U.S. lawmakers finalize stimulus plan as lockdown measures widen

President Trump attacked the media and China and said he was directing the FDA to fast track potential treatments.

By Teo Armus of the Washington Post

As lawmakers in the United States finalize a massive stimulus package and cities and states order residents to shelter in place to contain the novel coronavirus, fears about hospitals running out of medical supplies seem to be inching closer to reality.

The number of confirmed cases in the United States doubled in just 48 hours this week, jumping from about 5,700 on Tuesday evening to more than 13,100 late on Thursday. More than 170 people have died, and worryingly, many of those hospitalized are younger adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The sharp rise in cases nationwide stems in part from expanded testing, officials say, and the total will continue to increase as more results become available. But there are already some obstacles in the way.

Facing a shortage of swabs, chemical solutions, and masks, some hospitals have been unable to take samples, and some laboratories have been kept from running the tests. As ordinary Americans are being turned away, many actors, politicians and athletes seem to be jumping to the front of the line for tests instead.

Pressed by reporters on whether these famous figures should get easier access to testing for the virus, President Trump said no.

“But perhaps that’s been the story of life,” he added.’Americans need cash now’: Mnuchin announces plan to send checks to Americans ‘immediately’Speaking at the coronavirus task force briefing on March 17, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced plans to send checks to struggling businesses. (The Washington Post)

Republican lawmakers introduced a $1 trillion stimulus plan that would involve sending direct cash payments to many Americans. While Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called for negotiations with Democrats over the relief measures to start on Friday, the details of the package keep changing.

On Thursday, Trump embraced another idea, expressing his support for the federal government to take equity stakes in private companies that receive coronavirus bailout funds.

Many struggling industries have ask the federal government for hundreds of billions of dollars in assistance, and such an approach would protect taxpayer investments in firms. But the move is been controversial because it effectively involves partial government ownership of private companies.

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‘We have to cut the crap,’ says NJ Gov. Murphy, vowing aggressive enforcement on large gatherings after Lakewood weddings

Lake Terrac
One of the wedding venues in Lakewood that was shut down by police.Google Maps

By Ted Sherman and Payton Guion, NJ Advance Media

In the wake of the break-up of two Orthodox weddings in Lakewood by police earlier this week, Gov. Phil Murphy said the state intends to “aggressively enforce” restrictions on large gatherings — a ban sparked by the spreading coronavirus outbreak.

“We have to cut the crap,” Murphy said, echoing the language of a reporter’s question at Thursday’s daily briefing on current coronavirus situation in New Jersey.

Referring to the widely reported incident involving the nuptials in Lakewood on Tuesday, the governor said “we simply cannot have this. We have got to ensure compliance, no matter what the circumstances are.”

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Restrictions on gatherings larger than 50 people, mandated under a governor’s executive order, “has to be enforced,” Murphy said. “It will be enforced aggressively.”

Officers in Lakewood had responded to the separate wedding celebrations — one at Fountain Ballroom on Vassar Avenue and the other at Lake Terrace on Oak Street — and told venue staff that gatherings of more than 50 people are prohibited, said Lakewood Capt. Gregory Staffordsmith. The workers and guests then dispersed.

Meanwhile, rumors spreading through the Orthodox community yesterday have suggested as many as 40 now may have coronavirus — a claim that state officials said they could not corroborate.

“We don’t have any insight on that,” said the governor of the claim, reported on a local website. “There was a rumor that 100 people were exposed. We cannot confirm that.”

Murphy added “there’s an enormous amount going around on social media.” Often, he said, it’s not tied down to the actual facts.”

Ocean County health officials did not have updated numbers out of Lakewood at mid-afternoon. The most recent official health department numbers show four people have so far tested positively for COVID-19 in Lakewood.

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Pennsylvania Governor orders non-life-sustaining businesses to shut down

Cafeteria worker Cathy Piluso hands out free meals at Bensalem High School in Bensalem, Pa.,

By MARC LEVY, MICHAEL RUBINKAM, MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf is tightening his directives to businesses to shut down, issuing a dire warning and saying Thursday that all “non-life-sustaining” businesses in Pennsylvania must close their physical locations by 8 p.m. to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Enforcement actions against businesses that do not close their physical locations will begin Saturday, Wolf said in a statement.

“I had hoped for voluntary compliance so our public safety official could focus on assisting with the crisis,” Wolf said in a video statement. “Unfortunately we have not seen full compliance. We have no time to lose.”

Under Wolf’s order, more than 150 types of businesses have been ordered to close their physical locations.

Wolf said his order would be enforced by state troopers, local officials, the state Health and Agriculture departments and the Liquor Control Board.

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Allowed to stay open are gas stations, grocery stores, beer distributors, drugstores and building materials stores.

Businesses under shutdown orders range from coal mines to building contractors to many types of manufacturers, plus professional offices including law firms and accounting offices. Retailers ordered to close include car dealers, clothing stores, furniture stores, florists, office supply stores and lawn and garden stores.

Wolf’s statement came as Pennsylvania reported another big jump in confirmed coronavirus cases and Wolf’s administration worked to help hospitals create more bed spaces in anticipation of a surge in coronavirus patients.

Confirmed coronavirus cases topped 180, up 40%, according to the state Department of Health. In Philadelphia, officials reported that 20 of the 44 cases there are health care workers, although they were not all exposed at work.

Meanwhile, with schools ordered shut for at least the rest of March and possibly longer, the state Education Department canceled statewide tests for schoolchildren because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Health Secretary Rachel Levine said her agency is asking hospitals, starting Friday, to update their emergency plans to accommodate COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

That directive includes asking hospitals to postpone elective procedures and admissions to ensure as many beds as possible are available for coronavirus patients. The department is also lifting a regulation that prevents a hospital from adding beds without permission and trying to make sure that hospitals have adequate supplies of personal protective equipment and ventilators.

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China’s Rethink on Car Pollution May Signal a Retreat on Climate

Governments must not let the coronavirus pandemic derail action on climate change, an architect of the landmark Paris agreement warned on Wednesday

Auto pollution in China

Bloomberg News March 18, 2020, 12:19 PM EDT

Beijing’s move toward relaxing emissions standards will ratchet up concern that policymakers around the world may scale back their climate goals as they seek to rescue their economies from the ravages of the coronavirus.

The Chinese government is said to be debating whether to ease restrictions on the amount of harmful particles that vehicles emit from their tailpipes — a measure known as particle number, or PN. The move would help automakers battling an unprecedented slump as the pandemic slows economic activity. It could be just one of the steps by the government in Beijing to shore up key sectors.

That stimulus is likely to come at a cost to efforts to protect the environment, since officials could give priority to the health of industries that have an outsized impact on greenhouse gas pollution, especially construction, transport and infrastructure. That combined with signs that green issues are slipping down the European Union’s agenda would reduce momentum on the issue from two main on main forces driving work on climate change.

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Don’t let coronavirus stall climate action, warns architect of Paris deal

Laurence Tubiana, a former French diplomat who was instrumental in brokering the 2015 accord aimed at averting catastrophic global warming, said the disruption caused by the coronavirus was a wake-up call.

“In a way, it’s a lesson: viruses don’t respect borders, climate change doesn’t respect borders,” Tubiana, who continues to closely track climate diplomacy, told an online briefing. “If we do not manage the climate crisis it will be the same.”

Tubiana was speaking amid mounting concerns that the economic disruption caused by the coronavirus could tempt governments to shy away from the massive effort to cut carbon emissions needed to stabilise the Earth’s climate system.

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Year after fire, Marcal churns out toilet paper 24/7 for virus-panicked shoppers

The Marcal Paper sign, an iconic since the 1940s, falls during fire on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019.
Fire rages in January, 2019 at Marcal Paper in Elmwood Park, NJ

By Scott Fallon, NorthJersey.com

A year after much of its Elmwood Park campus was destroyed in an epic fire, the Marcal Paper company now finds itself on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis — just weeks after it reopened.

The company, which many thought would never recover from the 10-alarm blaze in January 2019, is now running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, producing 170 tons of paper towels and toilet paper daily to try to keep up with consumers. 

Demand has become so great that the 88-year-old company has started selling its inventory of paper towels and toilet paper already made and stored at its facility.

“We have to,” said Rob Baron, Marcal’s president and CEO. “The demand exceeds the paper coming off the machine.”

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For weeks, consumers have been purchasing paper products in bulk as the coronavirus spread, officials urged the public to practice social distancing and the possibility of quarantines loomed. Supermarkets across the U.S. ran out of the items quickly and struggled to restock. Even Amazon said it was having trouble meeting demand.

The panic shopping has led to surreal consequences — from people in Oregon calling 911 about toilet paper shortages to officials in Ohio warning residents not to flush other paper products like baby wipes down the toilet in lieu of toilet paper.

New Jersey consumers have been seeing paper product shelves at supermarkets and big-box stores fast become bare. The paper industry didn’t see it coming.

“Six weeks ago, coronavirus wasn’t on anyone’s radar,” Baron said. “Then we slowly saw an uptick. But it wasn’t until the weekend before last when we saw inventories just plummet.”

Marcal has slowly been getting back on its feet after it reopened nearly a year to the day after it shuttered.

The fire on Jan. 30, 2019, destroyed 450,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 21 paper-making lines in about eight hours. It also brought down the iconic red Marcal sign that had loomed over Route 80 for decades.

No one died or was seriously injured even though 200 workers were still in the mill when the blaze broke out.

“We’ve been getting ourselves back in business over the past six weeks,” Baron said. “We’re going in the right direction.”

While many Marcal employees are now working remotely, a crew of 20 to 30 workers on 12-hour shifts are at the mill churning out paper products.

Workers are told to stay at least 6 feet away from one another to lessen potential spread. And the only visitors to the mill are mostly mechanics to fix machines.

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Air Force moves 500K coronavirus test swabs from Italy to U.S. for nationwide distribution

Air Force moves 500K coronavirus test swabs from Italy to US
The Pentagon © Greg Nash

Ellen MItchell reports for The Hill

The Pentagon on Wednesday confirmed that the Air Force has moved 500,000 coronavirus testing swabs to the United States from Italy.

An Air National Guard unit transported 500,000 swabs – used as part of the process to test for COVID-19 – from Italy to Memphis, Tenn. The swabs were then loaded onto FedEx aircraft and distributed around the country as directed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Defense Department spokesman Jonathan Hoffman told reporters.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein earlier on Wednesday confirmed the shipment.

“We’ve just made a pretty significant movement into Memphis last night,” Goldfein told reporters.

He added that the shipment was in support of Homeland Security and HHS “to make sure that we are meeting the demands that they have.”

Defense One first reported on the shipment of swabs, which were flown by a C-17 cargo plane using the call “Reach 911.” It landed early Tuesday morning at Memphis International Airport.

The Trump administration has faced intense criticism over the lack of widely available coronavirus tests. Officials have insisted testing is ramping up this week and will be more accessible across the country in the coming days and weeks.

Joint Staff surgeon Air Force Brig. Gen. Paul Friedrichs, who spoke alongside Hoffman, said the swabs have been sent to different medical facilities to collect samples from individuals. Those samples are then sent to a lab for analysis.

The Defense Department has made available its 14 coronavirus testing labs available to analyze samples. As of Tuesday, 936 patients had been tested in its facilities.

Friedrichs also said the military is “working with international partners to meet our full demand” for testing equipment, in addition to working with U.S. companies.

The military has 89 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 49 active-duty troops, 19 family members, 14 civilian and seven contract employees, the Pentagon announced Wednesday morning.

Fourteen of the 89 have been hospitalized.

Goldfein said seven of those who have been infected by the virus are active-duty airmen.

The Air Force general stressed that while the numbers are low, “we are taking it very seriously,” adding that global operations, the movement of people and supplies – including test kits – have not been interrupted.

Air Force Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. Dorothy Hogg, who spoke alongside Goldfein, said the service expects “our cases will increase, just like they are in the general public.”

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