COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. have officially
surpassed 16,000, with especially deadly outbreaks raging around Detroit and New Orleans. Health authorities on the East Coast say there's been an alarming rise in cases in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington — though in New York, the state with the most fatalities, there are signs that stay-at-home orders are slowing the coronavirus' spread.
And then there's the economic devastation. The federal government has reported
the fastest surge of layoffs in U.S. history. Nearly 17 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits in the last three weeks because of the pandemic. The figures suggest the U.S. unemployment rate in April will rise to 15% or even higher, a hit not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s, when 1 in 4 workers were jobless.
In response,
President Trump and other administration officials are renewing pressure to relax social-distancing policies to allow businesses to reopen. Yet continued high levels of infection, a rising death toll and new evidence that the coronavirus is spreading into less populous parts of the country all suggest that a quick reopening may not be feasible.
Experts have warned that relaxing restrictions too soon could prolong the pandemic and set off secondary waves of infection that would hurt the economy even more. Instead, some economists say what's needed is more and longer-lasting help for those thrown out of work.
In California, which has accounted for a disproportionately large share of jobless claims, those who find themselves out of work will receive
an extra $600 in weekly unemployment benefits from a federal stimulus package starting Sunday, Gov.
Gavin Newsom said. The additional relief money approved by Congress means California's average weekly benefit of $340 will be boosted to $940. The higher benefits will last for four months.
The Federal Reserve also announced it was creating a new set of programs to provide $2.3 trillion in loans to aid businesses, states and cities. But Senate Democrats
blocked a Republican effort to add $250 billion to the overwhelmed Paycheck Protection Program, a relief package for small businesses, because they say they want to ensure all businesses can access it.
The Search for Answers
It has been one of the most glaring unanswered questions of the coronavirus crisis: How much has the virus spread? A new study in Los Angeles County
might help provide some answers. Starting today, county health officials will begin testing the blood of 1,000 randomly selected residents, including those with no symptoms, to see if they have or had COVID-19.
Using emerging technology that tests for
antibodies to a virus, the study has the potential to shed light on the true mortality rate of the coronavirus, the efficacy of social distancing efforts and when the unprecedented clampdown on daily life could end. Health officials and researchers say the results of this effort,
known as serological testing, could paint the most complete picture yet of the sweep of the pandemic in the nation's most populous county.
At the same time, the race to find a
vaccine is intensifying as the coronavirus hits Asia with
a second wave of outbreaks. More than 125 organizations — including major drug companies, government laboratories and top universities — are working on a vaccine or other treatments, according to leading researchers.
'There's a Better Way to Do This'
When Trump told governors last month that the federal government was
"not a shipping clerk," he left states and local governments to fend for themselves in a global market for protective gear in which sellers have all the power, and confusion and chaos dominate.
Prices of surgical gowns, gloves and N95 masks have jumped up. The masks, which used to sell for between 50 cents and a dollar apiece, are now on offer for $5 or $6, state and local officials said. That not only increases the price for taxpayers but also leads to states outbidding each other in desperation, with poorer ones left behind.
Shady operators also abound.
One member of Nevada's task force said: "At some point you kind of shake your head and say, 'There's a better way to do this.'"
Meanwhile, on the Border ...
Officials say the Trump administration has quickly expelled
roughly 10,000 migrants to Mexico and other countries in less than three weeks since imposing its most severe immigration restrictions yet in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
After the U.S. and Mexico closed their border to "nonessential travel," U.S. officials began removing
almost all migrants arriving at the border, with minimal processing. For the first time, those turned away en masse included people seeking asylum as well as hundreds of lone migrant children. Both groups are protected by U.S. law.
Administration officials say they're acting to protect U.S. residents according to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But this isn't the only instance of them taking steps toward achieving some of Trump's long-sought goals in response to the pandemic.
More Top Coronavirus Headlines
— Gov. Newsom is assuring the state will have enough
ventilators to
"meet the needs" of Californians after having lent out 500 of them. Meanwhile, state lawmakers are demanding details about his agreement to spend
almost $1 billion on protective masks,
saying there has been too little transparency in spending those taxpayer dollars.
— In hospitals, lower-paid
nonclinical workers, such as janitors, food-service workers and clerks, are worried about contracting the virus and spreading it. Many say
they feel like second-class citizens.
[N.S.: You can't be a "second-class citizen," if you're not a citizen, to begin with.]
— An
oral surgeon faced death once, when he survived the 2018 shooting at the Silver Lake Trader Joe's.
Then he got the coronavirus.
—
Groups that work with
homeless people are struggling to find food and supplies as shoppers clear out grocery store shelves:
"This is so much tougher than the Great Recession." But
Shirley Raines, a 52-year-old woman from Compton, is delivering virus-fighting essentials
to homeless people living on skid row.
— On his days off, an
ICU nurse in South Korea
sketches the heroes and fighters inside a coronavirus isolation ward.
Oh Young-jun cares for critically ill patients infected with the novel coronavirus in a negative-pressure isolation ward. (Oh Young-jun / "Nursing Story" )
Plus, here are some tips on getting through the days ahead. For more, sign up for Coronavirus Today, a special edition of The Times' Health and Science newsletter. And check out our new podcast "Coronavirus in California: Stories from the Front Lines":
— Q&A: Answering teens' questions about coronavirus,
school closures, grades and college.
— How long will we be
working from home? What we know — and what we don't.
When 'Affordable' Housing Isn'tin California? In the case of one project that took more than a decade to create in Solana Beach, it's $1.1 million per apartment. That makes it the priciest affordable housing project in the state and, likely, the country.
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