‘Elaborate Undertaking’: States Join Together To Circle Wagons Against Threat Of Pandemic As Gaps In Federal Protections Are Very Apparent

Stateline: States Band Together Vs. Coronavirus 
With COVID-19 now in almost every state, states are beginning to coordinate with one another, if not in policies, at least in messaging.The governors of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut Monday announced a series of identical policies regarding closures. All three are limiting recreational and social gatherings with more than 50 people. They are closing restaurants and bars except for takeout service. And they are shutting down movie theaters, gyms and casinos. All those restrictions take effect at 8 p.m. (Ollove, 3/16)

State House News Service: Bills To Help Workers, Municipalities Now In Mass. Legislature’s Hands 
With closures tied to the coronavirus outbreak impacting everything from restaurants and schools to municipal offices, Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday filed a suite of legislation intended to offer a lifeline to workers forced to stay home and to cities and towns trying to keep local government operational. Baker last week declared a state of emergency in response to the spread of coronavirus throughout Massachusetts, but his emergency powers only extend so far. (Murphy, 3/16)

Boston Globe: Biogen, Host Of Boston Conference Linked To Dozens Of Coronavirus Cases, Donates $10M To Pandemic Response 
Biogen, the Cambridge-based biotech firm that hosted a late February conference in Boston linked to dozens of coronavirus cases, is donating $10 million to combat the pandemic. “This donation will be used to help expand testing options, ease the strain on medical systems, provide training for front line health workers and support access to necessities like food,” the company said in a news release. (McDonald, 3/16)

Boston Globe: Mass. General Hospital Provider Tests Positive For Coronavirus; More Providers In Quarantine
A health care provider at Massachusetts General Hospital and another at Massachusetts Eye and Ear have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing to four the number of Boston hospital workers who see patients known to be infected. Neither hospital would identify the individuals or their specific jobs, but officials said the providers are both in isolation at home and doing well. The Globe reported this past weekend that two doctors at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have also contracted the virus and are in home quarantine. (Kowalczyk and McCluskey, 3/16)

Cincinnati Enquirer: DeWine: Ohio Day Care Closures Are Coming Due To Coronavirus
In series of tweets Sunday night, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said that closing day care centers to stop the spread of the coronavirus is inevitable.”I’ve tried to signal that daycares will eventually be closed,” DeWine wrote. “But, our health care systems need to be staffed. You’ll start to see health care facilities creating their own day cares.” Cincinnati area YMCAs have announced plans to operate day camps for the children of health care workers. (Knight, 3/16)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Six Being Tested For COVID-19 Had Ties To Cincinnati Health Centers
Cincinnati Heath Commissioner Melba Moore said Monday morning six people related to city health centers are being tested for the disease caused by the new coronavirus. She gave no specific details, such as whether the six are employees or patients, nor which clinics where the contacts happened. Health care workers are at greater risk of exposure due to the nature of their work. (Coolidge, 3/16)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Coronavirus In Georgia: What Is Martial Law?
Amid all the closings and uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus in the United States, it’s unfortunate but not unexpected that false information is being sent out on social media. On Monday, Sen. Marco Rubio apparently had had enough, tweeting “COMPLETELY FALSE” pertaining to rumors the U.S. is now under martial law. Well, he sort of tweeted that. Rubio misspelled “martial,” which started “Marshall Law” and photos of Marshall Mathers, aka Eminem, trending. (Clanton, 3/16)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Children’s Doctor Says Tests Not Available Yet For Health Workers
A leader of emergency medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center has cautioned his team there aren’t enough tests for the novel coronavirus to cover health providers, “and I do not have a high degree of confidence that this will change soon.” Dr. Scott Reeves, senior clinical director of emergency medicine, also said the hospital’s Liberty campus “remains contracted” in its surgical schedule. The Liberty campus houses a proton therapy machine, the only one in the Cincinnati region that can provide precise radiation treatment of brain tumors and other cancers. (Saker, 3/16)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia’s First Senior Care Coronavirus Cases Reported
A metro Atlanta assisted living facility has three residents and an employee who have tested positive for the coronavirus — a sign of the acute risks that senior care facilities face as the virus spreads across Georgia. The Retreat at Canton confirmed that three residents and an employee have “tested presumptively positive” for COVID-19, according to a release by the facility that has 90 beds. (Schrade, 3/16)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Philadelphia Just Extended Its Paid Sick Leave Law To Cover Public Health Emergencies Such As Coronavirus
Philadelphia workers covered under the city’s sick leave law can now use their sick time during a public health emergency, such as the coronavirus pandemic, the Mayor’s Office of Labor announced Monday. That means that workers can use their sick time if they have to stay home due to quarantine, business closures, or to care for a child because of a school closure. (Feliciano Reyes, 3/16)

Philadelphia Inquirer: A Liquor Run Before The Pa. Shutdown: ‘This Is To Make Being At Home With The Kids … A Bit More Tolerable’
Bottles of Tito’s Vodka and Skinnygirl Margaritas were sold out at the liquor store in Drexel Hill, and over in Conshohocken there wasn’t a single jug of $17.99 Carlo Rossi cabernet sauvignon left on the shelves. But the one thing all liquor stores in the Pennsylvania suburbs were running low on Monday — the day before the state shut them down indefinitely due to the coronavirus — was boxed wine. (Farr, 3/16)

Detroit Free Press: 54 Positive Cases Of Coronavirus Now In Michigan
Michigan now has 54 reported cases of novel coronavirus in the state, the state’s Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday. A woman from Macomb County with a history of domestic travel was added to the list of positive cases of COVID-19 in Michigan, according to a release Monday evening from the state’s Emergency Operations Center. (Moran, 3/16)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Pa. Marijuana Dispensaries Call For Volunteer ‘Caregivers,’ Ask State To Allow Home Deliveries
Medical marijuana continues to be sold at state-approved dispensaries in Pennsylvania. The dispensaries are akin to pharmacies and therefore considered “essential” businesses. At least one dispensary owner is working to assure that card-carrying patients can still get their medicines if they get sick with the coronavirus. (Wood, 3/16)

Modern Healthcare: Highmark Health Sends 8,000 Employees To Work From Home Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
Pittsburgh-based Highmark Health, owner of a Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan and integrated health system, said 8,000 of its roughly 35,000 employees began working from home on Friday, as part of its efforts to protect staff from the COVID-19 pandemic. The not-for-profit healthcare company sent customer service, technology, call center and some logistical employees to work from home, and it purchased 3,000 laptops to allow another set of critical support staff to telecommute, Highmark Health CEO David Holmberg said Monday on a call with news media. (Livingston, 3/16)

The Washington Post: Homeless Organizations Limit Services Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
As the coronavirus spreads exponentially in the region, some organizations serving the homeless and people in need have begun to shut their doors or limit their services. Those that remain open have introduced protective measures. The District’s Central Union Mission on Wednesday began checking the body temperature of staff members and every person who comes into the facility, which provides beds for 170 to 200 people a night, along with serving an additional 25 lunch or dinner. If they have a 100-degree fever plus one other symptom of the virus, or a 101-degree fever or higher, they are blocked from entering and directed to a medical facility. (Bahrampour, 3/15)