Tuesday to radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt. Critics described the impeachment argument – one employed by many Trump supporters in recent weeks – as excuse mongering. Trump, they noted, began taking questions about coronavirus in January and downplayed the threat until late February, well after the trial ended. Joshua Geltzer, a former national security aide during the Obama administration, said impeachment previewed Trump's response, including his ignoring government experts and relying on private sources of information. "Mitch McConnell just blamed Trump's COVID-19 failures on impeachment," tweeted Geltzer, a visiting law professor at Georgetown University. "That's wrong—dead wrong. In fact, the opposite is true: impeachment warned McConnell & other Americans about exactly how Trump would screw this up." – David Jackson Birx: States have half a million new Abbott tests, but they're not being utilizedAbout 500,000 coronavirus tests released this week by Abbott Laboratories are available and not being utilized by states, according to Dr. Deborah Birx, who's leading the White House coronavirus task force. "It is disappointing to me right now that we have about 500,000 capacity of Abbott tests that are not being utilized. So they are out, they're in states, they're not being run and not utilized," Birx told reporters at a White House daily briefing Tuesday. The new test, released by the Illinois-based company this week, can give positive results in as little as five minutes and negative results in about 13 minutes. Birx said the task force is working to create awareness that these tests are available as hospitals have become reliant on the platforms available to them for COVID-19 over the last month. Birx declined to provide any further details on whether hospitals are aware these tests are available to them or to which states they have been distributed. Her comments came after Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, contradicted President Donald Trump's claim that problems with coronavirus testing had been resolved. Hogan told NPR Tuesday that while the administration has taken some steps to create new tests, "they're not actually produced and distributed out to the states." Trump has faced mounting pressure from states over the availability of tests as well as a shortage of medical supplies for health care workers treating coronavirus patients. Many Americans with symptoms of COVID-19 have found it difficult to be tested and those who have been tested have been told it will take more than a week to get results. In recent days Trump has touted that the U.S. has conducted more tests than any other country, but he leaves out a key piece of context: While the U.S. has surpassed South Korea in terms of raw tests, it has administered far fewer tests per capita given that the U.S. is more than six times the size of South Korea. – Courtney Subramanian White House says the hottest coronavirus hot spots are in New York and New JerseyWASHINGTON – In assessing the threat of the coronavirus nationwide President Donald Trump and his health aides showed models Tuesday indicating that two states have it worse than anybody: New York and New Jersey. Citing the high number of cases in the greater New York City area, Trump said that New York and New Jersey "got off to a very late start" in trying to contain the coronavirus. Trump has also been accused of getting a late start in fighting the coronavirus. Numerous governors, including Andrew Cuomo in New York, have said the federal government has been slow and disorganized in delivering necessary medical supplies. Trump also offered sympathy to his former hometown, saying "We pray for the doctors and the nurses, for the paramedics and the truck drivers, and the police officers and the sanitation workers, and above all, the people fighting for their lives in New York and all across our land." Analysts said New York got hit hard in part because of heavy travel at the start of the new year between the Big Apple and Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus originated. – David Jackson White House advisers predict as many as 240,000 US coronavirus deathsWASHINGTON – Members of President Donald Trump's administration laid out dire estimates Tuesday to underscore the potential impact of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, a grim prediction they said was at the center of the president's decision to extend strict social distancing guidelines through the end of April. Federal public health officials said that between 100,000 and 240,000 could succumb to the virus by the end of the year – making it one of the nation's worst public health crises – said Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator. Without intervention, Birx said, as many 2.2 million could have died. Presented to the president over the weekend, the data explains why Trump backed down from an earlier notion of "reopening" the country by Easter, or potentially opening parts of the nation that were less hard hit, officials said. Trump announced Sunday he would extend social distancing guidelines through April 30. "Our country is in the midst of a great national trial," Trump said Tuesday. "We're going to go through a very tough two weeks." Trump's top health officials, including Anthony Fauci, director of the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned that models are not always accurate and will be influenced by how seriously Americans take orders to avoid contact with others. Trump and others have said April could be a particularly deadly month in the ongoing battle with the virus. Johns Hopkins University tallied more than 181,000 confirmed cases as of midday Tuesday – more than any other nation -- and more than 3,600 deaths. The president said on Sunday that he hoped the nation would be "well on our way to recovery" by June 1. The social distancing guidelines recommend Americans work from home and avoid groups larger than 10. – John Fritze Trump: Americans face 'very, very painful two weeks'WASHINGTON – With the number of coronavirus deaths rising, President Donald Trump warned Americans on Tuesday to prepare for what he said would be difficult days ahead. "We're going to go through a very rough two weeks," he said during a news conference with his coronavirus task force. Trump's remarks came as the number of coronavirus deaths surged past 3,200 on Tuesday, eclipsing the death total from the 9/11 terror attacks. More than 500 deaths were reported nationwide Monday, the highest daily total since the first American died six weeks ago. Trump indicated the worst isn't over, warning of a "very, very painful two weeks" ahead. "As a nation, we face a difficult few weeks as we approach that really important day when we're going to see things get better," he said. "Our strength will be tested, and our endurance will be tried. This is the time for all Americans to come together and do our part." – Michael Collins Pelosi says she, Congress are not responsible for slow responseWASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama appeared to take a swipe at President Donald Trump's initial skepticism of the coronavirus pandemic, a rare rebuff for a president who tends not to weigh in on the work of other presidents. "We've seen all too terribly the consequences of those who denied warnings of a pandemic," Obama tweeted Tuesday, without directly naming the president. "We can't afford any more consequences of climate denial. All of us, especially young people, have to demand better of our government at every level and vote this fall," he added, linking to an article announcing the rollback of environmental mileage standards put in place by Obama in 2012. The Trump administration has faced sharp criticism for its handling of the U.S. outbreak, which has crippled the U.S. economy and claimed more than 3,100 lives as of Tuesday. Trump initially sought to downplay the pandemic and suggested opening up the economy by Easter, or April 12, as recently as last week. The president has since said strict social distancing guidelines will remain in place through April 30. Obama, who has mostly used his Twitter account to praise workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic and promote advice from public health experts, seldom weighs in on Trump's record. The 44th president's tweet also blasted Trump's decision to roll back an Obama-era rule designed to push automakers to produce more fuel efficient vehicles to limit pollution in the global fight against climate change. The new mileage standard is the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration to reverse his predecessor's policies. - Courtney Subramanian Virginia GOP suggests politics at play in Northam's 'stay at home' orderThe Republican Party of Virginia suggested Tuesday that Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam set his statewide "stay at home" order to expire on June 10 because the GOP primary is going to be held on June 9. "In these challenging times, we want to give the Governor the freedom to make necessary decisions without partisan rancor, but the timeline seems all too convenient," said party chairman Jack Wilson. "We ask that Governor Northam show us the data that led to his decision." Wilson said while they were not implying Northam was "purposefully engaging in voter suppression," an "explanation would help to mitigate any concerns." On Monday, Northam ordered Virginia residents to stay home, except for certain activities like getting groceries or to get medical care, in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Virginia has 1,250 confirmed cases of the virus, which has killed at least 27 people in the state, according to the Virginia Department of Health. Virginia's Republican Party canceled its presidential primary this year, citing overwhelming support for President Donald Trump. But GOP voters still have to decide on who will try to unseat incumbent Sen. Mark Warner, as well as races for House members and local representatives. - William Cummings Cuomo: FEMA 'bigfooted' states, drove up ventilator pricesAs New York continues its search for much-needed ventilators, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the Federal Emergency Management Agency "basically bigfooted" individual states and drove up prices, comparing buying ventilators to online auctions. "It's like being on eBay with 50 other states, bidding on a ventilator," Cuomo said. "You see the bid go up cause California bid. Illinois bid. Florida bid. New York bid. California rebids. That's literally what we're doing. I mean, how inefficient. And then, FEMA gets involved and FEMA starts bidding. And now FEMA is bidding on top of the 50, so FEMA is driving up the price. What sense does this make?" Cuomo then said he believes FEMA "should've been the purchasing agent" for medical equipment before becoming the sole distributor to states in need. Cuomo released data indicating New York had more than 75,000 positive cases – including more than 9,000 new cases – with a death toll of 1,550, as of Tuesday morning. - Lorenzo Reyes Pompeo: no need to ease sanctions on Iran, other nations affected by coronavirusSecretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that he saw no need to ease tough U.S. sanctions on Iran or other nations that have been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, has urged world leaders to back off such crippling economic penalties to ensure that people in those targeted countries have access to food, medicine and other vital supplies as they confront the pandemic. "This is the time for solidarity not exclusion," Guterres said last week. Pompeo has overseen the Trump administration's "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran, implementing a series of escalating sanctions aimed at crippling Tehran's economy and weakening its leaders. Iran is reeling from the coronavirus outbreak, with more than 40,000 reported infections and nearly 3,000 reported deaths. Skeptics say those figures are misleadingly low, fearing a much more widespread crisis. Pompeo noted that U.S. sanctions include exemptions for humanitarian goods, and he argued that Iran, Venezuela and other countries should be able to get anything they need to address the pandemic. "The goods that are needed for each of these countries to resolve that coronavirus problem in their nations are not sanctioned," Pompeo said during a State Department briefing Tuesday. Pompeo said the Trump administration has offered humanitarian aid to Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela, among other sanctioned countries, but that assistance has been rejected. "Some of these countries continue to build bombs and missiles and nuclear capability, all the while their people are starving," he said. - Deirdre Shesgreen Pompeo: State Department official dies from coronavirusSecretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that a State Department official has died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. "We've had a State Department official pass away as a result of this virus ... one of our team members," Pompeo said during a briefing Tuesday. "We now have 3,000 Americans who have been killed. This is tragic." A State Department spokesperson later said two locally employed staff members at U.S. embassies in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Kinshasa, Congo, have died from COVID-19. "We offer our deepest sympathies and condolences to the families affected by this tragedy, and thank them for their loved ones' service to the United States," said the spokesperson, who was not authorized to speak on the record because of State Department policy. "We do not at this time have any reports of COVID-19-related deaths of American staff within the Department of State's domestic and global workforce." The State Department's 75,000-workforce – deployed in more than 200 locations across the globe – has been deeply affected by the pandemic. In January, the agency began evacuating diplomats from the U.S. consulate in Wuhan, China, the outbreak's initial epicenter, and authorized departures have continued from other hotspots. "Really there aren't any posts that are immune to the spread of coronavirus," Dr. William Walters, the agency's deputy chief medical officer for operations, told reporters during a Monday briefing. Walters said there are about 75 known cases among State Department employees working abroad and about 30 cases among the agency's U.S.-based workforce. - Deirdre Shesgreen CLOSE Cincinnati Enquirer staff writer Ann Sacker explains the steps you should take if you believe you have the novel coronavirus. USA TODAY Rep. Max Rose to deploy for National Guard to help NY coronavirus response Freshman Rep. Max Rose, D-N.Y., will deploy Wednesday for the National Guard to help his state's coronavirus efforts. He will deploy to Staten Island and serve as an operations officer. Rose, a Purple Heart recipient who served in Afghanistan, said he would be able to leave his post to vote on another coronavirus package if needed. Rose represents Staten Island, New York City's southernmost borough. "My activation and deployment is nothing compared to what our city, state, and country has asked of all them. And it's certainly nothing compared to the other men and women serving in uniform both here at home and overseas," Rose said. "I am just trying to do my duty and my small part." New York has become the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S. and on Monday, a Navy hospital ship arrived in Manhattan's harbor to help treat the thousands who have been diagnosed with COVID-19. - Christal Hayes Pelosi says US needs to institute vote-by-mailHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Tuesday that the coronavirus outbreak will likely require the country to move toward voting by mail in upcoming elections. Pelosi said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" she thought the $2 trillion CARES Act signed into law last week by President Donald Trump should have had more funding for the states to address "the reality of life that we are going to have to have more vote by mail." The final bill allocated $400 million toward helping states vote during the outbreak, while the Democratic version of the legislation included $4 billion for that purpose. President Donald Trump criticized the effort to include funding for elections in the bill during a Fox News interview on Monday. "The things they had in there were crazy. They had things – levels of voting that if you ever agreed to it you'd never have a Republican elected in this country again," the president said on "Fox & Friends." "I feel sad that the President doesn't have confidence in his own party," Pelosi said Tuesday. She said she did not think vote by mail would negatively affect Republicans' chances to the polls. - William Cummings McConnell: impeachment diverted attention away from coronavirusSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., added his name Tuesday to the list of people who blamed the slow response to the coronavirus on President Donald Trump's impeachment. The Senate impeachment trial – which began with the swearing-in of senators on Jan. 16 and ended with Trump's acquittal on Feb. 5 – "diverted the attention of the government," McConnell told radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt. Trump critics have described the impeachment argument – one employed by many Trump supporters in recent weeks – as an excuse. Trump, they noted, began taking questions about coronavirus in January and downplayed the threat until late February, well after the trial ended. Trump supporters like Sean Hannity have long claimed that impeachment diverted the government's attention from issues like the coronavirus. Also on the Hewitt show Tuesday, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said: "I have to tell you that in mid-January and late-January, unfortunately, Washington, especially the Congress, was consumed with another matter – you may recall the partisan impeachment of the President." On Feb. 27, Trump said during a speech at the White House that the virus was "going to disappear. One day – it's like a miracle, it will disappear." He then said, "you know, it could get worse before it gets better. It could maybe go away. We'll see what happens." Three weeks before, the Republican-controlled Senate acquitted Trump of House impeachment charges that he abused power and obstructed a congressional investigation into his team's efforts to get Ukraine to investigate Democratic political opponent Joe Biden. - David Jackson GOP Maryland governor: Trump's testing claims 'not true'Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Tuesday on NPR's Morning Edition that President Donald Trump was incorrect in saying coronavirus testing problems had been resolved. "Yeah, that's just not true. I mean I know that they've taken some steps to create new tests, but they're not actually produced and distributed out to the states." Hogan said, when host Rachel Martin asked him about Trump's assertions. "No state has enough testing." In a coronavirus task force briefing yesterday, Trump said America's coronavirus testing was better "than any country in the world." The Maryland Republican said he was listening to the "smart team" in the White House like Drs. Deborah Birx and Anthony Fauci who were giving accurate information. Hogan, who issued a statewide stay-at-home order on Monday, had a grim outlook for states' pandemic preparedness. "There's nobody in America that's prepared," he said. - Nicholas Wu Pelosi: she and Congress do not take responsibility for slow coronavirus responseIn a Tuesday morning interview on MSNBC's Morning Joe, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she and Congress do not take responsibility for the country's slow response to the coronavirus at the beginning of the year. "No, not at all," she said Tuesday on MSNBC in response to a question from co-host Willie Geist about whether she or Congress bore responsibility. Instead, she said she was "proud" of the work Congress did, the "speed" with which coronavirus response bills passed, and the "bipartisanship that was the hallmark of it all." "We can only go as fast as the signature," she said of the White House's support for legislation. The House Speaker added that she was "sad" there was "no respect for science" from the White House in the beginning but President Donald Trump "will say and do what he does." - Nicholas Wu Pentagon watchdog to oversee $2 trillion in coronavirus relief fundsGlenn Fine, the inspector general for the Defense Department, was appointed to head the committee that will oversee the largest rescue package in U.S. history. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump last week, provides more than $2 trillion to help stave off the economic IMPACTS caused by the COVID-19 outbreak that has now killed more than 3,000 people in the U.S. and nearly 40,000 people worldwide. The CARES Act calls for the establishment of a Pandemic Response Accountability Committee to oversee the distribution of the funds approved in the massive stimulus bill, as well as the two previous emergency spending bills that were passed to address the outbreak. Fine will head that nine-person committee composed of inspector generals from other departments. "I look forward to working with my fellow Inspectors General on the Committee to provide effective, independent oversight of the funding provided by the pandemic legislation," Fine said in a statement on Monday. "Through our efforts, we will seek to promote transparency and ensure that funds are being used consistently with the law's mandate to respond to this public health crises." 'Much of it was junk': Trump, Pelosi claim credit for beating back bad ideas in coronavirus stimulus During the contentious debate ahead of the final bill's passage, the establishment of an oversight committee to prevent waste and abuse was insisted upon by congressional Democrats who were particularly concerned that the nearly $500 billion allocated to help large industries could become a corporate "slush fund." Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said he was pleased with Fine's appointment. "The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee is critical to holding President Trump and his administration accountable to the letter and spirit of the law," Schumer said in a statement. "Glenn Fine has a good reputation as a tough federal prosecutor and former DOJ Inspector General, and must exercise his full oversight authority to ensure that the Trump administration implements the CARES Act as intended." - William Cummings Trump clashes with CNN's AcostaPresident Donald Trump's rocky relationship with the news media was on display again Monday, as he bristled at questions about his handling of the coronavirus outbreak during a White House news conference. CNN's Jim Acosta – with whom Trump has clashed on several occasions, including a 2018 exchange that led to a failed White House effort to revoke Acosta's press credentials – asked the president, "What do you say to Americans who are upset with you over the way you downplayed this crisis over the last couple of months?" Acosta proceeded to quote several of Trump's earlier comments in which he said the outbreak "was very much under control" and that "it will go away" like a "miracle." "It will go away. And we're going to have a great victory," Trump told Acosta. He went on to defend the accuracy of the previous comments while simultaneously explaining he said them because, "I want to keep the country calm. I don't want panic in the country." "I could cause panic much better than even you. I would make you look like a minor league player," Trump told Acosta. "Instead of asking a nasty, snarky question like that, you should ask a real question." Coronavirus: Justice Department launches inquiry of senators who sold large chunks of stock before coronavirus market slide Trump later turned his ire on PBS NewsHour's Yamiche Alcindor, whom he told the previous day to "be nice" and not ask "threatening questions" after she asked about his statement that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was requesting more ventilators than needed. On Monday, Alcindor asked Trump why the U.S. trailed South Korea in per capita testing for the virus. "I know South Korea better than anybody," Trump replied. "You know how many people are in Seoul? You know how big the city of Seoul is?" he asked, trying to explain that the difference was due to population density. Trump then claimed Seoul's population is 38 million when, according to the city's government, it is actually about 10 million. "You should be saying, congratulations to the men and women who have done this job, who have inherited a broken testing system and who have made it great," Trump said to Alcindor. "And if you don't say it, I'll say it. I want to congratulate all of the people, you have done a fantastic job." - William Cummings CLOSE President Donald Trump is extending the voluntary national shutdown for a month as sickness and death from the coronavirus pandemic rises in the U.S. Wochit Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/03/31/coronavirus-response-tuesday-pelosi-trump/5093205002/  |
| Posted: 31 Mar 2020 04:48 AM PDT  Here's what you need to know:Image  200,000 Americans could die even if the U.S. takes aggressive action, Fauci says.Two of the top doctors advising President Trump on the coronavirus pandemic warned on Sunday that as many as 200,000 Americans could die during the outbreak, even with much of the country already under stay-at-home orders and practicing social distancing. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the nation's leading infectious disease expert, said during a White House briefing that the grim projection was based on scientific modeling, and the forecasts had convinced Mr. Trump to extend social distancing guidelines through the end of April. "I think it's entirely conceivable that if we do not mitigate to the extent that we're trying to do that you could reach that number," Dr. Fauci said. Dr. Deborah L. Birx, the lead coordinator of the White House's coronavirus task force, said that without any precautionary measures, the same models projected that 1.6 million to 2.2 million Americans could die from complications of the virus. "Some of them predicted half of the United States would get infected," she said. Dr. Birx said it was a huge sacrifice for Americans being asked to stay home another month. "They have to know that we really built this on scientific evidence and the potential to save hundreds of thousands of American lives," she said. Trump extends the federal government's social-distancing guidelines through the end of April.President Trump said Sunday that the federal government's guidelines for social distancing would last until April 30, backing down from his previous comments that he hoped the country could go back to work by Easter. He had clashed with public health experts around the country when he suggested that the guidelines — which urge people to stay at home and not to gather in groups of more than 10 — might be relaxed by April 12. His announcement on Sunday indicated that he had backed down from that suggestion. A commercial aircraft carrying gloves, masks, gowns and other medical supplies from Shanghai touched down at Kennedy International Airport in New York earlier on Sunday, the first of 22 scheduled flights that White House officials say will funnel much-needed goods to the United States by early April. The plane carried 130,000 N95 masks, nearly 1.8 million surgical masks and gowns, 10 million gloves and more than 70,000 thermometers, said Lizzie Litzow, a spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA will provide the majority of the supplies to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, with the rest going to nursing homes in the area and other high-risk areas across the country, a White House spokesman said. While the supplies will be welcomed by hospitals and health care workers — some of whom have resorted to rationing protective gear or using homemade supplies — they represent just a tiny portion of what American hospitals need. The Department of Health and Human Services has estimated that the United States will require 3.5 billion masks in the event of a pandemic lasting a year. The pandemic has started a race among foreign governments, American governors and mayors, good Samaritans and opportunists to acquire protective gear, ventilators and other goods from China, the source of more than one-third of medical supplies in the United States in 2019. While China's own coronavirus epidemic has subsided since February, newly built factory lines in the country are beginning to churn out masks, gowns and gloves. The flights are the product of a public-private partnership — led by Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump's son-in-law and a White House senior adviser — in which the administration is looking to health care distributors like McKesson Corporation, Cardinal, Owens & Minor, Medline, and Henry Schein. With pleas from state and city leaders for more medical supplies, and questions raised about his interactions with some of them, Mr. Trump on Sunday acknowledged that he would delegate calls to governors — typically Democrats — that he has had personal disagreements with, doubling down on his assertion that the governors need to treat him "fairly." "I don't have to call because I'm probably better off not," Mr. Trump said. "I get Mike Pence to call. I get the head of FEMA to call. I get the admiral to call." Covid-19 patients 'don't have to worry' about big medical bills, health insurers say.Two of the nation's largest health insurers, Cigna and Humana, agreed to protect their customers from out-of-pocket costs if they need treatment for Covid-19, a decision that represents a rapid change in how companies are responding to the pandemic. Describing the insurers' decision as "a big deal," President Trump on Sunday said the companies don't "waive co-pays too easily, but we asked them and they did it." While insurers and government officials have taken steps in recent weeks to limit people's out-of-pocket costs when they get tested, the bills associated with treatment for Covid-19 can run in the tens of thousands of dollars for a single hospital stay. "Let's take the economic burden and the economic uncertainty off the table," said David M. Cordani, the chief executive of Cigna, in an interview before the White House briefing. Under the new policy, customers "don't have to worry about the financial burden of the virus while their lives are being turned upside down," said Bruce Broussard, the chief executive of Humana. Both Mr. Cordani and Mr. Broussard said they hoped other insurers would follow suit. Last week, another large insurer, Aetna, now part of CVS Health, said it would also waive cost-sharing related to hospital stays. Employers that self-insure provide coverage to the majority of workers in this country, and they would not be affected by the insurers' decision. They would have to decide individually whether they would take similar action. "It is going to be a client-by-client decision," Mr. Cordani said. Whether individuals will be completely free of any surprise medical bills is also unclear, given the frequent disputes that normally arise between insurers and hospitals and doctors. People who get care from doctors outside their plan's network could also still potentially face unpaid bills. 'I know we feel under attack,' Cuomo tells New Yorkers rattled by quarantine talk.President Trump's discussion of a quarantine of the New York region over the weekend confused many tri-state area residents and raised questions about the limits of presidential power. "I had a lot of phone calls yesterday when the president first suggested some form of quarantine," Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York said on Sunday. "I know we feel under attack." Mr. Trump backed away from the idea following criticism from Mr. Cuomo and other leaders. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention instead issued a formal advisory Saturday night urging residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to "refrain from nonessential domestic travel for 14 days effective immediately." The advisory does not apply to "employees of critical infrastructure industries," the agency said. That includes trucking, public health professionals, financial services and food supply workers. Mr. Trump denied on Sunday that the prospect of a quarantine was a threat. "I didn't go around threatening," he said during a White House briefing. He raised the idea because the region has the most confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States, but he offered no details about how his administration would enforce it. Mr. Cuomo later questioned whether the federal government had the authority to order a quarantine. "Yes, New York is the epicenter and these are different times, and many people are frightened," Mr. Cuomo said on Sunday. "Some of the reactions you get from individuals, even from governments, are frightening and suggesting that they'll take abrupt actions against New York. But look, this is New York and we are going to make it through this." As of Sunday evening, at least 141,096 people across every state, plus Washington, D.C., and four U.S. territories, have tested positive for the virus, according to a New York Times database. At least 2,469 patients with the virus have died. And at least 20 states now have more than 1,000 known cases within their borders. New York remains by far the hardest hit. On Sunday, Mr. Cuomo said the total number of cases in New York was 59,513, an increase of nearly 7,200 confirmed from the day before. More than half of the cases, or 33,768, are in New York City. The number of deaths in the state passed 1,000, up 272 from the day before — the largest one-day increase in deaths since the outbreak began. About 8,500 people are currently hospitalized, an increase of 16 percent from Saturday to Sunday. Of those, 2,037 are in intensive care units, which are equipped with ventilators. Syria reports its first coronavirus death.As the coronavirus pandemic has sickened more than 700,000 people worldwide and killed over 30,000, the Syrian government reported the first death from the virus in its territory on Sunday, about a week after announcing its first confirmed case. The outbreak, if uncontrolled, could shred a health care system already enfeebled by more than nine years of civil war. [Analysis: North Korea claims to have no coronavirus cases. Can it be trusted?] After the virus had struck neighboring countries, the Syrian government did not acknowledge any confirmed cases for weeks, even as rumors spread of hospitalizations and deaths from pneumonia-like diseases. But Syria has now confirmed 10 cases, including the patient who died on Sunday, according to a state news agency. The government had already moved to fend off an outbreak before announcing its first case. It closed schools and universities, limited working hours, banned gatherings, postponed parliamentary elections and built quarantine centers. Syrians are now subject to a nightly curfew between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. But Syrians and recent visitors to the country said in interviews that daily life appeared to continue much as usual. Marketplaces and streets were crowded; few wore masks or gloves. The health care system would be rapidly overwhelmed in a full-blown outbreak, aid workers say. Many doctors and nurses have fled the country, and hospitals were bombed and never rebuilt, leaving large swaths of the population with limited access to medical care. U.S. and European sanctions make it difficult to import supplies. The W.H.O. has delivered testing kits and protective equipment for health care workers, but medical aid groups that operate in the country have found their efforts to prepare hampered by the new restrictions on working hours and on gathering. "Basic services have been all but decimated," said Rachel Sider, a Syrian policy adviser at the Norwegian Refugee Council. "It's impossible to imagine how this country can cope with an outbreak." Public officials around the world have continued to struggle with the pandemic.
A cruise ship on which passengers died heads to Florida from Panama.The Zaandam, a Holland America cruise ship on which four passengers died, will be allowed to transit the Panama Canal, after authorities initially refused the ship entry because of illness onboard. The ship was supposed to let its passengers disembark in Chile two weeks ago but was refused entry, so it headed to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where the ship does not yet have permission to dock. A week ago, people on the ship started getting sick. The company said on Friday that around 180 people, including 110 members of the crew, have flulike symptoms and two have tested positive for Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Those who are sick and their close contacts will stay onboard, and everyone else will be transferred to the Rotterdam, another cruise ship, which arrived in Panama from Mexico to deliver supplies, coronavirus tests and doctors. Crew members aboard the Rotterdam told The New York Times that they felt tricked because they were told they were going to Panama to deliver supplies only to learn that they would also take on hundreds of passengers who had been exposed to the virus. Some crew members have refused to come out of their cabins and were threatened with being in violation of their employment contracts, according to a crew member who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared reprisal. Holland America, which is owned by Carnival Corp., did not return requests for further information. "We are aware of reported permission for both Zaandam and Rotterdam to transit the Panama Canal in the near future," the company said in a statement. "We greatly appreciate this consideration in the humanitarian interest of our guests and crew." The ship received special authorization from Panama's Ministry of Health and will transit the canal under "special considerations and for humanitarian reasons," the canal authority said on Twitter. Crossing the canal will allow the ship to save two travel days, the canal authority added. Robert Rorison, a passenger from Surrey, British Columbia, said he was denied a transfer to the Rotterdam because he uses a CPAP machine to sleep, which disqualified him. "We get three meals a day, but every day we get less food," he said in a text message. "We're comfortable, but not knowing is difficult, and being in this small room for so long is a disaster." Pelosi and the White House exchange accusations of early denial of the coronavirus's gravity.On Sunday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi put the blame for the nation's flawed response to the pandemic squarely on President Trump. "His denial at the beginning was deadly," Ms. Pelosi, a California Democrat, said on CNN's "State of the Union." "Now I think the best thing would be to do is to prevent more loss of life." "We really want to work in a unified way to get the job done here," she added, "but we cannot continue to allow him to continue to make these underestimates of what is actually happening here." "Don't fiddle while people die, Mr. President," Ms. Pelosi said. Hours later, a White House spokesman lashed out at Ms. Pelosi's comments, alleging that it was the speaker and the media who had initially refused to acknowledge the severity of the outbreak, and using hyperbolic language to attack her negotiating position on the $2 trillion aid bill Mr. Trump signed on Friday. "When she was faced with offering immediate relief to real Americans who are struggling, she blew up negotiations on the coronavirus relief bill with a shameful political attempt to tack radical leftist programs on to the bill," said Hogan Gidley, the spokesman. Democrats did hold up economic stimulus legislation for three days last week while Ms. Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, insisted on changes to secure the support of their caucuses, including increased oversight for a bailout fund for distressed businesses. As reports of the coronavirus's spread in China began to trickle out, Congress was dealing with Mr. Trump's impeachment trial, but also hosted multiple briefings with administration officials to update lawmakers on the outbreak. Mr. Trump, for his part, has played down the spread of the virus until recently, and has repeatedly touted unproven treatments while contradicting his administration's scientific experts on how lethal the virus is and how quickly it may be contained in the United States. Lawmakers are floating the possibility of another emergency response bill.Over fewer than four weeks, Congress and the White House have agreed to billions of dollars in emergency aid, a significant expansion of the social safety net and a $2 trillion stimulus, the largest economic response package in modern American history. But lawmakers, administration officials, industry groups and lobbyists are already outlining possible elements of a fourth piece of legislation to combat the spread of the coronavirus and bolster a shuddering economy. "We have to pass another bill that goes to meeting the need more substantially than we have," Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, ticking off a list of Democratic priorities, including increased protections for workers on the front lines and a further expansion of new paid sick-leave provisions. Some officials who were involved in the negotiations over the earlier bills, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, have cautioned that they may need to see how those laws are implemented before solidifying the components of new legislations. Still, the fourth package could include additional direct payments to taxpayers, as well as more funds for hospitals, states and local governments. "If, for whatever reason, this takes longer than we think, we will go back to Congress and get more support for the American economy," Mr. Mnuchin said on "Face the Nation" on CBS, adding that he hoped such a step was not needed. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican majority leader, has instructed the senators "to stay nimble," acknowledging that they may have to return sooner than the chamber's next scheduled session on April 20. India struggles through the world's biggest lockdown.Hundreds of thousands of migrant laborers in India have begun long journeys on foot to get home, having been rendered homeless and jobless by the world's biggest lockdown. In different parts of the country, more than a dozen laborers have died during the journeys, hospital officials said early Monday morning. In the capital, Delhi, thousands of migrants, including whole families, packed their pots, pans and blankets into rucksacks, some balancing small children on their shoulders as they walked along interstate highways, in one of the biggest migrations in the country's recent history. Some planned to walk hundreds of miles. But as they reached the Delhi border, many were beaten back by the police. "You fear the disease, living on the streets. But I fear hunger more, not corona," said Papu, 32, who came to Delhi three weeks ago for work and was trying to get to his home in Saharanpur in the state of Uttar Pradesh, 125 miles away. On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologized to the country for imposing the nationwide lockdown, which was announced with just four hours' notice on Tuesday. So far, 980 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in India, with 24 dead, according to officials. India already had one of the world's largest homeless populations, and the lockdown may have tripled it overnight, workers for nongovernmental organizations say. A 2011 government census put the number of homeless at 1.7 million, almost certainly a vast underestimate in the country of 1.3 billion. The lockdown, which includes a ban on interstate travel, left India's enormous migrant population stranded in big cities, where jobs have lured them in vast numbers from the countryside. Answers to your questions about staying fit.Stuck at home? You don't need access to a gym to stay active. You can (and should) go outside for a walk or run (or do push-ups and squats). Reporting and research were contributed by Neil Vigdor, Frances Robles, Neil MacFarquhar, Alan Blinder, Michael D. Shear, Jesse McKinley, Abby Goodnough, Sheila Kaplan, Sheri Fink, Katie Thomas, Noah Weiland, Ali Watkins, Katie Van Syckle, Ana Swanson, Anton Troianovksi, Maria Abi-Habib, Austin Ramzy, Tess Felder, Yonette Joseph, Raphael Minder, Iliana Magra, Katie Glueck, Elisabetta Povoledo, Emily Cochrane, Reed Abelson, Constant Méheut and Vivian Yee.  |
| Posted: 31 Mar 2020 08:22 PM PDT CLOSE Social distancing matters. Here is how to do it and how it can help curb the COVID-19 pandemic. USA TODAY The coronavirus death toll reached 3,900 in the United States on Tuesday, eclipsing the total from the 9/11 terror attacks as New York City traded "Ground Zero" for "epicenter." Near where the World Trade Center towers collapsed more than 18 years ago, Wall Street capped a debacle of its own in the month after reaching dizzying heights. More than 900 people have died from COVID-19 in Manhattan alone, and the city was opening temporary hospitals in a convention center, a Navy ship and Central Park. Refrigeration trucks were serving as temporary morgues. Still, the nation's top health expert found some reason for hope, saying social distancing was working and that the rate of increase of New York City cases might be starting to slow. More than 500 deaths were reported nationwide Monday, the highest daily total since the first American died six weeks ago. The U.S. death toll has now surpassed China, where the pandemic began late last year. Cities and states tightened stay-at-home restrictions. Thousands of retailers across the nation, large and small, closed their doors, and many furloughed employees. Gun shops in Los Angeles won a reprieve, however, when authorities retracted an order to close them. Sheriff Alex Villanueva said he's heeding a federal Department of Homeland Security advisory issued that listed gun and ammunition dealers as "essential critical infrastructure workers." The United States had more than 189,000 confirmed cases late Tuesday night, according to the Johns Hopkins University data dashboard. Worldwide, more than 858,000 people have been infected with the virus and more than 42,100 have died. Our live blog is being updated throughout the day. Refresh for the latest news. More headlines: Models warn of 240,000 coronavirus deaths in United StatesEstimates of between 100,000 and 240,000 Americans dying this year because of the coronavirus convinced President Donald Trump to extend social distancing guidelines, federal public officials said. And that grim scenario would be worse without intervention, with a projection of as many as 2.2 million deaths, according to White House coronavirus response coordinator Deborah Birx. Presented to the president over the weekend, the data explains why Trump backed down from an earlier notion of "reopening" the country by Easter, or potentially relaxing restrictions in parts of the nation that were not hit as hard, officials said. Trump announced Sunday he would extend social distancing guidelines through April 30. "Our country is in the midst of a great national trial," Trump said at Tuesday's briefing. "We're going to go through a very tough two weeks." The administration's top health officials, including Anthony Fauci, director of the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned that models are not always accurate and will be influenced by how seriously Americans take orders to avoid contact with others. Trump and others have said April could be a particularly deadly month in the ongoing battle with the virus. – John Fritze University of Washington study: Coronavirus deaths will peak in 2 weeksIf the entire nation makes an all-out effort to restrict contact, coronavirus deaths will peak in the next two weeks, with patients overwhelming hospitals in most states, according to a University of Washington study. Despite its grim outlook, the study offers more optimism than other high-profile projections in terms of how many hospital beds and ventilators the nation will need to battle COVID-19 in the coming months. Nationally, the University of Washington model predicts a peak daily death toll of 2,214 in mid-April, with a total of 84,000 Americans dead by the end of summer. That's more than twice the lives claimed during the 2018-19 flu season, which killed 34,000 people, according to the latest available data from the CDC. But that figure represents the model's most likely estimate. The range of scenarios spans from 36,000 deaths to more than 152,000, according to the research team led by Christopher Murray, founder and chair of the University of Washington's Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation. Mike Pompeo: Americans abroad should return home 'immediately'In a briefing Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that "Americans who wish to return home from abroad should (do) so immediately and make arrangements to accomplish that." While Pompeo said his repatriation task force remains committed to bringing all Americans home, he said the window to do it is closing. "We do not know how long the commercial flights in your countries may continue to operate," he said. "We can't guarantee the U.S. government's ability to arrange charter flights indefinitely where commercial options no longer exist." In the meantime, he urged Americans to register with their nearest embassy or consulate or do so online via STEP, the State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, which provides citizens with safety alerts about local conditions and a communication link to their families back home. – Jayme Deerwester Stocks sink at end of worst 1st quarterU.S. stocks slumped Tuesday and the Dow concluded its worst first quarter ever as the coronavirus pandemic battered huge swaths of the global economy. Stocks snapped the longest-ever bull market in history this month, swiftly retreating from records in mid-February after the outlook for the U.S. economy dimmed. The pandemic forced lockdowns and travel restrictions, weighing on businesses across the world. The Standard and Poor's 500 fell 1.6% to close the month at 2,584.59, as broad losses in the real estate and utility sectors, which are perceived as safer, offset mild gains in beaten-up energy shares. The broad index was off 20% this quarter, its worst such period since 2008. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 410.32 points to end at 21,917.16. The blue-chip average shed 23% in the first three months of the year, its worst-ever performance over that stretch. Both averages posted their worst monthly declines since 2008. – Jessica Menton Airlines must continue flying if they accept coronavirus financial reliefStruggling U.S. airlines must keep flying if they accept coronavirus aid, with proposed minimum service levels spelled out by aviation regulators. The U.S. Department of Transportation said in a filing that participating airlines must maintain flights to all U.S. destinations they served before March 1 – unless they are granted an exemption. The requirement would be in effect through Sept. 30 but is subject to extension. International flights are exempt due to the State Department's March 19 advisory alert urging Americans to avoid all international travel. – Dawn Gilbertson Dr. Anthony Fauci: New York City cases 'possibly starting to flatten out'Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of the national effort to curb the coronavirus crisis, offered a glimmer of hope Tuesday, saying social distancing was working and that the rate of increase of cases in New York City might be slowing. "You are starting to see that the daily increases are not in that steep incline," Fauci said in an interview on CNN. "They are starting to be able to possibly flatten out." Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also said a recommendation that all Americans wear masks was "under very active consideration" by the federal task force on the crisis. But it won't happen until the supply is sufficient to ensure that all health care workers are adequately equipped, he added. Fauci also stressed that the masks would do little to protect the wearer but could help keep them from spreading the disease. CNN's Chris Cuomo, brother of New York governor, tests positiveChris Cuomo, a CNN journalist and brother of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, said he has tested positive for the virus. Cuomo said on Twitter that he had fever, chills and shortness of breath and is self-isolating in the basement of his home. "I just hope I didn't give it to the kids and (wife) Cristina," Cuomo said, adding that he will continue to appear on CNN from his basement. "He's going to be fine," the governor said at his daily news conference. "He's young, in good shape, strong. Not as strong as he thinks, but he will be fine." Field hospital opening in New York City's Central ParkA 68-bed emergency field hospital erected in Central Park was set to receive patients infected with the coronavirus starting Tuesday. A team of 72 doctors, nurses and other health care workers from Samaritan's Purse, an evangelical Christian disaster-relief organization, have mobilized the facility, which is equipped with 10 ventilators. The hospital has partnered with New York's Mount Sinai Health System and will prioritize moving overflow patients from the Brooklyn and Queens Mount Sinai branches so they can resume respiratory care treatment. The relief effort is not without some controversy, however. Because of anti-LGBTQ comments made in the past by Samaritan's Purse's founder, Franklin Graham, the group has faced backlash. New York state senator Brad Hoylman posted a statement to his verified Twitter account in which he called on Graham "to publicly assure LGBTQ New Yorkers that they will receive the same treatment as anyone else at the Central Park field hospital." – Lorenzo Reyes New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo: FEMA bidding against states for ventilatorsNew York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, comparing buying ventilators to online auctions, said the Federal Emergency Management Agency "basically bigfooted" individual states and drove up prices. Cuomo said he believes FEMA "should've been the purchasing agent" for medical equipment before becoming the sole distributor to states in need. "It's like being on eBay with 50 other states, bidding on a ventilator," Cuomo said. "You see the bid go up 'cause California bid. Illinois bid. Florida bid. New York bid. California rebids. That's literally what we're doing. I mean, how inefficient. And then, FEMA gets involved and FEMA starts bidding. And now FEMA is bidding on top of the 50, so FEMA is driving up the price. What sense does this make?" Cuomo released data indicating his state had more than 75,000 positive cases – including more than 9,000 new cases – with a death toll of 1,550, as of Tuesday morning. He also said New York tests far more than any other state. – Lorenzo Reyes Outbreak on board aircraft carrierThe captain of an aircraft carrier is asking the U.S. Navy to step in to evacuate and isolate its crew as cases of the coronavirus have broken out among members. In a four-page letter dated Monday and first obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle, Navy Captain Brett Crozier of the USS Theodore Roosevelt said "decisive action" was required to prevent deaths from the virus, and that the sailors on board were unable to comply with social-distancing guidelines because of the ship's close quarters. Crozier wrote that "we are not at war, and therefore cannot allow a single Sailor to perish as a result of this pandemic unnecessarily." The Navy reported March 24 that three sailors had tested positive and been airlifted to a hospital in the Pacific. By Thursday, the number of infected sailors had jumped to 23. – Jeanine Santucci GM to produce millions of face masksGeneral Motors is working with the United Auto Workers to call in at least two dozen paid volunteers from its hourly workforce to make millions of face masks at its once-shuttered Warren Transmission plant in Michigan. GM will start making the masks on Monday. By next Wednesday, the first 20,000 face masks are expected to roll off the line for distribution to offset a severe shortage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Once production is at full-scale, GM plans to make 50,000 masks a day, or up to 1.5 million a month. GM is also working with medical device maker Ventec Life Systems to make ventilators at the GM plant in Kokomo, Indiana. – Jamie L. LaReau, Detroit Free Press Louisiana has deadliest coronavirus day with 54 new deaths on TuesdayLouisiana suffered its deadliest coronavirus day Tuesday with 54 deaths and 1,212 new cases, the state health department reported. Tuesday's startling spike brings the total number of COVID-19-related deaths in Louisiana to 239 and cases to 5,237. The state's Public Health department also reports that one-third of the ventilators across Louisiana won't be suitable for coronavirus patients because they are of the emergency portable variety, which don't work well for a long-term respiratory illness like COVID-19. The health department also reported 12 new nursing homes with coronavirus "clusters" for a total of 40, almost 12% of the state's 436 nursing homes or long-term care facilities. A cluster is identified as two or more cases that appear to be connected. There are now confirmed cases in 60 of the state's 64 parishes. Donald Trump says he is avoiding travel to New York amid coronavirusPresident Donald Trump says he avoided two notable public events in New York earlier this week that he would have liked to attend. Trump said he wanted to go to the opening of a hospital and the arrival of Navy hospital ship in the city, but was advised to avoid the area. More than 1,500 have died in New York from the virus. The Javits Center opened on Monday after its transformation into an emergency hospital. The USNS Comfort, equipped with 1,000 beds and 12 operating rooms, docked on the same day. "I think it is important that I remain healthy," Trump said, citing the recent positive coronavirus test of British Prime Minster Boris Johnson. Global coronavirus crisis: World tops 858,000 cases, Italy reaches 105,000Much of the world is locked in the same life-and-death struggle the U.S. faces. The number of worldwide, confirmed coronavirus cases surpassed 858,000 on Tuesday, while Italy's tally surpassed 105,000. Italy has had the most deaths: more than 12,400. That includes 812 on Monday, up from 756 on Sunday. Spain has seen more than 8,400 deaths, including 849 on Monday, its highest total to date. "We need every country to keep responding – detecting, isolating, treating cases and tracing contacts, plus physical distancing," said Dr. Takeshi Kasai, the World Health Organization's regional director for the Western Pacific. "We know it works! And all countries need to keep preparing for large-scale community transmission." More news and information from USA TODAYMacy's, Kohl's among retailers announcing sweeping furloughsMacy's is furloughing a majority of its 125,00 workers and Kohl's will do the same with 85,000 employees as the severe economic disruptions caused by the coronavirus stay-at-home drive roll through the retail industry. Gap Inc., which owns the Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy, also announced that it would be "pausing pay" for the majority of store workers in the U.S. and Canada until stores are reopen. "While the digital business remains open, we have lost the majority of our sales due to the store closures," Macy's said in a statement. Other sectors of the economy have already been hammered. Last week, Cheesecake Factory said it would furlough 41,000 hourly workers and cut executive pay. And hotel giants Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott have all announced furloughs. – Brett Molina Mexico suspends 'nonessential activity'Mexico has declared a national public health emergency because of the COVID-19 pandemic, ordering the suspension of nonessential activity until April 30. The country has reported 28 deaths and more than 1,000 confirmed cases. The emergency declaration issued by Mexico's General Health Council requires a stop to nonessential public, private and social events and is intended to slow the spread of the virus. Schools in Mexico had already closed and will now remain closed until at least April 30. – Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times Get updates in your inbox:Sign up for the Daily Briefing. Is 6 feet enough for social distancing? Why one MIT researcher says it's notThe novel coronavirus has prompted social distancing measures around the world. One researcher believes what's being done isn't enough. Lydia Bourouiba, an associate professor at MIT, has researched the dynamics of exhalations (coughs and sneezes, for instance) for years at The Fluid Dynamics of Disease Transmission Laboratory and found exhalations cause gaseous clouds that can travel up to 27 feet. Her research could have implications for the global COVID-19 pandemic, though measures called for by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the WHO call for six and three feet of space, respectively. "There's an urgency in revising the guidelines currently being given by the WHO and the CDC on the needs for protective equipment, particularly for the front-line health care workers," Bourouiba told USA TODAY. – Jordan Culver CLOSE Got a minute? Here's how you can help slow the spread of Coronavirus COVID-19 in under 60 seconds. USA TODAY More coronavirus news and information from USA TODAYRead or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/03/31/coronavirus-updates-amazon-strike-furloughs-new-test-las-vegas-homeless/5088976002/  |
| Trump Signs $2 Trillion Bill as U.S. Virus Cases Pass 100,000 - The New York Times Posted: 31 Mar 2020 04:48 AM PDT Here's what you need to know:Image  There are now 100,000 known coronavirus cases in the United States.More than 100,000 people in the United States have now been infected with the coronavirus, according to a New York Times database, a grim milestone that comes on the same day the national death toll surpassed 1,500. Earlier this week the country surpassed the case totals in China and Italy. The number of known cases has risen rapidly in recent days as testing ramped up after weeks of widespread shortages and delays. [Analysis: North Korea claims to have no coronavirus cases. Can it be trusted?] And the outbreak has already transformed life in the United States, where millions of Americans have been asked to do what might have been unthinkable only a week or two ago: Don't go to work, don't go to school, don't leave the house, except in limited circumstances. The directives to keep people at home to stunt the spread of the coronavirus began in California, and have quickly been adopted across the country. By Friday, two dozen states and the Navajo Nation had told their residents to stay at home as much as possible, orders that affect at least 223 million Americans. The pandemic is also having an effect on the primary calendar, as states across the country scramble to protect voters and poll workers. Gov. Tony Evers of Wisconsin on Friday requested that absentee ballots be sent to all of the state's 3.3 million registered voters ahead of its April 7 presidential primary. And on the same day, Gov. Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania signed a measure postponing the contest from April 28 to June 2. Trump attacks Democratic governors. Biden says: 'Stop personalizing everything.'President Trump on Friday evening lamented the loss of economic gains that he had often used to measure his success in office and that served as the heart of his re-election message until the coronavirus hit the United States. And he attacked Democratic governors for being insufficiently grateful for his efforts. "Think of it, 22 days ago we had the greatest economy in the world," Mr. Trump said at a news conference. "Everything was going beautifully. The stock market hit an all-time high again for the over 150th time during my presidency." He singled out the governor of Washington, Jay Inslee, and the governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, for his prime time scorn. Mr. Inslee, he said, was "a failed presidential candidate" who was "constantly tripping and complaining." Ms. Whitmer "has no idea what's going on," he said. He then said he told Vice President Mike Pence, his coronavirus coordinator, to stop calling Mr. Inslee and Ms. Whitmer: "Don't call the woman in Michigan, doesn't make any difference," he said of Ms. Whitmer. "Very simple. I want them to be appreciative," he said, saying his administration has "done a hell of a job." In a subsequent CNN town hall event on Friday night, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who is likely to face Mr. Trump in the general election, took issue with how the president has spoken about some governors. Ms. Whitmer is a national co-chair of his campaign. "This is not personal," Mr. Biden said. "It has nothing to do with you, Donald Trump, nothing to do with you. Do your job. Stop personalizing everything." Mr. Biden said he would recommend to governors that they lock down their states for several weeks, and he expressed support for a rent freeze for at least three months. Trump signs $2 trillion stimulus plan, clearing way for checks for Americans.President Trump on Friday signed into law the largest economic stimulus package in modern American history, backing a $2 trillion measure designed to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Under the law, the government will deliver direct payments and jobless benefits for individuals, money for states and a huge bailout fund for businesses battered by the crisis. Mr. Trump signed the measure in the Oval Office hours after the House approved it by voice vote and less than two days after the Senate unanimously passed it. In brief remarks, Mr. Trump, flanked by Republican leaders in Congress, thanked "Democrats and Republicans for coming together and putting America first" and said it would help pave the road to economic recovery. "I think we are going to have a tremendous rebound," he said. The legislation will send direct payments of $1,200 to millions of Americans, including those earning up to $75,000, and an additional $500 per child. It will substantially expand jobless aid, providing an additional 13 weeks and a four-month enhancement of benefits, and for the first time will extend the payments to freelancers and gig workers. The measure will also offer $377 billion in federally guaranteed loans to small businesses and establish a $500 billion government lending program for distressed companies reeling from the crisis, including allowing the administration the ability to take equity stakes in airlines that received aid to help compensate taxpayers. It will also send $100 billion to hospitals on the front lines of the pandemic. The law was the product of days of talks between members of Mr. Trump's administration and Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress. And even before Mr. Trump held a bill signing on Friday afternoon, congressional leaders said they expected to negotiate more legislative responses to the pandemic in the coming months. Coronavirus cases now threaten America's middle.A second wave of coronavirus cases is charting a path far from coastal Washington State, California, New York and New Jersey, and threatening population centers in America's middle that had no known cases of coronavirus not long ago. Emerging hot spots include smaller communities like Greenville, Miss., and Pine Bluff, Ark., and large cities like New Orleans, Milwaukee, Detroit and Chicago. The areas around Cleveland, St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo., have also seen spikes. As the toll of the virus grows, mayors, county executives and governors are sounding the alarm over a dearth of equipment and struggling to deal with the deadly onslaught. "I look to New York to see what's going on there, and I think, it's a cautionary tale for the rest of us," Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago, a Democrat, said in an interview on Friday. "I look at New York and think, what do we do so that we are as prepared as possible as this begins to ramp up in a city like Chicago?" U.S. cities face shortages of masks, ventilators and emergency gear.Officials in nearly 200 U.S. cities, large and small, report a dire need for face masks, ventilators and other emergency equipment to respond to the coronavirus outbreak, according to a survey released on Friday. The United States Conference of Mayors questioned officials in 213 municipalities and found serious shortages that underscored the "scope and severity" of the crisis. The organization, a nonpartisan association of mayors from across the country, urged the federal government to provide more support. More than 90 percent — or 192 cities — said they did not have an adequate supply of face masks for police officers, firefighters and emergency workers. In addition, 92 percent of cities reported a shortage of test kits and 85 percent did not have a sufficient supply of ventilators available to local health facilities. Roughly two-thirds of the cities said they had not received any emergency equipment or supplies from their state, the report said. And of those that did receive state aid, nearly 85 percent said it was not enough to meet their needs. In total, the conference tabulated that cities need 28.5 million face masks, 24.4 million other items of personal protection equipment, 7.9 million test kits and 139,000 ventilators. For the millions of Americans who found themselves without a job in recent weeks, the sharp and painful change brought a profound sense of disorientation. They were going about their lives, bartending, cleaning, managing events, waiting tables, loading luggage and teaching yoga. And then suddenly they were in free fall, grabbing at any financial help they could find, which in many states this week remained locked away behind crashing websites and overloaded phone lines. For Joseph Palma, so much has changed so quickly that he barely recognizes his life. On Tuesday last week, he was going to work, helping passengers in the customs area of the Miami airport. The next day, he was laid off without severance or benefits. Five days later, he moved back in with his 59-year-old mother, loading his bed and his clothes into the back of his friend's pickup truck. Now he is staring at his bank account — totaling about $3,100 — and waiting on hold for hours at a time with the unemployment office, while cursing at its crashing website. "I'm feeling scared," said Mr. Palma, who is 41 and nervous about the $15,000 in medical debt he has from two recent hospital stays. "I don't know what's the ending. But I know I'm not in good shape." Meanwhile, stocks fell Friday as investors who initially cheered progress on a $2 trillion U.S. aid package saw further economic troubles ahead. The S&P 500 dropped more than 3 percent on Friday. Stocks in Europe were also lower. After expressing doubts about the need for more ventilators, Trump pushes industry to make more.For days Mr. Trump resisted using the Defense Production Act to mobilize private industry to produce the critically-needed supplies, arguing at points that private industry was stepping up on its own, and at other points suggesting dismissively that using it would be analogous to "nationalizing" businesses. But on Friday afternoon Mr. Trump said that he had directed his administration "to use any and all authority available under the Defense Production Act to require General Motors to accept, perform, and prioritize Federal contracts for ventilators." "Our negotiations with G.M. regarding its ability to supply ventilators have been productive, but our fight against the virus is too urgent to allow the give-and-take of the contracting process to continue to run its normal course," the president said in a statement. "G.M. was wasting time. Today's action will help ensure the quick production of ventilators that will save American lives." Earlier on Friday, Mr. Trump lashed out at General Motors on Friday, blaming it for overpromising on its ability to make new ventilators for critically ill coronavirus patients. In a series of tweets, the president had emphasized the urgent need for the ventilators, an abrupt change of tone from the night before, when he had told Sean Hannity, the Fox News host, that states were inflating their needs. Mr. Trump appeared to be reacting to reports that the White House had dragged its feet in awarding contracts to G.M. and Ventec Life Systems, to start new production lines in a converted G.M. plant in Kokomo, Ind. Photos take you inside a hard-hit Italian town, and the Pope offers words of praise.No country has been hit harder by the coronavirus pandemic than Italy, where officials announced Friday that more than 950 people had died in the past 24 hours. It was the highest daily tally yet, lifting the national death toll to 9,134 — by far the highest in the world. The virus has also penetrated the high walls of the Vatican. The Vatican on Tuesday said an official who lives in the pope's residence has tested positive and required hospitalization. Now the Vatican is testing scores of people and considering isolating measures for Francis, 83, who has tested negative in two separate tests, according to top Vatican officials. "For weeks now, it has been evening — thick darkness has gathered over our squares, our streets and our cities," Pope Francis, who had part of his lungs removed during an illness in his youth, said on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica Friday. "It has taken over our lives." Pope Francis also expressed support and appreciation for "doctors, nurses, supermarket employees, cleaners, caregivers, providers of transport, law and order forces, volunteers, priests, religious men and women and so very many others who have understood that no one reaches salvation by themselves." Doctors find the coronavirus affects some patients in subtle and unexpected ways.The coronavirus mostly infects the lungs, causing pneumonia in severe cases; the typical symptoms are fever, cough and difficulty breathing. But some infected patients, including one recently in Brooklyn, have arrived at the hospital with symptoms not of respiratory disease, but of heart attack. On close examination, the Brooklyn patient and some others were suffering from acute myocarditis, a severe inflammation of the heart. The condition also has been seen in patients with other viral infections, such as MERS and the H1N1 swine flu. Patients with coronavirus infections and heart complications have a risk of death nearly four times higher than patients without heart complications. Other doctors have been keeping a close watch on the virus's impact on the youngest targets. Newborns and babies have so far seemed to be largely unaffected by the coronavirus, but three small new studies suggest that the virus may reach the fetus in utero. Even in these studies the newborns seem only mildly affected, if at all. That is reassuring, experts said; in theory, the virus could pose a risk to the fetus early in gestation, when the fetal brain is most vulnerable. "We don't have any knowledge of that at all, said Dr. Christina Chambers, a perinatal epidemiologist at the University of California in San Diego. "That is a complete open question at this point." Four are dead on a cruise ship with nowhere to dock.After four passengers died aboard Holland America's Zaandam cruise ship, the fate of the vessel became increasingly unclear on Friday night when it was denied permission to cross the Panama Canal. The ship is currently off the southern coast of Panama, conducting an evacuation of healthy passengers to one of the company's sister ships, the Rotterdam. The Panama Canal Authority posted an announcement on Twitter saying that new health regulations aimed at preventing contagious diseases would prohibit the Zaandam from crossing the canal. Both ships had hoped to cross the Panama Canal and head to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., which has not given them permission to dock. The Zaandam was originally scheduled to disembark in Chile on March 21, but the country shut its ports to cruise ships and ultimately closed its borders. There were 1,243 guests and 586 crew members on board the Zaandam, with passengers from 34 nations. People who are sick as well as their close contacts and all of the crew will remain on the Zaandam, the company said. Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain and the health secretary test positive.Video transcript transcript 'Be in No Doubt That I Can Continue,' Boris Johnson SaysIn a video message to the British people, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that he tested positive for the novel coronavirus. He also took the message as an opportunity to urge his constituents to practice social distancing.
 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for the coronavirus and is suffering mild symptoms, he said on Friday. He is the first leader of a major Western country known to have contracted the virus. "I've developed mild symptoms of the coronavirus," Mr. Johnson said in a video posted on Twitter, noting that he was tested on Thursday after he began running a temperature and suffering a persistent cough. The prime minister said that he would isolate himself in his official residence, 10 Downing Street, but would not relinquish his duties. "Be in no doubt that I can continue, thanks to the wizardry of modern technology, to communicate with all my top team to lead the national fight back against coronavirus," Mr. Johnson said. But a critical member of his cabinet, Matt Hancock, the health secretary, also tested positive, meaning that the two people most directly responsible for dealing with the virus are now afflicted with it. The government's chief medical adviser, Chris Whitty, also reported symptoms of the virus and said he was isolating himself. There are fears that other officials who have been in meetings with Mr. Johnson could also have been exposed. If Mr. Johnson becomes incapacitated, his duties would be taken over by the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, who has tested negative for the virus. It is a head-spinning turn of events for a government that, just two weeks ago, was brimming with confidence after a landslide election victory in December. Mr. Johnson's diagnosis rattled a country that was already unnerved by news that Prince Charles, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and the heir to the throne, had tested positive for the virus. Buckingham Palace said the queen remained healthy and was sequestered at Windsor Castle. Mr. Johnson delivered his weekly briefing to the queen by telephone on Wednesday. South Africa locks down in the most restrictive action on the African continent.South Africa, Africa's most industrialized nation, ordered most of its 59 million people to stay at home for three weeks starting today. It is by far the biggest and most restrictive action undertaken on the African continent to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The nationwide lockdown followed an alarming increase in confirmed cases across South Africa's nine provinces. Three weeks after detecting its first infection, the country is now the center of the pandemic on the continent, with more than 1,000 confirmed cases, double the number of the next hardest-hit country, Egypt. While the deadly virus was slow to take hold in Africa, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths has gradually increased in recent days, raising fears about the continent's readiness to deal with a pandemic. To date, 46 African states have reported a total of 3,243 positive cases and 83 deaths, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What you can do to protect yourself and everyone else.You can take several steps to slow the spread of the coronavirus, and keep yourself safe. Be consistent about social distancing. Wash your hands often. And when you do leave your home for groceries or other essentials, wipe down your shopping cart and be smart about what you are purchasing. Reporting was contributed by Michael Cooper, Alan Blinder, Julie Bosman, Emily Cochrane, Donald G. McNeil Jr., Maya Salam, David E. Sanger, Maggie Haberman, Annie Karni, Mark Landler, Stephen Castle, John Eligon, Amy Qin, Marc Santora, Megan Specia, Elian Peltier, Raphael Minder, Jason Horowitz, Fabio Bucciarelli, Nikita Stewart, Michael Crowley, Jason Horowitz, Elisabetta Povoledo, Lara Jakes, Jesse Drucker, Abdi Latif Dahir, Vikas Bajaj, Carl Hulse, Steven Lee Myers, Caitlin Dickerson, Annie Correal, Adam Liptak, Neil MacFarquhar, Frances Robles, Thomas Kaplan, Sabrina Tavernise, Audra D. S. Burch, Sarah Mervosh and Campbell Robertson.  |
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