Live reporting on the coronavirus in the US continues on Friday’s blog:
Summary
- The US has surpassed China and Italy, with more than 82,000 cases per Johns Hopkins’ tally. A lack of early action and setbacks in testing could be to blame. During a Coronavirus Task Force briefing, Donald Trump expressed skepticism at the news that the US was worst hit by the pandemic, accusing China of sharing false data.
- Trump continued to push the idea that the US could revise physical distancing guidelines within two weeks, despite warnings from public health experts that doing so would have disastrous consequences. He said more guidance would come next week, but for now, he told Americans to “stay home, just relax, stay home.”
- During the briefing, Dr. Deborah Birx — who is leading the US response to the coronavirus pandemic. — said reports that hospitals were running out of beds and ventilators, and considering “do not resuscitate” protocols were irresponsible. She provided an optimistic assessment of the crisis and indicated that predictions that 20 to 60 or 70% of Americans would contract the virus did not match. conditions “on the ground”. But her rosy outlook was somewhat at odds with what public health experts and hospitals have been reporting so far.
- The US labor department announced that a record 3.3 million people filed claims for unemployment. The Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, said the US may very well be headed into a recession. Lawmakers said the emergency economic relief package that passed the Senate last night will help.
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Nancy Pelosi is “certain” that the House will pass the $2tn stimulus package that was approved by the Senate last night. With 435 members, there are some logistical challenges to ensuring the vote is carried out in adherence to social distancing guidelines.
The Guardian’s Vivian Ho reports:
California’s homeless census was already troubled. Covid-19 is making it impossible.
For the past year and a half, local county census committees and homeless service providers throughout California have been conducting their own outreach for the 2020 census, knowing that only an accurate count of the state’s growing homeless population will guarantee the federal funding needed to get people off the streets and into stability.
Because even before the US coronavirus crisis prompted shelter-in-place orders and the suspension of 2020 census field operations nationwide, casting doubt on the operations for the once-in-a-decade count, they were preparing for the federal Census Bureau to significantly undercount the homeless population.
While homelessness has soared, particularly in California, census staffers said plans in place to count the population were insufficient and disorganized. The federal bureau had limited the hours of targeted counting to between midnight and 7am. There was little or varied communication around cultural facilitation led by service providers or homeless representatives who act as a guide for enumerators, to smooth the process. Two weeks from 1 April, census day, when thousands of enumerators were set to flood the streets to conduct the count, some field offices were still not fully staffed.
Updated
Experts say economic relief package is a start - but not enough
A man passes a closed restaurant near the Eastern Markets in Detroit, Michigan. Photograph: Seth Herald/AFP via Getty Images
Advocates for American workers praised a “historic” increase in unemployment benefits included in an emergency $2tn relief package approved by the US Senate, which will offer special “pandemic unemployment” to gig workers, self-employed workers, and some people forced to leave their jobs because of the coronavirus crisis.
But although the unemployment payments will offer months of support to many vulnerable Americans, advocates said that the bill threatens to leave too many people out. Even $2tn in emergency aid, experts said, is probably too little for the size of the crisis.
As part of the unprecedented relief package approved by the Senate on Wednesday night, millions of Americans would get an individual, $1,200 check to help them weather the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. The bill would also create a $500bn lending program for businesses, cities and states and a $367bn fund for small businesses, which would focus on helping small businesses to pay their employees’ salaries through the next weeks of pandemic-related shutdowns, rather than laying them off.
The bill’s major benefit to American workers is not that single cash payment, but the sweeping expansion of unemployment benefits, labor experts said. The bill offers laid-off workers an additional $600 a week for four months and extends unemployment benefits to gig workers, independent contractors, and others who have not previously been eligible for unemployment, including people forced to leave their jobs to care for family members with coronavirus, or to care for children whose schools have closed.
Florida poll workers test positive for coronavirus
The Guardian’s Sam Levine reports:
Two Florida poll workers tested positive for coronavirus after the state’s March 17 primary, the Broward County supervisor of elections announced Thursday.
The announcement came after Florida faced criticism for moving ahead in-person voting despite concerns over coronavirus. Around 20% of the state is age 65 or older, a demographic extremely vulnerable to the virus.
The two poll workers worked at separate locations in Hollywood, Florida. One was at the Martin Luther King Community Center and the other at the David Park Community Center. One of the poll workers also worked at a location in Weston during early voting.”
County staff as well as other poll workers at those locations have been notified of the situation and have been advised to take appropriate steps,” the Broward County supervisor of elections said in a statement. “Voters who voted in person on March 17th at either of those locations or who voted early at the Weston early voting location may wish to take appropriate steps and seek medical advice.”
Fact check:
Dr. Birx also commented that because 19 out of 50 states had had fewer than 200 cases, “that’s almost 40% of the country with extraordinarily low numbers”, she said. Of course, 19 states with low population density don’t account for 40% of the US population.
About 103,200 tests have been conducted in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But tests are normally administered to people who are already showing symptoms or are at high risk of complications from the disease.
Fact check:
Dr. Birx also said that with some “creative” thinking, hospitals could find beds for coronavirus patients.
But communities across the country have expressed that they do not have the capacity to treat a surge of coronavirus patients. California officials have said the state may need up to 50,000 more beds, and New York hospitals have been transferring patients without coronavirus to other hospitals and medical facilities, as their resources are stretched.
Projections from Harvard found that even if 50% of all currently occupied hospital beds were emptied, the country would need at least three times more beds to care for everyone.
Of course, as we discussed earlier, projections are tough to make, since we don’t know how many Americans have already been infected.
Fact check:
The Guardian’s Nina Lakhani reports.
Dr. Birx also implied that contrary to reports, there are enough ventilators to go around. “We don’t have evidence” that Americans who need a hospital bed or ventilator won’t have access to one, Birx said.
However, an article in the New England Journal of Medicine published on Wednesday 25 March categorically concluded that the US does not have enough ventilators to treat patients with Covid-19 in the coming months.
The authors, American public health experts, wrote: ‘There is a broad range of estimates of the number of ventilators we will need to care for U.S. patients with Covid-19, from several hundred thousand to as many as a million. The estimates vary depending on the number, speed, and severity of infections, of course, but even the availability of testing affects the number of ventilators needed.... current estimates of the number of ventilators in the United States range from 60,000 to 160,000, depending on whether those that have only partial functionality are included. The national strategic reserve of ventilators is small and far from sufficient for the projected gap. No matter which estimate we use, there are not enough ventilators for patients with Covid-19 in the upcoming months.”
How many Americans are, and will, get infected?
Fact check:
Dr. Birx said that predictions that huge swaths of the population will inevitably contract Covid-19 are misleading.
Marc Lipsitch, the head of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health’s Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, predicted that between 20% and 60% of adults worldwide will ultimately get infected before a vaccine becomes widely available.
But it’s difficult to predict how many people will get the infection, because it’s nearly impossible to ascertain the actual number of cases. Many Americans with mild or no symptoms have not been tested for the coronavirus. A shortage of tests and the logistical difficulty of testing millions of people make that sort of widespread testing right now untenable.
Amping up testing even more will be key to not only understanding the conditions “on the ground” as Birx said but also to developing more accurate predictions.
As World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said this week, “You cannot fight a fire blindfolded, and we cannot stop this pandemic if we don’t know who is infected. We have a simple message for all countries: Test, test, test.”
Updated
Now that Donald Trump has exited the briefing room, health officials Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, along with vice-president Mike Pence, are addressing reporters.
Dr. Birx said that the current predictions of the models do not match the conditions on the ground. Predictions that 60% or 70% will get infected in the next 8-12 weeks, or even that 20% of a population will get infected, are “very scary”, she said. “But we don’t have data to match that.” The only countries with especially high rates of infection are very small, she said.
Reports today that hospitals were considering issuing “do not resuscitate” orders for Covid-19 patients were irresponsible, Birx said.
“There is no situation in the US right now that warrants that kind of discussion,” she said “To say that to the American people - to make the implication that when they need a hospital bed, it may not be there, when they need a ventilator, it may not be there.”
Birx said that she believes there are enough ventilators — though they not be at the hospitals that need them most. “We can get creative,” she said, to ensure all hospitals have access.
Updated
Fact check:
The Guardian’s Nina Lakhani reports.
Trump said that “the mortality rate, in my opinion, is way down”.
But globally, there are 521,086 confirmed cases worldwide, with 23,567 deaths, which is a mortality rate of 4.5% And while currently in the US, the mortality rate currently stands at 1.4% (79,708 confirmed cases and 1123 deaths) but, the country is several weeks behind Asia and Europe regarding infection rates, and there is widespread agreement among medical and public health experts that things (cases and deaths) are going to get much much worse in coming weeks.
Donald Trump said that the things there are likely hundreds of thousands of more cases, because many people have few or minor symptoms, even as he fixated on the idea of having Americans get back to work as soon as possible.
“Many people have it. I just spoke to two people that had it,” he said. “They never went to a doctor, they didn’t report it,” he added, but likely were infected. He used the idea that many cases are mild, and therefore undetected, to justify his wish to scale back distancing measures and reopen closed businesses.
“The people that actually die, that percentage is much lower than I actually thought,” he said.
So far, more than 1,000 Americans have died from Covid-19.
Fact check:
The Guardian’s Nina Lakhani reports
“Nobody would have ever thought a thing like this could have happened,” Trump said.
In fact, the US intelligence community, public health experts and officials in Trump’s own administration had warned for years that the country was at risk from a pandemic, including specific warnings about a coronavirus outbreak.
When this strain of coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, was identified in Wuhan, China in early January, health experts immediately cautioned that it could turn into a global health crisis.
“This was foreseeable and foreseen, weeks and months ago, and only now is the White House coming out of denial and heading straight into saying it could not have been foreseen,” Marc Lipsitch, director of Harvard’s Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, told CNN on Sunday.
Asked about the number of shuttered restaurants, the president responded: “It may not be the same restaurant. It may not be the same ownership. But they’ll all be back.”
He also addressed why he’s backed off using the term “Chinese virus” to refer to the coronavirus.
“I think it was time,” he said. He said that the president of China didn’t ask him to stop, but said that Chinese official may have reached out to American officials. “I don’t have to say it if they feel so strongly about it,” Trump said, even as he doubled down on his right to use the term.
Updated
Fact check:
The Guardian’s Nina Lakhani reports.
Trump boasted about the number of tests the US has administered.
But while the US has overtaken South Korea in total numbers of coronavirus tests administered, it has conducted far fewer tests per capita given the US population is six times larger than South Korea’s.
As of Thursday, the United States, with a population of 329 million, had administered at least 432,655tests, according to the Covid Tracking Project, a group led by Alexis Madrigal, a staff writer for The Atlantic magazine, with more than 100 volunteers that compiles coronavirus testing data from states.
Comparatively, South Korea, which has a population of 51 million, had conducted 357,896 tests, based on reports from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Updated
US surpasses China and Italy in number of coronavirus cases
The US now has 82,404 confirmed cases of Covid-19 — more than any other country, according to a tracked from Johns Hopkins.
As the news broke, Trump said the increasing numbers in the US are “a tribute to the testing”.
He dismissed the idea that the US has more cases than China. “You don’t know what the numbers are in China,” he said.
For now, Trump urged Americans to practice physical distancing. “Stay home. Just relax, stay home,” he said. Still, he reiterated that he’s eager to restart the economy.
“Our people want to go back to work, I’m hearing it loud and clear from everybody,” he said, promising more information and updates next week.
The president announced that the USNS Comfort — a navy hospital ship — is headed to New York City. on Saturday, rather than weeks later, as expected. Trump said he told New York governor Andrew Cuomo minutes ago that the ship will arrive on Monday to help overburdened New York health facilities cope.
Trump might go see the ship in Virginia, and “kiss it goodbye” before it departs.
Updated
Fact check:
The Guardian’s Nina Lakhani reports.
Trump thanked the president of Mexico, Andre Lopez Obrador for sending 27,000 troops to the Mexico-US border and said: “very few people are getting through and we need to keep it that way”.
Fact: in January Amlo announced that 15,000 military and national guard would be deployed to the northern border. Around 6500 others were deployed to Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala.
Updated
Trump also reflected on his meeting with governors. There was a “wise guy” who “a little bit” raised his voice, and used to be a “big” wise guy... but for the most part it was a “great meeting”, he said.
People on the call have said the only contentious exchange was with Washington governor Jay Inslee. Inslee asked Trump to do more to assist the states hardest hit by the pandemic during a conference call with the president and governors on Thursday.
According to the Washington Post, Trump promised “backup” for the states.
“We don’t need a backup,” Inslee said. “We need a Tom Brady.” Brady is a legendary American football player who is friendly with Trump.
Donald Trump begins coronavirus briefing
At the briefing: Mike Pence, top health official Anthony Fauci, and health ambassador Debbie Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator.
Trump has begun by listing off all the world leaders he spoke with today at a virtual G20 meeting. It was a “terrific” meeting, he said. “We talked about the problem and hopefully it won’t be a problem for too much longer.”
Updated
Report: US now has more confirmed coronavirus cases than any other country
With at least 81,321 confirmed cases and more than 1,000 deaths — the US now appears to have more cases than any other country, according to a tally by the New York Times.
The US now appears to have the most confirmed cases of COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/Ljh1tgfNqf
— Paul Fairie (@paulisci) March 26, 2020
The US is the world’s third most populous nation, after China and India, with 330 million residents. A series of missteps, and a failure to quarantine Americans early is likely why there are now more cases here than in China or Italy.
Updated
California healthcare workers protest lack of supplies
Frontline healthcare workers at Highland Hospital protested outside the emergency room on Thursday morning over what they described as a dangerous lack of supplies and staffing at the safety net hospital for Oakland, California.
Doctors, nurses and other hospital staff spoke of a facility without adequate personal protective equipment – or even hand sanitizer – and called on the county to take over management of the hospital. Inadequate staffing meant that the hospital was not being cleaned adequately and healthcare providers were working long shifts without breaks, they said. The rally was organized by the union that represents many of the staff, SEIU 1021.
Frontline healthcare workers at Highland Hospital, Oakland’s safety net hospital, have come out to protest mismanagement and a lack of supplies pic.twitter.com/4y7N9YuoWm
— Julia Carrie Wong (@juliacarriew) March 26, 2020
“ER providers – we’re kind of like MacGyver,” said Kennedy Fleischauer, a longtime emergency room nurse at the hospital. “We can make do. We’re good at that. But we can’t do that in this situation … I came to work the other day and there was no sanitizer. What is going to happen when we all start dropping? Who is going to take care of our community? It’s coming and we want to be prepared.”
A longtime ER nurse wipes down the bullhorn after speaking. She Tearne’s up recalling a day this week when the ER had no sanitizer.
— Julia Carrie Wong (@juliacarriew) March 26, 2020
“What is going to happen when we all start dropping? Who is going to take care of this community” pic.twitter.com/aoXscB4sDj
Mawata Kamara, a nurse at another company run by the same organization, Alameda Health System, said that latex gloves are now being kept in a manager’s office, away from the floor of the emergency room. Each time she treats a patient, she said, she has to go to the manager’s office and sign a form to get the gloves.
“Walmart is taking better care of their employees,” Kamara said.
A resident at Highland, Dr Gonsalves, says there was no sanitizer in the hospital for their shift on Saturday. “If we have one Covid patient, we’lol be okay. If we have more than one at a time, there’s not enough PPE to treat the patient and protect staff” pic.twitter.com/cQoZM4yzWi
— Julia Carrie Wong (@juliacarriew) March 26, 2020
Alameda county (home to Oakland, Berkeley, and other San Francisco Bay area cities and suburbs) had reported 164 Covid-19 cases and four deaths, as of Thursday morning. (The county’s figures exclude the city of Berkeley, which reported 14 lab-confirmed cases.)
“We know it’s coming,” said Felix Thomson, a nurse at Highland since 2012. “There’s a wave coming. We’re healthcare workers. This is what we do. We just want to make sure we have the equipment and staffing to do our jobs.”
The day so far
It’s been another trying day in the US as the pandemic worsens in several states across the country and unemployment numbers reached record highs.
Will be going out in 10 minutes for the press conference.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 26, 2020
As we await the daily coronavirus task force briefing, here’s a look at what’s happened today.
- The Trump administration said it was planning to revise social distancing and social isolation guidelines, despite warnings from public health experts that easing restrictions too soon could have disastrous consequences.
- The US labor department announced that a record 3.3 million people filed claims for unemployment.
- The Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, said the US may very well be headed into a recession.
- Secretary of state Mike Pompeo said the US has repatriated 10,000 Americans stranded in countries that have closed their borders and suspended flights.
- Nancy Pelosi is “certain” that the House will pass the $2tn stimulus package that was approved by the Senate last night. With 435 members, there are some logistical challenges to ensuring the vote is carried out in adherence with social distancing guidelines.
Updated
Washington Governor Jay Inslee implored Trump to do more to assist the states hardest hit by the pandemic during a conference call with the president and governors on Thursday.
According to the Washington Post, Trump promised “backup” for the states.
“We don’t need a backup,” Inslee said. “We need a Tom Brady.” Brady is a legendary American football player who is friendly with Trump.
Inslee also reportedly told the president that his state needs the federal government to compel businesses to produce equipment such as masks and ventilators that are in short supply. The remarks was a reference to the Defense Production Act, which Trump has refrained from using.
Trump was reportedly defensive of his efforts and listed what the federal government has done for the state.
Inslee is not the only governor fuming over the White House’s hesitancy to use the wartime took at the president’s disposal.
New Jersey governor Phil Murphy has called it “barbaric” that the federal government hasn’t mandated production of the live-saving supplies.
Murphy: we don’t have enough PPE to go around. We’re reaching our testing capacity limit. Federal government needs to expand capacity to make things in order to meet public health challenge. Why hasn’t the president taken control of the supply chain? It’s barbaric.
— Carmen Chau (@CChauFOX61) March 26, 2020
Updated
My colleague Ed Helmore has this report on new data compiled by CNBC that suggests the coronavirus may be deadlier than the 1918 flu.
Precisely how contagious and deadly Covid-19 is may still be a matter of debate, but three months after it emerged in China it has infected approximately 500,000 and killed 22,000.
Based on the number of deaths divided by the number of infections, Covid-19 comes up with a mortality rate of 4.5%.
An equation called R naught measures how contagious the disease is. For Covid-19, the World Health Organization puts the figure at 1.95; others place it at 2.2. This means two people will catch the disease for every individual who has it, CNBC explains. Both the mortality rate and R naught value will fluctuate over time.
Infectious disease specialists say the 1918 Spanish flu, which killed an estimated 30m to 50m, had an R naught of about 1.8 and a mortality rate of 2.5%.
The report concludes that if the current 4.5% mortality rate of Covid-19 drops (the estimates may be skewed high as a result of incomplete data, and are based on data collected before social distancing efforts to stop the spread were put in place), it won’t be as bad as the 1918 flu.
But if it continues on its current trajectory, it could be almost twice as deadly.
This post was amended to correctly distinguish R naught and mortality rate.
Updated
In a new memo to all House members, the House sergeant-at-arms Paul Irving and the attending physician Brian Monahan have outlined safety guidelines for tomorrow’s vote on the economic stimulus package.
“We will be monitoring the number of Members in the Capitol and on the floor to ensure we maintain safe social distancing at all times,” the memo reads. “Members who are ill with respiratory symptoms or fever are discouraged from attending.”
If there is a roll call vote requiring members to come to the chamber to vote, they will be divided into 16 groups to avoid crowding.
It’s a far cry from the US Senate on Wednesday night.
The @USSenate is NOT practicing social distancing. Susan Collins and Lindsay Graham are practically snuggling on the bottom left. pic.twitter.com/1AboyVhtJc
— Kevin J. Schilling (@CouncilmanKev) March 26, 2020
Updated
Nevada senator Catherine Cortez-Masto is reportedly among the “top three” women Joe Biden is considering as a running mate.
That’s according to a scoop from Mediaite, which reports that Biden told former Senate majority leader Harry Reid, a political powerbroker in Nevada, that Cortez-Masto was among his top picks for vice president.
During the last Democratic debate, Biden announced his commitment to choose a female running mate. He has already floated a number of names, and many Democrats are urging him to choose a former presidential rival such as Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar or Elizabeth Warren. He has said recently that he plans to begin the vetting process in a matter of weeks and would narrow the list to as many as a dozen women.
Cortez-Masto is the first Latina ever elected to the US senate.
Extraordinary times call for some breaks with precedent. CSPAN, must watch-TV for governmental happenings, has announced that it it will “dedicate airtime” to “brief video statements” from members who cannot be in Washington for tomorrow’s vote on the historic stimulus bill.
A request was made by House majority leader Steny Hoyer to accommodate members who cannot travel as a result of the virus, including at least two members who have tested positive for the disease.
The network called it “a first” in its more than 40-year history.
Statement from C-SPAN pic.twitter.com/QsvmsJ69LC
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 26, 2020
Pelosi said Thursday that the legislation was expected to pass with strong bipartisan support.
Planned Parenthood is suing Texas after the state’s attorney general Ken Paxton ordered a ban on nearly all abortions in the state as part of an effort to conserve medical supplies during the coronavirus pandemic.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday on behalf of eight reproductive health clinics in Texas, argues that Paxton’s order is unconstitutional and in violation of Roe v Wade, according to BuzzFeed News.
Paxton announced on Monday that abortion providers are subject to an executive order issued by the governor on Saturday requiring healthcare professionals to “postpone all surgeries and procedures that are not immediately medically necessary”.
“It’s unconscionable that the Texas Attorney General is exploiting this pandemic to end abortion in the state,” Nancy Northup, head of the Center for Reproductive Rights, a legal nonprofit joining the lawsuit, said on Wednesday, BuzzFeed reported. “Abortion care is time-sensitive and essential health care that has a profound impact on a person’s health and life, which is why it is protected as a constitutional right.”
Ohio has also implemented a similar ban in light of the outbreak, deeming abortions “non-essential”. In Ohio, the state chapter of Planned Parenthood said it would continue to provide abortions.
Ohio is changing its primary date, again, Sam Levine reports.
The state changed the final date for voting for the second time in less than two weeks, approving a measure Wednesday that would make it so voters need to cast their ballots by April 28.
Ohio was originally scheduled to have a March 17, but state officials took emergency action hours before polls opened to delay voting until June 2. The Ohio legislature approved a bill Wednesday that moves that date up to April 28 and implements an almost entirely vote-by-mail election.
People with disabilities or who cannot receive mail at their address will be able to vote in person. People who voted ahead of the March 17 primary will have their ballot counted.
Ohio won’t mail voters an absentee ballot or even an application for one.Instead, lawmakers instructed Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose to send registered voters a postcard with instructions on how to request an absentee ballot. Voters would still be required to print the form and mail it in.
Mike Brickner, the director of All Voting is Local, a voting advocacy group, tweeted that the law could still disenfranchise eligible voters. Some people, he said, don’t have a printer or postage at home. He also noted that April 28 offered voters and election officials a really tight deadline for sending in their ballots.
LaRose had backed a plan to send absentee ballot applications to registered voters, and said in a statement he was disappointed the legislature had not authorized him to do so. He said he would do “everything in my power” to ensure all Ohio voters could cast a ballot ahead of April 28.
One in three Americans say they or an immediate family member have been laid off or lost their job as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new survey by ABC News/Washington Post.
More than half – HALF – of Americans reported a cut in pay or work hours, it found.
The poll also found broad bipartisan support for key elements of the economic stimulus package making its way through Congress, with 86% supporting cash payments to Americans, and 90% supporting aid to small businesses. Interestingly, federal aid to corporations was far less popular at just 46%.
Capturing the country’s economic anxieties, a staggering 92% of Americans said they expected a recession as a result of the outbreak while as two in three Americans think it will be as bad or worse than the Great Recession a decade ago.
The Guardian’s Amanda Holpuch on the treat the doctor definitely didn’t order ...
White House coronavirus task force member, Dr Anthony Fauci, has earned praise from the US public for telling the truth about coronavirus, even when it means contradicting the president.
Now, his contributions to the American public are being celebrated in the form of a doughnut.
Donut Delite in Rochester, New York is celebrating the 79-year-old doctor’s work by selling donuts featuring a portrait of Fauci, who has reported to six presidents and is one of the most cited researchers of all time in Google Scholar.
The portrait is framed by white frosting dotted with patriotic red and blue sprinkles.
“We’re watching the news like everyone else,” Nick Semeraro, franchisee of the cafe, told the Democrat and Chronicle. “He’s on TV giving us the facts; you’ve got to respect that. We’re bipartisan, we stay neutral, but you’ve got to give credit where credit’s due.”
The @news10nbc newsroom just got the original Dr. Fauci donuts!! Thanks @Donuts_Delite!! pic.twitter.com/DB95mtZvcj
— Deanna Dewberry (@whec_DDewberry) March 26, 2020
Updated
New Jersey governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, has joined Cuomo in demanding more assistance from the federal government.
He called the stimulus package a “first step in the right direction” but said the states still need “billions more.”
I’m not going to stop pushing for more federal assistance for New Jersey.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) March 26, 2020
This bill is but a first step in the right direction, but we will need billions more, and I will keep working with my fellow governors, and our respective delegations.
Updated
Trump: administration to revise guidelines on physical distancing
In a letter to the country’s governors, Trump said he will soon “publish new guidelines for state and local policymakers” to be used in decision about maintaining, enhancing or relaxing physical distancing and public isolation measures put in place. This is in keeping with Trump’s desire to “re-open” the US by Easter, a date many public health officials say is far too early.
In new letter to governors, Trump says his administration is revising social distancing guidelines and working to classify counties as high-risk, medium-risk, or low-risk. pic.twitter.com/xLle7XbHJA
— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) March 26, 2020
The letter also says that the administration will suggest guidelines to categorize counties as low-risk, medium-risk and high-risk.
Many states and big cities have closed schools and businesses for weeks after Trump’s April 12 target.
Updated
"Congress is doing its job, the president has to do his, now"
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden continues on his reinvigorated march to the nomination while attempting to show enduring rival Bernie Sanders why he has the experience to be a better occupant of the White House than either the left-winger or Donald Trump - especially at this time.
Biden put out a video message on Twitter a few hours ago addressing how he would implement a disaster relief package similar to the $2.2tn unprecedented beast passed by the Senate last night.
Biden notes the historic passage of the bill last night (the House expects to vote on it tomorrow, with bipartisan support, before sending it to Trump to sign), adding: “The key will be its execution, if I was president here’s how I would do it...”
He goes on to note that he would use all his authority “to turn the tide on the epidemic.” That seems very obviously what any leader would want to do but then, without naming Trump, he says he takes issue with the idea that you have to choose between the public health and re-opening the economy - a theme the president very controversially began airing on Monday and has continued all week.
The Senate passed a major economic relief package late last night. It's a very important step, but the key is how it will be executed. If I were President, here's how I'd make it work: pic.twitter.com/RmcOh0rRPL
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) March 26, 2020
Biden said that was a false choice and there needed to be a careful plan to reopen the economy but doing so too soon or without following health experts’ advice would be “catastrophic” and could lead to a surge in new, deadly cases of the coronavirus.
He notes, in a clear shot across Sanders’s bows: “I led the implementation of the recovery act in the last crisis,” He was Barack Obama’s vice president as the administration tackled the financial crisis immediately upon taking power in 2009.
He urged, in summary, the prioritizing of workers (not CEOs’ bulging pay packets or shareholder dividends), small business loans, allowances to ease student loans, increased social security payments and funds for everyone struggling financially.
Biden finished with: “Congress is doing its job, the president has to do his now, it’s all about implementation, priorities, detail and accountability,” he said - surely a jab at Trump’s noting at the briefing in the White House rose garden earlier this month that he takes “absolutely no responsibility” for failures in tackling the coronavirus crisis.
Updated
Basketball star Steph Curry is currently hosting a q & a with Dr Fauci on Instagram as a way to try to inform young people and other Americans who may get much of their news from social media about the coronavirus.
The live chat has already surpassed 50,000 viewers, including at least one former president.
@BarackObama joining the @StephenCurry30 Dr. Fauci conversation on Instagram right now. pic.twitter.com/t4aDKaxjjB
— David Schwab (@david_schwab) March 26, 2020
Former President @BarackObama weighs in on the @StephenCurry30 and Dr. Anthony Fauci Q&A on #coronavirus: “Listen to the science. Do your part and take care of each other.” pic.twitter.com/2DB6g2297P
— Sara Cook (@saraecook) March 26, 2020
Updated
We’re getting a lot of updates from states and cities around the country:
Brian Kemp, the Republican governor of Georgia, announced that schools K-12 will be closed through April 24, which is two weeks after the Easter holiday, Trump’s desired deadline for “reopening” the country.
Today I signed an executive order closing K-12 public schools through April 24, 2020 to mitigate the spread of #COVID19 in Georgia. Read more here >> https://t.co/98mfKt5IwI. #gapol
— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) March 26, 2020
As testing continues to ramp up, so too are the number of cases are climbing.
Florida’s Department of Health confirmed 378 additional cases of Covid-19 and five new deaths, bringing the state total of confirmed cases to 2,355. The death toll is now at 28, according to the Miami Herald.
In Louisiana, another outbreak hotspot, the state’s department of health confirmed that there are 2,305 cases of Covid-19, with 83 deaths.
#BREAKING There are now 2,305 cases of COVID-19 in Louisiana and 83 deaths, according to the Dept. of Health.
— Brooke Buford (@brookebuford) March 26, 2020
In Central Louisiana:
- 25 cases, 1 death in Rapides
- 7 cases in Avoyelles
- 5 cases in Allen
- 2 cases in Natchitoches
- 1 cases in Grant
- 2 cases in Vernon
Pennsylvania’s Department of Health confirmed 560 new cases, bringing the state total to 1,687.
THE LATEST: : The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirms 560 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total to 1,687. https://t.co/q9bbzJ9FAX
— PittsburghTodayLive (@PGHTodayLive) March 26, 2020
In other warm and fuzzy news... (see cat post below)
Less than two months after Democrats and Republicans were at each other’s throats over the most partisan impeachment trial in American history, the tone on Capitol Hill has shifted dramatically.
The Senate unanimously passed a $2tn stimulus package and on Thursday Senate Finance Committee chairman Chuck Grassley sent a genuinely kind birthday message to House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Happy bday @SpeakerPelosi We often disagree but I admire your commitment 2public service &willingness to wrk w me on issues like USMCA+lowering Rx drug prices Cooperation btwn us is what itll take to get drug prices lowered Working 2gether across party lines is esp important now
— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) March 26, 2020
Did it need to take a global pandemic to bring Congress together?
Updated
Politicians, they’re just like us, working from home and struggling to master the art of video conference.
Here congressman John Yarmuth’s virtual town hall was interrupted by the family cat, Leo.
My sincere thanks to my cat, Leo, for dropping by our Facebook Town Hall with @louisvillemayor this morning. Be sure to watch our full conversation and Q&A (including Leo’s surprise appearance) here: https://t.co/t3W4fmM8Zo pic.twitter.com/UNkq5vUn6M
— Rep. John Yarmuth (@RepJohnYarmuth) March 26, 2020
Michigan’s chief medical executive Dr Joneigh Khaldun said the state, which already has 2,300 confirmed coronavirus cases and 43 deaths, is still “a few weeks out” from the apex of the virus.
According to The Detroit News, Khaldun said the state was still on the “upslope” of the virus’ path.
She appeared at a press conference alongside the state’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, who announced on Thursday that she is seeking a federal disaster declaration. Whitmer also said the state has started to shift Covid-19 patients among its hospitals to help ease the burden on hospitals nearing capacity.
The state also is exploring locations for “alternative sites” that could host overflow from at-capacity hospitals, Whitmer said.
For many of Americans, the coronavirus response is being shaped by a trinity of outer-borough New Yorkers: Trump, Cuomo and Fauci.
While the governor and the doctor have relationships with the president that might be best described as complicated, Cuomo on Thursday said he has developed a friendship with Fauci as his state responds to the pandemic.
He said Facui has become a “friend” who he has come to rely on at all hours of the day.
“I call him late at night. I call him in the middle of the night. I call him in the morning,” he said.
Gov. Cuomo on Dr. Fauci: "I call him late at night. I call him in the middle of the night. He's been really a friend to me personally and the state of New York"
— Mona Salama (@MonaSalama_) March 26, 2020
Updated
Here are the latest numbers out of New York state, according to Cuomo’s presentation today.
- At 37,258 people have tested positive for Covid-19
- 5,327 people are currently hospitalized
- 1,290 patients are in intensive care
- 1,517 patients have been discharged after being hospitalized
- 385 patients have died from Covid-19
Updated
Cuomo is now taking a moment to reflect on the resilience and fortitude required to weather the pandemic, offering his “two cents,” which he says wryly is probably only worth “one-and-a-half cents.”
He says he’s been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for the state from around the world during this moment of “national crisis.” Tens of thousands of doctors and nurses are coming out of retirement to assist in hospitals while nearly 9,000 mental health professionals are volunteering their time to provide free services to New Yorkers, he said.
“You get to see the best and you get to the see the worst,” he said. “You get to see the beauty and you get to see the opposite. ... Easy times don’t forge character.”
“When the pressure is on, you see what people are made of,” he said.
He acknowledged that some New Yorkers are weary but urged them to consider the tireless work of the first responders, the health care workers, the grocery store employees, the pharmacists and the transportation workers who are working around the clock to combat the virus.
“During this difficult time, let’s listen to the voices of our better angels,” he said.
Updated
NY Governor warns on hospitals, federal money
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is warning that, as the state that is now at the center of the nation’s coronavirus crisis, the death toll is continuing to rise.
“Almost any realistic scenario will overwhelm our hospitals,” he said at his now-daily press briefing.
He also stated that the $2.2tn federal disaster bill passed by the Senate last night and now slated for bipartisan support in the House tomorrow, only goes a little way to helping New York.
“It does not help the state recover lost revenue” in its stalled economy, Cuomo said, it “only provides $5bn to help with expenses” incurred in dealing with the outbreak.
The governor added: “When I get tired I think of the first responders out there.”
Updated
New York governor Andrew Cuomo is giving his daily press briefing from Albany.
“In a situation like this not knowing the facts is worse, that’s when you feel out of control,” he says, announcing that almost any realistic scenario would likely overwhelm the hospitals.
He announced that the number of deaths in New York state, rising from 285 to 385.
He said there is enough protective equipment to meet “immediate need” but they still need more masks, gowns and respirators.
He said the state has also approved hospitals to split a ventilator and allow it to be used on two patients.
Now he’s addressing the economic stimulus package, assailing Congressional leaders for falling short of assisting the states.
“What they did failed to meet the governmental need,” he said of the bill. He called it “irresponsible” and “reckless.”
“When this is over I promise you I’m going to give them a piece of my mind,” he said, adding that now is not a time for politics.
Updated
New Jersey’s governor, Phil Murphy, says the state has received a Major Disaster Declaration, meaning it can receive more federal support during the Covid-19 outbreak. As of Wednesday, New Jersey had the second-most confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the US. Murphy, a Democrat, thanked Donald Trump and Mike Pence for their help.
BREAKING: We've received a Major Disaster Declaration for New Jersey.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) March 26, 2020
We will now have access to greater essential federal support to help us through the #COVID19 emergency.
I'm grateful to @realDonaldTrump, @VP, and @fema for their support of our response & recovery efforts.
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Today was supposed to be Opening Day in Major League Baseball, and a traditional sign that the winter is over and spring and summer are around the corner. Instead, due to the coronavirus outbreak, players are at home twiddling their thumbs or posting videos to TikTok. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said on Wednesday he hopes preparation for the start of the postponed season can start in May, although that may be a little too upbeat, given that a single positive test from a player during the season could shut a whole team down.
“It’s just such a strange time,” wrote Chicago Cubs star Anthony Rizzo on ESPN. “The more all of us can stay connected to others, the better we all are. Whether you are a professional athlete or a fan, just trying to stay positive right now, it is so important to keep moving any way you can.”
Meanwhile, the New York Mets’ Pete Alonso, who broke the rookie record for home runs last year, posted a message to Twitter thanking nurses and doctors for their work during the outbreak.
— Pete Alonso (@Pete_Alonso20) March 25, 2020
Nancy Pelosi 'certain' bill will pass but Congress is 'just not doing enough'
House speaker Nancy Pelosi, speaking now at her weekly press conference, says she is “certain” there will be a “strong” bipartisan vote in the House for the coronavirus bill that will come to the floor tomorrow morning.
“Tomorrow we’ll bring the bill to the floor. It will pass,” she said. “It will pass with strong bipartisan support.”
She repeated that she is confident the House will pass the stimulus bill tomorrow by voice vote, meaning there would be no roll call if no member objects.
“If somebody has a different point of view, they can put in in the record,” she said.
Pelosi also said Congress is “just not doing enough for state and local government. That’s just the way it is.”
While touting the bill as a marked improvement from the initial Senate proposal, Pelosi also outlined some areas where Democrats would like to see in the next round of legislation.
.@SpeakerPelosi now rattling off things that Democrats would like to see in next coronavirus funding rounds:
— Scott Wong (@scottwongDC) March 26, 2020
-- More $$ for SNAP (food stamps)
-- More $$ for state/local govt
-- More funding for D.C., says GOP treated district in "discriminatory way"
Asked when the next bill will happen and how that will work, she says, “we really should be operating four corners,” referring to House and Senate leaders.
— Nicholas Wu (@nicholaswu12) March 26, 2020
“I’ll be working on most of it from here and also with my committees.”
Pelosi said she's heard some Republicans saying the stimulus that passed the Senate is too Democratic.
— Natalie Andrews (@nataliewsj) March 26, 2020
"What can I say?" she said.
She began her remarks by noting the death toll, which has surpassed 1,000 in the US.
She urged Americans to stay home and respect federal guidelines for social distancing. If not, she warned that “the light at the end of the tunnel may be a train coming at us.”
As Pelosi reaches her eighth decade of life, she told reporters she will not be celebrating her birthday until she can “hug [her] grandbabies.”
Updated
The House is planning to take up the $2tn rescue package passed by the Senate on Friday.
But the logistics of holding a vote in the midst of a pandemic are complicated: several members are quarantining, in addition to at least two members who have tested positive for Convid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Flights are severely restricted in some states while travel may pose undue risk for certain lawmakers.
Nevertheless, one Kentucky lawmaker wasn’t going to miss the vote at any cost. For members struggling to find flights, he suggested they “hitch a ride.”
Rep. Massie (R-KY) to his colleagues: "If Congressman are complaining that it’s hard to travel, what about the truckers that I saw on the road when I drove to DC. I’m in DC by the way, drove here. Hitch a ride with a trucker."
— Alan He (@alanhe) March 26, 2020
A New York City health worker who was treating Covid-19 patients has died two weeks after being diagnosed with the virus. The news of Kious Kelly’s death was confirmed by his hospital, Mount Sinai West in Manhattan.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of a beloved member of our nursing staff. The safety of our staff and patients has never been of greater importance and we are taking every precaution possible to protect everyone,” the hospital said in a statement.
Nurses at Mount Sinai West have complained they have been forced to use garbage bags to protect themselves due to a lack of equipment.
New York City is being hit particularly hard by the virus and the acting navy secretary, Thomas Modly, said hospital ship USNS Comfort will “hopefully” reach the city in the next week to assist with the relief effort. “We had been originally looking at April 3, but in all likelihood, she’s going to be getting underway this weekend,” said Modly on Thursday. “I’m actually going to be going down there to the ship either tomorrow or Saturday. So sometime after that she’ll be leaving.”
Updated
Ford wants to reopen five plants shut down by the Covid-19 outbreak, although the company may well receive pushback from union members. Ford suspended production at the plants a week ago under pressure from the United Auto Workers, who feared its members could fall ill.
The company wants to restart production over the next three weeks at sites in Hermosillo, Mexico; Dearborn, Michigan; Louisville Kentucky; Cleveland, Ohio; and Kansas City. Ford says it will introduce new safeguards to protect workers. Donald Trump has already said that he wants America to reopen for business by Easter, despite warnings from medical experts that such a decision could have dire consequences for public health.
“We are reviewing with great concern and caution today’s announcement [from Ford],” the United Auto Workers said in a statement. “Our priority is the health and safety of our members, their families and the American public.”
Updated
Mnuchin: unemployment numbers are 'not relevant'
Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin waived off the staggering unemployment numbers reported on Thursday morning, saying the figure was “not relevant” while touting the historic economic stimulus package he negotiated with Congressional leaders. The $2tn emergency relief bill passed the Senate on Wednesday night.
Asked on CNBC about the weekly joblessness report, which totaled nearly 3.3 million people, Mnuchin replied: “I just think these numbers right now are not relevant. Whether they’re bigger or smaller in the short term ... the good thing about this bill is, the president is protecting these people.”
Mnuchin said he spoke to Pelosi and House minority leader Kevin McCarthy about the need to pass the bill quickly. The House is expected to vote on Friday.
The bill offers a one-time direct cash payment of up to $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for couples, with $500 added for every child. The benefit begins to phase out for individuals making more than $75,000 in income and those making $99,000 or more will not receive assistance. Mnuchin said most of the payments would come as direct deposits.
“We’re determined to get money in people’s pockets immediately,” he said.
You can follow business developments live in our dedicated business blog out of London, here.
Updated
Kenya Evelyn reports on why Florida congressman Matt Gaetz picked the wrong university to single out from the $2tn economic stimulus bill meant to combat the coronavirus outbreak.
In a tweet late on Wednesday, the Republican congressman questioned why Howard University, a historically black college located in the nation’s capital, was earmarked to receive $13m in funding from the bill.
“Education is important but a $13m check to Howard does not belong in COVID-19 relief,” Gaetz said.
$13,000,000 in taxpayer funds could be going to families across the nation struggling to put food on the table in the midst of COVID-19.
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) March 25, 2020
Instead, it's going to Howard University.
Education is important- but a $13 million check to Howard does not belong in COVID-19 relief. pic.twitter.com/uIT6yaTMUo
Critics immediately highlighted that the university is home to a level-1 trauma hospital central to medical care in Washington DC. It had also been specially designated a Covid-19 treatment facility with a medical school training the next class of professionals to respond to the pandemic.
Howard University’s campus Democrats chimed in to explain the reason for the funding with a history lesson, before offering a quip about Gaetz’s home state of Florida handling the outbreak.
Instead of worrying about the funding that insures the well-being of a University and Hospital that saves lives only a mere 2.2 miles from your office, Please call to your friend Governor @RonDeSantisFL and ask him to lockdown Florida.
— HU College Democrats (@hucollegedems) March 26, 2020
Another university located in Washington DC was also specifically earmarked in the legislation. Gallaudet University, another federally chartered institution, is set to receive $7m in funding from the bill.
Critics, including Howard alumnae and California senator Kamala Harris, were quick to point out the racial implications of Gaetz singling out an HBCU - one of 100 black educational institutions historically disenfranchised prior to the passage of Brown v Board of Education in 1954.
The bill provides $30 billion to protect students and help schools, colleges and universities combat the coronavirus. This is $13 million.
— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) March 26, 2020
$13 million = .04% of $30 billion
Why do you take issue with money going to Howard, Congressman? https://t.co/7nyaijShhd
Gaetz’s rebuttal juxtaposing Howard to “regular people” only added to the accusations of racist dog whistles. Earlier this year Gaetz notoriously mocked the severity of the coronavirus outbreak by wearing a gas mask to a congressional hearing. Gaetz later announced a self-quarantine after coming in close contact with others who tested positive, including Donald Trump.
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Edward Helmore has news from the stock market, which has opened higher than many expected.
US stocks traded higher on Thursday even after a record 3.3 million workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, ending a decade-long period of job expansion.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 600 points by 10am, a day after it recorded a rise of more than 1,315 points after more than a week of savage declines. The index climbed 2.8% shortly after the opening bell. The S&P 500 opened up 2.8%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 2.5%.
The gains came after lawmakers passed a $2tn stimulus package on Wednesday night that is expected to help stabilize the economy.
In a rare interview on Thursday morning, federal reserve chairman Jerome Powell said that he expected economic activity to decline “pretty substantially” in the second quarter. The central bank is taking unprecedented action to help ensure economic activity can resume as soon as the coronavirus pandemic is under control, he told NBC’s Today show.
Pompeo: 10,000 Americans have been repatriated
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said 10,000 Americans have been repatriated during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’ve now brought over 10,000 Americans back home from places where they were stranded through no fault of their own,” he told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday. “There’s still a lot of work to do. We’ve got a lot of people who are trying to get back this way, and with travel shut down in many of these countries without any notice or little notice, there’s still a major undertaking.”
US officials said Wednesday that as many as 50,000 Americans needed help getting home from foreign countries where borders are closed and commercial flights are suspended.
Over the next week and a half, 66 more flights will carry home 9,000 more Americans, according to Ian Brownlee, the head of the State Department’s repatriation task force.
Updated
An emergency physician has said that the public is being shielded from the true suffering caused by Covid-19. Ethical and privacy issues mean that footage of ICUs and wards are not shown on television. But in a text to CNN, emergency physician Esther Choo said the severity of the outbreak risks being lost.
“This whole thing has been hampered by its abstractness. I mean, half the interviews on TV that I’ve seen are totally well people pissed they didn’t get tested. The truth is, the sickest patients are terrifying,” Choo said. “They are air hungry, dropping their oxygen, confused, distressed. We can never show that. But it is terrifying ... What would the zombie apocalypse be like if we only had verbal descriptions of zombies, but could never show them?”
My colleague Sam Levine sends this report on efforts to get Americans to respond to the US census.
Rapper Cardi B reminded New Yorkers that the 2020 census will not feature a question asking about citizenship in a public service announcement released Wednesday urging people to fill out the decennial survey.
“Remember, the citizenship question is off the census,” she says in the video, which will run on local TV networks and was made in collaboration with New York City’s census efforts. “No matter what anybody tells you, immigrants with or without papers count too.”
The US Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration from adding the question last year, but there is still lingering confusion in immigrant communities and a lingering fear that the information collected in the decennial survey will be used in a harmful way. Individual census responses must be kept confidential according to federal law.
The census, which is mandated by the constitution, is used to determine how $1.5 trillion in federal funds are allocated and how political districts get drawn for the next decade. Americans can fill out the survey online at my2020census.gov or by calling 844-330-2020 (phone numbers to respond in other languages available here).
“This census is about power, money, and respect for our communities,” Cardi B says in the video. “If our city is undercounted, we risk being underrepresented, especially our communities of color.”
Trump Administration Drops Bid To Put Citizenship Question On 2020 Census
Updated
The city of Miami’s 460,000 residents will be put under curfew from Friday night onwards. Police will have the power to detain anyone on the streets between 10pm and 5am. Exceptions will be made for medical emergencies, people on their way to and from work, and dog walkers within 250 yards of their homes. The city is already under a more general shelter-in-place order. Some questioned whether arresting and then detaining people in confined spaces would help spread, rather than curb, the spread of the virus but one Miami police chief denied that accusation.
“The idea here is not to throw somebody in jail,” Commissioner Joe Carollo told the Miami Herald. “None of us want to do that.”
Speaking of the experts, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was on New York’s WNYC public radio, warning that it was still too early for the country to return to normal.
The Guardian’s Ed Helmore reports that Fauci said Trump was not “wed” to Easter as a date certain for the US to lift restrictions on public activity.
“He put that out because he wants to give people some hope, but he is not absolutely wed to that,” Fauci said.
“He keeps saying that although he would like that to be the date, he’s open-minded and flexible to make sure the facts and what the pattern of the virus is will determine what we do,” he added.
On Wednesday evening, Fauci put it even more bluntly.
“You’ve gotta be realistic and you’ve gotta understand that you don’t make the timeline,” Fauci told CNN. “The virus makes the timeline.”
Edward Helmore has news on how the Covid-19 outbreak is affecting the fishing industry.
The commercial fishing industry is requesting $4bn in aid as orders dry up from restaurant owners and exports, which account for as much as 60% of their business, dry up due to the coronavirus pandemic
In a letter to House and Senate leaders, seafood industry leaders, processors and fishermen said their industry was being hit hard. “This is totally unprecedented. This is the biggest crisis to hit the fishing industry ever, no question about that,” Noah Oppenheim, executive director of The Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations told NPR.
Of the seafood that’s not exported from the US, around 80% is sold to restaurants, he said. “Both of those sectors of the seafood economy are largely nonfunctional at the moment, so we’re going to have to make up for approximately 90% of our markets ... through either new supply pipelines or new sets of customers.”
If aid isn’t forthcoming, Oppenheim added, “We could see hundreds to thousands of fishermen leave the industry nationwide.”
The wholesale price of lobster, reported one Maine fisherman, has dropped to $2.50 per pound, compared to the usual $10 for this time of year.
“It’s definitely a shock to the system,” said Sam Rosen, a 30-year-old lobsterman based in Vinalhaven, Maine. “This is uncharted territory right now. I don’t think anyone thought it was going to be as bad as it’s getting.”
Fed chair: US 'may well be' in a recession
Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said the US “may well be in a recession” as the pandemic puts an unprecedented strain on the US economy.
In a rare live interview with NBC’s Today Show, Powell sought to draw a distinction between what’s happening to the economy now as the result of forced public isolation and social distancing and a “normal” recession.
"I think it's been 30 years since we had a federal reserve chair (on TODAY) live ... What is the message you want to send?" -Guthrie
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 26, 2020
"... The Federal Reserve is working hard to support you now, and our policies will be very important when the recovery does come." -Powell pic.twitter.com/bd3Az6RKyH
“There is not anything fundamentally wrong with our economy,” he told NBC. “Quite the contrary. We are starting from a very strong position.”
But he continued, “People are being asked to close their business, to stay home from work, and to not engage in certain economic activity, and so they are pulling back.”
Asked about Trump’s drive to “open” the economy by Easter, Powell, a longtime target of the president’s wrath, said that the decision should depend on the best advice of public health officials.
“We are not experts in pandemics over here. We don’t get to make that decision,” he said. “We would tend to listen to the experts.”
“The sooner we get the virus under control, people will very willingly open back up their businesses and get back to work,” he added.
Updated
Sports fans have been deprived of entertainment over the last few weeks, with leagues across America – and the world – shutting down during the Covid-19 outbreak (you can still watch top-class Belarus soccer action though!). But fear not! Two-time NBA MVP and professional nice guy Steph Curry will be online from 10am PT/1pm ET to discuss Covid-19 with infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci. And, like all good sports radio hosts, they’ll be taking questions from callers/people who follow Curry on Instagram.
Hyped to talk all things COVID-19 with Dr. Fauci of the @NIAIDNews tomorrow. This is a conversation for YOU so submit questions with #SCASKSFAUCI and join at 10am PT tomorrow (Mar 26). Let’s get it! pic.twitter.com/7DC0dty6u6
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) March 25, 2020
Curry, who has won three NBA titles with the Golden State Warriors, is known for his charity work alongside his wife Ayesha. He recently donated an undisclosed amount to the Alameda County Community Food Bank, and a Facebook fundraiser by the Currys for Feeding America has raised more than $7m so far.
Fauci has become known for gently correcting Donald Trump on the medical side of the outbreak in recent weeks. Curry has been rather more forceful in his statements on Trump. The Warriors did not go on the traditional White House visit when they won titles during Trump’s presidency. “By acting and not going, hopefully that will inspire some change when it comes to what we tolerate in this country and what is accepted and what we turn a blind eye to,” said Curry after the Warriors’ title win in 2017.
Updated
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus in the US and all things politics.
Overnight, the US Senate unanimously voted to approve a historic $2.2tn stimulus package to rescue the spiraling economy and rush financial assistance to workers, businesses and a healthcare system nearly stretched to capacity as cases of the coronavirus sweep across the country.
The House is expected to take up the vote on Friday morning. Donald Trump has said he would sign it.
In a tweet, the president touted the rare unanimous vote in the Senate. The vote was 96-0.
96-0 in the United States Senate. Congratulations AMERICA!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 26, 2020
In a sign of the virus’s reach, the four Republican senators who missed the vote were in quarantine, including senator Rand Paul who tested positive for Covid-19.
On Thursday morning, the US labor department announced that a record 3.3 million people filed claims for unemployment last week as the Covid-19 pandemic shut down large parts of America’s economy. The figure is the highest ever reported, beating the previous record of 695,000 claims filed the week ending 2 October 1982.
This morning Trump participates in a video teleconference at with the G20 leaders. The coronavirus task force will hold a briefing this evening at 5pm EST.
We will also hear more from the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, at her weekly press conference later this morning. Today is the speaker’s 80th birthday.
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