Driving the Day: According to the Washington Post, “U.S. intelligence agencies were issuing ominous, classified warnings in January and February about the global danger posed by the coronavirus while President Trump and lawmakers played down the threat and failed to take action that might have slowed the spread of the pathogen, according to U.S. officials familiar with spy agency reporting.”
Trump Quote of the Day: Peter Alexander (NBC): What do you say to Americans who are watching you right now who are scared? President Trump: I say that you’re a terrible reporter. That’s what I say.
What to Watch For: President Trump will hold a phone call with veteran service organization leadership on coronavirus response. The coronavirus task force will hold a press briefing at 12:00 PM. Negotiations on the phase three economic relief package are ongoing on the Hill.
Coronavirus Update:
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Throughout the day Friday, confusion continued about whether the president was invoking the Defense Production Act authorizing him to direct production of necessary medical supplies. On Friday morning, Trump told Sen. Chuck Schumer that he would be invoking the Act, but during the daily press briefing Trump said only that he was “literally being besieged” by companies that want to help and Vice President Pence emphasized that companies were “volunteering” to produce and distribute supplies.
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Asked by NBC reporter Peter Alexander if he had a message for Americans who are scared, Trump responded, “I say that you’re a terrible reporter, that’s what I say.” Trump’s attack Alexander came hours after NBC News announced the death of one of its staff from COVID-19. Trump concluded his Friday briefing by stating that he and his administration “haven’t been given the credit we deserve.”
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Trump continued to enthusiastically promote the use of two unproven malaria drugs to treat coronavirus, saying that he just has a “feeling” that the drugs will work because he’s “a smart guy.” Trump was corrected by Dr. Anthony Fauci who repeatedly stated that there is only anecdotal evidence that the drugs could be effective and that more testing was needed. Trump dismissed ongoing reports about widespread unavailability of testing by saying that he’s”not hearing it.” Minutes later Dr. Fauci said that it was a “reality” that there aren’t enough tests and “we are not there yet.” Trump continued to blame testing failures on the “broken, old, bad system” he inherited from Obama.
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At the daily press briefing, Mike Pence announced a “major federal procurement” of masks, but did not say how many were being procured or when they would be in the hands of health care workers. Pence said he was “more encouraged than ever” about the availability of N95 masks, even as the CDC told hospitals to consider using bandanas in lieu of masks as supplies run short. HHS Secretary Alex Azar seemed to dismiss widespread reports of medical shortages saying, “Some of it is just they aren’t listening or checking with us about all the freedom, all the capacities out there.”
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Late Friday night it was announced that a member of the vice president’s staff had been diagnosed with coronavirus.
By The Numbers
Saturday, March 21, 2020, 9:30 AM
Number of US cases reported:17,962
Number of US deaths: 239
Total Number of People Tested in US: 150,613 (may not include private labs)
ABC: Coronavirus upends nation, as three in four Americans’ lives changed by pandemic: POLL
New York Times (Opinion): The Best-Case Outcome for the Coronavirus, and the Worst
New York Times: Coronavirus Could Overwhelm U.S. Without Urgent Action, Estimates Say
Federal Health Response
Affordability and Inequality
Kaiser Health News: Hoping That Insurance Expansion Will Help Tamp Outbreak, 9 States Reopen Marketplaces
Time: Total Cost of Her COVID-19 Treatment: $34,927.43
Diplomacy
Bloomberg: Trump, U.S. Officials Escalate Allegation China Hid Virus Spread
Reuters: U.S. to Iran: Coronavirus won’t save you from sanctions
Washington Post: Trump’s ambassador to South Africa was at Mar-a-Lago dinner with infected Brazilian
Immigration and Travel
Wall Street Journal: U.S. Keeps Processing Seasonal Worker Visas After Warning From Farmers
Washington Post: The Peace Corps isn’t just bringing home 7,300 volunteers because of the coronavirus. It’s firing them.
National Security
Associated Press: Returning troops denied water, bathrooms under quarantine
Defense One: Defense Contractors Can Go To Work Amid State & Local Lockdowns, Pentagon Says
ProPublica: The Veterans Health Administration Has Banned Even Administrative Employees From Working From Home
Talking Points Memo: 4,000 National Guard Troops Deployed Across Country To Combat COVID-19
Washington Post (Opinion): Former intelligence chiefs: Trump’s removal of experts is deeply destructive to our nation’s safety
Preparedness
Daily Beast: Congress Wanted Answers From Trump on Coronavirus. He Blew Them Off.
Kaiser Health News: Funeral Homes, Families Ponder Deaths In The Age Of COVID-19
Kansas City Star: ‘People need to wake up.’ A skeptical rural U.S. lacks resources for coronavirus fight
McClatchy: Navy hospital ship Mercy sails next week to aid West Coast strained by coronavirus
Politico: Emergency coronavirus funds for American Indian health stalled
Wall Street Journal: River Towns Gearing Up for Flood Season as Pandemic Looms
Washington Blade: Despite call to donate blood amid coronavirus crisis, FDA firm on gay ban
Washington Post: U.S. intelligence reports from January and February warned about a likely pandemic
Washington Post: CDC, the top U.S. public health agency, is sidelined during coronavirus pandemic
Washington Post (Analysis): Was the White House office for global pandemics eliminated?
Shortages
ABC News: Amid Shortage, Pence Says Millions Of Masks Available ‘Now’ For Hospitals To Buy
The Atlantic (Ideas): Where are the Masks?
Buzzfeed: People Are Digging Up Masks From Garages And Warehouses To Give To Medical Workers
Kaiser Health News: Mask Shortage Straps Pharmacists Who Need Them To Keep Medicines Pure
McClatchy: Trump to announce ‘major’ purchase of N95 coronavirus masks. McConnell wants more
NBC: AMA head: Lack of protective gear for health care workers is ‘unacceptable’
New York Times: Distilleries Race to Make Hand Sanitizer Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
Politico: Schumer urges Trump to invoke Defense Production Act to rush medical equipment to providers
ProPublica: As Doctors And Nurses Grow Desperate For Protective Gear, They Fear They’re Infecting Patients
ProPublica: The White House Asked Manufacturers for Help, Then Gave Them No Clear Instructions
Reuters: Faced With A Shortage Of Face Masks, Some U.S. Doctors Make Their Own
Washington Post: Hospital Workers Battling Coronavirus Turn To Bandannas, Sports Goggles And Homemade Face Shields Amid Shortages
Social Distancing
HuffPost: Why Social Distancing Could Go On A Lot Longer Than We Think
Testing
Bloomberg: Google Coronavirus Website Launches a Week After Trump Tout
Business Insider: For more than 2 weeks, state labs were told they couldn’t use the CDC’s coronavirus tests — but the tests could have been used all along
CNN: Scammers use robocalls to falsely offer free coronavirus test kits and low-priced health insurance
NBC: Companies are rushing to introduce coronavirus testing kits — and so are scam artists
New York Times: Can’t Get Tested? Maybe You’re in the Wrong Country
Politico: States still waiting on coronavirus tests as Trump tells them to do more
Reuters: How One Elite New York Medical Provider Got Its Patients Coronavirus Tests
Wall Street Journal: America Needed Coronavirus Tests. The Government Failed.=
Treatment
New York Times: Trump’s Embrace of Unproven Drugs to Treat Coronavirus Defies Science
Stat: Trump says his belief in one potential coronavirus drug is ‘just a feeling’
Talking Points Memo: Trump Plays Doctor, Hyping Anti-Malaria Drug For COVID-19 Treatment
Federal Economic Response
Bloomberg: Industries Hit by Coronavirus Vie for U.S. Aid
Bloomberg: Mnuchin Sees GOP Bill as Too Small, Wants Broader Cash Payments
Reuters: U.S. coal mining industry seeks wide-ranging coronavirus bailout: letter
Vox (Opinion): Senate Republicans’ cash assistance plan is far too limited
Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration Asks States to Keep Quiet About Jobless Figures
Washington Post: Senate dives into negotiations on trillion-dollar stimulus bill as economic calamity grows
Washington Post: U.S. economy deteriorating faster than anticipated as 80 million Americans are forced to stay at home
Leadership
Associated Press: Trump angrily defends his handling of pandemic
The Atlantic (Ideas): Donald Trump’s Cult of Personality Did This
Bloomberg: Trump Oversells Breakthroughs in Boasts of U.S. Virus Response
CNN: Trump peddles unsubstantiated hope in dark times
Daily Beast: Has the U.S. Surgeon General Caught a Bad Case of Trumpism?
New York Magazine: The 5 Scariest Moments From Trump’s Coronavirus Briefing Today
New York Times: Trump Resists Pressure to Use Wartime Law to Mobilize Industry in Virus Response
New York Times: Under the Virus’s Cloak, Trump Pursues Long-Sought Policies
New York Times: The War on Coronavirus Comes to Trump Properties
New York Times (Opinion): Don’t Let Trump Off the Hook
Politico: Pence staffer tests positive for coronavirus
Stat: ‘A number of new stars’: The definitive guide to the Trump administration’s coronavirus response team
Washington Post: Trump’s clubs and hotels, including Mar-a-Lago, suffer from coronavirus fallout
Congress
Atlanta Journal Constitution: Perdue, Loeffler among senators whose stock trading during coronavirus raises questions
Bloomberg: U.S. Senators Sold Stock After Coronavirus Briefings in January
Bloomberg: The Stocks Senators Unloaded Before the Coronavirus Crash
McClatchy: Pelosi, McConnell won’t promise remote voting as coronavirus hits home on Capitol Hill
New York Times: Stock Sales by Senator Richard Burr Ignite Political Uproar
Hospitals
Kaiser Health News: Millions Of Older Americans Live In Counties With No ICU Beds As Pandemic Intensifies
New York Times: Idled Cruise Line’s Offer: Use Our Ships as Hospitals. Is That a Good Idea?
New Yorker: Keeping the Coronavirus from Infecting Health-Care Workers
NPR: Coronavirus Threatens Rural Hospitals Already At The Financial Brink
Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Cases Strain New York City Hospitals: ‘We’re Getting Pounded’
Washington Post (Analysis): 1 in 8 Trump voters lives in a county with no ICU beds
Democratic Response
Bloomberg: Virus Fears Creep Into Campaign Ad War Dominated by Health Care
CNBC: Democrats shift fundraising strategies amid coronavirus crisis as they seek to beat Trump, GOP
Crooked Media: How Democrats Should Navigate Pandemic Politics
Washington Post (Opinion): A brutal new ad uses Trump’s own words against him
Campaigns and Elections
Politico: Coronavirus Shock Slams Campaign Fundraising
Politico: Indiana becomes seventh state to postpone presidential primary
Politico: Laid-off Bloomberg staffers exposed to coronavirus
Politico: ’There’s no playbook for this’: Biden trapped in campaign limbo
New York Times (Opinion): We Can’t Let Coronavirus Postpone Elections
Texas Tribune: Citing coronavirus threat, Texas Democrats sue to expand mail-in voting
Vox: How to make sure everyone can vote during the coronavirus pandemic
International
Financial Times: Putin keeps political plan on track despite virus crisis
New York Times: ‘Wash Our Hands? Some People Can’t Wash Their Kids for a Week.’
Washington Post: U.K. asks Rolls-Royce and Jaguar to make ventilators in wartime-like effort
Washington Post: Italian doctor dies of coronavirus after reportedly having to treat patients without gloves
Workers
CNN: Andrew Yang’s non-profit to spend more than $1 million to aid working families impacted by coronavirus
HuffPost: House Cleaners Are Out Of Work And Unprotected During The Coronavirus Outbreak
HuffPost: Kroger Is Denying Paid Leave To Quarantined Workers, Despite Promises
New York Times (Opinion): Pay Your House Cleaner Anyway
Variety: Netflix Creates $100 Million Coronavirus Relief Fund
Economic Impacts
Associated Press: $10 Toilet Paper? Coronavirus Gouging Complaints Surge In US
Bloomberg: The Fragile System Supplying Food to the World Is Under Strain
New York Times: The Staggering Rise In Jobless Claims This Week
New York Times: Coronavirus Layoff Surge Overwhelms Unemployment Offices
New York Times: Coronavirus and Poverty: A Mother Skips Meals So Her Children Can Eat
Reuters: Walmart To Hire 150,000 Workers As Shoppers Surge On Coronavirus Fears
Washington Post: As Layoffs Skyrocket Because Of Coronavirus, The Holes In America’s Safety Net Are Becoming Apparent
Washington Post: ‘If coronavirus doesn’t get us, starvation will’: A growing number of Americans say they can’t afford to stock up on groceries
Science
The Atlantic: Why the Coronavirus Has Been So Successful
New York Times: Young Adults Come to Grips With Coronavirus Health Risks
Social Impacts
NBC: Coronavirus is a ‘personal nightmare’ for people with OCD and anxiety disorders
Vice: Coronavirus Quarantine Is Hell for People With Anxiety Disorders: ‘I Couldn’t Stop Clicking On Everything’
Personal Preparedness
Bloomberg: How You Can Help Support Workers in Virus-Stricken Restaurant Industry
HuffPost: In The Time Of Coronavirus, This Is How We Party
In The States
Arizona
Washington Post: An airplane graveyard fills up. Grocery stores empty out. Scenes from Arizona during coronavirus.
California
CNN: Marijuana dispensaries are deemed ‘essential’ in LA, allowed to stay open during coronavirus order
Los Angeles Times: L.A. County gives up on containing coronavirus, tells doctors to skip testing of some patients
NBC: California tests strict limits on daily life to halt the spread of coronavirus
Politico: California construction workers prepare to mobilize for coronavirus surge response
Colorado
Denver Post: San Miguel County orders residents to shelter in place before countywide coronavirus testing
New York
Associated Press: Cuomo Emerges As Democratic Counter To Trump Virus Response
New York Post: Coronavirus killing more than a person an hour in NYC
Talking Points Memo: Cuomo Orders All But Essential NY Workforce To Stay Home
Trump Tweets
“Today I spoke with our Nation’s Small Businesses, which employ nearly half of America’s workforce. We are taking the MOST aggressive action in history to deliver fast relief to your businesses and workers. We will always protect our Small Businesses! @SBAgov” [@realDonaldTrump, 3/20/19]