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Reuters

Health

Stephanie Kelly and Doina Chiacu

U.S. states, cities desperate for coronavirus help, military prepares

The USNS Mercy, a Navy hospital ship, departs the Naval Station San Diego and heads to the Port of Los Angeles to aid local medical facilities dealing with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients, in San Diego, California, U.S., March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Several more U.S. governors on Monday joined the procession of states ordering millions of Americans to stay at home to slow the spread of the coronavirus, while President Trump signaled he's considering a move in the opposite direction.

Public health authorities have pushed for the stay-at-home restrictions as essential to curb widespread transmission of a highly contagious respiratory virus that has infected more than 42,000 people in the United States, killing at least 559.

Food trucks sit in a parking lot next to an empty school in Los Angeles after California issued a stay-at-home order due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

While a wave of statewide social distancing measures expanded, further stifling the U.S. economy amid another day of plunging stock prices and growing fears of a global recession, Trump said, "we cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself."

"America will again and soon be open for business," Trump told a White House news conference. "We are not going to let it turn into a long-lasting financial problem."

A $2 trillion economic stimulus bill, however, stalled in the U.S. Senate as Democrats pressed for more money for states and hospitals and restrictions on business bailouts.

The president said he would re-evaluate his administration's position on whether to continue restricting business activity at the end of the month, after the lapse of a 15-day guidance the White House issued on March 15 to limit social interactions and curb unnecessary travel.

Trump suggested it was possible to ease up on businesses in states experiencing what he said were relatively low infection rates, like Nebraska, Idaho and Iowa, while continuing to clamp down on hot zones in other states, such as New York.

"If it were up to the doctors, they'd say let's shut down the entire world," Trump said.

Members of the West Virginia National Guard's Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High Yield Explosive (CBRNE) Battalion and 35th Civil Support Team (CST) provide assistance for COVID-19 swabbing for the staff of a nursing facility in Morgantown, West Virginia, U.S. March 23, 2020. U.S. Army National Guard/Sgt. Davis Rohrer/Handout via REUTERS

MORE STATES IN LOCKDOWN

Since last week, governors in at least 18 states accounting for nearly half the U.S. population have issued directives requiring residents to stay mostly indoors, except for necessary trips to grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations and doctors' offices. "Non-essential" businesses have also been ordered closed.

The measures are based on social distancing principles aimed at increasing the amount of space between individuals in order to stem transmission of a potentially lethal illness that threatens to overwhelm the nation's hospitals.

Sleeping mats and storage bins are placed six feet apart, in accordance with Centers for Disease Control guidelines, as protection against the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), on the floor of the Ben Boeke Ice Arena in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S. March 21, 2020. The George M. Sullivan arena and the Ben Boeke Ice arena have been converted to shelters for Anchorage's homeless people. Picture taken March 21, 2020. Matt Waliszek of Orzel Photography/Bean's Cafe/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT

Washington, which accounts for over a quarter of the deaths, became the latest state to issue "stay at home" orders.

"This is a human tragedy on a scale we cannot yet project. So it's time to hunker down to win this fight," Washington Governor Jay Inslee said.

Even before statewide restrictions began to go into effect last week, the coronavirus pandemic had virtually paralyzed sectors of the U.S. economy and shattered U.S. lifestyles as school districts and colleges canceled classes, and many companies shuttered workplaces, either voluntarily or under local government orders.

Lights are on in apartments after Governor Jay Inslee issued a "stay-at-home" order in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Seattle, Washington, U.S., March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

While Trump's latest remarks showed his concern about the economic fallout, state and local officials continued to raise alarms about a healthcare delivery system in danger of collapse.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Monday his state needs 50,000 additional hospital beds to accommodate a surge in coronavirus patients predicted by computer modeling.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio appealed for ventilators, masks and other medical equipment, even asking for help from private citizens.

Instructor TJ Dela Cruz leads a virtual private lesson over Zoom at One Martial Arts as California continues its statewide "stay at home order" directing the state’s 40 million residents to stay in their homes in the face of the fast-spreading coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Millbrae, California, U.S. March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

New York state is now at the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak with 157 deaths, the most of any state.

Karine Raymond, a nurse at Jack D. Weiler Hospital in New York City's Bronx borough, said most nurses were unable to get specialized N95 masks and even simpler surgical masks were in short supply. Nurses are being told to wear them for as long as possible, she said.

"We are the be all and end all and lifeline to these patients, and yet we are being contaminated and cross contaminating,” Raymond said.

The George M. Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, Alaska March 23, 2020 which has been converted to a homeless shelter, along with the Ben Boeke arena next door. The arenas will have sleeping mats or cots placed six feet apart, in accordance with Centers for Disease Control guidelines, as protection against the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). REUTERS/Yereth Rosen

RESCUES SOUGHT BY FED, CONGRESS

A far-reaching economic stabilization package for the coronavirus crisis failed to advance on Monday in the Senate after Democrats said it contained too little money for hospitals and not enough restrictions on a fund to help big businesses. Democrats predicted a modified version would win passage soon.

Community organizer Henry Liu maintains social distance while greeting a resident as InterIm Community Development Association delivers free food to seniors in the Chinatown-International District during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Seattle, Washington, U.S. March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson

Both Democrats and Republicans say they are aware that failure to agree on the bill could have a devastating effect on states, cities and businesses, and trigger further heavy losses in U.S. stock markets.

Wall Street's slide deepened on Monday as an unprecedented moves by the U.S. Federal Reserve to shore up credit across the economy proved insufficient to sooth investors' fears about the swiftly spreading coronavirus.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 3.04% to end at 18,591.93 points, while the S&P 500, a broader-market index, lost 2.93% to 2,237.4. The S&P 500 is now down about 34% from its February record high, its lowest level since fears of the coronavirus swept across Wall Street.

Bags of groceries from Asian supermarket Uwajimaya sit on the curb ready for pickup by seniors as InterIm Community Development Association donates food in the Chinatown-International District during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Seattle, Washington, U.S. March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson

The steps briefly lifted U.S. stock index futures but share prices quickly dropped back into the red, putting the S&P 500 on pace for its worst month since World War Two.

A lack of coordinated federal action was causing chaos for states and municipalities, and even putting them in competition with each other for medical resources, the governors of New York, New Jersey and Illinois said.

The states "are all out looking for the same thing," New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy told CNN on Monday.

A man (L) from Bellingham, Washington and a Canadian woman from Vancouver, British Columbia, who wished to remain anonymous but say they started dating four months ago, watch the sunset at Peace Arch Historical State Park where residents from both countries are permitted while the border is closed to non-essential travel as efforts continue to help slow the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Blaine, Washington, U.S. March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Jason Redmond

(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly, Susan Heavey, Doina Chiacu, Dan Levine and Nathan Layne; Writing by Daniel Trotta and Sonya Hepinstall; Editing by Howard Goller, Alistair Bell and Michael Perry)