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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Mario Koran (now), Daniel Strauss , Lauren Aratani and Martin Belam (earlier)

Trump says he takes 'no responsibility' for coronavirus failures as he declares national emergency – as it happened

Evening Summary

That does it for me on the west coast as we close out a very busy day for coronavirus news. Here are some of the day’s key moments.

  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced that a deal has been reached with the Trump administration that would provide relief to help deal with the fallout of coronavirus. The legislation would provide: paid emergency leave with two weeks of paid sick leave and up to three months of paid family and medical leave.
  • The Washington Post has reported that a second person who visited President Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago estate last weekend has tested positive for coronavirus. It’s the second person in as many days who’s had coronavirus and been near the president, a widely reported germaphobe.
  • International passengers are still stuck on the Grand Princess, the stricken cruise ship that docked in Oakland early this week. Fourteen passengers will likely remain there for the weekend. Officials initially said it would take three days to clear all passengers from the boat. It’s now day 5.
  • Trump blasted PBS reporter Yamiche Alcindor for pressing him on whether he takes responsibility for axing the Global Health Security team in the National Security Council, which was set up in the wake of the Ebola outbreak to make sure that the government response to a pandemic would be coordinated. Former officials describe it as the lynchpin of the response mechanism. Trump called the question “nasty.”

Updated

The outbreak of the new coronavirus has been boon for a number of companies, including those that sell disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizers and toilet paper. But the pandemic also has sales soaring on another bathroom item: the bidet.

Home product company Brondell, which sells various types of bidet toilet seats, heated and unheated, has seen an increase in sales over the last few days, a company spokesperson told Business Insider.

The spokesperson said Brondell is selling a bidet on Amazon every two minutes, or about one thousand units per day. The company reportedly earned $100,000 in one day this week through Amazon sales, an “exponential”jump from its average daily sales.

San Francisco mayor London Breed on Friday put a 30-day pause on evicting tenants who cant pay rent due to impacts from the coronavirus.

The San Fransisco Examiner reports that Breed is using her legal authority under a local emergency declaration to prevent evictions and is putting the prohibition in place for an initial 30-day period, with the possibility that it could be extended for an additional 30 days.

Trump raised eyebrows during the today’s press conference from the Rose Garden when he indicated that the US government is working with Google to build a nationwide website to help people decide whether to get tested.

Turns out, it’s not true. The Verge reports that “a much smaller trial website made by another division of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, is going up” and that it would only be able to direct people to testing facilities in the Bay Area.

Debbie Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, showed a flowchart during the press conference that explained how the website would function. She suggested it would be a way for people to enter symptoms and get directed to a nearby “drive-through” testing facility.

Verge points out that very few details are known about this website, including its URL, when it will launch or how it will work. But what is certain is that Google didn’t build it.

Updated

Pelosi announces deal on coronavirus relief

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced that a deal has been reached with the Trump administration that would provide relief to help deal with the fallout of coronavirus. Trump hasn’t yet said publicly whether he backs it.

“We are proud to have reached an agreement with the Administration to resolve outstanding challenges, and now will soon pass the Families First Coronavirus Response Act,” Pelosi wrote in a letter.

The legislation would provide paid emergency leave with two weeks of paid sick leave and up to three months of paid family and medical leave. It would also expand federal funding for Medicaid to support local, state and tribal health care systems.

The announcement comes after Trump denounced the deal in a press conference from the Rose Garden, saying “we just don’t think they’re giving enough. We don’t think the Democrats are giving enough,” the President said. CNN has more.

The California Teachers Association, the most powerful education group in the state, is asking California governor Gavin Newsom to close all K-12 schools and community colleges to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

It would be the first state in to adopt such a dramatic measure.

Health officials are publicly considering slowing the flow of people across the US-Mexico border. But this time, it’s Mexico that’s eyeing border restrictions.

Reuters reports that Mexico so far has only 15 confirmed cases of coronavirus and no deaths — a sliver of the 1,000 cases and dozens of deaths in the US that have been linked to the virus. That means that some in Mexico are looking at the US as a threat.

“The possible flow of coronavirus would come from the north to the south. If it were technically necessary, we would consider mechanisms of restriction or stronger surveillance,” deputy health secretary Hugo Lopez-Gatell said at a Friday news conference.

“Mexico wouldn’t bring the virus to the United States, rather the United States would bring it here.”

Updated

Second person to visit Mar-a-Lago tests positive for coronavirus

The Washington Post has reported that second person who visited President Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago estate last weekend has tested positive for coronavirus, according to emails from Republican party officials to other guests who were present.

That’s the second person in as many days who’s had coronavirus and been near the president. A Brazilian official who met Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago last weekend also tested positive for coronavirus.

The unfolding health crisis appears to be edging closer to Trump, a widely reported germaphobe.

Alabama’s governor Kay Ivey has issued a state of emergency after the state the state saw its first confirmed case of coronavirus.

State of Emergency declarations can make it easier for a state or city access to federal aid. Congress appropriated more than $8 billion to deal with coronavirus and it appears as though even that will fall short.

Nearly 19,000 schools have or will close across the US, affecting more than 8.1m students and counting, according to Education Week, one of the few outlets tracking school closures nationally. There are roughly 76 million students in US schools.

That number will likely rise as coronavirus spreads to Midwest and rural areas of the country.

Hours before the House was scheduled to vote on a package that would provide assistance those affected by the coronavirus outbreak, President Trump criticized the proposal, throwing a compromise into question.

“We don’t think they’re giving enough,” Trump said, referring to Democrats during a midday press conference from the Rose Garden. “They’re not doing what’s right for the country.”

Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California had previously announced the House would go forward on a vote later in the day on a sweeping package that includes a new paid sick provision, additional unemployment benefits, free virus testing and additional funds for food assistance.

The compromise appears to have gotten hung up on a big payroll tax cut, Trump’s highest priority in terms of an economic response to the disaster. The New York Times has more.

International passengers remain on Grand Princess

ABC News is reporting that international passengers are still stuck on board the Grand Princess, the ill-fated cruise ship that docked in Oakland this week Monday. Fourteen of those passengers will reportedly remain at least through the weekend.

Public health officials and the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, said they expected it would take three days to disembark all passengers. It’s now day five.

Passengers who left the ship earlier this week have been transported to military bases and hotels for 14 days of quarantine. The Guardian has spoken with multiple individuals inside quarantine who’ve complained they still haven’t been tested for the coronavirus despite asking for one to be administered.

San Francisco Chronicle has posted a tally of cases of the new coronavirus across the Bay Area. The number of total coronavirus cases include:

• 277 in California, including 168 in the Bay Area

• 1,668 in the U.S., including 41 deaths: 5 in California, 31 in Washington state, 2 in Florida, 1 in New Jersey, 1 in Georgia and 1 in South Dakota

• More than 137,000 in the world and more than 5,000 deaths. More than 69,000 have recovered.

Additionally, San Francisco’s mayor London Breed announced emergency child care plans for school closures. Starting Monday, the city’s recreation centers and libraries will suspend regular programming to operate as emergency care facilities and will The provide recreation, learning and three meals a day. Children of healthcare workers, disaster service workers and low-income families will be eligible.

Updated

Santa Clara County, just outside San Francisco, is banning gatherings of more than 35 people out of concern for coronavirus.

More and more gatherings have been canceled across the Bay Area, but so far the ban on groups numbering more than 35 appears to be one of the most conservative approaches to gatherings in California.

Updated

Twitter is a afire with criticism of Donald Trump’s response to a question from PBS’ Yamiche Alcindor about the president’s responsibility over the nation’s lack of preparedness after he called the question over cuts his administration made to NSC a “nasty one.”

But some have pointed out that his response also demonstrated a limited understanding of what an administration actually does.

Asked about the cuts, Trump said: “You say I did that, I don’t know anything about it... It’s the administration. Perhaps they do that, let people go. You used to work for a different newspaper than you do know,” he told Alcindor, turning a question over basic preparedness into a personal one.

The Guardian’s world affairs editor Julian Borger has additional insights:

Yamiche Alcindor’s “nasty” question to Trump was about the axing of the Global Health Security team in the National Security Council, which was set up in the wake of the Ebola outbreak to make sure that the government response to a pandemic would be coordinated. Former officials describe it as the lynchpin of the response mechanism.

In May 2018, John Bolton, national security adviser at the time, got rid of the whole office, as he did not see pandemics as a priority national security threat. Trump’s claim that he knew nothing about it, and still knows nothing about it (on a day he declares a national emergency over a pandemic) is extraordinary.

Here’s video of the exchange:

Updated

Earlier today Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, the favorite candidate of grassroots progressives in the 2020 Democratic primary, delivered his own speech on Coronavirus.

Before the hourlong press conference Trump held Friday afternoon, Sanders spoke in Vermont:

Needless to say we must massively increase the availability of test kits for the coronavirus and the speed at which the tests are processed. We need to anticipate significant increases in hospital admissions, which means that we will need more ICU units and ventilators, we will need more doctors, nurses, and medical personnel of all kinds - and we must make sure that these frontline personnel are well protected from the diseases they are treating. I have talked to nurses recently who worry very much about whether they are getting the kind of knowledge and equipment they need so that they do not get sick.

We need to significantly improve our communications and collaboration with other countries to ensure that we are learning everything that we can about the successes and failures of other countries as they deal with this crisis. And furthermore, we must be honest with the American people and communicate as effectively and directly as we can with all of the scientific information that we can provide.Further, and most importantly, our response to this entire crisis must be guided by the decisions of doctors, scientists, and researchers, not politicians.

And then Sanders pivoted to his signature issue, healthcare. He argued that the crisis is a reason the country needs to adopt Medicare for All.

But as we struggle with this crisis, it is also important that we learn the lessons of how we got to where we are today, and what we must do in the future so that we are better prepared for similar crises that may come. Poll after poll already shows us that the American people understand that we must do what every other major country on earth does, and that is to guarantee healthcare to all of our people as a human right, not a privilege. As we begin to see the failures and vulnerabilities of the current healthcare system, my guess is that those numbers and the demand for universal healthcare will only go up.

Here is the unsettling moment Trump hit out at PBS’ Yamiche Alcindor, after she asked him about his closure of the White House’s pandemic response team in 2018:

Updated

Trump says he doesn't take responsibility for testing delays

During his press conference in the White House Rose Garden, Trump has said that he doesn’t “take responsibility at all” for the delays in testing for coronavirus. You can watch the moment here:

Here’s how some viewers have been responding:

Multiple times during this press conference Trump has been asked about the Brazilian official who met the president and tested positive for Coronavirus.

He was asked if he was offering different advice to Americans than he’s practicing himself.

“I think they have to listen to their doctors and they shouldn’t be jumping to get the test unless they have it,” Trump said.

In response to a followup question Trump said he would “probably” be tested “very soon.”

Updated

Asked how long the national emergency would go on for, Trump did not give a specific answer.

“I hope not long,” Trump said. But, he added, “it gives us the power it needs to get rid of the virus.”

He also said that the Trump administration is in touch with other countries dealing with the Coronavirus.

“They’re calling us and asking for advice. They’re calling for advice from the people behind me,” Trump said.

Here’s quite an awkward moment from Trump’s speech that has been spotted and shared by one viewer

The spread of the Coronavirus has not been lost on Trump, his team, and the businesspeople at this press conference. At one point vice president Mike Pence said “The truth is, we now have coronavirus cases in 46 of the American states.”

The Guardian has a regularly updated map tracking the spread of Coronavirus cases across the country. See it here.

It’s important to note that Trump, during a question and answer session following his remarks, was asked whether he or his staff were taking any precautions to make sure they get tests for Coronavirus. Trump stressed repeatedly that he and his staff did not have any exposure.

“I don’t know if I’ve had any exposure but I don’t have any symptoms,” Trump said.

Updated

Back at the podium, Trump stressed the importance of local governments to stay consistent in their steps to fight coronavirus. A number of governors around the country have issued bans of large gatherings at varying levels.

“We must take all precautions and be responsible for the actions we take,” Trump said.

Then Trump made a small tangent to note all the major sporting events that have been postponed, canceled, or dramatically scaled back to prevent transmission of the virus.

“It’s incredible with what’s happened to the sports of the world,” Trump said. “They’ve done a great service.”

Trump continued: “We can learn and we will turn a corner on this virus. Some of these doctors say it will wash through, it will flow through. Interesting terms. And very accurate. In a number of weeks I think you will find it’s a very accurate term.”

Meanwhile, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, the top Democratic senator in Congress, released a statement welcoming Trump’s invocation of the Stafford Act. His response, blasted out before Trump’s presser ended, is below:

“I’m pleased the president heeded our calls to invoke the Stafford Act to extend vital financial assistance to help keep communities safe from the coronavirus outbreak. I urge New York and other states to immediately request these newly available funds and for the Trump administration to approve these requests without delay.

“As other steps are considered, the president must not overstep his authority or indulge his autocratic tendencies for purposes not truly related to this public health crisis.”

Trump’s national emergency declaration is already coming under heavy criticism, and not just because he was about 30 minutes late to deliver it.

First of all, his decision to announce it by saying “national emergency, two very big words” hasn’t gone unnoticed.

His delivery has also been questioned, as well as his strange aside on Google:

And then there was his decision to shake hands with members of his team:

There are still questions over Trump’s status at the moment, as he has recently came into contact with at least one person who has tested positive for coronavirus.

Updated

Trump moved on to introducing representatives from partner organizations working with the White House to combat the coronavirus. They include representatives from Walmart, Walgreens, LHC Group and Signify Health.

Most of the business people gave brief remarks about how eager their respective companies are to help.

Trump then said as part of the Coronavirus response “we’ll be changing a lot of the rules and regulations for [the] future”.

“I guess that’ll continue to an extent but we hope it never happens but we’ll be changing a lot of the wholes and speculations,” Trump said.

Trump added: “I’ve waived interest on all student loans held by government agencies.”

The president said he instructed the secretary of energy, Dan Brouillette, to buy “large quantities” of gasoline “in the US strategic reserve”.

Updated

Dr. Deborah Birx took a few minutes to explain a new Coronavirus website for texting. She held up a chart to explain how the website would work (C-SPAN’s Craig Caplan snapped a picture).

Trump in his remarks said that as part of the national emergency declaration, “the action I am taking will open up $50 billion.”

Trump, flanked by aides including vice-president Mike Pence and Dr. Deborah Birx, also said the move will waive a number of other requirements meant to benefit doctors and fight the Coronavirus pandemic.

There’s been an ongoing concern about the availability of tests for the Coronavirus. Trump said his team expected “half a million additional tests will be available early next week.”

“Which will bring probably 1.4 million tests next week and five million in a month,” Trump said. “Our overriding goal is to stop the spread of the virus.”

Trump declares national emergency

Donald Trump on Friday afternoon declared a national emergency to address the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.

The declaration, made from the White House Rose Garden during a press conference, comes as the Trump administration grapples with the ongoing outbreak.

Donald Trump is late to this press conference where he’s expected to declare a national emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tardiness is unlikely to allay ongoing tensions among the American public about the federal government’s plans for fighting the Coronavirus.

Daniel Strauss taking over the blog here for a bit.

Over in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott has declared a state of disaster. The Dallas Morning News has more:

Gov. Greg Abbott is declaring a “state of disaster” over coronavirus disease 2019, and announced that the state on Friday opened a drive-through testing center in San Antonio, with ones to follow soon in Dallas, Houston and Austin.

Under state law, in such a disaster, Abbott becomes “commander in chief of state agencies, boards, and commissions having emergency responsibilities.”

As he did with the four drive-through testing centers, the governor can direct supplies, equipment, materials and facilities to mitigate the disaster.

Abbott also is directing state health care regulatory agencies to tell nursing homes, assisted living centers and hospitals to restrict visitation.

While he didn’t by executive order ban mass gatherings, Abbott strongly discouraged large meetings until public health officials have a better grasp of how many Texans have contracted COVID-19 or are at risk of doing so.

Virginia closes schools amidst coronavirus concerns

Virginia governor Ralph Northam just announced that Virginia schools will be closed for a minimum of two weeks as the spread of Covid-19 continues in the area.

The announcement means that all schools in the DMV area – Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia – will be closed for most of the month.

Major US companies tell their employees to work from home

Thousands of employees of major US companies have been instructed to work from home if they are able to given the spread of Covid-19.

Ford, General Motors and AT&T have all told their employees to work from home if possible. JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs have instructed their staff in New York City to work from home as the number of cases in the New York City metro area rises.

Here’s more from the Guardian’s business editor Dominic Rushe on the effect coronavirus is having on employees and the economy:

The long-term economic impact of the shuttering of America will take weeks if not longer to assess. Michael Pearce, senior US economist at CapitalEconomics, said the escalating response to the crisis from the US government, closing schools, banning large gatherings, will take a ‘sharp toll on the economy’.

Capital Economics has cut its US growth forecast for 2020 to just 0.6%, down from 1.8%.

Nancy Pelosi holds brief press conference on coronavirus aid package

Speaker Nancy Pelosi just gave a short press conference – taking no questions from reports – detailing the Families First Coronavirus Response Act that House Democrats are planning to pass today.

Pelosi said the bill’s main component is “testing, testing, testing’. “This legislation facilitates free testing for everyone who needs a test, including the insured,” she said.

The speaker also said that federal sick leave and unemployment support was also a priority.

During the press conference, which only lasted a few minutes, Pelosi did not divulge any information on how talks with her Republican counterparts in the White House are going.

Trump is expected to speak in the Rose Garden at 3pm for his own press conference on the coronavirus outbreak.

House majority leader says chamber will vote on coronavirus aid package today

House Democratic majority leader Steny Hoyer released a statement saying the House will put up the coronavirus aid package up for a vote regardless of whether they have the support of their Republican colleagues.

Hoyer said a vote will take place no earlier than 2:30, after Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a press conference on the bill at 2pm. We’ll be tuning in.

Updated

Delta airlines to reduce capacity to by 40%

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, Delta just announced that it is reducing its capacity by 40% – the largest capacity reduction in the company’s history.

The company said it will eliminate all flights to Europe, with the exception of London, for the next 30 days with the possibility of extension. It will also be trying to cut down its workforce, offering voluntary, short-term unpaid leaves and will reduce the number of consultants and contractors it works with.

Updated

Speaker Nancy Pelosi is set to give a press conference in 15 minutes on a coronavirus aid package the House deliberated on this morning.

What is a national emergency?

Donald Trump, as president, has the power to declare a national emergency, which gives power to the federal government to more freely redistribute funds to state and local governments in a time of the crisis.

The president is set to declare a national emergency because of the coronavirus outbreak under the Stafford Act, which was signed into law in 1988 and is designed to encourage local municipalities to design and run their own disaster mitigation efforts, with federal assistance.

The last time Trump declared a national emergency was in February 2019 when he declared a national emergency to divert funding for his border wall. That national emergency was declared under a different act, the 1976 National Emergencies Act.

The Guardian’s voting rights reporter Sam Levine:

Louisiana will postpone its April 4 presidential preference primary amid ongoing concern over coronavirus, Kyle Ardoin, the state’s top election official announced on Friday.

The Democratic contest will be postponed until June 20. Ardoin is acting to the contest using a provision in state law that allows him to move an election in an emergency situation, according to the Advocate. Louisiana is the first state to postpone its primary election as the nation tries to contain the spread of the virus.

Election officials in other states are rushing to implement last-minute changes to safeguard against the virus. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose this week ordered local election officials to relocate all polling stations from senior centers and assisted living facilities. Some election officials in Illinois and Florida are taking similar steps.

Throughout the country, local election offices are taking extra sanitization steps, providing wipes and hand sanitizer at polling stations.

Updated

More reports are suggesting that Donald Trump will be declaring a national emergency at a 3pm press conference today.

Miami mayor tests positive for coronavirus

The mayor of Miami, Florida Francis Suarez has tested positive for coronavirus, the Miami Herald is reporting. Suarez attended an event with a Brazilian government official earlier this week who has since tested positive with coronavirus.

Suarez announced earlier this week that he was not displaying any symptoms, but self-quarantined himself out of safety precaution once he learned that one of Bolsonaro’s staff members tested positive.

Suarez was one of several politicians who interacted with Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and his staff, along with Donald Trump and his staff, when they came to Miami earlier this week. Earlier today, reports said Bolsonaro tested positive for coronavirus, but now other reports are saying the test came back negative.

Trump may declare national emergency at 3pm press conference

Three Bloomberg reporters are saying that multiple sources have told them that Donald Trump will announce a national emergency over coronavirus at a press conference this afternoon.

Declaring a national emergency will allow an easier flow of federal aid to state and local governments who are responding to outbreaks.

White House staff called into ‘urgent meeting’ over Bolsonaro

There are multiple reports that the White House Chief of Staff’s has called for an “urgent meeting” among staff because of news that Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who met with Donald Trump Saturday, has reportedly tested positive for covid-19.

Updated

Donald Trump just tweeted that he will hold a press conference at 3pm EST on coronavirus. We got a sneak peak of what he will say from a tweet he posted moments earlier. He said the 40 coronavirus-related deaths in the US is due to the “very strong border policy” in place. “If we had weak or open borders, that number would be many times higher!” he wrote.

Keep in mind that the number of cases in the US has been rising dramatically over the past few weeks, yet Trump has stuck to praising himself and his administration for having a handle on a situation that is getting increasingly dire.

Boston Marathon postponed until September

State and local officials have postponed the Boston Marathon until 14 September over fears of the coronavirus outbreak. The race was originally scheduled for 20 April.

WGBH reported that this is the first time the marathon has been delayed in its 124-year history. About 30,000 people run the marathon each year.

Trump administration won't let states use Medicaid to respond to crisis

States experiencing dramatic coronavirus outbreaks are unable to use Medicaid more freely to respond to the outbreak by expanding medical care, the Los Angeles Times is reporting.

The White House has tools it can use to assist states looking to bolster their healthcare efforts, but so far, the Trump administration has not made any moves to ease the burden on states.

As coronavirus has intensified in the US over the last few weeks, Trump has tried to downplay the effect that the illness will have on Americans. He called the illness Democrats’ “new hoax” and has compared it to the flu, which has a far lower mortality rate.

Additionally, as the LA Times point out, Seema Verna, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has been a champion of conservative states who have been trying to cut the number of people on Medicaid.

Here’s more from the LA Times:

Months into the current global disease outbreak, the White House and senior federal health officials haven’t taken the necessary steps to give states simple pathways to fully leverage the mammoth safety net program to prevent a wider epidemic.

That’s making it harder for states to quickly sign up poor patients for coverage so they can get necessary testing or treatment if they are exposed to coronavirus.

And it threatens to slow efforts by states to bring on new medical providers, set up emergency clinics or begin quarantining and caring for homeless Americans at high risk from the virus.

Updated

Ted Cruz extends his self-quarantine

Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, said in a statement that he has extended his self-quarantine after learning that another person he interacted with on 3 March has tested positive for Covid-19.

Cruz tweeted on Sunday that he was in self-quarantine after learning that an attendee at the Conservative Political Action Conference he interacted with tested positive for coronavirus. Cruz said in today’s statement that his self-quarantine was supposed to end tonight and he is showing no symptoms, but will extend his self-quarantine until 17 March.

Updated

Utah passes bill banning abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned

Yesterday, the Utah state legislature passed a bill that would ban all elective abortions – which excludes abortion procedures for maternal health or procedure disease – if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court.

The bill is a signal that conservative states are gearing up for an overturn of the decision in the near future. Under Donald Trump, the Supreme Court has had two conservative appointees who have had reservations about Roe v. Wade and the right to abortion.

Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments for June Medical Services v. Russo, a case from Louisiana about a law that significantly restricts abortion access by requiring doctors at abortion clinics to be registered at nearby hospitals. The law is similar to one the Supreme Court overturned in 2016.

The swing vote for the decision is likely to be chief justice John Roberts, who is known for being an institutionalist who does not like to disturb precedent.

Good morning, this is Lauren Aratani taking over.

The US Food and Drug Administration just sent out word that they will allow New York state’s health department to begin authorizing labs to conduct their own testing for Covid-19 once their tests have been validated.

Testing has been a serious concern in New York state and the US overall, with many fearing there is a shortage of available and quick testing for people who are showing symptoms. New York governor Andrew Cuomo told CNN that the US is “way behind on testing” and called the “federal bottleneck” so bad that he authorized New York officials to contract private labs for testing.

US Central Command Commander General Kenneth McKenzie is briefing reporters at the Pentagon on the strikes yesterday against Iranian-backed Shia militia facilities in Iraq. You can watch it here.

Updated

Trump urges approval of a payroll tax cut until 31 December

Trump is weighing in on what he wants approved by legislators today - and unsurprisingly it his payroll tax cut plan, not some of the more directly coronavirus-related measures that Democrats on Capitol Hill have been trying to get passed.

The house is expected to continue discussion on a coronavirus economic stimulus package when it opens - you’ll be able to watch it here.

Noam Levey is reporting for the LA Times on how the Trump administration isn’t allowing states to use Medicaid more freely to respond to the coronavirus crisis by expanding medical services.

One reason federal health officials have not acted appears to be President Trump’s reluctance to declare a national emergency. That’s a key step that would clear the way for states to get Medicaid waivers to more nimbly tackle coronavirus, but it would conflict with Trump’s repeated efforts to downplay the seriousness of the epidemic. Another element may be ideological: The administration official who oversees Medicaid, Seema Verma, has been a champion of efforts by conservative states to trim the number of people enrolled.

Read it here - LA Times: Trump administration blocks states from using Medicaid to respond to coronavirus crisis

It is K-9 Veterans Day today. Not an official holiday, of course, but one that is being observed by Donald Trump, who has just issued a White House statement about it.

On National K-9 Veterans Day, I join our Nation in celebrating and honoring the important job performed each day by America’s dedicated working dogs who support our military. Established in 1942, the K-9 Corps is a critical part of our armed forces. Since its founding, more than 30,000 dogs have served in America’s military, with approximately 2,500 active Military Working Dogs currently helping to defend our freedom.

The president goes on to praise again Conan, the working dog that was part of the raid that lead to the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October last year. Here’s a clip of the president appearing with Conan back in November.

Karen Bass, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, endorses Biden

Associated Press is reporting that the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has endorsed Joe Biden for president, an influential nod of support that could bolster his 2020 Democratic campaign.

The endorsement by Democratic Rep. Karen Bass of California on Friday is the latest testament of a growing coalescence of support for Biden’s White House bid says AP. Biden’s campaign has seen a resurgence powered by black voters, who have helped cement his front-runner status after commanding wins in several recent primaries, including in South Carolina, in several Southern states and just this week in Michigan.

“It’s very clear to me that he is the best person, not just to beat (President Donald) Trump, but he is the person to lead at this time,” Bass said in an interview. “I think him having a long-standing history of working with African American communities, most notably in his own state but around the country, was qualitatively different from the other candidates.”

Bass said she held off endorsing a candidate because two CBC members, Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, were running for president. Booker and Harris have since dropped out and endorsed Biden.

The CBC as a whole is not officially endorsing a candidate, Bass said, but the majority of members have already announced support for Biden.

Although Biden has strong support within the African American community, especially among older voters, concerns have been raised about his ability to energize young and progressive voters.

“As this race settles down, it is my job personally and the job of members of the Congressional Black Caucus to be extremely clear with people in our districts what is at stake here, and what is at stake is their future,” Bass said. “It’s a job that we’ve all been doing over the last 3 1/2 years, but we have to step it up.”

Asked whether Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard should drop out of the race to unite the party before the Democratic National Convention, Bass said she believes the primary process needs to run its course and allow every voter the chance to weigh in.

“I would never be in a position to say, ‘You need to drop out,’” Bass said. “I do think, though, that math is math.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was on CBS This Morning talking about the coronavirus, and particularly about the availability - or lack of - testing kits in the US. Here’s the clip:

Politico this morning also have a look at what a difference the virus outbreak is going to make to election campaigning this year. Both Biden and Sanders’ teams have already been ordered to work from home.

Strategists are gaming out how the lack of in-person campaigning might affect Trump and Biden. Trump’s signature mega-rallies, a source of psychic uplift for the president, are on ice. Biden, a tactile politician whose best moments are often on rope lines interacting one-on-one with voters, will be denied those opportunities for the foreseeable future. Fundraising is also being disrupted. Biden has been forced to move his donor events online. And on Wednesday, the president scrapped a much-anticipated fundraiser.

There’s another element - how the president is viewed to have handled the emergency is going to be a big factor in November’s vote now

Read it here - Politico: Coronavirus consumes Trump’s reelection bid

YouGov and Yahoo! News conducted a poll between March 10 - 11 looking at what Americans felt about the Trump administration’s handling of coronavirus, and it doesn’t make for great reading for the president.

53 percent of the polled US adults did not have faith in the president to tell the truth about the threat of the new coronavirus. Women were less likely to trust the president than men. Newsweek has more on the poll here.

It can’t help when the president makes notable errors and omissions when announcing coronavirus measures.

Our Voting Rights Editor Ankita Rao has been talking to people for who it is Bernie or bust, people who will support Sanders, but will not back Biden - even against Donald Trump.

This year, Martha Baez, a 54-year-old who works in finance, is planning to vote for Sanders in the New York primary, and will not vote for Biden if he is the nominee in November. But she said her real issue was not with the specific candidate, but losing trust in the Democratic party. “I don’t think that I should put aside my values and vote out of fear,” she said. “The DNC needs an overhaul, it lacks values, real leaders that represent the people not its donors.”

Read it here - Bernie or Bust: the Sanders fans who will never vote for Biden

Incidentally Ankita has been asking people to get in touch if coronavirus is changing their plans for voting in Florida next week.

Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou at Bloomberg has been looking at the impact coronavirus is likely to have on the race for the White House.

It’s an added challenge for all three campaigns. With the Democratic race down to two candidates - and with Biden solidly in the lead - interest in the contest would naturally shrink somewhat. Combine that with the pandemic’s overwhelming impact on the economy and daily life, getting voters’ attention is going to be difficult - and expensive.

Aside from the obvious reduction in hand-shaking and picking up babies for those cute pictures, the teams are going to have to get more creative digitally.

Read it here - Bloomberg: Coronavirus roils 2020 race, forcing a virtual campaign season

Trump attacks CDC and Obama - but claims widespread coronavirus testing ready to go

The president is tweeting - and he is criticising the federal agency responsible for keeping the US safe from coronavirus - and of course somehow it is Barack Obama’s fault as well. He claims, without providing any evidence, that changes he has made now mean that widespread testing for coronavirus will shortly start.

There has been widespread criticism of the administration over the lack of testing - just eight tests were carried out on Tuesday.

Good morning. It is very much not politics as normal as the US continues to get to grips with the fall-out from the coronavirus outbreak, and the administration’s attempts to handle it. Colleges across the US have begun canceling and curtailing graduation ceremonies, and March Madness is off.

The president will be meeting industry executives about the Covid-19 response at 1:30pm.

There is a bit of voting action due at the weekend. The Northern Mariana Islands don’t take part in November’s presidential election, but they do have a Democratic caucus tomorrow. It awards six pledged delegate - and in 2016 they broke four-two in Hillary Clinton’s favour over Bernie Sanders. Joe Biden currently leads Sanders 881 to 725.

Coronavirus is affecting the candidates’ ability to campaign in public - Joe Biden will take part in a virtual town hall in Illinois at 5pm.

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