Driving the Day: Over the weekend the New York Times, the Washington Post and POLITICO ran stories on the profound disarray in the administration’s response and how it’s left America at risk.
What to Watch For: After spending Sunday golfing with members of the Washington Nationals, today President Trump will attend campaign fundraisers in Florida for the second time in three days and return to Washington, DC in the afternoon. As of now Trump has no coronavirus-related events scheduled this week. The vice president will hold a conference call with governors on coronavirus and will brief the press with the task force at 5:30 PM. Bernie Sanders is holding a coronavirus-focused public health roundtable in Detroit.
Coronavirus Update
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HUD Secretary Ben Carson appeared on ABC’s This Week and said the administration was “still coming up with” a plan to safely treat and evacuate the 3,500 people aboard the Grand Princess, which is scheduled to dock in Oakland tomorrow. Carson also assured viewers that “there’s no reason you shouldn’t go” to Trump rallies during the outbreak.
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On Meet the Press, Anthony Fauci said the administration was moving to “mitigation” strategies, including social distancing and said the administration now has a “better sense” of what’s happening and it’s “not encouraging.” On Fox News Sunday, Fauci said that he has insisted that passengers should “absolutely not” be held aboard the ship for quarantine and urged older Americans not to go on cruises.
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Surgeon General Jerome Adams appeared on ABC’s This Week and praised President Trump saying, that he “sleeps less than I do and he’s healthier than what I am.” Adams was unable to give an answer to the question of how many Americans have been tested for coronavirus. The Surgeon General later tweeted to urge employers to offer flexibility and paid leave for their staff.
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Sunday night Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) announced that after shaking hands with someone diagnosed with coronavirus at CPAC he wlll self quarantine in Texas. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) announced that he and three members of his senior staff are also self-quarantining. While at CPAC numerous members of the administration, including the president, downplayed the risks and impacts of coronavirus. NBC News reported that members of Congress are increasingly concerned about the virus and there is growing pressure on leadership to take steps to protect them, including a potentially extended recess.
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House and Senate Democrats called for a set of economic policy changes, including paid sick leave, to protect working Americans and those put at severe economic risk from coronavirus.
Federal Preparedness
The Atlantic (Ideas): The U.S. Isn’t Ready for What’s About to Happen
The Atlantic: What Could Happen if the Coronavirus Closed Schools for Days, Weeks, or Even Months
Bloomberg: U.S. Moves From Containment to Preparing for Daily Disruptions
Bloomberg: Trump Virus Adviser Is a Rarity in White House Ruled by Loyalty
Bloomberg: Fauci Says Sense on Coronavirus Scope Is ‘Not Encouraging’
Bloomberg: Trump’s Aides Drafting Economic Measures to Combat Virus Fallout
HuffPost: The Coronavirus Outbreak Is About To Put Hospital Capacity To A Severe Test
Kaiser Health News: Surging Health Care Worker Quarantines Raise Concerns As Coronavirus Spreads
Los Angeles Times: ‘We’re past the point of containment’: Coronavirus fight enters new phase
Miami Herald: State Department warns against traveling by cruise ship during coronavirus outbreak
New York Times: Not His First Epidemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci Sticks to the Facts
New York Times: U.S. Health Experts Say Stricter Measures Are Required to Limit Coronavirus’s Spread
Politico: Top health official to older Americans: ‘Don’t get on a cruise ship’
Politico: Health officials shift tone on coronavirus, say elderly and sick at risk
Talking Points Memo: Surgeon General On Admin’s Coronavirus Rhetoric: ‘Messaging Is Hard’
Vox: The Trump administration doesn’t yet have a plan to handle Grand Princess coronavirus cases, officials say
Washington Post: Health agencies’ funding cuts challenge coronavirus response
Washington Post: With global economy in balance, the White House and Fed are at odds over how to help
Affordability and Access
New York Times (Editorial): With Coronavirus, ‘Health Care for Some’ Is a Recipe for Disaster
New York Times: Coronavirus Highlights the Pitfalls of Health Deductibles
Popular Information: Free breadsticks during a coronavirus outbreak
Slate (Opinion): Medicaid for All Who Face the Coronavirus
Leadership
Daily Beast: Surgeon General to Jake Tapper: Trump Is ‘Healthier’ Than I Am
New York Times: State Dept. Tells Americans to Avoid Cruise Ships, Despite Trump’s Misgivings
New York Times (Opinion): Trump, His Eye on the Border, Overlooked the Coronavirus Threat
New York Times (Analysis): For Trump, Coronavirus Proves to Be an Enemy He Can’t Tweet Away
New Yorker (Comment): Trump in the Time of the Coronavirus
Slate: Trump Plays Golf While Coronavirus Cases Surge
Washington Examiner (Opinion): Coronavirus is exposing Trump’s unsuitability to handle a crisis
Washington Post: Coronavirus case at CPAC brings outbreak closer to Trump, threatening to upend his routine amid reelection bid
Washington Post (Analysis): After stopping at the CDC on his way to Mar-a-Lago, Trump heads to the golf course two days in a row
Congressional Activity
Axios: Ted Cruz to self-quarantine after contact with coronavirus patient
KAFF: Congressman Paul Gosar Says He Will Stay In Arizona After COVID-19 Scare At CPAC
NBC: Anxiety in an aging Congress as coronavirus marches across U.S.
Economic Impacts
Bloomberg: Apple’s Cook Offers Work From Home This Week to Many Global Employees
CNBC: Dow set to tank 1,300 points, Treasury yields crater as oil crashes amid all-out price war
New York Times: Surge of Virus Misinformation Stumps Facebook and Twitter
Politico: America’s workers face an outbreak of uncertainty
In The States
California
New York Times: Failures on the Diamond Princess Shadow Another Cruise Ship Outbreak
Kansas
Kansas City Star: As coronavirus arrives, Kansas confronts history of underfunding public health
New Jersey
Politico: CDC has yet to confirm any of New Jersey’s 6 presumed coronavirus cases
New York
Bloomberg: New York Coronavirus Test Delays Meant Days Without Diagnosis
Bloomberg: De Blasio Expects Hundreds of New NYC Cases in Coming Weeks
New York Post: FDNY issues order pulling back firefighters from calls describing coronavirus symptoms; says it is prioritizing responses
New York Times: Coronavirus in N.Y.: Cuomo Attacks C.D.C. Over Delays in Testing
Washington
CNN: This nursing home is at the center of Washington’s coronavirus. Here’s what one first responder saw there
Seattle Times: Mourning losses and unsure of what’s to come, Seattle area watches warily as coronavirus spreads
Washington, DC
Washington Post: D.C.’s first coronavirus case is church rector; Virginia has second presumptive case, bringing region’s total to 7
Trump Tweets
“The Fake News Media and their partner, the Democrat Party, is doing everything within its semi-considerable power (it used to be greater!) to inflame the CoronaVirus situation, far beyond what the facts would warrant. Surgeon General, ‘The risk is low to the average American.’” [@realDonaldTrump, 3/9/20]
“We have a perfectly coordinated and fine tuned plan at the White House for our attack on CoronaVirus. We moved VERY early to close borders to certain areas, which was a Godsend. V.P. is doing a great job. The Fake News Media is doing everything possible to make us look bad. Sad!” [@realDonaldTrump, 3/8/20]
