Happy Friday the 13th! Which feels extra appropriate this week. One of the very few silver linings of our current situation is the 368% increase in social media pictures of people鈥檚 pets as they work from home. (Shoutout to , a health reporter at Politico, whose .)
On to my best attempt to get you the most important and interesting news about the COVID-19 outbreak. This is one of those stories that鈥檚 changing by the minute, however, so I would highly recommend checking out for our coverage and also signing up for the Morning Briefings to get a comprehensive look at what鈥檚 going on.
But here we go:
鈥� after Speaker Nancy Pelosi (and the lawmakers she tapped to help her) spent yesterday working through partisan complaints together with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who has been acting as the administration鈥檚 point person on the plan. . If President Donald Trump doesn鈥檛 embrace the bill, it鈥檚 likely to get passed along partisan lines 鈥� not a good sign for it getting through the Senate. The president will discuss the coronavirus crisis at a 3 p.m. news conference.
鈥� ? Provisions include unemployment insurance to furloughed workers and hundreds of millions of dollars toward nutrition programs; an additional $500 million to help feed low-income pregnant women or mothers with young children who lose their jobs or are laid off because of the virus outbreak; $400 million to help local food banks meet increased demand; and free coronavirus testing for anyone who requires it, including uninsured people.
鈥� One of the sticking points between the two parties has been paid sick leave. The issue has been thrust into the spotlight as public health experts and doctors say that workers should stay home if they have flu-like symptoms. But because the U.S. has no mandatory sick leave,
鈥� Trump is , which he has been hesitant to announce 鈥� despite his propensity of using presidential power in less urgent crises 鈥� because it would likely contradict the rosy messaging he鈥檚 put forth since the start of the outbreak.
鈥� Meanwhile, the action that the president did take 鈥斅犫�� was panned by public health experts as a useless distraction. As one said, 鈥淭his virus is everywhere.鈥� The stock markets seemed to agree with that assessment following Trump鈥檚 Oval Office address as they tumbled more sharply than they had previously. It was the , which, for those of us who were paying attention during the 2008 crash, is not exactly reassuring.
鈥� Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, had a grim reality check for Congress (and the administration) when he agreed that . He also criticized the government for not providing quick and easy testing, saying that the 鈥溾�� system 鈥渋s not really geared to what we need right now.鈥� 鈥淭he idea of anybody getting it easily the way people in other countries are doing it 鈥� 鈥� he聽said. 鈥淒o I think we should be? Yes. But we鈥檙e not.鈥�
鈥� On that note, there鈥檚 still a slew of anecdotes of people who have symptoms that match the coronavirus, have tested negative for the flu and yet still aren鈥檛 receiving tests. A startling shows just how far behind other developed countries the U.S. is in testing. ( for an in-depth look at everything that鈥檚 gone wrong, including how a shortage of chemicals used in the kits is hampering scientists鈥� efforts.)
鈥� So, we know we don鈥檛 currently have an accurate snapshot of how many Americans are infected (because of above testing stumbles), but what鈥檚 the ? CDC experts have projected that between 160 million and 214 million people in the U.S. could be infected, while as many as 200,000 to 1.7 million could die. Also, 2.4 million to 21 million people in the U.S. could require hospitalization.
鈥� Which leads to what experts say is the scariest part of the outbreak: Hospitals already stretched thin from a bad flu season and ever-increasing budget cuts . There aren鈥檛 enough ventilators or ICU beds, and if the United States follows in Italy鈥檚 footsteps, health care providers might have to start making tough choices about who gets treated and who gets left behind.
鈥� ? (Or 鈥溾�� as the cool kids say.) Public health officials and experts are recommending social distancing when possible, which includes working from home and avoiding large social gatherings. Even if the total number of cases were to plateau, taking nationwide measures to slow down the speed of the outbreak could help keep hospitals from being overwhelmed (see above).
鈥� A slew of closures, cancellations and post-postponements this week helped toward that end (and possibly helped drive home the seriousness of the threat). Those include, but are not limited to: basketball, soccer, hockey and baseball games; concerts; Disneyland; colleges (which mostly moved to online classes) and schools; Broadway; any gatherings over 250 people in some states; the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian museums, including the National Zoo; St. Patrick鈥檚 Day parades across the country; and more. The unified message from private and government organizations alike: .
鈥� Beyond the astronomical economic toll this crisis will take, some observers are also worried it鈥檚 going to . As trivial as it might seem, chronic loneliness, especially in the elderly (the population most in danger of a critical reaction to the coronavirus), can produce severe negative health outcomes.
鈥� Speaking of both closures and vulnerable populations, the U.S. Capitol put the kibosh on public tours following an announcement that a Senate staffer tested positive for the virus. , and given how often lawmakers travel and interact with strangers, politicians are particularly susceptible to getting sick during this outbreak.
鈥� In other news from the administration鈥檚 response: more freely to help contain the outbreak. In previous emergencies, including the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina and the H1N1 flu outbreak, both Republican and Democratic administrations loosened Medicaid rules to empower states to meet surging needs.
鈥� And it turns out , traced to CMS, created a snafu for health officials right as the crisis was heating up.
鈥� Oh, you might have noticed that we鈥檝e started calling this thing a pandemic. That鈥檚 because , after weeks and weeks of hesitating to make that call. 鈥淲e have rung the alarm bell loud and clear,鈥� said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
So, those are the bigger highlights you need to know. But here are some interesting and compelling stories that also appeared this week:
鈥� ? Many insurers have waived testing fees, but they haven鈥檛 gone as far as to make promises about treatment costs.
鈥� Trump and other Republicans continue to frame the coronavirus using racist and xenophobic language, despite public health experts saying that鈥檚 dangerous and irresponsible.
鈥� One area in which scientists are hoping the coronavirus mirrors the flu is that it tends to . But we simply do not know enough about the virus to say hot temperatures are its kryptonite 鈥� yet.
鈥� A series of high-profile people (including and the ) have tested positive for the virus, driving home how seriously people should be taking the threat. As an aside on the Tom Hanks story, his case highlights .
鈥� The pandemic highlights how. It has supposed to act as a global coordinator, but when no one is trying to work together, the organization鈥檚 efforts can fall flat.
鈥� ?
鈥� A in China shows just how cruelly random this virus can be.
鈥� including diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and more, that can often exacerbate the virus鈥檚 toll on the body. on how the coronavirus actually infiltrates your cells.
鈥� And immigration groups call on the government to release from facilities where they鈥檙e worried the virus will spread like wildfire.
I think other things happened in the world, but I鈥檝e already forgotten them. Remember, wash your hands, don鈥檛 create mask shortages for health care workers who actually need them, practice social distancing when you can to flatten the curve and realize but you don鈥檛 let it have to consume you.
Please have a safe, healthy weekend. See you next week!