Pandemic Update
[naviga:h3]Trump: Don’t hoarding food, supplies[/naviga:h3]
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Sunday called on Americans to cease hoarding groceries and other supplies, while one of the nation’s most senior public health officials called on the nation to act with more urgency to safeguard their health as the coronavirus outbreak continued to spread across the United States. Dr. Anthony Fauci says he would like to see aggressive measures such as a 14-day national shutdown.
Trump assured Americans, after speaking with leading grocery chain executives, that grocers would remain open and that the supply chain remained healthy. Vice President Mike Pence urged Americans to only buy the groceries they need for the week ahead.
“You don’t have to buy so much,” Trump said at a news conference. “Take it easy. Just relax.”
The comments from the president after the government’s top infectious disease expert said he would like to see aggressive measures such as a 14-day national shutdown that would require Americans to hunker down even more to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Still, Dr. Anthony Fauci said travel restrictions within the United States, such as to and from hard-hit Washington state and California, probably will not be needed anytime soon.
[naviga:h3]European arrivals jam U.S. airports[/naviga:h3]
CHICAGO — Harsh criticism rained on the Trump administration Sunday from state and local officials over long lines of returning international passengers at some U.S. airports that could have turned them into coronavirus carriers as they tried to get home.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, both Democrats, lambasted the administration for allowing about 3,000 Americans returning from Europe to be stuck for hours inside the customs area at O’Hare International Airport on Saturday, violating federal recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that people practice “social distancing.”
The passengers, many of them rushing home because of fears they would be stuck in Europe, were screened by federal customs and homeland security agents for coronavirus symptoms before they were allowed to leave the airport.
Long lines also formed Saturday in Boston, Dallas and others of the 13 airports that are accepting return flights from Europe.
[naviga:h3]Virus brings new travel restrictions [/naviga:h3]
ROME (AP) — Daily life came to a grinding halt around much of the world Sunday amid new travel restrictions, border shutdowns and sweeping closures of restaurants and bars aimed to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The numbers of cases and deaths continued to rise, including in hard-hit Italy where 368 more deaths brought its overall toll to 1,809. With the country under a nearly week-old lockdown, Pope Francis ventured out of the Vatican to visit two churches in Rome to pray for the sick, a spokesman said.
Public worship was curtailed in many places as pastors gave sermons to empty pews or moved to online services. Muslim authorities announced that the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City would be closed indefinitely, and the Vatican said next month’s Holy Week services would not be open to the public.
Americans returning from abroad faced chaos at airports as overwhelmed border agents tried to screen passengers for illness.
In Spain, long lines for food and police patrols marked the first day of a nationwide quarantine. In the Philippines, soldiers and police sealed off the densely populated capital of Manila from most domestic travelers. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced plans to limit movement nationwide, and Lebanon’s government ordered a lockdown in the country, closing down Beirut’s famed seaside corniche.
[naviga:h3]Hospitals fear surges, shortages[/naviga:h3]
TOLEDO, Ohio — Government and hospital leaders are increasingly sounding the alarm about the health care system in the U.S. and its readiness to absorb waves of patients in the worst-case scenario involving the new coronavirus outbreak.
Authorities nationwide already are taking major steps to expand capacity with each passing day, building tents and outfitting unused spaces to house patients. They also are urging people to postpone elective surgeries, dental work and even veterinarian care. New York’s governor called for using military bases or college dorms as makeshift care centers.
Among the biggest concerns is whether there will be enough beds, equipment and staff to handle several large outbreaks simultaneously in multiple cities.
