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    Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/16/politics/coronavirus-us-president-donald-trump-fauci-politics/index.html

    Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what’s happening in the world as it unfolds.

    Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/16/politics/debate-recap/index.html

    In an aggressive bid to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, Mayor Eric Garcetti ordered bars to close and forced restaurants to halt dine-in service. Food and nightlife proprietors fear some establishments might not reopen.

    The restrictions, announced by Garcetti in a Sunday night video news conference, went into effect at midnight and run through March 31. They also apply to movie theaters, gyms and fitness centers. Grocery stores, pharmacies and food banks will remain open.

    Garcetti said the measures were necessary to protect public health but acknowledged the economic consequences they pose for small businesses.

    “I encourage all Angelenos to help support these critical small businesses — the restaurants we love in our neighborhoods — by continuing to order from them or getting takeout or delivery,” Garcetti said.

    In ordinary circumstances, restaurants are known for high overhead costs and relatively narrow margins. Chefs say an extended shutdown could have far-reaching consequences for the largest private-sector industry in the county, accounting for 355,540 jobs, according to a 2017 L.A. County Economic Development Corp. report.

    “It’s a gut punch on a Sunday night,” said Sang Yoon, chef and owner of Lukshon and Father’s Office.

    “When this is over, the L.A. restaurant landscape might look dramatically different, so that’s a huge fear,” Yoon said. “The lasting implications after this may not be temporary. Some of these closures might be permanent for a lot of places.”

    Josef Centeno, 45, the chef-owner of Baco Mercat, Bar Ama and Orsa & Winston in downtown L.A. and Amacita in Culver City, preemptively transitioned all his restaurants to takeout- and delivery-only on Friday. He worries he won’t be able to sustain his businesses on such orders for long.

    “We’ll be completely out of money in like a week and a half,” he said.

    He has already cut his managers’ salaries in an attempt to spread the wealth among his staff of 140 and keep his restaurants going as long as possible.

    “Everyone is going to be saving their money,” Centeno said. “No one is going to be ordering takeout. I’m mentally preparing to pretty much lose everything.”

    The announcement came on the heels of a request Sunday afternoon by Gov. Gavin Newsom urging bars, nightclubs, wineries and breweries in California to shut down operations.

    Around 5 p.m. Sunday, the usually bustling Tabula Rasa wine bar in Hollywood was mostly empty, with a handful of patrons finishing up their glasses.

    After Newsom’s recommendation, owner Zach Negin, 40, announced last call before an extended closure. Some of the employees behind the bar had tears in their eyes.

    “If I knew that in two weeks we’d be open and back to business as usual, yeah, no problem — we can afford to pay our employees. But I don’t know that we’ll be open in two weeks or six weeks,” Negin said.

    “We’re not looking to be charities. We are a business and businesses deal with things that are unexpected, and this is an extreme example of that,” he said. “It might put us out of business. It will put lots of people out of business.”

    Tabula Rasa manager Nicole Dougherty, 33, said she has a staff of 10 people asking her questions she doesn’t have answers to.

    “Mostly I’m feeling a sense of hopelessness and the inability to provide,” she said. “Do we need to throw away all of our food? Just not knowing. We’re a tiny business. Not knowing where our income is going to come from and how we are going to take care of our staff and employees.”

    In recent years, restaurants have struck deals with app-based delivery companies such as Grubhub Inc., DoorDash Inc. and Postmates Inc. But quickly shifting to a delivery-only business model isn’t easy — nor is it necessarily profitable.

    Chad Colby, chef at Italian restaurant Antico on Beverly Boulevard, said his shop doesn’t have a delivery service set up. He plans to spend Monday talking to the delivery services but is hesitant about the financial feasibility.

    “The numbers really don’t make sense; that’s why we haven’t done it in the past,” Colby said.

    For now, the restaurant is accepting takeout orders via its phone line. Colby is also considering preparing cook-at-home kits for families of four.

    Another major question among restaurateurs is rent.

    Garcetti announced the city would put a moratorium on residential evictions, aiming to protect people whose wages will be diminished or lost by coronavirus-related work stoppages. He said he has asked City Atty. Mike Feuer to look into whether Los Angeles can “legally help prevent commercial evictions” as well.

    He also announced that the city is putting together a fund that will offer loans for small businesses.

    “Landlords, depending on how they react, they may be very understanding and they may make some concessions. Some may not,” Yoon said. “That’s going to be the tough part — even if you go to zero staff, your rent’s still due.”

    Times staff writer Dakota Smith contributed to this report.

    Source Article from https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-03-15/coronavirus-close-los-angeles-restaurants

    NEW YORK (Reuters) – The mayors of New York City and Los Angeles, the two largest cities in the United States, on Sunday said they were ordering restaurants, theaters, bars and movie houses closed in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

    Any restaurant, bar or cafe selling food will only be able to do so via delivery or take-out, officials said.

    “The virus can spread rapidly through the close interactions New Yorkers have in restaurants, bars and places where we sit close together,” said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We have to break that cycle.”

    Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Sunday night that he was also ordering gyms closed, too.

    Both mayors said they were not making their decisions lightly.

    “These places are part of the heart and soul of our city. They are part of what it means to be a New Yorker,” de Blasio said. “But our city is facing an unprecedented threat, and we must respond with a wartime mentality.”

    De Blasio said his order would be in effect on Tuesday at 9 a.m. In Los Angeles the restrictions would take effect at midnight on Sunday.

    There was no word yet on how long the businesses in New York would remain closed – the mayor’s office did not immediately respond to requests for detail.

    Garcetti said Los Angeles businesses affected by his order must stay closed until March 31, adding that he may extend the order.

    More than 50,000 restaurants in New York were expected to shutter by Tuesday morning. According to the National Restaurant Association, restaurants account for more than $51 billion in annual revenue and have more than 800,000 employees.

    “We will come through this, but until we do, we must make whatever sacrifices necessary to help our fellow New Yorkers,” de Blasio said.

    Before word of the mayor’s order came out, a New York police cruiser was seen in the East Village neighborhood, a pillar of the city’s night life scene, telling patrons of bars and restaurants to disperse and go home. Several businesses closed up shop shortly afterward.

    For restaurant owner Julio Pena, the New York City shutdown looks devastating. Pena, who managed to keep his Il Posto Accanto restaurant open in the aftermath of 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy, doesn’t know how he or other businesses will survive.

    “Throughout whatever situation we’ve always opened, not only for staff and to pay the bills, but because the community needs us,” he said.

    Reporting by Leela de Krester in New York; Additional reporting by Brad Brooks in Austin, Texas. Editing by Gerry Doyle

    Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-nyc/new-york-city-mayor-orders-restaurants-bars-theaters-closed-for-coronavirus-idUSKBN21308Q

    California Governor Gavin Newsom on Sunday directed all “non-essential” businesses such as “bars, nightclubs, wineries and brewpubs and the like” be closed in the state.

    “We believe this is a non-essential function … And we believe this is appropriate under the circumstances,” Newsom said during a press conference.

    Newsom did not ask all restaurants in the state to close down as Ohio and Illinois have done.

    “We have more concerns and considerations … We don’t believe ultimately we need to shut them down,” Newsom said.

    Newsom called for restaurants to socially distance patrons within establishments. “We’re directing we reduce current occupancy by half and require social distancing,” he said.

    Newsom also called for the home isolation of all seniors in California as well as those with chronic health conditions.

    He added that the state of California was partnering with organizations across healthcare, including Verily, Google’s sister company, to expand access to reliable screening and testing of the coronavirus.

    According to Newsom, 335 people have tested positive for coronavirus in California and there have been six deaths so far. “We are working very collaboratively … We are trying to solve problems in real time,” Newsom said.

    Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/15/california-governor-calls-for-closure-of-all-bars-and-wineries-home-isolation-of-seniors.html

    What the Facts Are:

    What Mr. Biden said:

    “A Medicare option. We can do that now. I can get that passed. I can get that done, if I’m president of the United States of America.”

    This is exaggerated. Mr. Biden tried to argue that his health care plan, which would let Americans sign up for Medicare while leaving private coverage intact, had a more realistic path toward becoming legislation than Mr. Sanders’s Medicare-for-all proposal. In truth, both policies would face long odds in Congress, where Republicans currently hold a majority in the Senate and oppose both ideas. Even if Democrats were to control both houses, the public option would still be far from easy to enact into law: Many wanted to include it in the Affordable Care Act passed under President Barack Obama, but it ultimately fell out of the legislation after intense lobbying from the health insurance industry.

    What the Facts Are:

    What Mr. Biden said:

    “You get rid of the nine super PACs?”

    This is exaggerated. Mr. Biden was most likely referring to “People Power for Bernie,” a coalition of nine outside advocacy groups backing Mr. Sanders’s candidacy and organizing voter mobilization efforts on his behalf. These groups were labeled “dark money” by Pete Buttigieg, the former Democratic candidate. Of these nine groups, one — affiliated with Dream Defenders, a youth activist group formed after the shooting death of the unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin — is a super PAC. Most of the others are 501(c)(4) organizations or social welfare nonprofits.

    Beyond these groups, Mr. Sanders does have the support of a super PAC of National Nurses United, the country’s largest nurses’ union. It has spent over $750,000 in support of his candidacy, according to the campaign finance watchdog the Center for Responsive Politics. (The center also lists three other super PACs that support Mr. Sanders, but they have spent no money on his behalf.) In contrast, the super PAC supporting Mr. Biden (Unite the Country) was created by his former aides and has spent about $10 million on his behalf.

    What the Facts Are:

    What Mr. Biden said:

    “We both agree that we have a new green deal to deal with the threat that faces humanity.”

    This is mostly true. The Green New Deal is a congressional resolution that lays out an ambitious plan to fight both climate change and economic inequality. It includes a goal of switching to 100 percent wind, solar and other renewable energy by 2030 while providing a federal jobs guarantee and Medicare for all. Mr. Sanders is an original co-sponsor of the Senate version of that resolution, and incorporated many of the elements of the bill into his climate plan, which he also has named for the Green New Deal.

    Mr. Biden has said in his climate plan that he believes the Green New Deal “is a crucial framework for meeting the climate challenges we face.” But his plan puts $1.7 trillion into addressing climate change compared with $16 trillion proposed by Mr. Sanders, and sets a slightly later deadline — 2050 — for decarbonizing the economy.

    What the facts are:

    What Mr. Sanders said:

    “That bill was opposed by LULAC, the largest Latino organization in America. They called the guest worker program akin to slavery. The bill was killed because it was a vote on the amendment. I think it was 49 to 48. You know who voted with me? Barack Obama.”

    Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/15/us/politics/democratic-debate-fact-check.html

    New York City parents hailed the decision Sunday to close the public schools — but were furious at Mayor Bill de Blasio for taking so long to make the move.

    “The governor, I guess, talked some sense into the mayor and convinced him,” said a dad of two public-school kids on Staten Island to The Post — referring to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s announcement earlier in the afternoon that city schools were closing, pre-empting de Blasio’s press conference.

    “How can you close all these sporting events and not close schools? [The mayor] is totally inconsistent,” said the man, who only identified himself as Kevin and has a daughter at PS 3 and another at IS 7. “My wife is a teacher, too. She is not a big fan at all.

    “They’re livid,” he said of teachers about de Blasio. “And they don’t think they’re getting the right information. It’s chaos.“

    Another dad of two boys in the system added that the mayor “should have done it sooner.

    “We were planning on taking kids out tomorrow anyway, with Nassau and Suffolk closing,” said the man, Jim, of Battery Park in Manhattan, referring to both public and private schools closing across Long Island.

    “No choice, can’t take the chance. Now we have to figure out how to get their school plans, etc.  Going to be a ton of fun.

    “It’s been stressful just not knowing or knowing it was coming but not sure when. It was inevitable. Delays didn’t do anything to help,” said Jim, whose boys attend PS 343.

    “I watched de Blasio this morning saying he we was keeping open schools as long as possible.  I understand his rationale, a lot of schoolkids’ parents work in hospitals. But like my wife pointed out, almost every other city is dealing with the same.”

    Fred Mwangaguhunga, a Tribeca parent of triplets who attend PS 234, added, “I’m happy that Cuomo had the guts to pull the trigger. I think it’s shameful what de Blasio was doing.”

    A Manhattan special-education teacher lamented, “Special-ed kids cannot learn online. It’s very sad and shows the complete breakdown in our — the biggest public school in the country’s — system.

    “These kids are most affected,” she said.

    “If we had [better] notice, teachers would have started making packets for them in order to take home. I’ve already started hearing from parents. They don’t have books to read with their children or means to get.

    “Had we had notice, I could have copied books and workbooks for every student.”

    Source Article from https://nypost.com/2020/03/15/nyc-parents-hail-schools-closure-but-rip-de-blasio-over-how-long-it-took/

    The governors in five states — California, Ohio, Illinois, Massachusetts and Washington — closed bars, restaurants and wineries in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus. In other parts of the country, mayors of major cities ordered similar restrictions.

    In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine said bars and restaurants can stay open for carry-out and delivery but “what we can’t have is people congregating and seated.”

    “I’m aware that this will impact many, many good workers,” DeWine wrote on Twitter. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am, but we will work to mitigate the suffering. It is our goal for everyone to get through this.

    “Every day we delay, more people will die.” 

    In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said all bars, wineries, brew pubs and nightclubs should close, and asked that those over 65 self-isolate. A few hours after Newsom’s suggestion, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he was closing bars, restaurants, nightclubs and “entertainment venues,” effective at midnight Sunday until at least March 31. 

    Across the country, counties in some states have taken similar precautions, all in an effort to stop people from congregating and unknowingly passing along the virus.

    Illinois also shut down bars and restaurants to dine-in customers through March 30, a day after thousands gathered in downtown Chicago to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. 

    You asked us tons of questions about the coronavirus:We’re answering them.

    Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/03/15/coronavirus-bars-restaurants-closed-states/5055634002/

    The president declared a national emergency over the coronavirus on Friday, freeing up to $50 billion for states and U.S. territories to deploy to assist Americans affected by the outbreak.

    That announcement buoyed markets, which have plummeted in recent weeks amid fears that the global economy is about to be thrust into recession as events are canceled and people stay at home. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average indices both entered bear market territory last week, ending 11-year bull runs. 

    Just ahead of the White House press conference, the Federal Reserve announced a series of steps to mitigate the economic harm the new virus is likely to wreak. 

    The central bank said it will cut its benchmark interest rate to near zero and launch a $700 billion quantitative easing program, with purchases beginning on Monday.

    Trump, who has long pressed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to take aggressive action to stimulate the economy, expressed delight at the move. 

    “It makes me very happy and I want to congratulate the Federal Reserve,” Trump said. “I think that people in the market should be very thrilled.”

    Dow futures plunged shortly after the president’s remarks despite the central bank action, hitting the 5% “limit down” threshold implemented by the CME futures exchange to prevent panic selling. 

    — CNBC’s Dawn Kopecki and Lauren Hirsch contributed to this report. 

    Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/15/trump-says-relax-urges-against-hoarding-as-coronavirus-cases-soar-and-fed-cuts-rates-to-zero.html

    US President Donald Trump is expanding his European travel ban to the UK and Ireland from Tuesday, in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
    A 30-day ban on travellers from mainland Europe is already in place.

    Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna reports from Washington, DC, in the US.

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    #Coronavirus #COVID19 #Trump

    Source Article from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTdvkqzAmsg

    Gov. Gavin Newsom asked Californians over the age of 65 on Sunday to isolate themselves from others and said that neighborhood bars and pubs should close their doors as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state continued to rise.

    But Newsom again stopped short of using the full force of his authority to mandate response measures to protect Californians from the virus that causes COVID-19, a global pandemic that has resulted in six deaths and 335 confirmed cases in the state.

    Instead, the governor said his request of bars and pubs is akin to an announcement he made last week asking for the cancellation of gatherings of 250 people or more. The governor is allowing restaurants to remain open and advised customers to practice “deep social distancing” when dining out — in effect, a recommendation to reduce occupancy by half.

    The governor’s office said his request for the elderly to remain at home also extended to residents with underlying health issues, such as blood disorders, chronic kidney disease, asthma, chronic liver disease, compromised immune systems, pregnancies in the last two weeks, metabolic disorders, heart disease and other conditions that make them more susceptible to serious illness from the coronavirus.

    In all, Newsom’s list of new efforts and recommendations reflected the fast-moving nature of the public health crisis and the complexity of how to respond in protecting some 40 million Californians.

    In addition to the requests for older residents to remain isolated and bars to close, the governor announced additional testing options for two Bay Area counties hit hard by the virus. He also called for a tighter limit on visitors to hospitals and assisted living facilities to only those patients in end-of-life situations. He promised more action to help public school students out of school as well as homeless people. And he pledged additional tax dollars to be spent through the state budget process as needed.

    “We need to anticipate spread, but we also need to prioritize our focus,” Newsom said.

    Newsom defended his lack of action to close restaurants, saying he’s removing the most vulnerable people from those environments and allowing eateries to continue to provide meals.

    “We need the capacity to meet the needs of our population. And let me say this, frankly, we need a productive society,” Newsom said in response to questions about why he wasn’t taking more dramatic measures. “I’m not willing to submit that in this moment we can’t have cohorts of society being productive, just in a radically different way.”

    Newsom’s new directive came shortly after Govs. Mike DeWine of Ohio, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Charlie Baker of Massachusetts on Sunday issued orders requiring all bars and restaurants across their states to close. Restaurants may continue to offer carryout and delivery service in Ohio, which has approximately 36 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

    Newsom insisted that the difference in what he has recommended and what’s happening in other states and localities is a “nuance” that will not affect the effectiveness of protecting public health. He expressed confidence that Californians would follow his directives voluntarily.

    When asked whether he had been tested himself, the governor said he had not, noting that he believed available test kits should be prioritized for those who need them most.

    The governor said the request of older Californians was made in hopes of limiting their exposure to the virus, given that health officials have pointed out higher dangers for those who are older. He said plans are being made to help carry out the sweeping directive.

    “We are prioritizing their safety,” Newsom said.

    The new guidelines come following other broad efforts announced in recent days to combat the virus in California. Most of those have been taken on the local level, including the decision by dozens of school districts to shut down operations for the next two weeks or longer. On Friday, Newsom issued an executive order assuring those schools of continued funding during closures.

    The governor said he would issue additional directives Tuesday to schools that remain open and said he was especially focused on providing support to low-income families. He suggested some local school officials had not fully thought through the consequences when closing their campuses, including how to continue providing meals to students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches and how to ensure that students with special needs receive adequate care and supervision.

    “It’s one thing to say you have a plan and it’s another to actually deliver that plan,” Newsom said.

    “Superintendents say, ‘Don’t shut me down. Help me with these kids because right now I don’t know how to help that child. I don’t know how to feed that child,’” Newsom said. “We’re going to do this very thoughtfully, deliberately. I prefer to be responsible to the reality, not the perception.”

    Newsom noted that roughly 85% of California K-12 students are in school districts that have already announced closures.

    The governor estimated that the directive to seniors would affect 5.3 million Californians. That number includes those most at risk simply due to their age, but he said it does not include the millions more who have underlying health conditions that would make them vulnerable.

    Newsom also announced that the state’s 108,000 unsheltered homeless people would be prioritized for mitigation policies, with a significant push to move them indoors. Though details remained unclear, he said the state had hotels and motels that could be used to provide shelter, along with an additional 450 state-owned trailers sent to “critical points” to supplement those that were deployed in Los Angeles, Stockton, Sonoma and other places before the outbreak.

    Last week, Newsom issued an executive order allowing the state to commandeer some private properties to provide beds for isolation. Newsom said the goal of the newly announced measures aimed at the unsheltered population was to “get people into environments where we can address their growing anxiety and our growing concerns.”

    But he did not say that the attempt to bring people indoors would be mandated or require law enforcement intervention. In recent days, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have also detailed guidelines for homeless shelters and encampments, many of which include increasing sanitation and providing detailed suggestions for handling ill people in shelter settings.

    “I am not ratcheting up a mindset of enforcement,” Newsom said.

    Still, the governor acknowledged that the outbreak of the virus was a fluid situation that state and local officials would need to continue to monitor as events merit. But he bristled at questions asking whether his administration’s efforts could be taken as too timid.

    “We are guided in a very thoughtful way, not by hysteria,” Newsom said.

    Source Article from https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-15/california-seniors-isolated-bars-close-coronavirus-gavin-newsom

    As U.S. cases of the coronavirus climbed well past 3,000, New York City announced Sunday that it will close public schools Monday and states and cities are ordering bars and restaurants to close to encourage social distancing to try to stem the outbreak.

    New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday evening that Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk and New York City schools will close this week. Cuomo also said in a statement that New York City must put a plan in place to make sure that children who rely on school meals will still get fed and that parents, especially health care workers and first responders, will be provided child care.

    In a news conference Sunday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said schools will close Monday and remain closed at least until April 20. The mayor said there is a chance schools could remain closed for the rest of the school year.

    Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

    The announcement came after widespread calls to close the schools and protests from “furious” teachers who thought it was irresponsible to keep schools open.

    “It is time to take more dramatic measures,” the mayor said, adding that he knows “the full cost of shutting our schools.”

    The decision came on a day when states and cities across the country took more dramatic measures to contain the coronavirus.

    Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Sunday that he has ordered all bars and restaurants in the state to shut down service beginning at 9 p.m.

    “How long will this order be in effect? We don’t, frankly, know,” DeWine told reporters Sunday. “It will be in effect for as long as it needs to.”

    DeWine said carryout and delivery services were not included in the order, and he said his administration is working to help small businesses that will inevitably suffer.

    Ohio’s decision came as other states are putting similar protocols in place. On Sunday, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered bars and restaurants in the state to close from Monday to March 30. On CNN on Sunday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he plans to enact a similar policy.

    Boston Mayor Marty Walsh ordered bars, restaurants and clubs to cut their capacities in half by removing tables and chairs to encourage social distancing, said beer gardens cannot open until the crisis passes, and said lines should not form outside, according to NBC Boston. He also loosened rules applying to takeout.

    “We are basically allowing every single establishment that serves food in the city of Boston to serve takeout,” Walsh said.

    Download the NBC News app for full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

    Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser also announced a series of protocols that restaurants and bars must follow, including limiting service to tables of six peoples or fewer, ensuring that patrons are seated at least 6 feet apart at tables and booths and ordering nightclubs and multipurpose facilities to suspend operations.

    New York City is not closing bars and restaurants, but it is cracking down on establishments that violate its earlier rule of keeping occupancy at half of capacity. Authorities will enforce penalties on the half-capacity rule, de Blasio said.

    The efforts by states and cities are meant to force more people to participate in social distancing, one of the best ways to slow the spread of a virus and minimize its effects on the most vulnerable populations.

    “The best tool we have right now in this response is to give individuals breathing room from one another,” Jason Schwartz, an assistant professor of health policy at the Yale School of Public Health, previously told NBC News. “This is really critical.”

    Source Article from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-york-city-close-schools-bars-restaurants-around-u-s-n1159651

    Lawmakers remained sharply critical. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) called the long lines “unacceptable,” while Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) tweeted of waits stretching up to eight hours, writing, “Admin was unprepared after Presidential ban on travel from Europe.” Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) on Sunday wrote a letter to top CBP officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, asking what authorities are doing to “prevent the spread of this dysfunction.”

    Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2020/03/14/europe-travel-ban-airport-delays/

    Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden will be the only candidates onstage for Sunday’s Democratic presidential debate.

    Matt Rourke/AP


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    Matt Rourke/AP

    Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden will be the only candidates onstage for Sunday’s Democratic presidential debate.

    Matt Rourke/AP

    Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the 11th Democratic presidential debate, on Sunday, is set to look and sound quite different from the previous 10.

    To prevent further transmission of the virus, the Democratic National Committee announced Thursday it will hold the debate in Washington, D.C., with no live audience, instead of its original planned location of Arizona, one of four states voting on Tuesday.

    The debate is being hosted at 8 p.m. ET by CNN along with CNN en Español, CNN International and Univision, and will take place at CNN studios.

    The debate will be moderated by CNN’s Dana Bash and Jake Tapper and Univision’s Ilia Calderón.

    They were originally to be joined by Univision’s Jorge Ramos although the network has since announced that he will not to be part of the debate following a potential secondary exposure to the coronavirus.

    Which candidates will be there?

    Former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders are the remaining two viable contenders for the Democratic nomination and will be the only candidates onstage Sunday night.

    This comes following a series of presidential candidates suspending their campaigns in the days before and after the Super Tuesday contests on March 3.

    Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is still actively running, though she did not meet the DNC’s qualification for the debate. A candidate needs at least 20% of delegates awarded so far to be onstage; Gabbard has earned just two delegates out of nearly 1,800 awarded so far.

    How do I watch the debate?

    The debate will begin at 8 p.m. ET and is set to last two hours. It will be broadcast on CNN, CNN en Español, CNN International and Univision.

    It can also be streamed on CNN.com as well as the network’s mobile app and TV steaming services.

    Get caught up: What has happened since the last debate?

    Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2020/03/15/815585099/biden-and-sanders-debate-sunday-in-d-c-heres-what-you-need-to-know

    United States

    On March 11 the United States barred the entry of all foreign nationals who had visited China, Iran and a group of European countries during the previous 14 days.

    The ban applies to countries in the Schengen Area, which are Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

    Effective March 16, the ban will apply to foreign nationals departing from the United Kingdom and Ireland.

    As of March 13, all American citizens and legal permanent residents who have been in high-risk areas and return to the United States are required to fly to one of the following 13 airports:

    • Boston-Logan International Airport (BOS), Massachusetts

    • Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), Illinois

    • Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Texas

    • Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW), Michigan

    • Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), Hawaii

    • Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Georgia

    • John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), New York

    • Los Angeles International Airport, (LAX), California

    • Miami International Airport (MIA), Florida

    • Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), New Jersey

    • San Francisco International Airport (SFO), California

    • Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), Washington

    • Washington-Dulles International Airport (IAD), Virginia

    Uruguay

    On March 13, Uruguay announced that all passengers arriving from China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Iran, Spain, Italy, France and Germany must go into mandatory quarantine for 14 days.

    Venezuela

    On March 12, Venezuela announced it would suspend all flights from Colombia and European countries for at least a month.

    China

    Travelers in China who have recently visited South Korea, Japan and Italy — countries with “severe outbreaks” — and are headed toward Beijing or Shanghai, or provinces such as Guangdong and Sichuan, will be quarantined for two weeks in a Chinese facility.

    India

    As of March 13, the Indian government suspended most travel and tourism visas, with the exception of “diplomatic, official, U.N. or International Organizations, employment and project visas” until April 15.

    Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/travel/coronavirus-travel-restrictions.html

    The administration also dramatically narrowed the number of places where air travelers returning from Europe could enter the U.S. — currently just 13 airports. At the same time, Customs and Border Protection and health officials on Friday began doing “enhanced screening” for those passengers, consisting of temperature checks and questions about travel history and symptoms, without having enough staff on hand to process them quickly.

    Customs staffing levels have been inadequate for some time. The union representing Customs screeners said at a hearing in December that the force was short 2,700 officers, partly as a result of the administration’s decision to temporarily reassign people to the U.S.-Mexican border.

    In the early weeks of the outbreak, the administration was slow to ramp up screening at international airports, even for travelers re-entering the United States from known coronavirus hot spots. Harvard public health researchers warned in early March that the screening procedures in place then would miss as many as two-thirds of U.S.-bound passengers entering the U.S.

    Now, public health officials are expressing concern that the passengers crammed shoulder-to-shoulder in airport screening lines are at higher risk for catching and then spreading the virus.

    “It’s not good public health policy to have crowds of people in tight spaces, especially people who are returning from places where we know there’s widespread transmission occurring,” said John Auerbach, president and CEO of Trust for America’s Health. He added that there should be serious consideration of unintended consequences of the policies being implemented.

    With O’Hare among the hardest hit, Illinois leaders blamed the Trump administration for the latest mess, saying it was apparently unprepared to carry out its own orders.

    “Appears source of delays all federal and Admin was unprepared after Presidential ban on travel from Europe,” said Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin on Twitter. The state’s governor, JB Pritzker, wrote: “The federal government needs to get its s@#t together. NOW.”

    Durbin and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) later Sunday jointly called on the administration to direct additional resources to the 13 airports where international passengers from coronavirus-impacted countries are being shunted. They called the response “unacceptable,” and noted that the airport hasn’t had any contact from DHS, HHS or Customs “to discuss how to accommodate these new travel restrictions, now in effect for travelers coming from 26 additional countries.

    Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot called on the Trump administration to immediately send more personnel to airports, calling the situation “solely the responsibility of the federal government for not listening.”

    “When the federal government doesn’t listen and when it doesn’t bring the considerations of mayors and governors and other local officials into the equation, not only are you creating a disaster, not only are you creating a hazardous circumstance that threatens the public, you risk causing serious illness and death,” she said at a press conference Sunday.

    Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said Saturday that the added screenings are only taking around 60 seconds per passenger. But that doesn’t help if not enough screeners are on duty. And some passengers complained on social media that they waited as long as six or seven hours to be screened.

    CBP’s acting commissioner, Mark Morgan, said in a statement Sunday that the agency is “working diligently to address the longer than usual delays” and several airports are already improving. A spokesperson was not able to provide details about any specific steps the agency had taken to get lines under control.

    “We appreciate the patience of the traveling public as we deal with this unprecedented situation,” Morgan said. “We’re continuing to balance our efficiencies with ensuring the health and safety of all American citizens through enhanced medical screening.”

    Trump noted the long lines in a tweet on Sunday.

    “We are doing very precise Medical Screenings at our airports. Pardon the interruptions and delays, we are moving as quickly as possible, but it is very important that we be vigilant and careful. We must get it right. Safety first!” he wrote.

    The opposite of social distancing

    The thousands of people who have been jammed into close quarters while waiting for their bags and customs checks could be at a greater health risk because of the situation.

    Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Fox News Sunday the crowds are “countermanding” the administration’s own mitigation efforts. Public health officials have frequently stressed the importance of social distancing to prevent the spread of the virus.

    “What people need to understand is if you’re an American is if you’re an American citizen, you can get back,” Fauci said. “You don’t need to rush back, you will be able to get back but it’s understandable how when people see the travel ban, they immediately want to hunker and get home.

    “Hopefully we don’t have more of that, but I think we probably unfortunately will see that,” he said.

    Mike Fraser, executive director for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, said the large crowds at ports of entry are concerning.

    “While travel home is essential for these individuals, I would hope federal and airport authorities would work with the airlines and state and local health agencies to practice appropriate infection control measures everywhere, but especially in places were crowds are gathered and recommend staggered arrivals to reduce the number of people congregating in one place, “Fraser said.

    “At this time, the goal is to prevent transmission of disease. Any crowded space — churches, grocery stores, airports — all increase the probability of transmission,” said Joyce Johnson, a senior retired U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officer.

    Too little, too late?

    These enhanced screenings are also starting too late, following weeks while the virus was already rapidly spreading around the world. The administration’s initial screening efforts focused on travelers from China, even after it had become clear that the virus had spread to other countries.

    Marc Lipsitch, head of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, has said the lax screening of infected travelers may have led to the outbreak in Washington state, the first U.S. state the virus swept through.

    Before this weekend, alarmed passengers had reported on social media what they considered lax screening as they returned to the U.S.

    Jenn Bartick, a California attorney, told POLITICO that she flew back from Italy two weeks ago and went through “no screening of any type.” She said no one asked her if she had been in the parts of Italy that have been hardest hit by the virus, a spread that since prompted Italian authorities to shut down the entire country.

    She said when she boarded the plane in Italy, “they asked if I had been to China in the past 14 days. No further screening.” She’s been unable to get a test because she doesn’t have symptoms and is self-quarantining.

    A U.S. businessman who flew recently from Hong Kong told POLITICO that the screening he underwent at Los Angeles International Airport was “a joke.”

    Source Article from https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/15/air-passengers-crush-coronavirus-trump-130251

    The Trump administration has offered a German medical company “large sums of money” for exclusive access to a Covid-19 vaccine, German media have reported.

    The German government is trying to fight off what it sees as an aggressive takeover bid by the US, the broadsheet Die Welt reports, citing German government circles.

    The US president had offered the Tübingen-based biopharmaceutical company CureVac “large sums of money” to gain exclusive access to their work, wrote Die Welt.

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    According to an anonymous source quoted in the newspaper, Trump was doing everything to secure a vaccine against the coronavirus for the US, “but for the US only”.

    The German government was reportedly offering its own financial incentives for the vaccine to stay in the country.

    When approached about the report by the Guardian, the German health ministry would only confirm the accuracy of the quotes attributed to one of its spokespersons in the article.

    “The federal government is very interested in vaccines and antiviral agents against the novel coronavirus being developed in Germany and Europe,” the spokesperson quoted in the original article had said. “In this regard the government is in an intensive exchange with the company CureVac.”

    The German health ministry spokesperson declined the opportunity to correct any inaccuracies in Die Welt’s account.

    With its headquarters in the south-western German city of Tübingen, CureVac also has sites in Frankfurt and Boston in the US. Linked with the German health ministry, it works closely with the Paul Ehrlich Institute, a research institution and medical regulatory body that is subordinate to the German health ministry.

    On 11 March, CureVac released a statement that its CEO, the US citizen Daniel Menichella, was unexpectedly leaving the firm and would be replaced by the company’s founder, Ingmar Hoerr.

    At the start of the month, Menichella was invited to the White House in Washington to discuss strategy for the rapid development and production of a coronavirus vaccine with Trump, the vice-president, Mike Pence, and members of the White House coronavirus task force.

    The White House has been contacted for comment.

    Additional reporting by Oliver Laughland

    Source Article from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/15/trump-offers-large-sums-for-exclusive-access-to-coronavirus-vaccine

    New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer (D) called for a city-wide shutdown, including closing bars and restaurants, on Sunday as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread. 

    “The way to get out of crisis is to act logically and strategically,” Stringer tweeted. “Logic says we need universal testing but that’s sadly not happening. Strategy says we need more aggressive social distancing.”

    “That is why today, out of an abundance of caution, I am calling for a city shutdown,” he added. 

    Stringer said only essential services should remain open, meaning bars, restaurants and movie theaters would close. 

    He also repeated his call for the city schools to be shut down. 

    “We cannot go on with business as usual,” he said. “This is about all of us. This is about protecting our most vulnerable. Lives are at stake and there’s no time to waste. We have to flatten the curve.” 

    He added that he is aware of the consequences, as comptroller and a public school parent, but said the consequences of not acting “will be even more drastic” 

    “We need flexible working arrangements for all workers,​ innovative food distribution plans, support for families with older relatives, child care for essential service workers, access to counseling, and resources for households without internet access,” he said. “And we need to act now.”

    A spokesperson for New York City Mayor Bill de BlasioBill de BlasioTwo NY State Assembly members test positive for COVID-19 New York Gov. Cuomo announces first death from coronavirus in the state Sunday shows preview: Lawmakers gear up for another week fighting the coronavirus, seek to curb fallout MORE (D) was not immediately available for comment. 

    Asked if he is considering putting the city on lockdown or shutting down bars and restaurants, De Blasio said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that “every option is on the table.”

    He also said that city officials are continually evaluating whether to close schools, adding that officials are setting up contingency plans if schools need to be shut down but said the contingency scenarios will not be as good as when the city has a functioning school system. 

    New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) declared a state of emergency Thursday, banning gatherings of more than 500 people across the state including shutting down Broadway performances in Manhattan. 

    More than 600 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed across New York state, according to health department data last updated Saturday night. Of the 613 state-wide cases, 269 have been confirmed in New York City. 

    De Blasio said Sunday on CNN he expects at least 1,000 cases will be confirmed in the city “not too far” into next week.

    Source Article from https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/487648-nyc-comptroller-calls-for-city-shutdown