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Coronavirus Live Updates: Senate in Stalemate on Additional Aid for Small Businesses | |
(32 minutes later) | |
Another 6.6 million people filed for unemployment benefits last week as the coronavirus outbreak continued its devastating march through American businesses and jobs, the Labor Department reported Thursday. | Another 6.6 million people filed for unemployment benefits last week as the coronavirus outbreak continued its devastating march through American businesses and jobs, the Labor Department reported Thursday. |
With astonishing swiftness, the pandemic has shut down both longstanding and new businesses, leaving veteran workers and recent hires in nearly every type of industry without a paycheck. In just three weeks, more than 16 million Americans have lost their jobs — more losses than the most recent recession produced over two years. | With astonishing swiftness, the pandemic has shut down both longstanding and new businesses, leaving veteran workers and recent hires in nearly every type of industry without a paycheck. In just three weeks, more than 16 million Americans have lost their jobs — more losses than the most recent recession produced over two years. |
At the same time, the Federal Reserve on Thursday announced another round of emergency measures to help the economy. The central bank said it would use Treasury Department funds to buy municipal bonds and expand its purchases of corporate bonds. The efforts are aimed at shoring up companies as well as state and local governments whose budgets are straining under the cost of the pandemic. | At the same time, the Federal Reserve on Thursday announced another round of emergency measures to help the economy. The central bank said it would use Treasury Department funds to buy municipal bonds and expand its purchases of corporate bonds. The efforts are aimed at shoring up companies as well as state and local governments whose budgets are straining under the cost of the pandemic. |
Across the United States, more and more people cannot pay rent. Food banks are so crowded the National Guard has been called out to stuff boxes. Construction sites sit abandoned, shopping malls are ghost towns and roughly 80 percent of hotel rooms stand empty. | Across the United States, more and more people cannot pay rent. Food banks are so crowded the National Guard has been called out to stuff boxes. Construction sites sit abandoned, shopping malls are ghost towns and roughly 80 percent of hotel rooms stand empty. |
But with no vaccine, no reliable drug therapies and no widely available test to tell who might have been exposed to the virus, “shelter at home” orders remain the only reliable tool in slowing the spread. Mindful of that, public health officials warned that, in most places, now was not the time to ease up. | But with no vaccine, no reliable drug therapies and no widely available test to tell who might have been exposed to the virus, “shelter at home” orders remain the only reliable tool in slowing the spread. Mindful of that, public health officials warned that, in most places, now was not the time to ease up. |
Even though more than 1,000 people are now dying every day in the United States, new infections have slowed in places where stringent restrictions have been in place for more than two weeks. | Even though more than 1,000 people are now dying every day in the United States, new infections have slowed in places where stringent restrictions have been in place for more than two weeks. |
But the virus has officially reached more than two-thirds of the nation’s rural counties, with one in 10 reporting at least one death. Wayne County, Mich., which includes Detroit, suffered 192 deaths this week. State officials in Illinois reported 82 additional deaths, many in the Chicago area. | But the virus has officially reached more than two-thirds of the nation’s rural counties, with one in 10 reporting at least one death. Wayne County, Mich., which includes Detroit, suffered 192 deaths this week. State officials in Illinois reported 82 additional deaths, many in the Chicago area. |
Now, with nearly a half million confirmed infections — one-third of the worldwide total — America is the center of the global crisis. Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, pointed to revised models showing the estimated deaths dropping to 61,000 deaths from 86,000, but warned “there is still a significant amount of disease.” | Now, with nearly a half million confirmed infections — one-third of the worldwide total — America is the center of the global crisis. Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, pointed to revised models showing the estimated deaths dropping to 61,000 deaths from 86,000, but warned “there is still a significant amount of disease.” |
A $250 billion package to replenish a small business loan program created by the stimulus law has stalled in the Senate after Republicans and Democrats clashed over what should be included. | |
With Congress in recess and lawmakers scattered around the country, Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, tried to push through the small business loan funding during a procedural session, a move required all senators to agree. | |
But Democrats, objected, instead proposing to double that request by adding $100 billion for hospitals and $150 billion for state and local governments. | |
The Democratic measure, which they are calling their “Small Business Plus” version, was offered by Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. It would place new conditions and disclosure requirements on the money, according to a summary released on Thursday. Some of the new small business loan funds would be reserved for small, community-based lenders. And the Department of Health and Human Services and FEMA would have to report to Congress monthly on the administration’s testing strategy, as well as the allocation of testing and supplies. | |
The administration would also have to submit a separate report by May 15 on the demographics of patients who contracted Covid-19 and proposals to reduce health disparities related to the virus, a proposal that comes after data have shown that the disease is infecting and killing black people in the United States at disproportionately high rates. | The administration would also have to submit a separate report by May 15 on the demographics of patients who contracted Covid-19 and proposals to reduce health disparities related to the virus, a proposal that comes after data have shown that the disease is infecting and killing black people in the United States at disproportionately high rates. |
Republicans in turn blocked the Democratic proposal argue that the small business program has a more urgent need for funds, and that additional demands for aid can be addressed in future legislation. | |
“Treating this as a normal kind of partisan negotiation could literally cost Americans their jobs,” Mr. McConnell said. “Do not block emergency aid you do not even oppose just because you want something more.” | |
The dispute is a prelude to what is likely to be a far more complicated and consequential set of negotiations over another sweeping round of government aid that lawmakers expect to consider in the coming weeks. But the interim package appears to face problems of its own, even beyond the Senate. | The dispute is a prelude to what is likely to be a far more complicated and consequential set of negotiations over another sweeping round of government aid that lawmakers expect to consider in the coming weeks. But the interim package appears to face problems of its own, even beyond the Senate. |
Without the modifications Democrats are advocating, Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California warned on Wednesday that the administration’s $250 billion request would not pass the House. This latest round of negotiation comes on the heels of the $2 trillion stimulus law enacted late last month. | Without the modifications Democrats are advocating, Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California warned on Wednesday that the administration’s $250 billion request would not pass the House. This latest round of negotiation comes on the heels of the $2 trillion stimulus law enacted late last month. |
On March 1, there were 88 confirmed cases of the virus in the United States. By month’s end, there were more than 170,000. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has compiled data on people who were hospitalized from the virus during that month to get a clearer demographic picture of infected patients who have required the most serious medical care. | On March 1, there were 88 confirmed cases of the virus in the United States. By month’s end, there were more than 170,000. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has compiled data on people who were hospitalized from the virus during that month to get a clearer demographic picture of infected patients who have required the most serious medical care. |
Approximately 90 percent of the 1,482 hospitalized patients included in the study released Wednesday had one or more underlying medical conditions. Older people infected with the virus were more likely to be hospitalized; men were more likely to endure severe cases than women; and black people were hospitalized at a higher rate than whites. The study also found that hospitalization rates for the virus have been significantly higher than for recent outbreaks of influenza. | Approximately 90 percent of the 1,482 hospitalized patients included in the study released Wednesday had one or more underlying medical conditions. Older people infected with the virus were more likely to be hospitalized; men were more likely to endure severe cases than women; and black people were hospitalized at a higher rate than whites. The study also found that hospitalization rates for the virus have been significantly higher than for recent outbreaks of influenza. |
The numbers reflected trends that were reported from other countries at earlier stages of the outbreak. Of the hospitalized patients in the C.D.C. study, 89.3 percent had underlying medical conditions. The most common of those was hypertension, in 49.7 percent of patients, followed by obesity, chronic metabolic disease (like diabetes), chronic lung disease (like asthma) and cardiovascular disease. | The numbers reflected trends that were reported from other countries at earlier stages of the outbreak. Of the hospitalized patients in the C.D.C. study, 89.3 percent had underlying medical conditions. The most common of those was hypertension, in 49.7 percent of patients, followed by obesity, chronic metabolic disease (like diabetes), chronic lung disease (like asthma) and cardiovascular disease. |
The data, based on hospitalizations from March 1 to 30, was taken from a network of hospitals in parts of 14 states, including New York, Connecticut, California and Ohio. The area studied includes only about 10 percent of the overall population of the United States, but is seen as a representative snapshot of the virus’s spread and the demographic breakdown of patients. | The data, based on hospitalizations from March 1 to 30, was taken from a network of hospitals in parts of 14 states, including New York, Connecticut, California and Ohio. The area studied includes only about 10 percent of the overall population of the United States, but is seen as a representative snapshot of the virus’s spread and the demographic breakdown of patients. |
New research indicates that the virus began to circulate in the New York area by mid-February, weeks before the first confirmed case, and that it was brought to the region mainly by travelers from Europe, not from Asia. | |
“The majority is clearly European,” said Harm van Bakel, a geneticist at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who co-wrote a study awaiting peer review. | “The majority is clearly European,” said Harm van Bakel, a geneticist at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who co-wrote a study awaiting peer review. |
A separate team at N.Y.U. Grossman School of Medicine came to strikingly similar conclusions, despite studying a different group of cases. Both teams analyzed genomes from samples taken from New Yorkers starting in mid-March. | |
The research revealed a previously hidden spread of the virus that might have been detected if aggressive testing programs had been put in place. On Jan. 31, President Trump barred foreign nationals from entering the country if they had been in China — the site of the virus’s first known outbreak — during the previous two weeks. | The research revealed a previously hidden spread of the virus that might have been detected if aggressive testing programs had been put in place. On Jan. 31, President Trump barred foreign nationals from entering the country if they had been in China — the site of the virus’s first known outbreak — during the previous two weeks. |
Viruses invade a cell and take over its molecular machinery, causing it to make new viruses. An international guild of viral historians ferrets out the history of outbreaks by poring over clues embedded in the genetic material of viruses taken from thousands of patients. | Viruses invade a cell and take over its molecular machinery, causing it to make new viruses. An international guild of viral historians ferrets out the history of outbreaks by poring over clues embedded in the genetic material of viruses taken from thousands of patients. |
In January, a team of Chinese and Australian researchers published the first genome of the new virus. Since then, researchers around the world have sequenced over 3,000 more. Some are genetically identical to each other, while others carry distinctive mutations. | In January, a team of Chinese and Australian researchers published the first genome of the new virus. Since then, researchers around the world have sequenced over 3,000 more. Some are genetically identical to each other, while others carry distinctive mutations. |
As the virus ravages the city, claiming hundreds of lives every day and killing black and Latino people at twice the rate that it is killing white people, The New York Times set out to chronicle a shuttered city. | As the virus ravages the city, claiming hundreds of lives every day and killing black and Latino people at twice the rate that it is killing white people, The New York Times set out to chronicle a shuttered city. |
As state governments struggle to keep up with record-breaking numbers of unemployment applications, laid-off workers from around the country are tapping themselves as unofficial unemployment czars, creating online communities to help guide people through the convoluted and often frustrating process. | As state governments struggle to keep up with record-breaking numbers of unemployment applications, laid-off workers from around the country are tapping themselves as unofficial unemployment czars, creating online communities to help guide people through the convoluted and often frustrating process. |
The Facebook and Reddit groups, some of which have gained thousands of members, offer help to a broad array of workers, from those in the RV industry, to dog walkers, delivery workers, court reporters and restaurant servers. Some cover entire regions, from Sioux Falls, S.D., to Portland, Ore. | The Facebook and Reddit groups, some of which have gained thousands of members, offer help to a broad array of workers, from those in the RV industry, to dog walkers, delivery workers, court reporters and restaurant servers. Some cover entire regions, from Sioux Falls, S.D., to Portland, Ore. |
Many of the more than 16 million American workers seeking unemployment benefits have been struggling to wade through antiquated government websites that often crash or waiting on the phone, sometimes for eight hours or more, to speak to unemployment officers. | Many of the more than 16 million American workers seeking unemployment benefits have been struggling to wade through antiquated government websites that often crash or waiting on the phone, sometimes for eight hours or more, to speak to unemployment officers. |
People who run the informal groups acknowledge they are not experts. They advise members to post only about their own experiences, with the hope that winning strategies will emerge through crowdsourcing. | People who run the informal groups acknowledge they are not experts. They advise members to post only about their own experiences, with the hope that winning strategies will emerge through crowdsourcing. |
“It’s been amazing the outpouring of people helping each other through these tough times,” said Cyara Neel, who created the group “Unemployment Nevada Information and Help,” which now has more than 7,000 members. | “It’s been amazing the outpouring of people helping each other through these tough times,” said Cyara Neel, who created the group “Unemployment Nevada Information and Help,” which now has more than 7,000 members. |
A sailor stricken with the virus and assigned to the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt has been admitted to an intensive care unit at a Navy hospital in Guam, a Defense Department official said, marking the first hospitalization of a crew member since an outbreak began aboard the ship last month. | A sailor stricken with the virus and assigned to the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt has been admitted to an intensive care unit at a Navy hospital in Guam, a Defense Department official said, marking the first hospitalization of a crew member since an outbreak began aboard the ship last month. |
At least 286 members of the crew have tested positive for the virus. | At least 286 members of the crew have tested positive for the virus. |
“The sailor tested positive for Covid-19 on March 30 and at the time of hospitalization was in a 14-day isolation period on Naval Base Guam,” Cmdr. Clayton Doss, a Navy spokesman, said in an email. | “The sailor tested positive for Covid-19 on March 30 and at the time of hospitalization was in a 14-day isolation period on Naval Base Guam,” Cmdr. Clayton Doss, a Navy spokesman, said in an email. |
The outbreak aboard the Roosevelt has been, in many ways, a microcosm of the Defense Department’s handling of the virus within its ranks as military officials have weighed military preparedness with the health of its personnel. | The outbreak aboard the Roosevelt has been, in many ways, a microcosm of the Defense Department’s handling of the virus within its ranks as military officials have weighed military preparedness with the health of its personnel. |
The ship’s commanding officer, Capt. Brett E. Crozier, was relieved after he wrote a strongly worded letter to Navy officials pleading for more help aboard the carrier. The fallout from the episode led to the resignation of Thomas B. Modly, the acting Navy secretary, this week. | The ship’s commanding officer, Capt. Brett E. Crozier, was relieved after he wrote a strongly worded letter to Navy officials pleading for more help aboard the carrier. The fallout from the episode led to the resignation of Thomas B. Modly, the acting Navy secretary, this week. |
When Chad Yazzie joined the Navajo Police Department just a few months ago, he expected to issue speeding tickets or break up the occasional fistfight. | When Chad Yazzie joined the Navajo Police Department just a few months ago, he expected to issue speeding tickets or break up the occasional fistfight. |
But the virus is now tearing across the Navajo Nation, the largest Indian reservation in the United States. The nation’s casualty count has eclipsed that of states with much larger populations, placing the rookie Officer Yazzie on the front lines. | |
“My job is to tell our people to take this virus seriously or face the consequences,” Officer Yazzie, 24, said recently as he set up a police roadblock outside the town of Window Rock to enforce the tribal nation’s 8 p.m. curfew. | “My job is to tell our people to take this virus seriously or face the consequences,” Officer Yazzie, 24, said recently as he set up a police roadblock outside the town of Window Rock to enforce the tribal nation’s 8 p.m. curfew. |
Faced with an alarming rise in deaths from what the tribal health department calls Dikos Ntsaaigii-19 — or Covid-19 — Navajo officials have been putting up checkpoints, assembling field hospitals and threatening curfew violators with 30 days in jail or a $1,000 fine. | Faced with an alarming rise in deaths from what the tribal health department calls Dikos Ntsaaigii-19 — or Covid-19 — Navajo officials have been putting up checkpoints, assembling field hospitals and threatening curfew violators with 30 days in jail or a $1,000 fine. |
The measures are part of a scramble to protect more than 150,000 people on the vast reservation, which stretches 27,000 square miles across Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, and tens of thousands of others who live in towns bordering the Navajo Nation. As of Wednesday night, the virus had killed 20 people on the reservation, compared with 16 in the entire state of New Mexico, which has a population thirteen times larger. | The measures are part of a scramble to protect more than 150,000 people on the vast reservation, which stretches 27,000 square miles across Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, and tens of thousands of others who live in towns bordering the Navajo Nation. As of Wednesday night, the virus had killed 20 people on the reservation, compared with 16 in the entire state of New Mexico, which has a population thirteen times larger. |
President Trump and his Republican allies have mounted an aggressive strategy to fight what many of the administration’s own health officials view as one of the most effective ways to make voting safer amid the spread of the virus: the expanded use of mail-in ballots. | |
The sight on Tuesday of Wisconsinites in masks and gloves gathering in long lines to vote after Republicans sued to defeat extended, mail-in ballot deadlines, did not deter the president and top officials in his party. Republican leaders said they were pushing ahead to fight state-level statutes that could expand absentee balloting in Arizona, Michigan and elsewhere. In New Mexico, Republicans were battling an effort to go to a mail-in-only primary, and they vowed on Wednesday to fight a move to expand postal balloting in Minnesota. | The sight on Tuesday of Wisconsinites in masks and gloves gathering in long lines to vote after Republicans sued to defeat extended, mail-in ballot deadlines, did not deter the president and top officials in his party. Republican leaders said they were pushing ahead to fight state-level statutes that could expand absentee balloting in Arizona, Michigan and elsewhere. In New Mexico, Republicans were battling an effort to go to a mail-in-only primary, and they vowed on Wednesday to fight a move to expand postal balloting in Minnesota. |
The new political effort seems clearly aimed at helping the president’s re-election prospects, as well as bolstering Republicans running further down the ballot. While the president’s advisers tend to see the issue in more nuanced terms, Mr. Trump has acknowledged a starker, more partisan view: He has complained that under Democratic plans for national expansion of early voting and voting by mail, “you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again.” | The new political effort seems clearly aimed at helping the president’s re-election prospects, as well as bolstering Republicans running further down the ballot. While the president’s advisers tend to see the issue in more nuanced terms, Mr. Trump has acknowledged a starker, more partisan view: He has complained that under Democratic plans for national expansion of early voting and voting by mail, “you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again.” |
As the pandemic accelerates a national trend toward voting by mail, experts say elections can be conducted safely that way. And although Republicans claim that corruption would increase, studies have shown that all forms of voting fraud are extremely rare in the United States. | |
At his daily news briefing on Wednesday, Mr. Trump said he believed that voting by mail had been abused to hurt Republicans, adding, “I will not stand for it.” He did allow, however, that postal ballots could help some older voters — an important part of his base. It was a slight modulation that came at the urging of his advisers. | At his daily news briefing on Wednesday, Mr. Trump said he believed that voting by mail had been abused to hurt Republicans, adding, “I will not stand for it.” He did allow, however, that postal ballots could help some older voters — an important part of his base. It was a slight modulation that came at the urging of his advisers. |
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published new guidelines on Wednesday detailing how essential employees could go back to work even if they had been exposed to people infected by the virus, provided they did not feel sick and followed certain precautions. | |
Those employees can return if they take their temperature before heading to their workplaces, wear a face mask at all times and practice social distancing while on the job, Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the C.D.C. director, said at the White House briefing. They should not share headsets or other objects that touch their faces, and they should not congregate in break rooms or crowded areas, he said. | Those employees can return if they take their temperature before heading to their workplaces, wear a face mask at all times and practice social distancing while on the job, Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the C.D.C. director, said at the White House briefing. They should not share headsets or other objects that touch their faces, and they should not congregate in break rooms or crowded areas, he said. |
Dr. Redfield said that employers should send workers home immediately if they developed any symptoms. He also said that they should increase air exchange in their buildings and clean common surfaces more often. The goal, he said, was to “get these workers back into the critical work force so that we don’t have worker shortages.” | Dr. Redfield said that employers should send workers home immediately if they developed any symptoms. He also said that they should increase air exchange in their buildings and clean common surfaces more often. The goal, he said, was to “get these workers back into the critical work force so that we don’t have worker shortages.” |
The new guidance appears to blend earlier advice. Last week, the C.D.C. recommended that even healthy Americans wear masks in public after data showed as many as 25 percent of people infected with the virus were asymptomatic, at the urging of the White House, businesses, workers and others to kick-start the idled economy. | The new guidance appears to blend earlier advice. Last week, the C.D.C. recommended that even healthy Americans wear masks in public after data showed as many as 25 percent of people infected with the virus were asymptomatic, at the urging of the White House, businesses, workers and others to kick-start the idled economy. |
Stay-at-home orders don’t have to put a damper on things. Here are some ways to celebrate birthdays, weddings and the coming spring holidays. | Stay-at-home orders don’t have to put a damper on things. Here are some ways to celebrate birthdays, weddings and the coming spring holidays. |
The growing number of cases has raised interest in state guidelines outlining who should be prioritized for lifesaving medical treatments in an emergency. But certain standards that Alabama had on the books are discriminatory, the federal health department’s Office of Civil Rights said on Wednesday. | |
Alabama’s criteria, contained in a 2010 document that set out the state’s guidance for rationing ventilators in an emergency, suggested that doctors consider withholding advanced treatment based on patients’ intellectual disabilities, with “profound mental retardation” and “moderate to severe dementia” weighing against them. The guidelines also referred to age as a potential category for exclusion, which raised questions of age discrimination, according to the review. | Alabama’s criteria, contained in a 2010 document that set out the state’s guidance for rationing ventilators in an emergency, suggested that doctors consider withholding advanced treatment based on patients’ intellectual disabilities, with “profound mental retardation” and “moderate to severe dementia” weighing against them. The guidelines also referred to age as a potential category for exclusion, which raised questions of age discrimination, according to the review. |
The state has agreed to remove all links to the document on its website and not include the contested guidance in its plan for responding to the coronavirus outbreak, the civil rights office said. | The state has agreed to remove all links to the document on its website and not include the contested guidance in its plan for responding to the coronavirus outbreak, the civil rights office said. |
The quick resolution to a complaint meant that the state would not be subjected to a lengthy investigation that might result in a potential loss of federal funds. | The quick resolution to a complaint meant that the state would not be subjected to a lengthy investigation that might result in a potential loss of federal funds. |
Australia’s police boarded a cruise ship and seized its “black box” as they investigate why infected passengers were allowed to disembark. | Australia’s police boarded a cruise ship and seized its “black box” as they investigate why infected passengers were allowed to disembark. |
Spain is adjusting Holy Week celebrations during its lockdown. | Spain is adjusting Holy Week celebrations during its lockdown. |
India may extend a 21-day lockdown of its 1.3 billion people. | India may extend a 21-day lockdown of its 1.3 billion people. |
Reporting was contributed by Simon Romero, Peter Baker, Jim Rutenberg, David Waldstein, Emily Cochrane, Caitlin Dickerson, Maggie Haberman, Nick Corasaniti, Marc Santora, Brooks Barnes, Dan Barry, Conor Dougherty, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Manny Fernandez, Sheri Fink, Michael Levenson and Carl Zimmer. | Reporting was contributed by Simon Romero, Peter Baker, Jim Rutenberg, David Waldstein, Emily Cochrane, Caitlin Dickerson, Maggie Haberman, Nick Corasaniti, Marc Santora, Brooks Barnes, Dan Barry, Conor Dougherty, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Manny Fernandez, Sheri Fink, Michael Levenson and Carl Zimmer. |