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Coronavirus Live Updates: Travel Restrictions Led to Exodus From Hot Spots, but Few Rigorous Screenings Coronavirus Live Updates: Travel Restrictions Led to Exodus From Hot Spots, but Few Rigorous Screenings
(about 3 hours later)
President Trump’s go-to defense of his early response to the coronavirus is his decision to close down travel from China, the virus’s original center, and then from ravaged Europe.President Trump’s go-to defense of his early response to the coronavirus is his decision to close down travel from China, the virus’s original center, and then from ravaged Europe.
But those hasty decisions led to exoduses of American citizens, packed airports and, according to a new congressional report, very few rigorous screenings for passengers who could have been bringing the virus home with them.But those hasty decisions led to exoduses of American citizens, packed airports and, according to a new congressional report, very few rigorous screenings for passengers who could have been bringing the virus home with them.
Medical officials on contract from the Department of Homeland Security checked the temperatures of just 10 percent of the more than 250,000 travelers who got some screening when they arrived at U.S. airports from travel-restricted countries during a 10-week span from January to March, according to a report released Thursday by the House Oversight and Reform Committee. The finding raised questions about one of the centerpieces of Mr. Trump’s argument that his administration responded aggressively to contain the outbreak.Medical officials on contract from the Department of Homeland Security checked the temperatures of just 10 percent of the more than 250,000 travelers who got some screening when they arrived at U.S. airports from travel-restricted countries during a 10-week span from January to March, according to a report released Thursday by the House Oversight and Reform Committee. The finding raised questions about one of the centerpieces of Mr. Trump’s argument that his administration responded aggressively to contain the outbreak.
If customs officers noticed symptoms in travelers returning from restricted countries, they were told to refer them to federal or local medical officials at the airport for more screening.If customs officers noticed symptoms in travelers returning from restricted countries, they were told to refer them to federal or local medical officials at the airport for more screening.
But officials from the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, which is part of the Homeland Security agency, told the committee that the informal policy was to check one of every 10 passengers because they “don’t want to slow things down,” according to the report.But officials from the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, which is part of the Homeland Security agency, told the committee that the informal policy was to check one of every 10 passengers because they “don’t want to slow things down,” according to the report.
And they said that just under 1,500 arriving passengers were passed along for more rigorous screening by officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between Jan. 17 and March 29.And they said that just under 1,500 arriving passengers were passed along for more rigorous screening by officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between Jan. 17 and March 29.
C.D.C. officials were primarily the ones who determined whether a traveler displaying symptoms needed to be federally quarantined. Latinos in Oregon, Washington State, Iowa and Utah have been getting sick at rates more than double their share of the population, according to official data. The disparities appear most significant in states that have comparatively newer and less-established Hispanic communities.
Hydroxychloroquine, the malaria drug frequently promoted by Mr. Trump, neither helped nor harmed coronavirus patients at NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center in Manhattan, researchers reported. State officials and public health experts say many are vulnerable because of the same factors that have made minority groups at risk across the country, including a heavy representation in low-paying service jobs that require them to work through the pandemic, and in frequent contact with the public. Many also lack health care, which also contributes to higher rates of diabetes and other conditions that can worsen infections.
As a result, the hospital is no longer recommending it as a treatment for its Covid-19 patients.
The authors of the report, in The New England Journal of Medicine, say the drug should be used only in controlled clinical trials where patients are picked at random to receive one treatment or another. Controlled trials, which are underway around the world, are the most reliable way of finding out whether a drug works.
In the last several weeks, federal agencies and medical societies have issued safety warnings about hydroxychloroquine and the closely related drug chloroquine. The Food and Drug Administration said last month that the drugs could cause dangerous heart rhythm abnormalities in coronavirus patients and should be used only in clinical trials or hospitals where patients can be closely monitored. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases issued a similar warning, saying there was “insufficient data” to recommend the drugs.
The new study did not include information on tests of heart rhythm.
Hydroxychloroquine is approved to treat malaria and the autoimmune diseases lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. But anecdotal reports from China and France early in the epidemic suggested that it might also help fight the coronavirus. With no proven treatment, doctors around the world began using it in a desperate effort to save dying patients. But there is little evidence to support it, and the French report was later discredited.
The new study was not a controlled trial. It was based on the records of 1,376 patients admitted to NewYork-Presbyterian from March 7 to April 8, including 811 who received hydroxychloroquine.
At the start of the study, the researchers hypothesized that patients receiving the drug would be less likely than those not getting it to need a ventilator or to die. But they actually found no difference.
The findings were not the last word, they said: Randomized, controlled trials are still needed.
As Mr. Trump rushes to reopen the economy, a battle has erupted between the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the agency’s detailed guidelines to help schools, restaurants, churches and other establishments safely reopen, Abby Goodnough and Maggie Haberman report.
A copy of the C.D.C. guidance obtained by The New York Times includes sections for child care programs, schools and day camps, churches and other “communities of faith,” employers with vulnerable workers, restaurants and bars, and mass transit administrators. The recommendations include using disposable dishes and utensils at restaurants, closing every other row of seats in buses and subways while restricting transit routes between areas experiencing different infection levels, and separating children at school and camps into groups that should not mix throughout the day.
But White House and other administration officials rejected the recommendations over concerns that they were overly prescriptive, infringed on religious rights and risked further damaging an economy that Mr. Trump was banking on to recover quickly.
A spokesman for the C.D.C. said the guidance was still under discussion with the White House, and a revised version could be published soon.
The rejection of the guidelines is the latest confusing signal as the Trump administration struggles to balance Mr. Trump’s desire to reopen the country quickly against the advice of public health experts, who have counseled reopening methodically via steps tied to reduced rates of infection and expanded efforts to control the spread of the virus.
This week, the White House signaled it would wind down its virus task force only to reverse course amid a public outcry. Vice President Mike Pence refused to wear a surgical mask at the Mayo Clinic, then apologized.
The mixed signals extend to reopening guidelines: On April 16, Mr. Trump’s virus task force released broad guidance for states to reopen in three phases, based on case levels and hospital capacity. But the more detailed C.D.C. guidance was seen by some members of the task force and other aides as a document that could slow the reopening effort, according to several people with knowledge of the deliberations inside the West Wing.
More than half the states have begun to reopen their economies or plan to do so soon, but most fail to meet the criteria recommended by the Trump administration.
In more than half of the states that are easing restrictions, case counts are trending upward, positive test results are on the rise, or both, raising concerns among public health experts.
On Thursday afternoon, Mr. Trump amplified his eagerness to reopen the nation in a one-minute video message he posted on Twitter. “People want to open our country up. Now, we want to do it in a safe way,” he said, encouraging continued social distancing and hand washing.
The disparities appear most significant in states that have comparatively newer and less-established Hispanic communities. In Oregon, Washington State, Iowa and Utah, for example, Latinos have been getting sick at rates more than double their share of the population, according to official data.
State officials and public health experts say many are vulnerable because of the same factors that have made minority groups at risk across the country, including a heavy representation in low-paying service jobs that require them to work through the pandemic, with frequent contact with the public. Many also lack health care, which also contributes to higher rates of diabetes and other conditions that can worsen infections.
Now, officials in some places worry that those disparities could grow as the annual harvest season begins this month and seasonal farmworkers flood into states already seeing large differences in infection rates. In Oregon, officials are scrambling to enact far-ranging changes to work rules and living conditions for migrant workers, fearing that without them the virus could sweep through the 160,000 workers who typically toil in the fields, eat and bunk in proximity.Now, officials in some places worry that those disparities could grow as the annual harvest season begins this month and seasonal farmworkers flood into states already seeing large differences in infection rates. In Oregon, officials are scrambling to enact far-ranging changes to work rules and living conditions for migrant workers, fearing that without them the virus could sweep through the 160,000 workers who typically toil in the fields, eat and bunk in proximity.
In Latino communities with a longer history in the United States — like those in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas — the differences are narrower, at least according to the official data reported by the states. Experts say one reason is that places with more established Latino communities have a wider spectrum of professional and middle-class families with more wealth, who can work from home or take advantage of other options for weathering the pandemic.In Latino communities with a longer history in the United States — like those in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas — the differences are narrower, at least according to the official data reported by the states. Experts say one reason is that places with more established Latino communities have a wider spectrum of professional and middle-class families with more wealth, who can work from home or take advantage of other options for weathering the pandemic.
One patient was found dead in bed, 12 hours after falling on a wet floor and sustaining a head injury. Sick residents who were awaiting the results of coronavirus tests shared rooms with healthy residents. Since March, at least 53 have died after testing positive.
Those were among the findings of a federal inspection last month of a northern New Jersey nursing home, Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center II, that is now the site of one of the state’s largest outbreaks.
The report, released on Thursday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, offers the first detailed glimpse into how the pandemic has ravaged nursing homes across the country.
It was released on the same day that members of the National Guard arrived in Andover, N.J., to assist at the nursing home, a 543-bed facility that has been chronically short of staff members and masks and has over the past two years received poor grades from federal and state inspectors.
Nursing homes have been hit particularly hard by the outbreak. A tally by The Times found that more than 118,000 residents and staff members at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities have contracted the virus, and more than 19,600 have died.
But a separate Times investigation also found that, when the pandemic struck, a majority of the nation’s nursing homes were losing money, some were falling into disrepair, and others were struggling to attract new occupants.
Their troubled state was years in the making. Decades of ownership by private equity and other private investment firms left many nursing homes with staggering bills and razor-thin margins, while competition from home care attendants and assisted-living facilities further gutted their business. Even so, many of their owners still found creative ways to wring profits out of them, according to an analysis of federal and state data.
President Trump said on Thursday that he and Vice President Mike Pence, as well as members of the White House staff, would be tested every day for the coronavirus after a military aide who has had contact with the president was found to have the virus.
Asked by reporters about the aide, Mr. Trump played down the matter. “I’ve had very little contact, personal contact, with this gentleman,” he said. But he added that he and other officials and staff members at the White House would be tested more frequently.
A White House spokesman said that Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence had both tested negative for the virus since their exposure to the military aide. But the episode raised new questions about how well-protected Mr. Trump and other top officials are as they work at the White House, typically without wearing masks.
The president has said that the White House uses a test kit made by Abbott, which can return results on the spot in as little as five minutes. But health professionals have warned that the Abbott test kit produces less reliable results than those shipped to labs but which can take days.
The military aide’s illness was first reported by CNN, and was made public the day before eight World War II veterans — each older than 95, an age group at high statistical risk for serious illness from the coronavirus — were scheduled to take part in a photo-op at the White House and an event at the World War II Memorial nearby to celebrate the 75th anniversary on Friday of the German surrender, known as V-E Day.
The event will include an opportunity for the veterans to take pictures at the White House with the secretaries of defense and state; the first lady, Melania Trump; and the president, according to a schedule prepared by the Greatest Generations Foundation, which organized the event.
The schedule says the men will be tested before they enter the White House grounds. But Alex Melikian, the granddaughter of Sgt. Gregory Melikian, 97, one of the men invited, raised questions about whether the celebration was putting the men in danger.
“I think its very irresponsible to have the last remaining World War II veterans travel across the country to take a photograph during a global pandemic,” she said. “People over the age of 80 have the highest chance of passing away from this. If he gets it, this could be the end.
“I know it’s his choice to go, but it’s irresponsible to even have an event like this in the first place.”
With unemployment claims surpassing 33 million since March, the nation’s near-term economic outlook hinges on whether patchwork reopenings can mend the damage from the pandemic — and how soon.With unemployment claims surpassing 33 million since March, the nation’s near-term economic outlook hinges on whether patchwork reopenings can mend the damage from the pandemic — and how soon.
Nearly 3.2 million were added to state jobless rolls last week, the Labor Department said Thursday, and economists expect the monthly jobs report on Friday to put the April unemployment rate at 15 percent or higher — a Depression-era level. Nearly 3.2 million Americans were added to state jobless rolls last week, the Labor Department said Thursday, and economists expect the monthly jobs report on Friday to put the April unemployment rate at 15 percent or higher — a Depression-era level.
But even a figure of that magnitude will almost certainly understate the calamity. Officials in some states say more than a quarter of their work force is unemployed. And experts say it is impossible to calculate how many jobs might come back as states lift shelter-in-place rules. But even a figure of that magnitude almost certainly understates the calamity. Officials in some states say more than a quarter of their work force is unemployed. And experts say it is impossible to calculate how many jobs might come back as states lift shelter-in-place rules.
“We don’t know what normal is going to look like,” said Martha Gimbel, an economist and labor market expert at Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic initiative.“We don’t know what normal is going to look like,” said Martha Gimbel, an economist and labor market expert at Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic initiative.
The biggest questions are how many workers will be willing to go back, how many businesses will have full-time jobs for them and how quickly customers will return to the shopping and spending habits that stoke the consumer-driven economy.The biggest questions are how many workers will be willing to go back, how many businesses will have full-time jobs for them and how quickly customers will return to the shopping and spending habits that stoke the consumer-driven economy.
At the same time, many employers may not survive, particularly small ones, while others are likely to operate with reduced hours and staff. And most Americans remain uneasy about the moves to reopen, with 67 percent saying they would be uncomfortable going into a store and 78 percent saying they would be uncomfortable eating at a restaurant, according to a survey that The Washington Post and the University of Maryland released this week.At the same time, many employers may not survive, particularly small ones, while others are likely to operate with reduced hours and staff. And most Americans remain uneasy about the moves to reopen, with 67 percent saying they would be uncomfortable going into a store and 78 percent saying they would be uncomfortable eating at a restaurant, according to a survey that The Washington Post and the University of Maryland released this week.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan said Thursday that she would allow manufacturing workers — including those at the major auto companies — to go back to work beginning Monday. Frontier Airlines on Thursday became the first United States carrier to announce plans to take passengers’ temperatures before boarding commercial flights, the latest effort to make travel safer as parts of the American economy continue to reopen.
Ms. Whitmer, a Democrat who has been the target of demonstrations protesting virus restrictions, including by people who brought guns into the State Capitol in Lansing, has extended her stay-at-home order through May 28. Beginning June 1, anyone with a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher will be denied boarding, Frontier said.
But on Thursday she moved to allow some manufacturers to go back to work next week, paving the way for the auto industry to resume production. Major auto companies have been hoping to restart most of their manufacturing operations by May 18, which will require others in the supply chain to resume work earlier. The requirement came as several major transit agencies and facilities also announced measures to limit the spread of virus.
“As we continue to phase in sectors of our economy, I will keep working around the clock to ensure our businesses adopt best practices to protect workers from the spread of Covid-19,” Ms. Whitmer said in a statement. Amtrak said it would require passengers to wear face coverings in stations and on trains and buses starting Monday. The coverings can be removed only when passengers are eating in designated areas, in private rooms or when seated alone or with a companion in their own pair of seats, Amtrak said.
Rory L. Gamble, the president of the United Automobile Workers union, said in a statement that the union would “continue to have dialogue and aggressively pursue all avenues over the health and safety of our members, their families and their communities as we cautiously go into our next phase of battling this pandemic while work sites reopen.” The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority said that it would also require riders on buses and trains to wear face coverings beginning Monday. It announcement came one day after Los Angeles International Airport said that, starting Monday, it would require anyone in its terminals to wear a face covering.
Some Los Angeles transportation workers had urged the agency to make face coverings mandatory as it prepared to restore bus and rail service that had been reduced in response to the outbreak. At least 58 agency employees or contractors, including 16 bus drivers, have tested test positive for the virus.
The agency said enforcement of the mask requirement would be “a work in progress.” It said it wanted to avoid putting its officers “in an untenable position where confrontations with riders escalate — as we’ve seen happen in other cities.”
A new study offers a glimmer of hope in the fight against the coronavirus: Nearly everyone who has had the disease — regardless of age, sex or severity of illness — eventually makes antibodies.A new study offers a glimmer of hope in the fight against the coronavirus: Nearly everyone who has had the disease — regardless of age, sex or severity of illness — eventually makes antibodies.
Antibodies are immune molecules produced by the body to fight pathogens. Typically, these proteins confer protection against the invader.Antibodies are immune molecules produced by the body to fight pathogens. Typically, these proteins confer protection against the invader.
Several countries, including the United States, are hoping that antibody tests — flawed though many may be — can help decide who is immune to the virus and can return to work. People who are immune could replace vulnerable individuals, especially in high-transmission settings, building in the population what researchers call shield immunity.Several countries, including the United States, are hoping that antibody tests — flawed though many may be — can help decide who is immune to the virus and can return to work. People who are immune could replace vulnerable individuals, especially in high-transmission settings, building in the population what researchers call shield immunity.
The new study also eased a worry that only some people — those who were severely ill, for example — might make antibodies. In fact, the level of antibodies did not differ by age or sex, the researchers found, and even people who had only mild symptoms produced a healthy amount.The new study also eased a worry that only some people — those who were severely ill, for example — might make antibodies. In fact, the level of antibodies did not differ by age or sex, the researchers found, and even people who had only mild symptoms produced a healthy amount.
The new study relied on an antibody test developed by Florian Krammer, a virologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, that has a less than 1 percent chance of false positives.
The researchers tested 624 people who signed up to be potential donors for convalescent plasma, antibodies extracted from blood.
At first, tests showed that only 511 had strong antibody levels; 42 had low levels, and 71 had none. When 64 of those with weak or no levels came back more than a week later, however, all but three had at least some antibodies.
That suggests that the timing of testing for antibodies can greatly affect the results, the researchers said.
Experts said the next step would be to confirm that the presence of antibodies translates to protection from the virus.
“The question now becomes to what extent those are neutralizing antibodies, and whether that leads to protection from infection — all of which we should presume are yes,” said Sean Whelan, a virologist at Washington University in St. Louis.“The question now becomes to what extent those are neutralizing antibodies, and whether that leads to protection from infection — all of which we should presume are yes,” said Sean Whelan, a virologist at Washington University in St. Louis.
In previous work, Dr. Krammer’s team has found that in about a dozen people, including some who had mild symptoms, the level of antibodies matched the level of neutralizing activity. As Mr. Trump rushes to reopen the economy, a battle has erupted between the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the agency’s detailed guidelines to help schools, restaurants, churches and other establishments safely reopen, Abby Goodnough and Maggie Haberman report.
So everyone who makes antibodies is likely to have some immunity to the virus, Dr. Krammer said. The answer to how long immunity lasts, however, will come only by following these patients over time. A copy of the C.D.C. guidance obtained by The New York Times includes sections for child care programs, schools and day camps, churches and other “communities of faith,” employers with vulnerable workers, restaurants and bars, and mass transit administrators. The recommendations include using disposable dishes and utensils at restaurants, closing every other row of seats in buses and subways while restricting transit routes between areas experiencing different infection levels, and separating children at school and camps into groups that should not mix throughout the day.
The road test is a rite of passage for millions of American teenagers. But last month, Georgia waived that requirement for most drivers to help fight the spread of the virus. The state said this week that it had issued licenses to thousands of teenagers without requiring road tests. But White House and other administration officials rejected the recommendations over concerns that they were overly prescriptive, infringed on religious rights and risked further damaging an economy that Mr. Trump was banking on to recover quickly.
“There have been 19,483 teens who upgraded their permit to a provisional driver’s license with the consent of their parent or responsible adult,” Susan Sports, a spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Driver Services, said on Thursday. A spokesman for the C.D.C. said the guidance was still under discussion with the White House, and a revised version could be published soon.
“These teens held a permit for a year and a day and complied with all Georgia’s mandatory driver education requirements,” including 40 hours of supervised training behind the wheel, she said. The rejection of the guidelines is the latest confusing signal as the Trump administration struggles to balance Mr. Trump’s desire to reopen the country quickly against the advice of public health experts, who have counseled reopening methodically via steps tied to reduced rates of infection and expanded efforts to control the spread of the virus.
Georgia isn’t the only state amending its licensing process. In Wisconsin, the Department of Transportation announced on Tuesday that drivers under 18 who had successfully completed their required training and who had a parent or guardian’s endorsement would be able to get a probationary license without completing a road test. The solution was created to “safely address a backlog of demand” created by the pandemic, the department said in a statement. Texas has also modified its procedures for individuals with a learner’s license seeking a provisional license. More than half the states have begun to reopen their economies or plan to do so soon, but most fail to meet the criteria recommended by the Trump administration.
In more than half of the states that are easing restrictions, case counts are trending upward, positive test results are on the rise, or both, raising concerns among public health experts.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan said Thursday that she would allow manufacturing workers — including those at the major auto companies — to go back to work beginning Monday.
Ms. Whitmer, a Democrat who has been the target of demonstrations protesting virus restrictions she has ordered, has extended her stay-at-home order through May 28.
But on Thursday she moved to allow some manufacturers to bring back their workers next week, paving the way for the auto industry to resume production. Major auto companies have been hoping to restart most of their manufacturing operations by May 18, which will require others in the supply chain to resume work earlier.
The road test is a rite of passage for millions of American teenagers. But last month, Georgia waived that requirement for most drivers to help fight the spread of the virus. The state said this week that it had issued licenses to nearly 20,000 teenagers without requiring road tests.
“These teens held a permit for a year and a day and complied with all Georgia’s mandatory driver education requirements,” including 40 hours of supervised training behind the wheel, said Susan Sports, a spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Driver Services. They also had the consent of a parent or responsible adult.
Georgia isn’t the only state amending its licensing process. In Wisconsin, the Department of Transportation said in a statement on Tuesday that drivers under 18 who had successfully completed their required training and who had a parent or guardian’s endorsement would be able to get a probationary license without completing a road test. Texas has also modified its procedures for individuals with a learner’s license seeking a provisional license.
The changes have caused concern. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for American teenagers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The changes have caused concern. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for American teenagers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“There’s concern that with waiving the road test, states are permitting teens to achieve a license when they could possibly be benefiting from additional practice,” said Jeanette Casselano, a spokeswoman for AAA.“There’s concern that with waiving the road test, states are permitting teens to achieve a license when they could possibly be benefiting from additional practice,” said Jeanette Casselano, a spokeswoman for AAA.
Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas on Thursday gave a Dallas salon owner who was jailed for reopening her business and violating lockdown orders the equivalent of a get-out-of-jail-free card, modifying his executive orders on the matter to remove confinement as a punishment.
The salon owner, Shelley Luther, defied state and local orders for nonessential businesses to remain closed during the pandemic when she reopened Salon À La Mode on April 24 and then tore up a cease-and-desist letter sent to her by Dallas County officials.
A judge sentenced Ms. Luther on Tuesday to a week in jail and a fine of at least $3,500, and she quickly became a symbol of conservative outrage over state lockdowns and stay-at-home orders. Armed protesters rallied outside the salon in recent days, and former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska paid a visit to show her support.
Mr. Abbott, who met with the president at the White House on Thursday, said in a statement that he was eliminating confinement as a punishment for violating the executive orders, and that doing so retroactively would apply to Ms. Luther’s sentencing.
“Throwing Texans in jail who have had their businesses shut down through no fault of their own is nonsensical, and I will not allow it to happen,” the governor said in a statement. Soon after, the Texas Supreme Court ordered Ms. Luther’s release, and she was freed.
The state’s Republican leaders have been battling on many fronts with the Democrats who run Dallas County. Ms. Luther was seen as a hero defying overzealous Democratic-leaning officials. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick went so far as to offer to submit to house arrest to help free her.
If the judge “wants to substitute me for her, and sentence me to seven days of house arrest so she can go back to work, that’s fine,” Mr. Patrick told reporters on Wednesday. “I’m fine to take her place in house arrest. I just don’t think she should be going to jail.”
The White House has invited eight World War II veterans — each older than 95 and part of the age group most at risk if they contract Covid-19 — to take part in a photo-op Friday morning at the White House and an event at the war memorial to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Victory Day, Michael D. Shear reports.
The event, which has not yet been publicized, includes an opportunity for the men to take pictures at the White House with the secretaries of defense and state, the first lady Melania Trump and the president, according to a schedule prepared by the Greatest Generations Foundation, which organized the event.
The schedule says the men will be tested before they enter the White House grounds. The group is then expected to ride in the president’s motorcade to the memorial for a ceremony before departing Washington later on Friday.
The event has raised questions about whether the celebration is putting the men in danger by asking them to potentially expose themselves to the virus when the capital and much of the country remain under orders to restrict nonessential travel.
“I think its very irresponsible to have the last remaining World War II veterans travel across the country to take a photograph during a global pandemic,” said Alex Melikian, the granddaughter of Sgt. Gregory Melikian, 97, one of the men who will be meeting the president on Friday.
“People over the age of 80 have the highest chance of passing away from this. If he gets it, this could be the end,” she said of her grandfather, who was a radio operator during the war. “I know it’s his choice to go, but it’s irresponsible to even have an event like this in the first place.”
The visit will come a day after the White House confirmed that a military aide who worked at the White House recently tested positive, raising questions about whether the president and others who were potentially exposed should be self-quarantined to ensure that they do not further spread the virus. White House officials said that the “president and the vice president have since tested negative for the virus, and they remain in great health.”
“I’ve had very little contact, personal contact, with this gentleman,” Mr. Trump said on Thursday, adding that the White House would increase the frequency of its internal testing from once a week to once a day. Mr. Trump said he tested negative on Wednesday.
When the pandemic struck, a majority of the nation’s nursing homes were losing money, some were falling into disrepair, and others were struggling to attract new occupants, leaving many ill-equipped to protect workers and residents.
Their troubled state was years in the making. Decades of ownership by private equity and other private investment firms left many nursing homes with staggering bills and razor-thin margins, while competition from home care attendants and assisted-living facilities further gutted their business. Even so, many of their owners still found creative ways to wring profits out of them, according to an analysis of federal and state data by Matthew Goldstein, Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Robert Gebeloff.
In many cases, investors created new companies to hold the real estate assets because the buildings were more valuable than the businesses themselves, especially with fewer nursing homes being built. Sometimes, investors would buy a nursing home from an operator only to lease back the building and charge the operator hefty management and consulting fees. Investors also pushed nursing homes to buy ambulance transports, drugs, ventilators and other products or services at above-market rates from other companies they owned.
These strategies paid off handsomely for investors, but they forced nursing homes to skimp on quality. For instance, for-profit nursing homes — roughly 70 percent of the country’s 15,400 nursing homes and often owned by private investors — disproportionately lag behind their nonprofit counterparts across a broad array of measures for quality, The Times found. Also, they are cited for violations at a higher rate than nonprofit facilities.
The toll of putting profits first started to show when the outbreak began. No nursing home could be completely prepared for a pandemic as devastating as Covid-19. But some for-profit homes were particularly ill-equipped and understaffed, which undercut their ability to contain the spread of the virus, according to interviews with more than a dozen nursing home workers and elder-care lawyers.
Nursing homes have been hit particularly hard by the outbreak. A tally by The Times found that more than 118,000 residents and staff members at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities have contracted the virus, and more than 19,600 have died.
The pandemic has plunged California into a fiscal hole of historic proportions, state finance officials said Thursday, projecting an 18 percent unemployment rate through next summer and a staggering $54.3 billion state budget deficit.
The analysis released by the state’s Department of Finance, which advises Gov. Gavin Newsom, reversed earlier projections of record reserves and a $5.6 billion surplus and came as the state reeled from a collapsing economy, the nation’s fifth-highest virus death toll and the approach of a potentially devastating fire season.
Unemployment, the department said, would more than quadruple from the 3.9 percent rate California boasted at the start of the year, and tax revenues would be $41.2 billion less than originally forecast.
Expenses are also about to soar, the department said, with the pandemic alone expected to add some $13 billion in unplanned spending for the state’s virus response and increased caseloads for welfare and Medi-Cal, the state’s version of Medicaid.
In the early days of the pandemic, Mike DeWine, the mild-mannered Republican governor of Ohio, gained a national profile for moving quickly to shut down his state while other leaders hesitated. The rates of infection in Ohio have stayed lower than elsewhere in the Midwest.In the early days of the pandemic, Mike DeWine, the mild-mannered Republican governor of Ohio, gained a national profile for moving quickly to shut down his state while other leaders hesitated. The rates of infection in Ohio have stayed lower than elsewhere in the Midwest.
But now, Mr. DeWine is facing an open revolt from members of his own party.But now, Mr. DeWine is facing an open revolt from members of his own party.
Republicans have accused his administration of goosing virus statistics to scare Ohioans. One state senator attacked Mr. DeWine for “micromanaging” residents and having no faith in them. Republican lawmakers in Ohio on Wednesday voted to limit the authority of the state’s health director, Dr. Amy Acton, who appears at Mr. DeWine’s side in his daily news briefings. Mr. DeWine said he would veto the bill.Republicans have accused his administration of goosing virus statistics to scare Ohioans. One state senator attacked Mr. DeWine for “micromanaging” residents and having no faith in them. Republican lawmakers in Ohio on Wednesday voted to limit the authority of the state’s health director, Dr. Amy Acton, who appears at Mr. DeWine’s side in his daily news briefings. Mr. DeWine said he would veto the bill.
Mr. DeWine said on Thursday that barbershops, hair salons, day spas, nail salons and other services could reopen on May 15, when restaurants could begin serving diners outside. By May 21, he said, they could begin to offer dine-in service.Mr. DeWine said on Thursday that barbershops, hair salons, day spas, nail salons and other services could reopen on May 15, when restaurants could begin serving diners outside. By May 21, he said, they could begin to offer dine-in service.
The intraparty warfare in Ohio is part of a growing rebellion by Republican legislators across the country against their governors — both Democratic and Republican — arguing that stay-at-home orders and nonessential business closures are smothering the economy and violating rights.The intraparty warfare in Ohio is part of a growing rebellion by Republican legislators across the country against their governors — both Democratic and Republican — arguing that stay-at-home orders and nonessential business closures are smothering the economy and violating rights.
Republicans in Pennsylvania tried in late April to overturn the Democratic governor’s stay-at-home order; in Louisiana, Republicans voted to strip the governor of his administration’s ability to penalize businesses for violating such an order. In Wisconsin and Michigan, Republican lawmakers sued the governors outright. Republicans in Pennsylvania tried in late April to overturn the Democratic governor’s stay-at-home order. In Louisiana, Republicans voted to strip the governor of his administration’s ability to penalize businesses for violating such an order. In Wisconsin and Michigan, Republican lawmakers sued the governors outright.
In Massachusetts, a federal judge on Thursday ruled that gun stores could reopen, a rebuke to the state’s Republican governor, who had ordered them to close. And in Massachusetts, a federal judge on Thursday ruled that gun stores could reopen, a rebuke to the state’s Republican governor, who had ordered them to close.
“I have enough information to say, in this very small corner of this emergency, we don’t surrender our constitutional rights,” said the judge, Douglas P. Woodlock of United States District Court in Boston, according to The Boston Globe.“I have enough information to say, in this very small corner of this emergency, we don’t surrender our constitutional rights,” said the judge, Douglas P. Woodlock of United States District Court in Boston, according to The Boston Globe.
In Arizona, state officials were criticized for asking a group of professors to halt their work making models about the spread of the virus on Monday, the same day that the governor, a Republican, announced his plans to relax some social distancing measures. But the state announced Thursday that the group would continue to provide models for the state after all, in what officials described as “an ongoing partnership.” For three weeks, the Food and Drug Administration allowed the sale of several types of N95-style face masks for American health care workers despite evidence that the masks were not effective for blocking the coronavirus.
While the economic pain from the virus and its response grows more intense by the day — in Ohio alone, more than 1.1 million people have filed for unemployment over the last two months — surveys have shown broad support for stay-at-home policies and even concern about the prospect of reopening too quickly. Governors who have issued sweeping stay-at-home orders, including Mr. DeWine, have seen soaring approval numbers. Millions of the masks, produced in China, have been bought by or donated to American hospitals and distributed to others on the front line of the outbreak. But starting in mid-April, tests conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that some of the products did not meet medical standards for protection against the coronavirus.
The United Nations on Thursday more than tripled the size of its humanitarian aid appeal to help the most vulnerable countries threatened by the pandemic to $6.7 billion, from the $2 billion initially sought six weeks ago. It wasn’t until Thursday, though, that the F.D.A. barred more than 65 of the 80 authorized manufacturers in China from exporting N95-style face masks to the United States for medical use, citing poor quality.
The enormous expansion of the appeal, announced by Mark Lowcock, the top humanitarian aid official at the United Nations, reflected what he described as an updated global plan that included nine additional countries deemed especially vulnerable: Benin, Djibouti, Liberia, Mozambique, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Togo and Zimbabwe. “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is concerned that certain filtering facepiece respirators (respirators) from China may not provide consistent and adequate respiratory protection to health care personnel exposed to Covid-19,” the agency wrote in a letter to health care providers around the country.
While the peak of the pandemic in the poorest countries is not expected until somewhere between three and six months from now, “there is already evidence of incomes plummeting and jobs disappearing, food supplies failing and prices soaring, and children missing vaccinations and meals,” the United Nations said in a statement. N95 masks, many of which are also produced in China, provide better protection against coronavirus particles than cloth or surgical masks, and they are coveted by health care providers and emergency medical workers. On April 3, drastic shortages of the N95 masks led the F.D.A. to allow imports of similar masks, also from China.
“Unless we take action now, we should be prepared for a significant rise in conflict, hunger and poverty,” said Mr. Lowcock, who leads the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. He added that “the specter of multiple famines” loomed if the help fell short.
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday barred more than 65 manufacturers in China from exporting N95-style face masks to the United States, citing poor quality.
In doing so, the F.D.A. slashed the number of Chinese companies approved to sell the masks in the U.S. to 14 from 80.
N95 masks, which provide better protection against virus particles than cloth or surgical masks, are coveted by health care providers and emergency medical workers. Drastic shortages of the N95 masks led the F.D.A. on April 3 to allow imports of similar masks from China.
These imported masks, known as KN95, were never tested by American regulators, but they were required to be vetted by an accredited test laboratory showing that they met the standards of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those standards call for filtering 95 percent of particles that are 0.3 microns or larger, including the new virus.
As an additional safeguard, the C.D.C. and the F.D.A. initiated their own review to make sure the masks met these performance standards.
On Thursday, the F.D.A. said that too many of the Chinese imports failed to filter out a sufficient percentage of particles. Test results showed that numerous companies that were authorized to sell the masks in the U.S. flunked, with one product removing as little as 24 to 35 percent. The health agencies also tested some KN95 masks that did not have agency approval. One of these, the F.D.A. said, blocked roughly 1 percent of the particles.
New York City’s mayor said on Thursday that the city might begin limiting entry to some parks to prevent overcrowding as the weather warms, though he did not clarify which parks.New York City’s mayor said on Thursday that the city might begin limiting entry to some parks to prevent overcrowding as the weather warms, though he did not clarify which parks.
In certain parks, “just the configuration of the park lends itself to overcrowding,” he said, adding that there would be more details Friday. “We can’t let that happen, and we have to limit the number of people going in.” In certain parks, “just the configuration of the park lends itself to overcrowding,” he said, adding that there would be more details on Friday. “We can’t let that happen, and we have to limit the number of people going in.”
The mayor also said the city would offer 140,000 free antibody tests to New Yorkers; preference would be given to people in some of the hardest-hit neighborhoods.The mayor also said the city would offer 140,000 free antibody tests to New Yorkers; preference would be given to people in some of the hardest-hit neighborhoods.
Also on Thursday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York said that testing of 27,000 workers at 25 hospitals and other facilities found that 12 percent of the health care workers in New York City had the antibodies. Tests of customers at city supermarkets found much higher rates — nearly 20 percent, he said. The governor attributed the counterintuitive findings to the fact that health care workers followed protocols on using masks, gloves and sanitizer more closely. Also on Thursday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York said that testing of 27,000 workers at 25 hospitals and other facilities found that 12 percent of the health care workers in New York City had antibodies. Tests of customers at city supermarkets found much higher rates — nearly 20 percent, he said. The governor attributed the findings to the fact that health care workers followed protocols on using masks, gloves and sanitizer more closely.
Mr. Cuomo also said that he would extend the moratorium on evictions over unpaid rent until Aug. 20, and that the state would ban the issuing of any late fees for unpaid rent during the crisis. He added that security deposits could be used to pay rent fees.Mr. Cuomo also said that he would extend the moratorium on evictions over unpaid rent until Aug. 20, and that the state would ban the issuing of any late fees for unpaid rent during the crisis. He added that security deposits could be used to pay rent fees.
Another 231 more people had died in the state, Mr. Cuomo said, a number that has been all but flat for four consecutive days.Another 231 more people had died in the state, Mr. Cuomo said, a number that has been all but flat for four consecutive days.
During quarantine, flower pressing, natural dyeing and other traditional activities have made a comeback. Here are some “new” old-timey projects to try:
In India, a gas leak that poisoned hundreds may have resulted from the rush to reopen a chemical plant after weeks of lockdown.
Reporting was contributed by Emily Badger, Peter Baker, Alan Blinder, Jonah Engel Bromwich, Benedict Carey, Ben Casselman, Patricia Cohen, Keith Collins, Michael Cooper, Karen Crouse, Michael Crowley, Nicholas Fandos, Manny Fernandez, Matthew Futterman, Rick Gladstone, James Glanz, Abby Goodnough, Denise Grady, Maggie Haberman, Tiffany Hsu, Shawn Hubler, Miriam Jordan, Inyoung Kang, Sheila Kaplan, Lauren Leatherby, Michael Levenson, Apoorva Mandavilli, David Montgomery, Andy Newman, Richard A. Oppel Jr., Tariq Panja, Alicia Parlapiano, Campbell Robertson, Marc Santora, Michael D. Shear, Jennifer Steinhauer, Eileen Sullivan, Pete Wells and Carl Zimmer.Reporting was contributed by Emily Badger, Peter Baker, Alan Blinder, Jonah Engel Bromwich, Benedict Carey, Ben Casselman, Patricia Cohen, Keith Collins, Michael Cooper, Karen Crouse, Michael Crowley, Nicholas Fandos, Manny Fernandez, Matthew Futterman, Rick Gladstone, James Glanz, Abby Goodnough, Denise Grady, Maggie Haberman, Tiffany Hsu, Shawn Hubler, Miriam Jordan, Inyoung Kang, Sheila Kaplan, Lauren Leatherby, Michael Levenson, Apoorva Mandavilli, David Montgomery, Andy Newman, Richard A. Oppel Jr., Tariq Panja, Alicia Parlapiano, Campbell Robertson, Marc Santora, Michael D. Shear, Jennifer Steinhauer, Eileen Sullivan, Pete Wells and Carl Zimmer.