Federal Officials, State Leaders Have One Message To America: ‘Hunker Down’
Dr. Anthony Fauci, state leaders, and other public health officials warned that it could be a while before America returns to normal. In the meantime, they say, stay inside and away from gatherings of over 50 people, when possible.
Politico:
‘Hunker Down’: U.S. Scrambles To Stem Virus Spread Through Extreme Measures
The nation’s top infectious diseases expert urged Americans on Sunday to hunker down as the U.S. scrambles to avoid an explosion of coronavirus cases that could kill hundreds of thousands, or even a million, people here. “I think Americans should be prepared that they are going to have to hunker down significantly more than we as a country are doing,” Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told NBC’s Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press.” (McCaskill and Cancryn, 3/15)
The Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Officials Urge More Action To Combat Coronavirus
The federal government’s leading voice on infectious diseases said Americans—particularly younger people—must help prevent community spread of the virus, urging them to stay home and avoid unnecessary public outings. “Americans should be prepared that they are going to have to hunker down significantly more than we as a country are doing,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Dr. Fauci, appearing on all the major Sunday morning television shows, warned that it could be several weeks to a few months before life in the U.S. begins to return to normal. (Kendall, Day and Leary, 3/15)
Politico:
CDC Recommends Suspending Large Events For 8 Weeks
“This recommendation is made in an attempt to reduce introduction of the virus into new communities and to slow the spread of infection in communities already affected by the virus,” the CDC said. The agency cited conferences, parades and weddings as examples of large gatherings. The guidance was issued shortly after Trump administration officials warned that the outbreak is likely to worsen over the next several weeks. The officials also announced plans for a series of new testing sites around the country in hopes of more quickly identifying and treating high-risk patients and health care workers — and alleviating pressure on hospital emergency departments. (Cancryn, 3/15)
The Hill:
New Restrictions, Closures Sweep US As Crisis Deepens
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Sunday a response that looks like an “overreaction” can help keep the U.S. away from a worst-case scenario situation. “If you just leave the virus to its own defenses it’ll go way up like we’ve seen in Italy – that’s not going to happen if we do what we’re attempting to do and are doing,” Fauci told CBS’ Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation.” (Klar, 3/15)
Politico:
Fauci Warns Against Coronavirus Indifference Among Young People
The nation’s top infectious diseases expert has a stern warning to young people: Don’t get complacent about statistics showing serious coronavirus cases and fatalities are skewed toward the elderly and those with underlying health issues. “You are not immune or safe from getting seriously ill,” National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” when asked if younger Americans should be concerned about contracting the virus, which Fauci has repeatedly said is more lethal than the average flu. (Oprysko, 3/15)
NBC News:
Fauci: Americans Are 'Going To Have To Hunker Down Significantly More' To Fight Coronavirus
The U.S. has surpassed 2,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, although the actual number of those infected could be much larger because testing isn't yet widespread. At least 60 people have died in the U.S. because of complications from the virus. (Smith, 3/15)
The Associated Press:
Straight-Talking Fauci Explains Outbreak To A Worried Nation
If Dr. Anthony Fauci says it, you'd be smart to listen. As the coronavirus has upended daily life across the globe, Fauci has become the trusted voice in separating fact and fiction.The fear and confusion of outbreaks aren't new to Fauci, who in more than 30 years has handled HIV, SARS, MERS, Ebola and even the nation's 2001 experience with bioterrorism — the anthrax attacks. Fauci's political bosses — from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump — have let him do the explaining because he's frank and understandable, translating complex medical information into everyday language while neither exaggerating nor downplaying. (Alonso-Zaldivar and Neergaard, 3/14)
The Washington Post:
States Begin Imposing Harsher Measures To Contain Coronavirus As U.S. Cases Rise Sharply
State officials and mayors critical of the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic began imposing the most severe emergency measures to date on Sunday, with four governors effectively forcing restaurants, bars or other businesses to shut their doors. As the country braced for its first full week of widespread school and business closures, President Trump and other administration officials again gave mixed and sometimes confusing messages about the dangers ahead. At the White House, Trump told Americans to “relax” and stop panic-induced purchasing. (Miroff, Natanson, Bellware and Shaver, 3/16)
The Associated Press:
US Moves Nearer To Shutdown Amid Coronavirus Fears
Officials across the country curtailed elements of American life to fight the coronavirus outbreak on Sunday, with governors closing restaurants, bars, and schools and a government expert saying a 14-day national shutdown may be needed. At the same time, long airport lines for virus screenings raised doubts that the government is prepared to respond to the crisis. Parts of America already looks like a ghost town, and others are about to follow as theme parks closed, Florida beaches shooed away spring breakers, Starbucks said it will accept only drive-thru and takeout orders and the governors of Ohio and Illinois ordered bars and restaurants shuttered. New York City, New Jersey and elsewhere are considering similar measures. (Spencer and Crawford, 3/15)
CNN:
US Coronavirus: Millions Wake Up To Massive Shutdowns To Curb Spread
The end of a weekend spent indoors, away from neighbors, friends, and communities of worship, will not bring relief to Americans Monday as they face a slew of new restrictions designed to curb the spread of coronavirus. Millions of students are out of school. Some restaurants are prohibited from inviting patrons inside. And public entertainment venues are becoming harder to come by. As US coronavirus cases have increased -- there are at least 3,485 cases and 65 fatalities -- so, too, have efforts to prevent future spread. (Holcombe, 3/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
Coronavirus Measures Put New Limits On Daily Life
People around the world on Sunday were adjusting to a new reality of life during the coronavirus pandemic, as states and businesses restricted travel, closed shops and postponed religious services and other events. Governments have imposed a series of measures to limit gatherings of large numbers of people in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. It has now killed 6,065 people and infected more than 162,600, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University, as the pandemic continues to spread into previously unaffected countries. (Yu, Ansari and Abbott, 3/15)
The Wall Street Journal:
How Coronavirus Remade American Life In One Weekend
By Saturday, the country slid into a collective retreat from public life, as tens of millions of people settled in to wait—alone, together—for an invisible threat with no clear end in sight. Change came swiftly as new cases emerged and businesses and public officials pivoted, first assuring people of extra efforts to keep restaurants and shops clean, then abruptly shutting down stores and parties on a St. Patrick’s Day weekend that was almost balmy in the Northeast. Early Sunday morning, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell tweeted a picture of police cars with blue lights sweeping Bourbon Street, saying police will “enforce the ban on large gatherings all over the City.” It was hours after New Orleans reported its first death from the virus. (O'Brien and Bauerlein, 3/15)
The Associated Press:
Americans Brace For New Life Of No School And Growing Dread
Millions of Americans braced for the week ahead with no school for their children for many days to come, no clue how to effectively do their jobs without child care, and a growing sense of dread about how to stay safe and sane amid the relentless spread of the coronavirus. Are play dates for the kids OK? How do you stock up on supplies when supermarket shelves are bare? How do you pay the bills when your work hours have been cut? Is it safe to go to the gym? And how do you plan for the future with no idea what it holds? (3/14)
The Washington Post:
Photos: How Coronavirus Has Disrupted Life In Six Places Around The World
It often feels as if the world is shrinking, that almost all of us are interconnected, our disparate cultures linked by things from Internet memes to the latest Netflix film. But in generations nothing has so bound the world together as the coronavirus pandemic. It quickly has become a common language: the fear, the helplessness, the unnerving empty streets and vacant parks and shuttered schools. (McIntyre, Maraviglia, Trinca, Chung, Kalifa and Fukada, 3/13)
The New York Times:
The Last Picture Show? Moviegoers Cautiously Take A Seat
They were told not to go to their schools or offices. Concerns about long lines and shortages had discouraged them from going shopping. They could not visit libraries or museums; no concerts or shows were being held. There were no sporting events on TV, and only so many times that they could watch “Love Is Blind.” So, during an anxious weekend when the coronavirus outbreak had forced the closure of many cultural institutions and the cancellation of countless events, some Americans did what they still could to take their minds off the widespread uncertainty: They went to the movies. (Itzkoff, 3/15)
Politico:
Lockdown Vs. Libertarian Tug Of War For Local Officials
Governors and local leaders are furiously working to convince the public to heed social distancing guidance, with a cascade of increasingly stringent limitations raining down in California, Illinois and Ohio on Sunday. But the moves are clashing with the millions of Americans disinterested in upending their way of life — some of whom are flaunting public health guidance with the support of prominent public officials. (Hutchins, 3/15)
The Washington Post:
Life In The Time Of Coronavirus: Anxious Americans Pivot To New Routines
A neighborhood in Austin, as the nation’s coronavirus case count ticks into the thousands: There’s an hour-long wait for a table at 9 p.m., parking’s a bear, and the sidewalks teem with cuddling couples and loud groups of young partyers. A similar neighborhood in Northern Virginia: One of the toughest tables for miles around, Mama Chang, is nearly empty. In downtown Washington, many parking spaces are wide open on blocks drivers often circle in vain. At a nearby pharmacy counter, the chatty clerk, who usually spends the day exchanging horror stories about the president with his like-minded customers, says no one wants to talk — not politics, not sports, nothing. (Gowen, Hernandez and Fisher, 3/14)
ProPublica:
No Matter What Some Public Officials Say, The Message You Need To Hear Is 'Stay Home'
On Saturday afternoon, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz took to Twitter to ask his followers to heed the advice of public health officials and politicians on the other side of the aisle: “If you can stay home, stay home,” the Texas Republican wrote. “And wash your hands.” Hours later, the Republican governor of Oklahoma tweeted from a packed restaurant in Oklahoma City showing that he is performatively not doing this. “Eating with my kids and all my fellow Oklahomans at the @CollectiveOKC. It’s packed tonight! #supportlocal #OklaProud” He deleted the tweet an hour later. (Ornstein, 3/15)