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Coronavirus Live Updates: C.D.C. Recommends Wearing Masks in Public; Trump Says, ‘I’m Choosing Not to Do It’ Coronavirus Live Updates: C.D.C. Recommends Wearing Masks in Public; Trump Says, ‘I’m Choosing Not to Do It’
(about 2 hours later)
新冠病毒疫情最新消息新冠病毒疫情最新消息
President Trump said on Friday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was urging all Americans to wear a mask when they leave their homes, but he immediately undercut the message by repeatedly calling the recommendation voluntary and saying that he would not wear one himself.President Trump said on Friday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was urging all Americans to wear a mask when they leave their homes, but he immediately undercut the message by repeatedly calling the recommendation voluntary and saying that he would not wear one himself.
“With the masks, it is going to be a voluntary thing,” the president said at the beginning of the daily coronavirus briefing at the White House. “You can do it. You don’t have to do it. I am choosing not to do it. It may be good. It is only a recommendation, voluntary.”“With the masks, it is going to be a voluntary thing,” the president said at the beginning of the daily coronavirus briefing at the White House. “You can do it. You don’t have to do it. I am choosing not to do it. It may be good. It is only a recommendation, voluntary.”
“Wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens — I don’t know,” he added, though he stopped receiving foreign dignitaries weeks ago. “Somehow, I just don’t see it for myself.”“Wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens — I don’t know,” he added, though he stopped receiving foreign dignitaries weeks ago. “Somehow, I just don’t see it for myself.”
Mr. Trump’s announcement, followed by his quick dismissal, was a remarkable public display of the intense debate that has played out inside the West Wing over the past several days as a divided administration argued about whether to request such a drastic change in Americans’ social behavior.Mr. Trump’s announcement, followed by his quick dismissal, was a remarkable public display of the intense debate that has played out inside the West Wing over the past several days as a divided administration argued about whether to request such a drastic change in Americans’ social behavior.
And it came at a particularly contentious briefing where the president insulted reporters, jousted with his own administration and returned to pugilistic form.And it came at a particularly contentious briefing where the president insulted reporters, jousted with his own administration and returned to pugilistic form.
Mr. Trump again dismissed the recommendation of Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, for a national stay-at-home order, saying he would leave such demands to the governors. But he did say that the federal government would pay hospitals to treat coronavirus patients, instead of allowing people to buy heavily subsidized insurance on the Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges, as many Democrats have urged.Mr. Trump again dismissed the recommendation of Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, for a national stay-at-home order, saying he would leave such demands to the governors. But he did say that the federal government would pay hospitals to treat coronavirus patients, instead of allowing people to buy heavily subsidized insurance on the Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges, as many Democrats have urged.
The mask debate has played out in public and in private. Mr. Trump said Americans who choose to comply with the C.D.C.’s recommendation should use a basic cloth or face mask, not medical- or surgical-grade masks that are used by hospital workers and emergency workers. He also said people must still follow social distancing guidelines, which he called the “safest way to avoid the infection.”The mask debate has played out in public and in private. Mr. Trump said Americans who choose to comply with the C.D.C.’s recommendation should use a basic cloth or face mask, not medical- or surgical-grade masks that are used by hospital workers and emergency workers. He also said people must still follow social distancing guidelines, which he called the “safest way to avoid the infection.”
Senior officials at the C.D.C. have been pushing the president for days to advise everyone — even people who appear to be healthy — to wear a mask or a scarf that covers their mouth and nose when shopping at the grocery store or while in other public places.Senior officials at the C.D.C. have been pushing the president for days to advise everyone — even people who appear to be healthy — to wear a mask or a scarf that covers their mouth and nose when shopping at the grocery store or while in other public places.
President Trump would not say, in response to a question, whether he is taking steps to ensure that the 2020 presidential will take place as scheduled if the coronavirus is still present this fall, but he insisted the election would not be postponed. President Trump said on Friday night that he planned to nominate a member of the White House counsel’s office to be the special inspector general to oversee the Treasury Department’s $500 billion bailout fund.
“The general election will happen on Nov. 3,” Mr. Trump said. Mr. Trump’s selection, Brian D. Miller, is a former federal prosecutor who spent nine years as the inspector general of the General Services Administration. Mr. Miller was nominated for that post in 2004 by President George W. Bush.
Mr. Trump added that he does not approve of voting by mail, an idea gaining currency amid concerns that in-person voting would expose people to the coronavirus. “I think a lot of people cheat with mail-in in voting,” he said. “It should be, you go to a booth and you proudly display yourself.” The special inspector general is one of several oversight mechanisms created as part of the $2 trillion economic relief package that Congress passed last week. The position will be closely scrutinized as lawmakers from both parties have been calling for Mr. Trump to fill the role expeditiously to ensure that the stimulus money is doled out with transparency and that fraud and favoritism are avoided.
“It shouldn’t be mailed in,” he added. “You should vote at the booth and have voter ID.” The president raised alarm last week when, after signing the legislation, he released a statement that suggested he had the power to decide what information a newly created inspector general intended to monitor the fund could share with Congress.
On Sunday, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. said that all states “should be beginning to plan” for the possibility of conducting their elections by mail because of the coronavirus pandemic. Mr. Miller joined the White House, where he is a special assistant to the president and a senior associate counsel, in December 2018. That role is expected to be a red flag for Mr. Trump’s critics, who have accused the White House of stonewalling Congress and withholding information during various investigations as well as the president’s impeachment inquiry.
“I don’t want to go that far ahead, but that is possible,” Mr. Biden, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I think we should be looking into all-mail ballots across the board to begin with because it’s an easier way for people to vote.” New York, the increasingly battered epicenter of the nation’s coronavirus outbreak, on Friday reported its highest number of deaths in a single day, prompting state officials to beg the rest of the United States for assistance and to enact an emergency order designed to stave off medical catastrophe.
With New York City officials warning that they are days away from a “D-Day” when the pandemic will overwhelm hospitals, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York said Friday he had signed an executive order letting him move ventilators from hospitals with lower needs to those with dire shortages. And he made a plea for a similar redistribution on a national level. In the 24 hours through 12 a.m. on Friday, 562 people — or one almost every two-and-a-half minutes — died from the virus in New York State, bringing the total death toll to nearly 3,000, double what it was only three days before. In the same period, 1,427 newly sickened patients poured into the hospitals — another one-day high — although the rate of increase in hospitalizations seemed to stabilize, suggesting that the extreme social-distancing measures put in place last month may have started working.
“I’m not going to let people die because we didn’t redistribute ventilators,” Mr. Cuomo said as he announced that the state now had more than 100,000 known cases and its death toll had reached 2,935 after its biggest one-day increase. The state’s death toll has nearly doubled in the last three days. Despite the glimmer of hope, the new statistics were a stark reminder of the gale-force strength of the crisis that is threatening New York, where more than 102,000 people — nearly as many as in Italy and Spain, the hardest-hit European countries with about 120,000 cases each — have now tested positive for the virus. The situation, as it has been for weeks, was particularly dire in New York City, where some hospitals have reported running out of body bags and others have begun to plan for the unthinkable prospect of rationing care.
Mr. Cuomo was blunt about the looming shortage of lifesaving ventilators, saying “we don’t have enough — period.” “It is hard to put fully into words what we are all grappling with as we navigate our way through this pandemic,” Vicki L. LoPachin, the chief medical officer of the Mount Sinai Health System, wrote in an email to the staff on Friday. “We are healing so many and comforting those we can’t save — one precious life at a time.”
The governor made a plea for a national redeployment of medical personnel and equipment from states where the virus has yet to hit in full force to New York, which has by far the most cases and the most deaths. And he said that after New York’s peak in the days to come, those resources could then be sent to the next hot spots. Around the country, the total number of coronavirus cases spiked sharply as of Friday afternoon, exceeding 275,000, with more than 7,000 total deaths. After New York, New Jersey was the state with the highest rate of infection. Globally, more than one million people had been infected and nearly 60,000 had died.
“Now, it’s not a perfect sequential timing, but if you look at the projected curves — when it’s going to hit Michigan, when it’s going to hit Illinois, when it’s going to hit Florida, you’ll see that there is a timing sequence to it,” Mr. Cuomo said. Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said Friday that the government would “move supplies creatively around the country to meet the needs of both the front line health care providers but also every American who needs our support right now.”
“Why not — or what is the alternative — to now saying let’s help each other, let’s focus on each situation as it develops, and let’s move our resources and personnel as it develops,” he said, noting that the federal government could not make up the shortfall. “What is the alternative to the crisis that we see looming nationwide?” The Pentagon is considering letting two Navy hospital ships dispatched to New York and California take patients who test positive for the novel coronavirus, Defense Department officials said Friday. A decision could come in the next few days.
“It’s in the American DNA to say we’re here to help one another,” Mr. Cuomo said.
New York City’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, has been warning that the city is just days away from a “D-Day” when the outbreak will overwhelm the health care system, and made his own plea for bringing in health care workers from elsewhere.
“Unless there is a national effort to enlist doctors, nurses, hospital workers of all kinds and get them where they are needed most in the country in time,” Mr. de Blasio said on MSNBC Friday morning. “I don’t see, honestly, how we’re going to have the professionals we need to get through this crisis.”
The crisis is hitting New York City particularly hard. Nearly 50,000 people have tested positive and 1,500 have died in the city, more than 1,000 of them in the past week alone. The city’s emergency medical system is becoming overwhelmed.
One out of every six New York City police officers is out sick or in quarantine, placing serious strains on the department at a time when its 36,000 officers have been asked to enforce emergency rules intended to slow its spread. A veteran detective and five civilian workers have died from the disease caused by the virus.
Mr. Cuomo said that the need for more beds for virus patients had grown so acute that he had sought, and won, permission for the 2,500-bed emergency hospital operated by the military in the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, which was originally intended for people without the virus, to begin accepting patients with it. He thanked Mr. Trump for pushing through the change “despite the fact that federal agencies were not eager to do it.”
Nearly four billion people on the planet — half of humanity — found themselves on Friday under some sort of order to stay in their homes.Nearly four billion people on the planet — half of humanity — found themselves on Friday under some sort of order to stay in their homes.
But some U.S. states are still resisting the most stringent measures, including North and South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa. So was Alabama, until Friday evening, when Gov. Kay Ivey announced that she was issuing a stay-at-home order statewide, effective 5 p.m. local time on Saturday.But some U.S. states are still resisting the most stringent measures, including North and South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa. So was Alabama, until Friday evening, when Gov. Kay Ivey announced that she was issuing a stay-at-home order statewide, effective 5 p.m. local time on Saturday.
Ms. Ivey had urged residents to stay at home and ordered the closure of nonessential businesses. But as the number of cases rose at a fast clip this week, she said the previous measures had not been enough to stop the virus’s spread.Ms. Ivey had urged residents to stay at home and ordered the closure of nonessential businesses. But as the number of cases rose at a fast clip this week, she said the previous measures had not been enough to stop the virus’s spread.
“It is now the law,” Ms. Ivey said of the stay-at-home order at a news conference on Friday afternoon. “Bottom line: Folks just aren’t paying attention.”“It is now the law,” Ms. Ivey said of the stay-at-home order at a news conference on Friday afternoon. “Bottom line: Folks just aren’t paying attention.”
Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas had denied on Tuesday that his newly toughened social-distancing rules amounted to a statewide stay-at-home order, but his spokesman acknowledged Friday that they did.Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas had denied on Tuesday that his newly toughened social-distancing rules amounted to a statewide stay-at-home order, but his spokesman acknowledged Friday that they did.
Asked at his daily White House news briefing if he might issue a national stay-at-home order, President Trump demurred. “I leave it up to the governors,” he said.Asked at his daily White House news briefing if he might issue a national stay-at-home order, President Trump demurred. “I leave it up to the governors,” he said.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said that he believed that social-distancing measures should be extended to every state.Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said that he believed that social-distancing measures should be extended to every state.
“You know, the tension between federally mandated versus states’ rights to do what they want is something I don’t want to get into,” he told CNN on Thursday. “But if you look at what’s going on in this country, I just don’t understand why we’re not doing that.”“You know, the tension between federally mandated versus states’ rights to do what they want is something I don’t want to get into,” he told CNN on Thursday. “But if you look at what’s going on in this country, I just don’t understand why we’re not doing that.”
But the virus’s ferocious global assault continues. At least one million infections have been detected worldwide, but experts suspect the true number is far larger because of asymptomatic cases and delays in widespread testing. The Australian medical chief estimated that there are between five million and 10 million cases.But the virus’s ferocious global assault continues. At least one million infections have been detected worldwide, but experts suspect the true number is far larger because of asymptomatic cases and delays in widespread testing. The Australian medical chief estimated that there are between five million and 10 million cases.
More U.S. governors have invoked their “police powers” to order businesses closed to combat the pandemic, and some Americans are turning to the courts, either suspicious of such sweeping measures or in the hope of protecting their livelihoods.More U.S. governors have invoked their “police powers” to order businesses closed to combat the pandemic, and some Americans are turning to the courts, either suspicious of such sweeping measures or in the hope of protecting their livelihoods.
Specific, local grievances, like a Pennsylvania golf course that wants to be declared “life-sustaining” so it would not be subject to a closure order, are at the root of various lawsuits rooted in the Fifth Amendment, which requires due process and guarantees compensation for property seized by the government.Specific, local grievances, like a Pennsylvania golf course that wants to be declared “life-sustaining” so it would not be subject to a closure order, are at the root of various lawsuits rooted in the Fifth Amendment, which requires due process and guarantees compensation for property seized by the government.
Other constitutional amendments have been invoked in numerous cases attempting to force open gun stores, or to argue that efforts to curb the virus should not outweigh rights like freedom of assembly and religion.Other constitutional amendments have been invoked in numerous cases attempting to force open gun stores, or to argue that efforts to curb the virus should not outweigh rights like freedom of assembly and religion.
“Those may be serious, but they may also be part of an attempt to make an argument in the press about overreach,” said Tom Burke, a political-science professor at Wellesley College who studies the politics of litigation.“Those may be serious, but they may also be part of an attempt to make an argument in the press about overreach,” said Tom Burke, a political-science professor at Wellesley College who studies the politics of litigation.
Russian authorities detained the leader of an independent doctors’ union, an outspoken critic of the Kremlin who has dismissed as “lies” the country’s low official numbers for coronavirus infections.
Anastasia Vasilieva, the head of the Alliance of Doctors, was stopped by the police on Thursday and held overnight while traveling from Moscow to an impoverished rural town to deliver masks, gloves and other supplies to a hospital, according to a colleague who was traveling with her.
The detention of Dr. Vasilieva, an eye specialist who has been highly critical of Russia’s response to the pandemic, added fuel to already widespread skepticism, particularly among Kremlin critics, about the accuracy of official figures showing relatively few coronavirus cases in Russia. Her detention also increased skepticism about the readiness of Russia’s health care system to cope with the pandemic.
A group of doctors at a hospital in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second biggest city, released a video on Friday appealing to the public for help in obtaining the protective equipment they said they needed to treat coronavirus patients.
Maria Bakhldina, the head doctor at the hospital, speaking to Fontanka, a news site in the city, dismissed the doctors complaints as “untrue.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday called for another sweeping government aid package to build on the more than $2 trillion stimulus enacted last week, indicating that Democrats would wait to pursue an infrastructure plan and instead focus on urgent action to help Americans weather the economic shocks brought on by the pandemic.
“We must extend and expand this bipartisan legislation to meet the needs of the American people,” Ms. Pelosi, Democrat of California, said in a statement Friday after the release of devastating job figures that reflected the beginning of the virus’s impact on the labor market.
“It is imperative that we go bigger and further assisting small business, to go longer in unemployment benefits and provide additional resources,” to process jobless claims, “and more direct payments for families,” she said.
It was only a few days ago that Ms. Pelosi called for the next phase of virus aid legislation to include an expansive infrastructure program to create thousands of jobs, a goal that was quickly endorsed by Mr. Trump but panned by Republican leaders who said it had nothing to do with confronting the crisis.
The global economy has been shaken by the coronavirus pandemic, and 10 million jobs in the United States have been vaporized in just two weeks. Global stocks, which had surged on Thursday after a wishful tweet from Mr. Trump about the oil markets, dipped again on Friday amid growing fears that the pain will be profound and prolonged.
While Republican leaders have cast doubt on whether another relief bill would be necessary, Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, reversed course on Friday. “There will be a next measure,” he told The Associated Press.
Navy hospital ships dispatched to New York and California could end up taking patients who test positive for the novel coronavirus, Defense Department officials said Friday, in a turnaround from previous policy that sought to keep the ships virus-free.
General Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the Defense Department is “reassessing” whether to allow coronavirus patients aboard the ships, the Comfort and the Mercy. A decision could come in the next few days.
His comments came after New York hospital executives complained Thursday that the Comfort was sitting in New York Harbor largely empty while hospitals in the city were overrun. By late Thursday, only 20 patients had been transferred to the Comfort, even as New York hospitals struggled to find space for the thousands infected with the coronavirus. The Mercy, docked in Los Angeles, had a total of 15 patients as of Thursday night, officials said.
A coronavirus outbreak at a San Antonio nursing home has infected 66 of the facility’s 84 residents and killed an additional resident, the largest spread of the virus at a Texas long-term care facility, city and county officials said Friday.A coronavirus outbreak at a San Antonio nursing home has infected 66 of the facility’s 84 residents and killed an additional resident, the largest spread of the virus at a Texas long-term care facility, city and county officials said Friday.
Eight of the facility’s workers have already tested positive, and a number of the staff members have worked at other nursing homes in the San Antonio region. Local officials were rushing Friday to perform additional tests and to track down all 60 employees at the facility, the Southeast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.Eight of the facility’s workers have already tested positive, and a number of the staff members have worked at other nursing homes in the San Antonio region. Local officials were rushing Friday to perform additional tests and to track down all 60 employees at the facility, the Southeast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
“This morning we launched an aggressive, multi-layered response to try to get our arms around the extent of this local outbreak,” Charles Hood, the San Antonio fire chief, said at a news conference on Friday.“This morning we launched an aggressive, multi-layered response to try to get our arms around the extent of this local outbreak,” Charles Hood, the San Antonio fire chief, said at a news conference on Friday.
Two of the eight infected employees worked in other facilities, and those employees who have not been tested worked in at least seven nursing homes in the city. Such crossover of workers at multiple sites was one of the factors that contributed to a deadly coronavirus outbreak in nursing homes near Seattle, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a recent report.Two of the eight infected employees worked in other facilities, and those employees who have not been tested worked in at least seven nursing homes in the city. Such crossover of workers at multiple sites was one of the factors that contributed to a deadly coronavirus outbreak in nursing homes near Seattle, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a recent report.
In San Antonio, medical-response teams were visiting the seven facilities where Southeast employees may have worked to test all residents and workers who show symptoms. Officials were also planning to visit and evaluate 34 nursing homes that have received the lowest federal ratings.In San Antonio, medical-response teams were visiting the seven facilities where Southeast employees may have worked to test all residents and workers who show symptoms. Officials were also planning to visit and evaluate 34 nursing homes that have received the lowest federal ratings.
City officials on Friday amended previously issued emergency orders, to prohibit nursing-home employees from working in multiple facilities.City officials on Friday amended previously issued emergency orders, to prohibit nursing-home employees from working in multiple facilities.
President Trump would not say, in response to a question, whether he is taking steps to ensure that the 2020 presidential will take place as scheduled if the coronavirus is still present this fall, but he insisted the election would not be postponed.
“The general election will happen on Nov. 3,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump added that he does not approve of voting by mail, an idea gaining currency amid concerns that in-person voting would expose people to the coronavirus. “I think a lot of people cheat with mail-in in voting,” he said. “It should be, you go to a booth and you proudly display yourself.”
“It shouldn’t be mailed in,” he added. “You should vote at the booth and have voter ID.”
On Sunday, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. said that all states “should be beginning to plan” for the possibility of conducting their elections by mail because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I don’t want to go that far ahead, but that is possible,” Mr. Biden, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I think we should be looking into all-mail ballots across the board to begin with because it’s an easier way for people to vote.”
We know, based on data collected in China, Italy, South Korea and Spain and other countries, that men are more likely to die of coronavirus than women. But the United States — which is collecting data on the ages of confirmed cases and of those who die — is not breaking down its data by sex.
These figures would be informative to vaccine production efforts, in large part because viruses affect women and men differently, health experts say. Men and women are also likely to have different reactions to vaccines and drugs.
Multiple viruses in the past — including for SARS, influenza, H.I.V. and Ebola — were found to have different effects on men and women.
A recent study from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China, found that women infected with the coronavirus had a higher level of antibodies than men.
“That, in and of itself, should be evidence for why every country should be disaggregating their data,” said Sabra Klein, a scientist who studies sex difference in viral infections at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Yet, the latest update on cases and deaths in the United States from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention contained no mention of male and female patients. When asked why, a spokesperson for the C.D.C. said the agency simply does “not have that information to share at this time” and “additional investigation is needed.”
And the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease — which is already running phase one trials of a potential vaccine, enabling researchers to “identify side effects” and determine dosage — said that at this moment, it will explore only age and sex “as part of subgroup analysis.”
Local officials in Germany and France have accused American buyers of outbidding them for protective masks that had been lined up for medical workers fighting the coronavirus in Europe. The masks, they claim, were already at Asian airports, about to be shipped.Local officials in Germany and France have accused American buyers of outbidding them for protective masks that had been lined up for medical workers fighting the coronavirus in Europe. The masks, they claim, were already at Asian airports, about to be shipped.
A Berlin city legislator said unidentified Americans somehow acquired 200,000 protective masks that had been meant for first-responders and hospital workers in the German capital.A Berlin city legislator said unidentified Americans somehow acquired 200,000 protective masks that had been meant for first-responders and hospital workers in the German capital.
“We consider it an act of modern piracy,” German legislator Andreas Geisel was quoted as saying Friday by the Der Tagesspiegel newspaper. “That’s no way to deal with trans-Atlantic partners.”“We consider it an act of modern piracy,” German legislator Andreas Geisel was quoted as saying Friday by the Der Tagesspiegel newspaper. “That’s no way to deal with trans-Atlantic partners.”
German media reported that the masks had been at the airport in Bangkok, where they were supposed to have been loaded onto a Germany-bound plane, but instead were diverted to a plane bound for the United States.German media reported that the masks had been at the airport in Bangkok, where they were supposed to have been loaded onto a Germany-bound plane, but instead were diverted to a plane bound for the United States.
Another shipment of protective masks was in China and bound for the Paris region when, French officials say, it was purchased by unidentified American buyers offering more money.Another shipment of protective masks was in China and bound for the Paris region when, French officials say, it was purchased by unidentified American buyers offering more money.
“We had a shipment bought up by Americans who outbid a shipment we identified,” Valérie Pécresse, who leads the Paris region, said Thursday on French television.“We had a shipment bought up by Americans who outbid a shipment we identified,” Valérie Pécresse, who leads the Paris region, said Thursday on French television.
Two other French regional leaders — Jean Rottner of the Grand Est region and Renaud Muselier of the southeastern Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region — have made similar accusations in French media, asserting that American buyers made the transactions on the airport runway.Two other French regional leaders — Jean Rottner of the Grand Est region and Renaud Muselier of the southeastern Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region — have made similar accusations in French media, asserting that American buyers made the transactions on the airport runway.
“It’s true — on the tarmac, the Americans arrive, show the cash, and pay three or four times more for the orders we made,” Mr. Rottner told a French radio station. “So we really have to fight.”“It’s true — on the tarmac, the Americans arrive, show the cash, and pay three or four times more for the orders we made,” Mr. Rottner told a French radio station. “So we really have to fight.”
In a statement released on Friday, the U.S. Embassy in France said that “the United States government has not purchased any masks intended for delivery from China to France,” adding that “reports to the contrary are completely false.”In a statement released on Friday, the U.S. Embassy in France said that “the United States government has not purchased any masks intended for delivery from China to France,” adding that “reports to the contrary are completely false.”
The frenzy began even before most banks opened. By 9 a.m. on Friday, banks had already processed 700 loans totaling $2.5 million for small businesses as the spigot opened on a federal emergency relief program. But that was just the beginning. By early afternoon that number had ballooned to $1.8 billion. And by evening it was $3.2 billion in loans that will go to more than 10,000 small businesses desperate to save themselves.
It was all part of a scramble by small businesses around the country to stay alive by grabbing a piece of a Treasury Department program to pump $349 billion into the sputtering U.S. economy. Small businesses, which employ nearly half of America’s private-sector workers, are hemorrhaging, and the loans are meant to help them retain employees or rehire those they let go because of the coronavirus pandemic.
But business owners found that applying for the money was harder than they had anticipated. Lenders had received guidance from the Treasury Department only the night before, just hours before they were to start making loans. On top of that, banks imposed their own rules on which businesses could and couldn’t borrow. And many lenders, including JPMorgan Chase, the nation’s largest, didn’t have their websites ready for borrowers until later Friday.
“I’ve been up all night,” said Jeremy Resnick of Jacksonville, Fla., who runs several businesses, including a real estate brokerage and a chain of ice cream stores. “They put out these rays of hope for people, and the reality behind it isn’t there.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday called for another sweeping government aid package to build on the more than $2 trillion stimulus enacted last week, indicating that Democrats would wait to pursue an infrastructure plan and instead focus on urgent action to help Americans weather the economic shocks brought on by the pandemic.
“We must extend and expand this bipartisan legislation to meet the needs of the American people,” Ms. Pelosi, Democrat of California, said in a statement Friday after the release of devastating job figures that reflected the beginning of the virus’s impact on the labor market.
“It is imperative that we go bigger and further assisting small business, to go longer in unemployment benefits and provide additional resources,” to process jobless claims, “and more direct payments for families,” she said.
It was only a few days ago that Ms. Pelosi called for the next phase of virus aid legislation to include an expansive infrastructure program to create thousands of jobs, a goal that was quickly endorsed by Mr. Trump but panned by Republican leaders who said it had nothing to do with confronting the crisis.
The global economy has been shaken by the coronavirus pandemic, and 10 million jobs in the United States have been vaporized in just two weeks. Global stocks, which had surged on Thursday after a wishful tweet from Mr. Trump about the oil markets, dipped again on Friday amid growing fears that the pain will be profound and prolonged.
While Republican leaders have cast doubt on whether another relief bill would be necessary, Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, reversed course on Friday. “There will be a next measure,” he told The Associated Press.
The Trump administration is trying to use its wartime powers to cut off 3M’s ability to export face masks abroad, as well as claim more of the masks the company manufactures in other countries for use in the United States. Such a policy would be a dramatic expansion of the U.S. government’s reach as it seeks to procure much-needed protective gear for American health care workers.The Trump administration is trying to use its wartime powers to cut off 3M’s ability to export face masks abroad, as well as claim more of the masks the company manufactures in other countries for use in the United States. Such a policy would be a dramatic expansion of the U.S. government’s reach as it seeks to procure much-needed protective gear for American health care workers.
But some trade and legal experts fear new mandates could backfire, causing other governments to clamp down on exports of masks, ventilator parts and pharmaceuticals that the United States desperately needs. They have also questioned whether the Defense Production Act gives the government the authority to commandeer goods made beyond United States borders.But some trade and legal experts fear new mandates could backfire, causing other governments to clamp down on exports of masks, ventilator parts and pharmaceuticals that the United States desperately needs. They have also questioned whether the Defense Production Act gives the government the authority to commandeer goods made beyond United States borders.
Peter Navarro, the White House trade adviser overseeing Defense Production Act policy, said Thursday evening that an executive order the president signed was aimed at directing 3M’s production to the Americans who need it most.Peter Navarro, the White House trade adviser overseeing Defense Production Act policy, said Thursday evening that an executive order the president signed was aimed at directing 3M’s production to the Americans who need it most.
“To be frank, over the last several days we’ve had issues making sure that all of the production that 3M does around the world, enough of it is coming back here to the right places,” he said. “We’re going to resolve that issue with 3M probably by tomorrow, close of business. Because we can’t afford to lose days or hours or even minutes in this crisis.”“To be frank, over the last several days we’ve had issues making sure that all of the production that 3M does around the world, enough of it is coming back here to the right places,” he said. “We’re going to resolve that issue with 3M probably by tomorrow, close of business. Because we can’t afford to lose days or hours or even minutes in this crisis.”
In a statement on Friday, 3M said that the administration had requested that 3M increase the amount of respirators the company imports from its overseas operations into the United States, and that 3M was complying. Earlier this week, it secured approval from China to export to the United States 10 million N95 respirators the company makes in China, it said.In a statement on Friday, 3M said that the administration had requested that 3M increase the amount of respirators the company imports from its overseas operations into the United States, and that 3M was complying. Earlier this week, it secured approval from China to export to the United States 10 million N95 respirators the company makes in China, it said.
The company added that the administration had also asked 3M to stop exporting respirators that are manufactured in the United States to Canada and Latin America — a request it said carried “significant humanitarian implications” for people in those countries.The company added that the administration had also asked 3M to stop exporting respirators that are manufactured in the United States to Canada and Latin America — a request it said carried “significant humanitarian implications” for people in those countries.
Small businesses flooded lenders with emergency loan applications on Friday morning as the spigot opened on $350 billion in relief money.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that community banks had processed 700 loans for $2.5 million before 9 a.m. An hour later, he said the total was up to $4 million, a sign of the surging demand. Larger banks are expected to go live later in the morning, Mr. Mnuchin added.
The program is the centerpiece of the Trump administration’s economic stabilization effort and comes as government figures showed that 701,000 jobs were lost last month.
Lenders and borrowers have been bracing for a chaotic start to the program, which was assembled by the Small Business Administration and the Treasury Department in just a week. There has been mass confusion about the terms of the loans and the application form that borrowers are supposed to use.
The Treasury Department changed the terms of the loans, increasing the interest rates that banks get from 0.5 percent to 1 percent, on Thursday evening. Mr. Mnuchin posted the final version of the form on Twitter at 10:43 p.m. on Thursday.
“I expect it to be a train wreck,” Brock Blake, chief executive of the small business lending marketplace Lendio, said of the first day of the program.
The U.S. economy had added jobs for 113 months in a row, dating from the early period of the recovery from the Great Recession.The U.S. economy had added jobs for 113 months in a row, dating from the early period of the recovery from the Great Recession.
That has come to an end.That has come to an end.
The Labor Department reported on Friday that employers shed 701,000 jobs in March. That number, while staggering, is expected to worsen in coming months. The data released on Friday was mostly collected in the first half of the month, before stay-at-home orders began to cover much of the nation. Nearly 10 million people applied for unemployment benefits in the past two weeks.The Labor Department reported on Friday that employers shed 701,000 jobs in March. That number, while staggering, is expected to worsen in coming months. The data released on Friday was mostly collected in the first half of the month, before stay-at-home orders began to cover much of the nation. Nearly 10 million people applied for unemployment benefits in the past two weeks.
“This is nothing compared to what we’re going to see,” said Stephanie Pomboy, president of MacroMavens, an independent research firm. Indeed, the March unemployment rate of 4.4 percent could rise to double digits as soon as next month.“This is nothing compared to what we’re going to see,” said Stephanie Pomboy, president of MacroMavens, an independent research firm. Indeed, the March unemployment rate of 4.4 percent could rise to double digits as soon as next month.
U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday after a drop in Europe, setting up a downbeat end to another turbulent week in financial markets.U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday after a drop in Europe, setting up a downbeat end to another turbulent week in financial markets.
The S&P 500 fell about 1.5 percent on Friday as investors digested more painful economic data — this time, the monthly employment report from the Labor Department that showed a long run of job growth had ground a halt in March.The S&P 500 fell about 1.5 percent on Friday as investors digested more painful economic data — this time, the monthly employment report from the Labor Department that showed a long run of job growth had ground a halt in March.
Oil prices rose sharply, extending Thursday’s gains on word that major oil producers would meet to discuss the falling demand for petroleum. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose as much as 10 percent.Oil prices rose sharply, extending Thursday’s gains on word that major oil producers would meet to discuss the falling demand for petroleum. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose as much as 10 percent.
A day after the Navy removed the captain of the stricken aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt for what it said was exercising poor judgment under pressure, the officer’s crew gave him a rousing sendoff as he departed the vessel in Guam.
Capt. Brett E. Crozier had implored his superior officers for more help as an outbreak spread aboard the ship, with almost 5,000 crew members aboard, and described what he said were the Navy’s failures to provide the proper resources to combat the crisis.
Navy officials, angry that the captain’s complaints contained in a letter were leaked to the media earlier this week, accused him of going outside his chain of command and said he was no longer fit to lead the fast-moving effort to treat the crew and clean the ship.
More than 130 sailors have been infected so far, a number that is expected to rise by hundreds as the vessel remains docked at Guam.
For months, the residents of the central Chinese city of Wuhan were told they could not pick up the ashes of their loved ones who had died during the height of the nation’s outbreak. Now that the authorities say the epidemic is under control, officials are pushing the relatives to bury the dead quickly and quietly, and they are suppressing online discussion of fatalities as doubts emerge about the true size of the toll.For months, the residents of the central Chinese city of Wuhan were told they could not pick up the ashes of their loved ones who had died during the height of the nation’s outbreak. Now that the authorities say the epidemic is under control, officials are pushing the relatives to bury the dead quickly and quietly, and they are suppressing online discussion of fatalities as doubts emerge about the true size of the toll.
China’s official death toll from the virus stood at 3,322 on Friday, but medical workers and others have suggested the count should be higher. The C.I.A. has warned the White House for weeks that China vastly understated its epidemic, current and former American intelligence officials say.China’s official death toll from the virus stood at 3,322 on Friday, but medical workers and others have suggested the count should be higher. The C.I.A. has warned the White House for weeks that China vastly understated its epidemic, current and former American intelligence officials say.
As China tries to control the narrative, the police in Wuhan, where the pandemic began, have been dispatched to break up groups on WeChat, a popular messaging app, set up by the relatives of virus victims. Government censors have scrubbed images circulating on social media showing relatives in the city lining up at funeral homes to collect ashes.As China tries to control the narrative, the police in Wuhan, where the pandemic began, have been dispatched to break up groups on WeChat, a popular messaging app, set up by the relatives of virus victims. Government censors have scrubbed images circulating on social media showing relatives in the city lining up at funeral homes to collect ashes.
And when Liu Pei’en mourned the loss of his father in Wuhan, he said, officials insisted on accompanying him to the funeral home and later followed him to the cemetery, where he saw one of his minders taking photos of the brief funeral.And when Liu Pei’en mourned the loss of his father in Wuhan, he said, officials insisted on accompanying him to the funeral home and later followed him to the cemetery, where he saw one of his minders taking photos of the brief funeral.
“My father devoted his whole life to serving the country and the party,” Mr. Liu, 44, who works in finance, said by phone. “Only to be surveilled after his death.”“My father devoted his whole life to serving the country and the party,” Mr. Liu, 44, who works in finance, said by phone. “Only to be surveilled after his death.”
Russian authorities detained the leader of an independent doctors’ union, an outspoken critic of the Kremlin who has dismissed as “lies” the country’s low official numbers for coronavirus infections.
Anastasia Vasilieva, the head of the Alliance of Doctors, was stopped by the police on Thursday and held overnight while traveling from Moscow to an impoverished rural town to deliver masks, gloves and other supplies to a hospital, according to a colleague who was traveling with her.
The detention of Dr. Vasilieva, an eye specialist who has been highly critical of Russia’s response to the pandemic, added fuel to already widespread skepticism, particularly among Kremlin critics, about the accuracy of official figures showing relatively few coronavirus cases in Russia. Her detention also increased skepticism about the readiness of Russia’s health care system to cope with the pandemic.
A group of doctors at a hospital in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second biggest city, released a video on Friday appealing to the public for help in obtaining the protective equipment they said they needed to treat coronavirus patients.
Maria Bakhldina, the head doctor at the hospital, speaking to Fontanka, a news site in the city, dismissed the doctors complaints as “untrue.”
Reporting was contributed by Michael Cooper, Michael Crowley, Reed Abelson, Margot Sanger-Katz, Ron DePasquale, Alan Blinder, Andrew Higgins, Michael D. Shear, Ana Swanson, Amy Qin, Cao Li, Melissa Eddy, Jonah Engel Bromwich, Sheila Kaplan, Emily Cochrane, Maggie Haberman, Manny Fernandez, Adam Liptak, Raphael Minder, Ben Hubbard, Declan Walsh, Christina Anderson, Joanna Berendt, Nada Rashwan, Helene Cooper, , Jim Dwyer, Neil MacFarquhar, Eric Shcmitt, Jennifer Valentino-DeVries, Denise Lu, Gabriel J.X. Dance, Marc Santora, Megan Specia, Kenneth Chang, Vindu Goel, Richard Pérez-Peña, Peter Eavis, Niraj Chokshi, David Gelles, Michael Corkery, Julia Jacobs and Maya Salam. Reporting was contributed by Michael Cooper, Michael Crowley, Reed Abelson, Margot Sanger-Katz, Ron DePasquale, Alan Blinder, Andrew Higgins, Michael D. Shear, Ana Swanson, Amy Qin, Cao Li, Melissa Eddy, Jonah Engel Bromwich, Sheila Kaplan, Emily Cochrane, Maggie Haberman, Manny Fernandez, Adam Liptak, Raphael Minder, Ben Hubbard, Declan Walsh, Christina Anderson, Joanna Berendt, Nada Rashwan, Helene Cooper, Jim Dwyer, Neil MacFarquhar, Eric Shcmitt, Jennifer Valentino-DeVries, Denise Lu, Gabriel J.X. Dance, Marc Santora, Megan Specia, Kenneth Chang, Vindu Goel, Richard Pérez-Peña, Peter Eavis, Alan Feuer, Niraj Chokshi, David Gelles, Michael Corkery, Julia Jacobs and Maya Salam.