�Թϲ�����

Three weeks after its first coronavirus infection was discovered, the New York City region reached an alarming milestone on Sunday: It now accounts for roughly 5 percent of the world’s confirmed cases, making it an epicenter of the pandemic and increasing pressure on officials to take more drastic measures. Moving to stem the crisis on multiple fronts, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York pleaded with federal officials to nationalize the manufacturing of medical supplies and ordered New York City to crack down on people congregating in public. He suggested some streets could be closed, allowing pedestrians more space. (McKinley, 3/22)

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is ordering New York City to come up with a plan to reduce the number of people gathering in public spaces within 24 hours as he reemphasizes the importance of social distancing to limit the spread of coronavirus. Cuomo, at his daily coronavirus briefing on Sunday, said he saw people gathered in large groups and playing recreational sports during a tour of public places in the city on Saturday. He and other officials have been instructing people to stay home or, if they do venture outside, to keep at least six feet away from others. (Gronewold and Muoio, 3/22)

Some New York City residents, in particular younger ones, still were gathering in parks and public places, Mr. Cuomo said, even as he as directed all nonessential businesses in the state to close and urged residents to stay in their homes and avoid groups. Such gatherings could lead to the spread of the virus, he said. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson have been directed to submit a plan to the state within 24 hours to “correct this situation,” Mr. Cuomo said. (Passy and Honan, 3/22)

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said Sunday that the coronavirus outbreak will get worse in the next two months, adding that he does not think President Trump is doing enough to mitigate the pandemic. “The truth is, and New Yorkers and all Americans deserve the blunt truth, it is only getting worse. And in fact, April and May are going to be a lot worse,” the mayor said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” The outbreak will get even worse, he said, due to Trump’s refusal to invoke the Defense Production Act (DPA) for the medical equipment hospitals need. (Klar, 3/22)

Last week’s statewide shelter-in-place order was an attempt to not only slow the spread of the coronavirus but also to give hospitals a better chance of keeping up. Gov. Gavin Newsom threw California’s medical field another life raft Saturday in the form of $42 million in emergency funding. The money will allow California to lease two hospitals, as well as secure more equipment to serve patients with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. (Bitker, 3/21)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who ordered the state’s nearly 40 million residents to stay at home as much as possible last Thursday, said Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook would provide 1 million medical masks to the state specifically. The state was also working on other efforts to acquire more supplies, he said. Meanwhile, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a stay-at-home order to all residents, as the number of confirmed cases in the state topped 800. The order, which takes effect Monday afternoon, allows people to leave their homes for essential tasks like getting groceries and for exercise. (Calfas, Andrews and Wise, 3/22)

Mayor Eric Garcetti on Sunday admonished Angelenos who haven’t taken orders to practice social distancing seriously, announcing the closure of the city’s golf courses, parking lots at Venice Beach and organized group sports at city parks as they have continued to attract throngs of people. “This weekend we saw too many images of too many people crowding beaches or canyons beyond their capacity. Too many people, too close together, too often,” Garcetti said during his daily briefing on the impact of the novel coronavirus. (Reyes-Velarde, Vives and Newberry, 3/23)

The death toll rose in California this weekend as coronavirus cases spread and residents tried to adjust to extraordinary restrictions on their movement. Los Angeles County health officials on Sunday confirmed one more coronavirus death, bringing the total number of deaths to five. They also reported 71 new cases in the county, with the total number now at 409. There were 132 new cases reported in last 48 hours. (Wigglesworth, La Ganga, Winton and Queally, 3/22)

California’s number of confirmed coronavirus cases keeps gowing, and officials say it is understated due to the lack of tests for the virus. Testing has picked up, but health officials say they still don’t have anything close to a firm estimate of how many people are infected. (3/21)

On a recent morning, Katrina Johnson, Ralph Gomez and Kenya Smith are eager to hit the streets. Outreach workers for a homeless agency serving South Los Angeles, they want to catch up with their clients before the weekend, to make sure everyone is safe for the days ahead. Standing in their office off Slauson Boulevard, they put together their game plan but pause when they come to the supply closet. Its shelves are close to empty. (Curwen and Oreskes, 3/22)

Crowds descended on California beaches, hiking trails and parks over the weekend in open defiance of a state order to shelter in place and avoid close contact with others. California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a shelter in place order directing the state's nearly 40 million residents to stay home beginning March 20 to help stop the spread of coronavirus. Instead, many public spaces were packed, prompting officials in some cities to order parks, recreation areas and beaches to close. (Silverman and Moon, 3/23)

Gov. Phil Murphy on Sunday vowed stricter enforcement of his edict against public gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic as the number of confirmed cases in New Jersey is fast approaching 2,000. Confronted with anecdotes about students still attending and living in a religious school in Lakewood and some nonessential stores remaining open, Murphy said that when he hears such stories, “we are really damned unhappy and we’re going to take action.” (Friedman and Sitrin, 3/22)

New Jersey’s hospitals are racing to add beds and increase staff as the state girds for an expected surge in coronavirus patients in the coming weeks that threatens to overwhelm its health-care system. State health officials are examining reopening closed hospitals and using college dorms, medical wards and nursing homes to expand capacity. Hospitals are clearing space in their existing facilities to add more beds and are canceling nonurgent medical procedures to free up rooms and to reduce workloads for staff. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is also studying building new wings on existing hospitals. (De Avila, 3/22)

The Ohio Attorney General's office ordered abortion clinics in the state to stop performing "nonessential" abortions and surgeries amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to letters the AG's office sent. "The order was issued, in part, to preserve PPE (personal protective equipment) for health care providers who are battling the Covid-19 pandemic that is spreading in our state and also to preserve critical hospital capacity and resources," the letters, which were reviewed by CNN, say. Surgical abortions, the letters say, "involve the use of PPE." (Sgueglia, Spells and Jones, 3/22)

Abortion rights groups are accusing the attorney general of Ohio of using the coronavirus crisis to restrict abortion access after clinics in the state were sent letters this week faulting them for not complying with an order aimed at preserving a limited supply of surgical equipment and protective gear. (McCammon, 3/21)

Gov. Greg Abbott issued two executive orders mandating that the state's health care facilities postpone elective medical procedures and suspending regulations to allow hospitals to treat two patients in one room in an effort to combat the spread of Covid-19. He also announced the creation of a “strike force” to help Texas procure medical supplies and said that he was deploying the National Guard to help providers organize testing areas and assist hospitals in creating more bed space. (Rayasam, 3/22)

The University of Tampa said Saturday that five of its students who travelled together during their spring break recently tested positive for the novel coronavirus. “UT has been notified that five UT students, traveling together and with other UT students during Spring Break, have tested positive for COVID-19,” the university said in a tweet on Saturday. The university did not disclose the names of the students, nor where they travelled during the break, which was scheduled for the school earlier this month. (Folley, 3/22)

Shannon Koyano is a 39-year-old single mother living, nervously, in the place where the coronavirus got its first and deadliest foothold in America. Like so many Americans now, she has worries. A lot of them. One of her three children last week came down with a fever and a cough. She has an autoimmune disease, making her especially vulnerable. Six months ago, she invested almost her entire savings to open a gift boutique, called Hella Happy, that was thriving until recreational shopping became a thing of Seattle’s past. (Rosman, 3/22)

State lockdown measures imposed across the U.S. vary in the scope and severity of the limits on where people may travel, work and shop away from their homes. No state is completely preventing people from going outside or to work, but some measures were more drastic than others. California Gov. Gavin Newsom effectively banned residents from socializing outside their homes, while New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo went further in cordoning off the elderly and sick populations. (Gershman, 3/22)

The governors of Ohio and Louisiana issued “stay-at-home” orders on Sunday, instructing residents to restrict their daily movements to all but the most essential activities as governments around the world began or extended nationwide lockdowns to stem the coronavirus pandemic. But a senior official with the World Health Organization warned that even those extraordinary measures might be not be enough to contain the virus, which has now infected more than 335,000 people and killed more than 14,000. (Harris, 3/22)

The number of recorded coronavirus cases in the Washington region continued to spike Sunday, with Maryland and Virginia announcing the largest single-day increases, additional deaths reported and fresh warnings to stop mass gatherings, including visits to see the Tidal Basin’s cherry blossoms. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) emphasized the likely long duration of the pandemic and suggested schools may need to be closed for an extended period. “It is clear from talking daily to our public health officials that covid-19 is going to be with us for a long time — months, not weeks,” Northam said in a briefing. (Marimow, Schneider and Nirappil, 3/22)

As signature cherry blossom trees go through peak bloom in the nation’s capital, officials in the District of Columbia are resorting to mass street closures to keep large crowds away in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Public officials are publicly pleading for low turnout and one prominent local chef has launched the #StayHomeCherryBlossomsChallenge to make low visitation numbers into some sort of community goal. (Khalil and Martin, 3/23)

In cities across the United States, traffic on roads and highways has fallen dramatically over the past week as the coronavirus outbreak forces people to stay at home and everyday life grinds to a halt. Pollution has dropped too. (Plumer and Popovich, 3/22)

Kaiser Health News: Now On The Menu At Closed Schools: Drive-Thru Lunches

There were no hugs, handshakes or high-fives Tuesday morning at Juniper Elementary School, where the student drop-off line had transformed into a school lunch drive-thru. “Hi! How many?” asked school cafeteria manager Irene Huerta, 54, as she smiled and leaned toward an open car window. Then she handed over three hot, bagged lunches (taquitos and vegetables) and a breakfast bundle for the next morning (muffins), each meal supplemented with fruit and milk. (Almendrala, 3/20)

If you have a fender bender in Nashville these days, chances are you’ll be filing your report by phone. In Philadelphia, the police are trying not to take drug dealers to jail. In Hilton Head, S.C., the authorities have seemed particularly focused on one offense: gathering and drinking on the beach. But even that transgression was unlikely to lead to an arrest. Across the country, violators of new rules that require staying at home and keeping your distance from others are most likely to get off with a warning. (Dewan, Swales and Vigdor, 3/22)

The coronavirus pandemic has led to a rush to purchase firearms and ammunition in the Philadelphia region and across Pennsylvania, leading to long lines at some gun shops. But the Philadelphia Police Department has shut down its gun-permits unit. Firearm owners without a license-to-carry permit will, in almost all circumstances, not be able to carry the weapons without risking arrest. (Bender, Calefati and Newall, 3/20)

Gov. Brian Kemp has vastly expanded the state’s coronavirus task force as Georgia grapples with a growing pandemic that has sickened hundreds and killed at least 14 residents.Initially created in February before Georgia had a single confirmed case of the illness, the task force’s panels are now focused on addressing the disease’s impact on the economy, healthcare network, emergency preparedness and the needy. (Bluestein, 3/21)

As the pace and availability of coronavirus testing in Louisiana accelerates, the numbers of cases and deaths have begun to grow rapidly, according to Louisiana Department of Health data that showed 763 known cases and 20 deaths as of Saturday evening.The number of known cases was up by 42% from Friday. (Russell, 3/21)

Following the statewide stay-at-home mandate issued by Gov. John Bel Edwards, Mayor LaToya Cantrell and other metro area leaders on Sunday urged President Donald Trump to declare the coronavirus outbreak a major disaster for the New Orleans area. Cantrell joined seven area parish presidents at a Sunday news conference to stress that they are pushing for disaster status, which would unlock resources from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ramp up deployment for testing and treatment. (Hasselle and Umholtz, 3/22)

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday afternoon ordered all Illinois residents to stay at home, as the deadly coronavirus has spread to a quarter of the state's counties and infected more than 500 people. The stricter limits will go into effect on Saturday. (Romo, 3/20)

It was Gov. Charlie Baker's turn to speak to President Trump during a governor's conference call Thursday. Baker wanted to know why Massachusetts was outbid for COVID-19 supplies by the federal government."We took seriously the push you made not to rely on the stockpile," Baker said. "I got to tell you we lost to the feds ... If states are doing what the feds want and trying to create their own supply chain, then people should be responsive. I've got a feeling that if somebody has a chance to sell to you or to me, I'm going to lose every one of those." (Becker, 3/20)

A woman in her 50s from Middlesex County became the second person to die in Massachusetts from COVID-19, the state Department of Public Health announced Saturday night. The woman, who was not identified, “had a pre-existing condition predisposing her to more severe disease,” the state said in a statement. The announcement came one day after the state announced an 87-year-old Winthrop man was the first in Massachusetts to die after testing positive for the illness. (Crimaldi and Hilliard, 3/21)

As the conornavirus spreads in Michigan and taxes the capacity of health care providers, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order Friday restricting nonessential medical and dental procedures. Whitmer ordered that by 5 p.m. Saturday, hospitals, freestanding surgical outpatient facilities, dental facilities and all state-operated outpatient facilities must implement a plan to temporarily postpone all nonessential procedures until the termination of the COVID-19 state of emergency. (Gray, 3/20)