Thanks for reading our blog on this exhausting news day! Here are some news points to keep in mind:
- San Francisco’s “shelter-in-place” lockdown leaves room for Californians to do outdoor activities like hike and walk.
- The CDC announced its first employee sick with coronavirus.
- California is set to spend up to $1bn on coronavirus relief.
That’s all from me folks! Stay home if you can, and stay safe.
Evening Summary
Thanks for reading our blog on this exhausting news day! Here are some news points to keep in mind:
- San Francisco’s “shelter-in-place lockdown leaves room for Californians to do outdoor activities like hike and walk.
- The CDC announced its first employee sick with coronavirus.
- California is set to pay up to $1bn in corona relief.
That’s all from me folks! Stay home if you can, and stay safe.
Updated
The mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, has ordered the closure of all bars and restaurants except for pick-up and delivery, and barred gatherings of more than 10 people in line with the president’s recommendation.
Quinton Lucas also announced extensive school closures from Wednesday and stopped visits to retirement homes and long term care facilities.
Although concerts and other events had already been cancelled, many Kansas City bars and restaurants remained open although with a sharp fall in regular business.
“We understand these drastic measures will have unprecedented impacts on our local businesses and working families and recognize that this is one of the most challenging periods our city and nation has ever faced,” Lucas said in a tweet.
There have been no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Kansas City, Missouri, but there has been one death of a 70-year-old man in a long term care facility in Kansas City, Kansas, as well as five confirmed cases in nearby Johnston county.
Updated
Donald Trump tweeted about Covid-19 on Monday calling it “the Chinese virus” and promising to take steps to mitigate its effects on US industries.
The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 16, 2020
Updated
California is being forced to halt census outreach due to coronavirus, threatening the state’s ability to get an accurate count of its population, according to a report from Cal Matters.
From the report:
State and community organizers are particularly concerned about this year’s survey. California faces powerful headwinds, not only from the mounting threat of COVID-19, the infection caused by the virus, but also from widespread distrust sowed by the Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies, including a failed push to include a citizenship question on the census.
For California, the stakes have never been higher: A low turnout could jeopardize one of the state’s 53 congressional seats, along with billions in federal funding.
California is prepared to spend $1bn on emergency coronavirus aid, Gavin Newsom announced Monday.
The state’s governor has asked the state legislature to immediately free up $500m to address coronavirus, a fund that will be increased by $50m as needed until reaching a maximum of $1bn.
These funds will also go towards local governments to help address coronavirus among homeless communities, providing hotel beds for the unsheltered.
“Our state, our nation, and our world are facing a challenge unprecedented in modern times,” Newsom said in a letter to the assembly and senate. “The Covid-19 pandemic compels us all to find new ways of coming together, even as we must also seek out new ways of staying apart.
Updated
The California governor, Gavin Newsom, posted on Monday a number of measures residents of the state can take to help during the coronavirus epidemic.
A few ways you can help out your community 👇 pic.twitter.com/Sd5RlgRy11
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 16, 2020
It suggests donating to a shelter, delivering meals to seniors and creating hygiene kits to drop off to people experiencing homelessness.
Updated
Health secretary announces Covid-19 vaccine trial
A trial evaluating a vaccine to protect against Covid-19 has begun at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is funding the trial, announced.
The trial is the first of its kind in the world, the HHS secretary, Alex Azar, said in a statement.
“When the world faces a new public health threat, so often, American scientists and entrepreneurs have been the first to start uncovering ways to fight back”, he said. “The president’s whole-of-government, whole-of-America approach is using our best minds and all the resources we have to protect the American people from this unprecedented threat.”
The study is evaluating different doses of the experimental vaccine for safety and its ability to induce an immune response in participants. The vaccine was developed by NIAID scientists and their collaborators at the biotechnology company Moderna, Inc.; the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) supported the clinical manufacturing of the vaccine candidate.
Updated
William Barr, the US attorney general, sent out a directive on Monday to US attorneys telling them to focus investigating and prosecuting criminals taking advantage of the Covid-19 crisis to scam Americans.
This includes fake cures for the coronavirus being peddled online and phishing emails from scammers posing as the World Health organization or the CDC.
“This pandemic is dangerous enough without wrongdoers seeking to profit from public panic and this sort of conduct cannot be tolerated”, Barr wrote.
Updated
For the first time since the coronavirus has reached the United States, an employee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reportedly been diagnosed with the illness via CDC testing.
The employee was involved in work unrelated to the agency’s Covid-19 response and had not been in the workplace since 6 March, when they were not showing any symptoms of the disease.
“This individual is in good condition and is isolated to prevent spread of infection to others,” the CDC said in a statement, adding that staff who worked in the same unit as the individual are now teleworking as the office undergoes a deep cleaning.
Updated
The state of Kentucky is delaying its primary election from 19 May to 23 June, the chief elections official Michael G Adams announced in a video posted to Twitter on Monday.
“My hope is this delay will allow us to have a normal election, but even if not, this delay will allow me, the state board of elections and our county clerks time to assess which changes we must make to ensure a successful primary election”.
The May 19th primary election is delayed to June 23rd. Find out why here: pic.twitter.com/qMAlT4RS4N
— KY Sec. of State Michael G. Adams (@KYSecState) March 16, 2020
Updated
Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said on Monday he will continue to investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, despite the coronavirus shutdowns this week.
Senator Ron Johnson tells me he will continue to probe the Bidens as the nation deals with coronavirus.
— Robert Costa (@costareports) March 16, 2020
“We’re going to pursue the subpoena,” he said this eve, referring to a planned subpoena for a firm targeted by his investigation. “We can walk and chew gum at the same time.”
Johnson, a Republican, has been organizing a probe of Hunter Biden’s ties to Ukrainian gas company, Burisma and was slated to release a report in the next couple of months. It appears the investigation will continue.
San Francisco’s impending lockdown is reportedly not as strict as Italy’s, allowing for some outdoor activities including walking and hiking - provided folks keep their distance the recommended six feet.
The San Francisco lockdown does allow walking, hiking, and running pic.twitter.com/x60sxXUnE4
— Steve Lookner (@lookner) March 16, 2020
Hello readers, Kari Paul here taking over the blog. Stand by for updates.
Today so far
That’s it from me today after another day filled with coronavirus-related updates. My west coast colleague, Kari Paul, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
- The White House announced heightened guidelines aimed at mitigating the spread of coronavirus. Americans are being encouraged to avoid gatherings larger than 10 people, limit discretionary travel and work from home wherever possible.
- Trump said he is not considering a nationwide lockdown at this point. A number of European countries and US states have announced lockdowns in recent days, but the president said the federal government was not taking that step at this time.
- Trump’s tone was noticeably more grim today after repeatedly downplaying the crisis. The president acknowledged there “may” be a recession because of coronavirus and said the crisis could extend into the summer or later.
- The Dow suffered its worst single-day point drop in history. With investors panicking over the extent of the coronavirus crisis, the Dow dropped 2,997 points, or nearly 13%.
- Ohio announced it would cancel in-person voting tomorrow for its Democratic presidential primary. The announcement from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, who said he would seek a court decision to reschedule in-person voting for June 2, marked one of the largest coronavirus-related disruptions to the presidential primary yet.
Kari will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Trump’s press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, is working from home after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for coronavirus.
According to the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, Grishamis working remotely out of an “abundance of caution,” but it’s unclear whether she has been tested.
.@PressSec, after contact with the Brazilian delegation that was at MAL, is working from home. Unclear whether she’s been tested, person familiar described it as an “abundance of caution.”
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) March 16, 2020
The president has said he tested negative for coronavirus, and the vice president said today he has not yet been tested but is regularly consulting with the White House physician.
Trump has asked Americans to avoid “hoarding unnecessary amounts of food and essentials” during the coronavirus crisis.
I ask all Americans to band together and support your neighbors by not hoarding unnecessary amounts of food and essentials. TOGETHER we will stay STRONG and overcome this challenge!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 16, 2020
The president’s request comes as supermarkets are struggling to keep their aisles stocked, even though the food supply chain is strong.
The New York Times reported yesterday:
[S]hoppers can most likely expect to see empty shelves intermittently, as the nation’s network of food producers, distributors and retailers are stretched as never before. Industries that are calibrated to supply consumers with just enough of what they need on a given day cannot keep up with a nationwide surge of relentless shopping fueled in large part by fear.
Food suppliers and retailers are now not only struggling to satiate crushing demand for canned soup and oat milk, they are battling a perception that the scary scenes at the grocery store reflect a fundamental breakdown.
Millions of Californians told to 'shelter-in-place'
The Guardian’s Vivian Ho reports from California:
San Francisco and five other Bay Area counties in California have ordered all residents to shelter-in-place to curb the spread of coronavirus, in a drastic move similar to ones taken in Italy, Spain and China, but the first of its kind in the US.
“The most important thing you can do is remain home as much as possible,” London Breed, the San Francisco mayor, said in a tweet.
Effective at midnight, San Francisco will require people to stay home except for essential needs.
— London Breed (@LondonBreed) March 16, 2020
Necessary government functions & essential stores will remain open.
These steps are based on the advice of public health experts to slow the spread of #COVID19.
The order came Monday following a 14% increase in positive coronavirus cases in California, with 335 reported and six deaths. More than a third of all positive cases were in Santa Clara county, the home of Silicon Valley, as well as two deaths. San Francisco has had 40 positive cases.
More than 6.7 million people live in San Francisco and the five counties issuing this order – Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Contra Costa and Alameda counties. The order does not confine residents to their home unless they have permission to leave, as the lockdown orders in Italy and China do, but directs them to stay inside unless absolutely necessary.
Residents can go to the grocery store, the laundromat, the doctor and to perform essential work, as well as to engage in outdoor exercise that complies with social distancing requirements.
Updated
Trump's tone becomes increasingly grim as coronavirus crisis intensifies
The president and the coronavirus task force have just concluded their press conference in the White House briefing room.
The biggest news from the press conference was that the federal government is releasing heightened guideleines for the next 15 days to mitigate the spread of coronavirus.
Americans are being asked to avoid gatherings larger than 10 people, limit discretionary travel and try to work from home wherever possible.
However, the press conference was also notable for the marked change in tune from Trump, who has previously sought to downplay the pandemic.
Today, the president was much more somber and grim, bringing his outlook on the crisis more in line with that of health experts.
Trump said there “may” be a recession because of the pandemic, and he acknowledged the crisis could extend into the summer and potentially later.
“If you’re talking about the virus, that’s not under control for any place in the world,” Trump said.
It was a notable shift from the US leader, who just yesterday said his administration had “tremendous control” over the crisis.
Vice President Mike Pence, who is leading the coronavirus task force, said he has not yet been tested for the virus.
Pence said he is in regular consultation with the White House physician and has been keeping tabs on his temperature to monitor for a potential fever.
The vice president said second lady Karen Pence is following the same precautions, and they will take a test if it’s deemed necessary.
Trump says market will 'take care of itself' after Dow drops nearly 3,000 points
Trump voiced confidence that the markets would recover from the coronavirus crisis, as the Dow closed down nearly 3,000 points.
“The market will take care of itself,” Trump said. “The market will be very strong once we get rid of the virus.”
Trump’s comments came as the Dow suffered its worst one-day point drop in history.
The Dow closed down 2,997 points, or 12.93%. For the latest updates and analysis on the market drop, follow the Guardian’s business live blog:
Trump says postponing elections is 'unnecessary'
Trump said he did not think it was necessary to postpone elections amid the coronavirus crisis.
“Postponing elections is not a very good thing,” Trump said. “I think postponing is unnecessary.”
His comments came shortly after Ohio announced it was canceling in-person voting tomorrow for the Democratic presidential primary.
Asked whether the buck stops with him, the president said it “normally” does, but this is an extraordinary situation.
“This has never been done before in this country,” Trump said of the coronavirus crisis.
Trump gave himself top marks for his administration’s response to the coronavirus crisis.
“I’d rate it a 10,” the president said when asked to rate his response on a scale of 1 to 10. “I think we’ve done a great job.”
But the administration has been widely criticized for not making more coronavirus tests available more quickly.
Asked about how he is protecting himself from contracting coronavirus, Trump, a self-described germophobe, said he is washing his hands “a lot.”
The president also said the coronavirus test he took, which was negative, was not necessarily pleasant.
“Not something I want to do every day, I can tell you that,” Trump said of getting the test. “Nothing pleasant about it.”
Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, just offered an important clarification on the newest coronavirus guidelines.
Trump said he has been told to expect the health crisis to extend into July or August and possibly later.
But Fauci clarified that the president was not saying these guidelines will necessarily be in effect until then.
These latest guidelines, which advise Americans to avoid gatherings larger than 10 people, will be in effect for 15 days, Fauci said. Then the coronavirus response team will revisit them.
However, Fauci said experts expect coronavirus cases to continue into the summer and possibly later.
Trump said he was not currently considering implementing a national curfew to mitigate the spread of coronavirus.
In a surprising note from this president, Trump said he believed the media has been “very fair” in its coverage of the crisis.
Trump also expressed support for the airline industry, which is seeing steep financial losses because of the crisis.
Trump was asked about his comment yesterday that his administration has “tremendous control” over the coronavirus crisis.
The president said he was not claiming the White House has control over the virus itself.
“If you’re talking about the virus, that’s not under control for any place in the world,” Trump said.
In comparison to his past comments on the pandemic, the president’s remarks today sound much more grim and thus more in line with comments from health experts.
Trump says he's not currently considering nationwide lockdown
Trump said he is not currently considering a nationwide lockdown in response to the coronavirus crisis.
“At this point, not nationwide,” Trump said. “We may look at certain areas, certain hotspots.”
A number of European countries and US states have announced lockdowns in recent days.
“We look forward to the day that we can get back to normal,” Trump said.
Trump says coronavirus crisis could stretch into the summer
Trump said the coronavirus crisis could extend into the summer.
The president said experts have told him to expect that this new reality could extend into July or August and possibly longer.
NEW: @realDonaldTrump @CDCgov #Coronavirus Guidelines. Just Announced: Avoid Gatherings Larger than 10 People. pic.twitter.com/oxYIxTvBlV
— Fin Gomez (@finnygo) March 16, 2020
“It’s bad,” Trump acknowledged of the coronavirus crisis. However, he said the US is trying to avoid a worst-case scenario by deploying these guidelines.
Updated
White House says to avoid gatherings larger than 10 people
The White House has now said Americans should avoid gatherings larger than 10 people in order to slow the spread of the virus.
Trump also said Americans should “avoid discretionary travel” as the administration tries to mitigate the virus’ spread.
Dr Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, specifically addressed millennials and asked them to comply with the health guidelines to protect more vulnerable groups.
Trump holds coronavirus press conference
Trump has taken the podium in the White House briefing room to provide an update on the coronavirus crisis.
As he addressed the reporters, he complimented them for keeping a seat open between them in the briefing room.
“I’m glad to see you are practicing social distancing,” Trump said. “It looks very nice.”
Ohio cancels in-person voting tomorrow
Ohio has announced no in-person voting will take place tomorrow, when the state was scheduled to hold its Democratic presidential primary.
BREAKING: Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio announces that voting be extended until June 2nd, that no in-person voting occur tomorrow.
— Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) March 16, 2020
"It is clear that tomorrows in person voting does not conform and cannot conform with these CDC guidelines. We cannot conduct this election tomorrow."
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said primary voting would be extended until June 2.
Currently, three other states -- Arizona, Florida and Illinois -- are still scheduled to hold primaries tomorrow, but those states may reconsider with Ohio’s announcement.
Senate Democrats request $750 billion to fight coronavirus
Senate Democrats are now calling on the federal government to commit to spending $750 billion to fight the coronavirus crisis.
The money would be used to boost testing capacity and aid Americans who are suffering financially because of the crisis.
“We will need big, bold, urgent federal action to deal with this crisis. The kinds of targeted measures we are putting together will mainline money into the economy and directly into the hands of families that need it most,” Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.
The proposal comes as lawmakers are discussing the likely necessity of a third legislative package to address the crisis.
This is Joan Greve in Washington, taking over for Kenya Evelyn.
Four more states will hold presidential primaries tomorrow, even as the coronavirus crisis continues to unfold.
Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio will collectively award 577 pledged delegates tomorrow to Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.
Biden looks poised to expand his delegate lead, considering Sanders lost all four states to Hillary Clinton during the 2016 Democratic primary.
A new Arizona poll now shows Biden leading Sanders by 20 points in the state. According to the Monmouth University survey, Biden has the support of 51% of Arizona’s likely primary voters, compared to Sanders’ 31%.
ARIZONA VOTER POLL: Presidential election#2020Dem #ArizonaPrimary :
— MonmouthPoll (@MonmouthPoll) March 16, 2020
51% @JoeBiden
31% @BernieSanders
November #GeneralElection versus @realDonaldTrump:
46% Biden
43% Trump
44% Trump
43% Sandershttps://t.co/NVTH6jvhLO
If Sanders were to lose all four states again, it could put even more pressure on him to drop out of the race, especially if Biden’s margin of victory is 20 or more points.
However, the Monmouth poll may be more notable for what it says about Arizona’s Senate race. Democrats seeking to take control of the Senate are hoping astronaut Mark Kelly can defeat Republican senator Martha McSally.
According to the Monmouth survey, Kelly is currently leading McSally by 6 points in the purple state, which may alarm Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell.
US Airlines want $50 billion in government aid from the coronavirus
US airlines are seeking government assistance of more than $50 billion in the form of direct aid and loan guarantees to combat the effects of the coronavirus on their bottom lines.
According to CNBC:
The aid, if received, would be the industry’s first broad bailout since the wake of the 11 Sept. 2001 attacks. It is also the clearest sign yet of the financial damage coronavirus and the draconian measures governments are taking to stop it are having on American businesses.
Airlines for America, which represents carriers including Delta, United, American and Southwest, recommended passenger carriers immediately receive up to $25 billion in grants to compensate for reduced liquidity and in the medium-term $25 billion in low- or zero-interest loans.
The travel industry continues to feel the effects of the coronavirus outbreak overall with US shutting down borders, ports and entire states from travel.
Biden, Sanders to host virtual events tonight to promote social distancing
Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders aren’t letting the coronavirus outbreak stall the momentum of their campaigns. Both candidates announced virtual events Monday to connect with voters, as well as promote social distancing.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, along with wife Jill Biden, will host a town hall tele-conference designed for voters who’ll take to the polls for Tuesday’s primaries in Illinois, Florida, Ohio and Arizona.
Sanders appeared the more ambitious candidate, attempting to pull off an online rally tonight complete with celebrity guests.
“There are so many of us that just want to find common ground with all living beings so that we can move forward together as a world to live in peace, good health, and equality,” Jim James, frontman for My Morning Jacket.
The band is set to perform during the virtual rally.
Other notable appearances will include performers Neil Young and Daryl Hannah, as well as Ohio State senator Nina Turner, who also serves as the campaign’s co-chair.
Updated
Did Mitt Romney join the ‘Yang Gang?’
Utah senator Mitt Romney appeared to endorse a key component of Democratic presidential platforms Monday: a living wage - if only temporarily.
The New York Times’ Jonathan Martin reported Senator Romney advocated for immediate economic relief for Americans in the form of a $1,000 stipend.
NEW from @MittRomney:
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) March 16, 2020
“Every American adult should immediately receive $1,000 to help ensure families and workers can meet their short-term obligations and increase spending in the economy.”
The Republican senator called for the payout to help “families and workers” meet “short-term obligations and increase spending” amid a looming economic slowdown due to the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
Some noted the similarities to the $1,000 monthly income proposed by former democratic candidate and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.
Thank you Andrew Yang.
— David Weissman (@davidmweissman) March 16, 2020
While others noted any potential nationwide handout would be a policy initiative more reminiscent of a political system republicans shun.
But...but...socialism!
— Billy Corben (@BillyCorben) March 16, 2020
Updated
Summary of the day so far
Here’s what you may have missed in the rush:
- The US has called on Vietnam to release a popular blogger
- Dept. of Health and Human Services officials say they were hacked
- Stocks plunged immediately after opening, triggering an emergency shutdown
- Children of the Washington elite can’t roll eggs at the White House this year
- The ‘tri-state’ is joining forces to shut down the East Coast
- Marco Rubio doesn’t know the difference between ‘martial law’ and whatever Marshall Law is.
Updated
It's 'martial law,' not 'Marshall Law.' But what exactly is that?
As Maryland joined the growing list of state governments enacting mandatory business closures, many concerned about the potential social impact likened the crackdowns to a rarely used executive action known as ‘martial law.’
Not to be confused with the incorrect “Marshall Law” currently trending in the Twitterverse thanks to Florida senator Marco Rubio, martial law is a period of time in which portions, or all, of the United States are under the control of its military.
Please stop spreading stupid rumors about marshall law.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) March 16, 2020
COMPLETELY FALSE
We will continue to see closings & restrictions on hours of non-essential businesses in certain cities & states. But that is NOT marshall law.
While every governor has the ability to declare it for their states, only the president (in this instance Donald Trump) can impose martial law at the national level.
It’s also important to note that current executive orders announcing statewide curfews or bans on public gatherings are not the same as a formal declaration of martial law, although the closest to that would be New York governor’s use of the state’s National Guard to stave off the outbreak in city of New Rochelle, a hotbed of new cases.
Martial law, if enforced, wouldn’t be new, however. The last time martial law was declared anywhere in the US was nearly 60 years ago, in May 1961, when then-Alabama governor John Patterson declared martial law to address what he called “outside agitators coming into [the state] to violate our laws and customs.”
Those outside agitators? Civil rights activists later known as Freedom Riders who peacefully protested racial segregation to legions of sanctioned mobs.
Updated
New York governor demands all first responders be provided masks
New York governor Andrew Cuomo has directed all local governments within the state to provide all first responders with masks in a press conference on Monday. Cuomo announced the measure as part of a host of new initiatives meant to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
In explaining the order, Cuomo cited the dangers posed to “police officers who are encountering people in all different circumstances.”
“All first responders are showing great courage getting up and going out and doing their job every day,” he said. “I want them to know that we understand the situation they are putting themselves in and that we’re providing the necessary precautions.”
Gov. Cuomo: All local governments to reduce to 50% workforce, all first responders to be supplied medical masks, downstate areas impacted with school closures must have childcare, educational, and meal programs approved by NYS by midnight. pic.twitter.com/istlsLjvo3
— News 8 - WROC-TV (@News_8) March 16, 2020
What does the new lockdown of East Coast states mean?
In an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, New York governor Andrew Cuomo today announced an unprecedented, multi-state initiative that will essentially shut down much of the north-east United States.
Beginning tonight at 8 p.m. ET, the states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will institute mandatory closures of public institutions and place bans on large-scale events.
The #Coronavirus doesn't care about state borders, so this agreement with @GovNedLamont & @GovMurphy will help protect the entire Tri-State Area.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 16, 2020
These temporary closures will last as long as is necessary to protect the public health.
Grocery stores will remain OPEN.
So what does a total shutdown mean?
- Crowd capacity is set to 50, meaning most ticketed events will be forced to cancel.
- Bars and restaurants will shift to takeout only to minimize crowds within businesses.
- Public spaces like gyms, movie theaters, and even Broadway are ordered closed.
- Schools will remain closed.
- Groceries and other essential businesses will remain open but are subject to new restrictions on maximum capacity and items purchased per customer.
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut join several other states, including Washington state and California, to enact bans on public gatherings.
Updated
President Trump has downplayed the coronavirus 19 times
According to the Washington Post, US President Donald Trump has downplayed the coronavirus a total of 19 times since the beginning of the year.
From the Post:
President Trump gambled very early and very often on the idea that the coronavirus wouldn’t turn out to be nearly as severe as some health officials have warned it could get.
The thrust of Trump’s statements about the virus has been almost relentlessly optimistic, which is a marked contrast to those of some health officials who prefer that people be overly prepared rather than underestimate the threat. Trump has frequently suggested that the United States is winning the battle against the virus, and he has regularly promoted the idea that it could suddenly disappear.
The denials apparently begin as far back as January 22, when Trump first claimed to have the virus “totally under control,” and are as recent as Sunday, when he acknowledged to reporters the coronavirus is “very contagious.”
“It’s incredible. But it’s something that we have tremendous control over,” he said.
The Post will update its running tally as the downplaying is likely to continue, despite a rapid increase in confirmed cases and deaths that have, so far, resulted in nearly a dozen major cities completely shutting down.
Updated
Lockdown across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut
New York governor Andrew Cuomo has announced wide-reaching measures to curb the spread of coronavirus in the north-east United States.
#BREAKING: NY, CT and NJ are taking joint regional action to reduce the spread of #COVID19:
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 16, 2020
Effective 8PM TONIGHT:
-Crowd capacity reduced to 50
-Restaurants/bars will be takeout/delivery ONLY
-Gyms closed
-Movie theaters closed
-Casinos closed
White House cancels annual Easter Egg Roll
The White House, exercising “an abundance of caution”, announced Monday it had cancelled its annual Easter Egg Roll. The Office of the First Lady cited the recent National Emergency declaration over the growing coronavirus outbreak.
“The health and safety of all Americans must be the first priority, especially right now,” said US first lady Melania Trump in a statement announcing the cancellation.
The Easter Egg Roll is an annual tradition in which scores of political elite and lucky lottery winners are invited with their families to participate in activities celebrating the arrival of spring, including an egg race across the White House grounds, and book readings with the president.
The tradition dates back to 1878 and the Rutherford B. Hayes administration.
“I deeply regret this cancellation, but we need to make difficult decisions in the short-term to ensure a healthy country for the long-term,” she said.
The first lady followed up by encouraging Americans to listen to state and local officials, and to follow CDC guidelines “in order to help protect the health and well-being of everyone.”
Notably absent are instructions follow the guidance of her husband, President Donald Trump, who has contradicted CDC health guidelines and impeded assistance to state and local governments.
Updated
Democratic debate invokes memories of ‘Grumpy Old Men’ in pop culture
Sunday’s 11th Democratic debate between former US vice president Joe Biden and Vermont senator Bernie Sanders garnered some comical, although unflattering, pop culture references - including references to the 1993 film ‘Grumpy Old Men’.
In a heated exchange, Sanders criticized Biden for what he called talks of “cutting social security, cutting Medicare, [and] cutting veterans’ programs” that happened “time and time again” on the Senate floor.
After an attempted denial by Biden, Sanders encouraged viewers to see for themselves. “America...go to the YouTube right now,” he said.
The remark garnered instant ridicule.
"Go to the YouTube!" #WagsFinger #DemDebate #DemocraticDebate pic.twitter.com/MxlcE01Ax8
— Jeremy Pond (@JeremyPond) March 16, 2020
And comparisons to the popular 1993 film ‘Grumpy Old Men’:
This is the Grumpy Old Men Debate. pic.twitter.com/C1pB6uKrhS
— Melissa Ryan (@MelissaRyan) March 16, 2020
I prefer the Matthau & Lemmon version of Grumpy Old Men to the one showing tonight #DemocraticDebate pic.twitter.com/quh8dJyFU5
— Breakdances With Wolves Podcast = Baby Makin Music (@BigIndianGyasi) March 16, 2020
Sanders made sure to take advantage of the viral moment by following up in a tweet of his own.
Go to the YouTube. Take a look at Joe Biden's record of trying to cut Social Security. #DemDebate https://t.co/JGlWBqwQpn
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 16, 2020
The rival presidential hopefuls will square off, once again, as Arizona, Florida, Ohio, and Illinois host their primaries Tuesday.
US trading halted seconds after stock exchanges opens
US stock trading was halted this morning just seconds after opening, plunging more than 7% Monday. The drop comes despite the Federal Reserve taking emergency action, cutting interest rates to cushion the US economy from the coronavirus pandemic.
BREAKING: Trading already halted, just seconds after @NYSE opened for trading
— Tim Stenovec (@timsteno) March 16, 2020
Follow our business live blog for more as investors prepare for another day record losses.
US Health and Human Services Dept. hacked
Amid the nation’s growing coronavirus outbreak, servers at the US Health and Human Service Dept. were the target of a cyber-attack Sunday night. The breach was first reported by department officials to Bloomberg White House correspondent Jennifer Jacobs.
////BREAKING: U.S. Health and Human Services Department suffered a cyber-attack on its computer system Sunday night during the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The attack appears to have been intended to slow the agency’s systems down.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) March 16, 2020
Story w @shiramstein soon
From Bloomberg News:
The attack appears to have been intended to slow the agency’s systems down, but didn’t do so in any meaningful way, said the people, who asked for anonymity to discuss an incident that was not public.
The National Security Council’s tweet on Sunday night was related to the hacking and the release of disinformation, according to the people. The government realized Sunday that there had been a cyber intrusion and false information was circulating.
NSC tweeted just before midnight: “Text message rumors of a national #quarantine are FAKE. There is no national lockdown. @CDCgov has and will continue to post the latest guidance on #COVID19.”
The tweet was in part meant to address the hacking, which involved multiple incidents. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and other Trump administration officials are aware of the incident, the person said.
Good morning. I’m Kenya Evelyn taking over the politics live blog today and we’re unpacking last night’s Democratic debate, as well as the Trump administration’s response to nation’s coronavirus outbreak.
Stay tuned for more throughout the day.
There’s very little detail here yet, but Bloomberg are just breaking that there was a cyber-attack on the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) computer system last night.
The attack appears to have been intended to slow the agency’s systems down, but didn’t do so in any meaningful way, said the people, who asked for anonymity to discuss an incident that was not public. It doesn’t appear that the hackers took any data from the systems, the people said. HHS officials assume that it was a hostile foreign actor, but there is no definitive proof at this time.
Read it here - Bloomberg: US health agency suffers cyber-attack during Covid-19 response
Demographics, demographics, demographics. You’ll be sick of hearing about them by the time we reach November’s election. But the primaries tomorrow are going to be a key test of the candidates’ appeal to the Latino population.
Jonathan Cooper at the Associated Press has been looking at how this is a real chance for Joe Biden. He’s run repeatedly into a wall in western states, reports Cooper, where Bernie Sanders’ strength among Latinos propelled his campaign even as he struggled with other groups.
Arizona and Florida offer Biden a chance to show he can make up ground with Latinos, a crucial group of voters he’ll need in his corner to defeat Trump. Sanders’ strength with them helped him to an overwhelming victory in the Nevada caucuses and contributed to his Super Tuesday wins in California and Colorado.
Biden is playing catch-up when it comes to engaging Latino voters and is weighed down by anger over the high rate of deportations during the Obama administration, which left scars for many immigrants and their families.
“We need more. And we need commitments as we move into the general,” said Regina Romero, a Democrat who recently took office as Tucson’s first Latina mayor. Biden can win over reluctant Latinos with a bold and progressive stance on immigration, she said.
“I hope that he doesn’t eat up the lie that he has to be more conservative on the immigration issue,” said Romero, who hasn’t endorsed Biden or Sanders since her favoured candidate, Elizabeth Warren, dropped out. “We shouldn’t be afraid of an issue that is so important for Latino voters, water it down and not have policies that Latinos can get excited about.”
Arizona and Florida are both likely to be battlegrounds in the November election. In Arizona, one in three residents is Latino; in Florida, it’s one in four.
Early in his administration, Obama aggressively increased efforts to deport immigrants living in the country illegally. He’d hoped to convince members of Congress and the public that he was serious about border security in order to secure a comprehensive immigration reform bill that would extend legal status to millions of people living in the US without authorization. The reform bill never passed, but the deportations disrupted families, drove fear in immigrant communities and left deep wounds.
Any Democrat’s immigration policies would be superior to Trump’s, but that won’t be enough to excite Latinos, said Tomas Robles, co-director of Living United for Change in Arizona, or LUCHA, a Latino organizing group that has endorsed Sanders.
“You cannot depend on people’s hatred or fear of Trump to inspire them to turn out in droves for Vice President Biden,” Robles said to the AP. “Bernie has worked hard to motivate Latinos as a base. But the entire establishment part has failed at doing the same.”
US calls on Vietnam to release blogger Truong Duy Nhat
The State department have issued a statement calling for the release of Truong Duy Nhat, a weekly blogger for the Vietnamese service of Radio Free Asia. He disappeared in January 2019, a day after he applied for refugee status with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Bangkok, and reappeared in custody.
Truong Duy Nhat was sentenced to a 10-year prison term last week. The US statement from spokesperson Morgan Ortagus reads:
We are dismayed by the conviction of blogger and Radio Free Asia (RFA) contributor Truong Duy Nhat, and his sentencing to 10 years imprisonment. The conviction is under vague charges related to fraud allegations dating back nearly 20 years. We remain troubled by Nhat’s sudden disappearance from Bangkok, Thailand on January 25, 2019, the day after he initiated a request to register as a refugee with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and his reappearance in a Vietnamese prison three months later. The United States calls on Vietnam to immediately release Nhat and all prisoners of conscience and to allow all individuals in Vietnam to express their views freely and assemble peacefully without threat of retribution, in accordance with its international obligations and commitments and consistent with Vietnam’s constitution.
With it being an election year, it is possible that the Trump handling of coronavirus becomes the defining issue of his presidency, and the key to him being re-elected, or not.
There was a lot of pushback yesterday at the chaotic scenes as a huge rush to exit Europe and return home met the administration’s decision to funnel all travellers through a limited number of airports. This segment from MSNBC’s Morning Joe gives an indication of just how under-prepared airports seemed yesterday to cope with the exodus.
"How could they have been so ill-prepared? Donald Trump knew this was coming." --@JoeNBC on chaos at airports over screening pic.twitter.com/hGe5Bghmtg
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) March 16, 2020
“I hope the Senate will approach this with a level head and pass a bill that does more good than harm – or, if it won’t, pass nothing at all. The president and states already have adequate authority and funding to address the current situation.”
That’s Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, sounding a warning about the chances of coronavirus relief legislation passing through the Senate. Steven T. Dennis at Bloomberg has been looking at the obstacles in its path - including objections from small businesses that the measures are too tough, and concerns from unions that the package is too weak.
Read it here - Bloomberg: Virus relief risks being slowed by a few GOP senators’ concerns
Here’s a few more views on who came out on top in last night’s debate.
Chris Cillizza put both candidates into his loser’s basket, and made Trump one of the winners instead
Much of the debate was Sanders savaging Biden’s voting record from more than three decades in the Senate that isn’t likely to change the trajectory of the Democratic race, but provides terrific lines of attack for Trump once Biden is the nominee.
He also listed Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Stacey Abrams and Amy Klobuchar as potential winners. With Biden’s pledge to nominate a woman as his VP pick, he’s got no shortage of high profile Democrat women to pick from.
Read it here - CNN: Chris Cillizza’s winners and losers from the Biden-Sanders debate
For Michael Tomasky, behind the membership paywall at the Daily Beast, it was the night that Biden ‘sealed the deal’
This was really different from those early debates when he was ambushed from all sides. Then, he was verbally drowning half the time. Tonight, he was totally calm. He did maybe miss an opportunity to try to reach out to Sanders voters, but overall, he was in control of himself. It ought to make people feel more comfortable picturing him on a stage opposite Donald Trump.
Read it here - Daily Beast: Joe Biden just sealed the deal
The New York Times as ever got their opinion writers to give the candidates scores on their performances. To be honest they are pretty uniformly high for both men, but among them, Mimi Swartz had these words of caution about what happens next with Sanders’ supporters:
The virus gave Sanders an opportunity to keep attacking the inequities in American life, and he took it and ran. But his arguments are sounding tired because he so rarely expands on them in fresh ways, or even in specific ways. It’s not a good time to be an ideologue. Great that Sanders agreed to support the nominee. Let’s see if his followers do the same.
Read it here - NYT: Winners and losers of the Democratic Debate
One way and another, this election campaign is going to be unlike anything seen in the US before. We’ve already had the primary votes in Georgia and Louisiana delayed til later in the year, and Washington state primary voters urged not to lick their mail-in ballots to seal them.
As Florida, Illinois, Ohio and Arizona prepare to vote tomorrow, election officials argue that voting doesn’t pose a big risk of virus exposure, but they are making changes to some of their plans. NPR has an interesting run-down here of some of the ways that has impacted them.
Lori Edwards, the election supervisor for Polk County, Florida said her office was planning on a turnout rate of 40% to 50% for the primary but is now expecting roughly half that. Like other counties in the state, her office has had to deal with poll workers backing out of working the election and has had to move four precincts because the original locations didn’t want voters coming in.
Read it here - NPR: Voting amid coronavirus: what you need to know
As I mentioned at the outset this morning, it is quite hard to separate out any politics from the coronavirus news today. Here are some of the latest coronavirus developments in the US that you’ll want to be across this morning.
- Donald Trump is to hold a coronavirus teleconference with G7 world leaders, and then a second with state governors this morning
- The CDC is recommending that gatherings of 50 people or more in US be canceled or postponed over the next eight weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic
- 90 US cities and states suspend water shutoffs to tackle coronavirus pandemic
- California governor directs all bars and nightclubs to close as coronavirus spreads. Ohio, Illinois, Massachusetts and Washington also closed their bars, restaurants and entertainment venues. Several Las Vegas hotels and casinos said they would suspend operations.
- The US Federal Reserve announced it would cut its benchmark interest rate to near zero and said it would buy US $700bn in Treasury and mortgage-backed securities.
- There are 3,774 confirmed cases in the US, with 69 deaths so far. Washington state has seen the most deaths - 42. There have also been deaths in California, New York, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Oregon, South Dakota and Virginia. [Source: the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering]
- The Peace Corps is evacuating all of its volunteers and suspending operations in dozens of countries worldwide. Director Jody Olsen says Sunday’s decision comes as “international travel becomes more and more challenging by the day.” She said the agency wanted to avoid leaving volunteers stranded in host countries.
- Italian-American carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles have announced that they are suspending production in Europe
- The Los Angeles murder trial of multimillionaire New York real estate heir Robert Durst has been delayed for three weeks over fears of the transmission of the new coronavirus
Our live coverage of the unfolding global coronavirus coverage is here.
As Domenico Montanaro observed for NPR, with long careers up on Capitol Hill behind them, Biden and Sanders could find themselves quite bogged down in arguments about who voted for what and when.
Politifact have done a deep dive into the things that Biden said about Sanders’ voting record during the 2008 financial crisis - particularly the claim that Sanders voted against a bail-out for the auto industry, costing jobs among what would be considered some heartland Democrat voters. They found that neither man was telling the whole story.
They’ve also got a fact-check across the whole debate, taking in things like how Biden was rated by abortion-rights groups, campaigning for the minimum wage, and Super PAC money.
Read it here - Politifact: Fact-checking the Sanders-Biden primary debate
From the opening elbow bump its was obvious that last night’s Democratic debate was not business as usual for a US election campaign.
Our panel, including Jessa Crispin, Art Cullen, Benjamin Dixon, Jill Filipovic and Lloyd Green, had their say here. And Filipovic did not mince her words: “Well, that was possibly the worst debate of the entire Democratic primary.”
Domenico Montanaro pulled out these four takeaways for NPR, including that one flaw with having two contenders who have been in the politics business for decades, is that they can seem to spend too much time relishing dwelling in the past:
They sometimes seem most in their element talking about who wrote what part of what bill and who really killed what amendment and why. But scoring points on things people did or didn’t do, said or didn’t say decades ago felt small, especially given the candidates’ dominant positions in the race — and the acute crisis at hand for the country.
Read it here - NPR: 4 takeaways from the Biden-Sanders debate
For Politico, Ryan Lizza described it as the first debate of the pandemic-era:
Biden did nothing to raise any fresh doubts about his electability. He was coherent, in control of his arguments in a way that he isn’t always, and aggressive enough against Sanders to keep the Vermont senator, who is rightfully respected as an excellent debater, on defense frequently.
Lizza also seized on the fact that while Biden promised to make a woman his VP pick, Sanders did not give the same categorical assurance - “To me, it’s not just nominating a woman. It is making sure that we have a progressive woman.”
Read it here - Politico: The first pandemic-era debate distills the choice of Biden vs. Bernie
Good morning, and welcome to our US politics live blog against the increasingly concerning backdrop of a national emergency over the coronavirus outbreak.
Donald Trump has a busy morning ahead. At 10am ET there’s a video conference call with other G7 leaders - one which you imagine may be a little bit frosty after German media reports that the US was trying to buy up any coronavirus vaccine exclusively for itself.
Then at 11.30am ET, the president is participating in another video teleconference, this time with state governors, many of whom have been activating emergency measures themselves.
On the White House race side of things, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders will be assessing the reaction to their debate performances last night. It might not have been quite as surreal as WWE stars giving their combat monologues in empty arenas, but with no debate studio audience, neither Democratic contender would have got an immediate sense from in the room of how they were doing. You can watch the debate in full here if you want to catch up on it. Biden is out campaigning in Florida today, ahead of tomorrow’s disrupted primaries. If he wins well there, that could be it for Sanders.
So, I’ll try to keep the focus purely on the politics here today - we’ve got rolling global coverage of the coronavirus outbreak from my colleague in London, Damien Gayle - but it feels inevitable that a lot of today’s politics will continue to be coronavirus-related or coronavirus affected.
