First Edition: March 12, 2020

Kaiser Health News: Coronavirus Is Keeping Me Home From Work. Will I Get Paid?
As the novel coronavirus continues to march across the country, for many workers getting sick is only part of what worries them. What about getting paid if they are ill or have to be quarantined?Congressional Democrats are pushing for legislation that would provide generous paid leave for those who are not being compensated while out of work because of sickness, quarantine or family needs resulting from the coronavirus outbreak. (Andrews, 3/12)

Kaiser Health News: Tampons, Pads And Politics Mesh In New Push For Access To Menstrual Supplies
Geoff Davis’ gray Kia sedan is chock-full of tampons and maxi pads.Davis, 50, volunteers as executive director of Period Kits, a Colorado nonprofit that provides a three-month bag of tampons and pads to people in need. On lunch breaks from his full-time job in community relations or on weekends, he heads out to a food bank in Boulder or Civic Center Park in Denver to deliver free menstrual supplies to women experiencing homelessness or extreme poverty. (Ruder, 3/12)

Kaiser Health News: The Startling Inequality Gap That Emerges After Age 65
In an era when “deaths of despair” — from substance abuse and suicide — are on the rise among middle-aged Americans, those who reach age 65 are living longer than ever. But there’s a catch: Seniors in urban areas and on the coasts are surviving longer than their counterparts in rural areas and the nation’s interior, according to an analysis from Samuel Preston of the University of Pennsylvania, one of the nation’s leading demographers. (Graham, 3/12)

The New York Times: U.S. To Suspend Most Travel From Europe As World Scrambles To Fight Pandemic
President Trump on Wednesday night blocked most visitors from continental Europe to the United States and vowed emergency aid to workers and small businesses as the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic, stock markets plunged further and millions of people cut themselves off from their regular lives. In a prime-time address from the Oval Office, Mr. Trump outlined a series of measures intended to tackle the virus and its economic impact as he sought to reassure Americans that he was taking the crisis seriously after previously playing down the scope of the outbreak. He said he would halt travelers from Europe other than Britain for 30 days and asked Congress to support measures like a payroll tax cut. (Baker, 3/11)

Reuters: Trump Curbs Travel From Europe As Coronavirus Disrupts Schools, Sports
Trump, whose administration has come under sharp criticism for its response to a public health crisis that he has previously downplayed, also announced several steps aimed at blunting economic fallout posed by coronavirus. The travel order, which starts on midnight Friday, does not apply to Britain, or to Americans undergoing “appropriate screenings,” Trump said. “We are marshaling the full power of the federal government and the private sector to protect the American people,” Trump said in a prime-time televised address from the Oval Office. “This is the most aggressive and comprehensive effort to confront a foreign virus in modern history.” (3/12)

The Associated Press: In Battle Against Virus, Trump Restricts Travel From Europe
Trump said the restrictions won’t apply to the United Kingdom, and there would be exemptions for “Americans who have undergone appropriate screenings.” He said the U.S. would monitor the situation to determine if travel could be reopened earlier. The State Department followed Trump’s remarks by issuing an extraordinary global health advisory cautioning U.S. citizens to “reconsider travel abroad” due to the virus and associated quarantines and restrictions. (3/12)

The Washington Post: Besieged Trump Announces Europe Travel Ban In Effort To Stem Coronavirus Pandemic
Although he read from a prepared script as he delivered a rare prime-time televised address to the nation from the Oval Office, Trump incorrectly described his own policy. The president said in his speech that the travel restriction from Europe would apply to cargo and trade as well as passengers. But the text of the order, later released by the White House, stated that the ban would not include cargo, allowing for continued trade between the continents to maintain the free flow of commerce. (Rucker and Gearan, 3/11)

Politico: Trump Ratchets Up Coronavirus Battle With European Travel Ban
Overall, Trump did adopt a more solemn tone during his address, a change for a president who, as recently as Monday, compared the rapidly spreading virus to the common flu and tweeted that “nothing is shut down, life and the economy go on.” The comparison to the flu was the latest in a series of inaccurate comments Trump has made about the virus as the number of confirmed U.S. cases has climbed over 1,000. Often, his public statements have contradicted top U.S. officials and Cabinet secretaries who have encouraged Americans — particularly older adults and those with chronic health conditions — to take the outbreak more seriously. (Orr, 3/11)

The Associated Press: Trump Officials Emphasize That Coronavirus ‘Made In China’
There’s one thing the Trump administration wants Americans to remember about the coronavirus pandemic: It carries the “Made in China” label. Trump administration officials, on the defensive about their own handling of the virus, have repeatedly reminded people that the virus started in Wuhan, a city in China’s Hubei province, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo referring to it as the “Wuhan coronavirus.” (3/12)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Now A Global Pandemic As U.S., World, Scramble To Control Outbreak
He and administration officials later tweeted that the restrictions apply only to people, not goods and trade, and will not include a bar on U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. Trump spoke sternly about what he called a “foreign virus” that “started in China and is now spreading throughout the world.” “The virus will not have a chance against us,” Trump said. “No nation is more prepared or more resilient than the United States.” (Zezima, Craig, Wan and Sonmez, 3/11)

The Associated Press: World Walls Off As Leaders Warn Viral Pandemic Will Worsen
People around the world became increasingly closed off from one another Thursday as sweeping travel bans accelerated, walling regions apart as a viral pandemic unfolds and financial markets plunge. It was an outbreak moving, at once, both glacially and explosively, with a virus first detected three months ago in China creeping across borders and producing eruptive outbreaks that have crippled areas. (3/12)

The New York Times: Democrats And White House Race To Strike Deal For Coronavirus Relief Package
The White House and Democrats rushed on Wednesday to reach agreement on emergency legislation to provide a first tranche of economic assistance to help Americans cope with the fast-moving coronavirus pandemic, with the hope of sending it to President Trump for his signature by the end of the week. As the White House and Democrats were divided over what a broader economic stimulus package should look like, the two parties were trying to coalesce around the idea of a narrower short-term bill, while deferring discussion over other economic measures until after Congress returns from a weeklong recess. The bill would focus on paid leave, enhanced unemployment insurance, food assistance and help for small businesses. (Stolberg, Tankersley and Rappeport, 3/11)

Reuters: U.S. House Leaders Unveil Coronavirus Bill; Capitol Tours Suspended
Other provisions in the 124-page “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” introduced late on Wednesday include unemployment insurance to furloughed workers and hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding for children’s, seniors’ and other federal nutrition programs. An additional $500 million would be provided 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. Another $400 million would help local food banks meet increased demand. The legislation also would guarantee free coronavirus testing for anyone who requires it, including uninsured people. (3/12)

Los Angeles Times: Democrats Propose Economic Stimulus To Soften Coronavirus Blow
By passing the House bill, Democrats may also hope to insulate themselves from public criticism that Congress is moving too slowly to respond to the health crisis. Lawmakers are scheduled to leave town Thursday afternoon for a weeklong recess. The legislation is moving quickly and it is uncertain whether the Trump administration might support it. Senate Republicans huddled Wednesday and said they haven’t made any decisions on whether they will support the bill because they haven’t seen the specifics. (Haberkorn, 3/11)

Politico: Pelosi Ignores Trump Taunts As She Steers Through Another Crisis
For any other leader, the rapid turnaround on the recovery plan would be a herculean feat at best. But for Pelosi, successfully negotiating a multi-billion-dollar economic package with a hostile and often antagonistic Trump administration was just another day in the speaker’s suite. It’s also a reminder that for all Trump’s omnipresence on Twitter and cable TV, Pelosi remains the dominant figure on Capitol Hill when it comes time to actually getting something accomplished. “She understands what has to be done, and will do so in a very limited time frame and scope while trying to be inclusive with a very diverse caucus that also has a lot of their own ideas on how to solve the problem,” said Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.). “While there can be some consternation going forward, at the end of the day, she has the trust of the caucus.” (Caygle and Bresnahan, 3/12)

The Wall Street Journal: House Democrats Release Coronavirus Response Proposal
Republicans were also considering policy steps Wednesday evening, leaving open the possibility that Capitol Hill could cobble together a bipartisan compromise to address the economic consequences of the pandemic in just a matter of days. House Republican leadership met Wednesday to discuss possible legislation, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) was in contact with Mr. Mnuchin on Wednesday. Prospects of a bipartisan agreement have fallen to Mr. Mnuchin and Mrs. Pelosi. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said he would defer to the Trump administration and House Republicans indicated they would also fall in line behind the White House. (Andrews and Duehren, 3/11)

Reuters: U.S. Eyes Direct Deposit To Workers, Tax Delays, Airline Aid In Fight Against Coronavirus
The White House aims to propose several phases of relief measures to Congress, including a delay of the April 15 tax filing deadline, reimbursements for lost wages to sick and quarantined workers, aid to small and mid-size businesses and support for airlines, hotels and other travel firms, Mnuchin said. The Democratic-led House of Representatives plans to vote on the first phase of aid on Thursday, a bill that includes expanding unemployment benefits for those who have lost work because of the virus-driven slowdown. (3/11)

The New York Times: Trump’s Payroll Tax Cut Would Dwarf The 2008 Bank Bailout
The centerpiece of Mr. Trump’s stimulus proposal, which remains a work in progress, is a temporary tax cut that by itself would add nearly $1 trillion to the national debt: a suspension of all Social Security payroll taxes through the end of the year. Some economists have cheered the idea as the right move at a fraught moment when workers are quarantined, schools are closing and large gatherings are being canceled. But others — including those who have called for aggressive congressional action — say the plan would be an inefficient way of stoking consumer demand at a time of supply shortages and a growing number of quarantines. (Tankersley, 3/12)

The New York Times: Fauci Warns House On Coronavirus: ‘It Is Going To Get Worse’
Top federal health officials warned lawmakers on Wednesday that the coronavirus would continue spreading rapidly in the United States, and said Americans needed to immediately reorganize their lives to prevent further spread. The National Basketball Association should bar audiences from its games, one of them said. “We have got to assume it is going to get worse and worse and worse,” said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, adding that Americans should not assume the virus will die off in warmer weather, as President Trump has repeatedly said. (Weiland, 3/11)

NPR: Coronavirus: Over 1,000 Cases Now In U.S., And ‘It’s Going To Get Worse,’ Fauci Says
While this coronavirus is being contained in some respects, he testified, the U.S. is seeing more cases emerge through community spread as well as international travel. “I can say we will see more cases, and things will get worse than they are right now,” Fauci said. “How much worse we’ll get will depend on our ability to do two things: to contain the influx of people who are infected coming from the outside, and the ability to contain and mitigate within our own country.” (Chappell, 3/11)

Politico: ‘It’s Going To Get Worse’: Health Officials Warn Of Coronavirus Escalation
Fauci stressed that the coronavirus “is a really serious problem that we have to take seriously,” noting that it’s 10 times more lethal than influenza, which kills nearly 0.1 percent of Americans who get it each year. He declined, however, to estimate how many Americans may become infected with coronavirus, reasoning that it would depend on the response. (Forgey, McCaskill and Ehley, 3/11)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Forecasts Are Grim: ‘It’s Going To Get Worse’
Experts have produced forecasts of likely numbers of infections and serious illnesses as well as death tolls, on the basis of what is known about the novel coronavirus and how past epidemics have played out. They suggest that the United States — which has surpassed 1,000 confirmed novel-coronavirus infections and 30 deaths — must prepare for a potentially historic pandemic. Most coronavirus patients have mild or moderate illnesses and recover without need for hospitalization. The people at elevated risk of serious illness are “older adults,” in the phrasing of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and anyone with an underlying chronic illness such as heart disease, lung disease or diabetes. (Achenbach, Wan and Sun, 3/11)

The Wall Street Journal: HHS Secretary Is Largely Sidelined In U.S. Effort To Battle Coronavirus
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar appeared taken aback late last month when lawmakers questioned whether someone else should lead the nation’s response to coronavirus. “I serve as the lead on this while it’s a public-health emergency,” he said at a congressional budget hearing on Feb. 26. “It’s just the longstanding doctrine that this should be led by HHS with a public-health emergency.” About six hours later, President Trump made an appearance in the White House briefing room after a trip from India to say he was putting Vice President Mike Pence in charge. The vice president, he said, has “a certain talent for this.” (Armour and Burton, 3/11)

The New York Times: Coronavirus Has Become A Pandemic, W.H.O. Says
The spread of the coronavirus is now a pandemic, officials at the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. “We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the W.H.O.’s director-general. Dr. Tedros called for countries to learn from one another’s successes, act in unison and help protect one another against a common threat. (McNeil, 3/11)

NPR: Coronavirus: COVID-19 Is Now Officially A Pandemic, WHO Says
Even as he raised the health emergency to its highest level, Tedros said hope remains that COVID-19 can be curtailed. And he urged countries to take action now to stop the disease. “WHO has been in full response mode since we were notified of the first cases,” Tedros said. “And we have called every day for countries to take urgent and aggressive action. We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear.” (Chappell, 3/11)

The Washington Post: What Is Pandemic? Why Did WHO Just Declare One?
For weeks now, the WHO has hesitated to make the pandemic declaration, for fear of inciting panic or prompting some countries to flag in their efforts, even though many epidemiologists believed the coronavirus had already spread to pandemic levels. But on Wednesday, Tedros noted the widespread scale of the outbreak. “There are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 people have lost their lives,” he said. “In the days and weeks ahead, we expect to see the number of coronavirus cases, the number of deaths and the number of affected countries climb even higher.” (Wan, 3/11)

The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Declared Pandemic By World Health Organization
The pandemic label doesn’t require new WHO recommendations. But the move could get more resources to a rapidly worsening situation, some health experts said. “I hope that it adds urgency to efforts to mitigate it, because those efforts need urgency,” said Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics. (McKay, Calfas and Ansari, 3/11)

The Wall Street Journal: Lack Of Sick Time Worries Workers As Coronavirus Looms
Millions of American workers have no paid sick time, and millions more who do are wondering if they will have enough to cover a severe illness. While some of the country’s biggest companies are adjusting their policies because of the coronavirus, there are still many employees who worry that falling ill will leave them in a precarious financial position. The incubation period for confirmed cases of coronavirus can be up to 14 days, a significant stretch of time to take off from work. Many hourly and blue-collar jobs offer no paid sick leave at all, and even in industries known for high salaries or union regulation not all workers are covered, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That means many workers may feel they have no choice but to come to work even when they are ill. (Dill, 3/11)

The Washington Post: The First Wave Of Coronavirus-Related Layoffs Has Started
The coronavirus outbreak is taking a deep toll on the U.S. economy, prompting hundreds of layoffs over the past week alone and halting a historic 11-year bull market in stocks. Strong job growth and soaring financial markets have fueled the U.S. economic expansion over the past decade. Now the rapid market decline and initial layoffs are heightening fears that the longest economic expansion in U.S. history could come to a sudden end, just a month after unemployment stood at a half-century low. (Bhattarai, Long and Siegel, 3/11)

Politico: A Remote White House? Trump Team Weighs Teleworking
The famous offices located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue are grappling with the same calculation as every other workplace facing the coronavirus: whether to close the doors and work remotely. It’s a step under consideration in parts of the White House as the coronavirus outbreak hits close to home in the nation’s capital. Aides have been thinking through the idea of having some staff telework, according to two administration officials, determining which staffers would qualify. No final decisions have been made yet. (McGraw and Cook, 3/11)

Politico: U.S. Capitol To Stop All Public Tours Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
The U.S. Capitol will cease all public tours through at least the end of March amid mounting fears of a widespread coronavirus outbreak, according to multiple people familiar with the decision. Speaker Nancy Pelosi informed members of the decision in a Wednesday afternoon meeting, which is intended to help prevent the spread of the virus across the sprawling Capitol campus, where many senior-aged lawmakers are already at higher risk. The restriction applies to all tours — public, staff-led and member-led. (Ferris, Zandoma and Cayble, 3/11)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Capitol Building To Limit Tours Due To Coronavirus Pandemic
Congressional offices were hit with their first confirmed case of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and leaders said they planned to close the U.S. Capitol building to tours, as health concerns mounted among lawmakers. An aide in the office of Sen. Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.) has tested positive for Covid-19, her office said in a statement. The aide has been in isolation since symptoms developed, and the senator has closed her Washington, D.C., office this week for cleaning while her staff works remotely. (Hughes and Andrews, 3/11)

The New York Times: As Coronavirus Testing Increases, Some Labs Fear A Shortage Of Other Supplies
Laboratories around the country are now facing potential shortages of key materials and chemicals needed to run tests for the novel coronavirus, as cases spread to more than two-thirds of the states and the global pandemic strains testing resources even further. Some lab directors say they are already beginning to run low of the supplies needed to extract RNA from nasal swabs, a crucial initial step that is separate from the millions of test kits that the federal government has promised to ship to every state. Others say they are weighing whether to borrow some materials from other research labs that aren’t involved in creating or running coronavirus tests. (Thomas, 3/11)

The New York Times: How U.S. Hospitals Are Preparing For The Coronavirus Outbreak
As new coronavirus infections accumulate across America, hospitals want to make sure they have everything they need to keep staff safe. In China, where the virus was first discovered, protecting health care workers was a serious challenge. More than 3,300 nurses, doctors and other hospital staff members across the country were infected, many because of insufficient protective equipment. In the United States, some hospitals are already struggling with limited supplies, as health officials figure out the best way to protect workers. (Popovich and Parshina-Kottas, 3/11)

NPR: CDC Asks Hospitals To Share Data About Supplies Of Coronavirus Gear
Masks, gloves and other equipment are crucial as health care workers face the COVID-19 outbreak. There is a strategic national stockpile that the U.S. government controls — but no one actually knows, beyond that stockpile, what’s already out there in the private sector. Some hospitals have extras, and some not enough. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working on a system that would track the inventory across the U.S. The big hurdle isn’t the technology. The issue is getting hospitals comfortable sharing information about their preparedness — information that, until now, they have considered confidential. (Farmer, 3/12)

The New York Times: Here’s The Biggest Thing To Worry About With Coronavirus
The ability of the American health care system to absorb a shock — what experts call surge capacity — is much weaker than many believe. As a medical doctor who analyzes health issues for The Upshot, I strive to place your fears in context and usually tell you that you shouldn’t be nearly as afraid as you are. But when it comes to the nation’s response to the new coronavirus, I cannot be so reassuring. A crucial thing to understand about the coronavirus threat — and it’s playing out grimly in Italy — is the difference between the total number of people who might get sick and the number who might get sick at the same time. Our country has only 2.8 hospital beds per 1,000 people. (Carroll, 3/12)

The Washington Post: What The U.S. Can Learn From Extreme Coronavirus Lockdowns In China And Italy
China locked down megacities. Italy has put its entire populace into quarantine. Now New York’s governor has turned the town of New Rochelle into a “containment zone.” As the coronavirus continues its spread, officials are beginning to consider whether the United States should enact the type of large-scale, mandatory lockdowns touted by Beijing and praised at times by World Health Organization officials. The simple answer, according to experts, is no. But as the United States considers its next moves, there are lessons to be learned from what happened in China and other countries where cases are declining. (Rauhala, Wan and Shih, 3/11)

The Washington Post: Hong Kong Learned From SARS. Amid The Coronavirus Outbreak, Can The United States Learn From Hong Kong?
The traumas of recent history have informed Hong Kong’s response to the current coronavirus pandemic. An outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, better known by its acronym, SARS, tore through the city in 2003, leaving 299 people dead. Keiji Fukuda, a U.S. expert on infectious diseases and former assistant director-general for health security at the World Health Organization, told Today’s WorldView that SARS and other outbreaks provided lessons for Hong Kong that it is applying today. “Virtually everybody here has been through the drill,” he said. “They know the consequences.” (Taylor, 3/12)

Reuters: As Pressure For Coronavirus Vaccine Mounts, Scientists Debate Risks Of Accelerated Testing
Drugmakers are working as quickly as possible to develop a vaccine to combat the rapidly spreading coronavirus that has infected more than 100,000 people worldwide. Behind the scenes, scientists and medical experts are concerned that rushing a vaccine could end up worsening the infection in some patients rather than preventing it. Studies have suggested that coronavirus vaccines carry the risk of what is known as vaccine enhancement, where instead of protecting against infection, the vaccine can actually make the disease worse when a vaccinated person is infected with the virus. (3/11)

The New York Times: What Does Coronavirus Do To The Body?
As cases of coronavirus infection proliferate around the world and governments take extraordinary measures to limit the spread, there is still a lot of confusion about what exactly the virus does to people’s bodies. The symptoms — fever, cough, shortness of breath — can signal any number of illnesses, from flu to strep to the common cold. Here is what medical experts and researchers have learned so far about the progression of the infection caused by this new coronavirus — and what they still don’t know. (Belluck, 3/11)

The Associated Press: Tests Show New Virus Lives On Some Surfaces For Up To 3 Days
The new coronavirus can live in the air for several hours and on some surfaces for as long as two to three days, tests by U.S. government and other scientists have found. Their work, published Wednesday, doesn’t prove that anyone has been infected through breathing it from the air or by touching contaminated surfaces, researchers stress. (3/11)

The Hill: Tests Indicate Coronavirus Can Survive In The Air 
Federally funded tests conducted by scientists from several major institutions indicated that the novel form of coronavirus behind a worldwide outbreak can survive in the air for several hours. A study awaiting peer review from scientists at Princeton University, the University of California-Los Angeles and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) posted online Wednesday indicated that the COVID-19 virus could remain viable in the air “up to 3 hours post aerosolization,” while remaining alive on plastic and other surfaces for up to three days. (Bowden, 3/11)

The Washington Post: A Seasonal Cycle To The Coronavirus Epidemic Is Possible, But It Is Unlikely To Disappear
As cases of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, rapidly increase in the United States and other parts of the world, epidemiologists and other researchers are urgently trying to learn more about the pathogen involved. One question that some virus specialists, and some meteorologists, are asking is whether there may be a seasonal aspect to this outbreak. In other words, is this more like the flu, which has a distinct winter peak in the United States and Europe and then ebbs for the spring and summer? Or is this here to stay at a high level of spread throughout the warm season? (Freedman and Samenow, 3/11)

The Associated Press: Scientist Links 2 State Outbreaks With Genetic Fingerprints
A U.S. scientist is helping public health authorities understand and track the coronavirus, turning up clues about how it arrived and spread through Washington state and beyond, including potentially seeding an outbreak on the Grand Princess cruise ship. … Like a detective studying fingerprints, Bedford uses the genetic code the virus leaves behind. The dots he connects are mutations in the genetic alphabet of the virus, a 30,000-letter string that changes at the rate of one letter every 15 days. (3/11)

Los Angeles Times: Why We Should Still Try To Contain The Coronavirus
The coronavirus outbreak that has sickened at least 125,000 people on six continents and caused nearly 4,600 deaths is now an official global pandemic. But that doesn’t mean we should give up on trying to contain it, health experts say. The goal is no longer to prevent the virus from spreading freely from person to person, as it was in the outbreak’s early days. Instead, the objective is to spread out the inevitable infections so that the healthcare system isn’t overwhelmed with patients. Public health officials have a name for this: Flattening the curve. (Healy and Khan, 3/11)

Los Angeles Times: Why You Should Stop Obsessing About Coronavirus News
It’s 1 in the morning and you can’t stop reading about the coronavirus. Maybe you want to know if you should cancel your trip to Hawaii over spring break or whether your kid’s school will be closed, or how many people are likely to die. You look for answers on websites you trust, along with some you’re not so sure about. And when you can’t find conclusive information, you keep searching, clicking and reading. (Netburn, 3/11)

The Washington Post: How To Protect Older Adults From Coronavirus
Older generations face a potentially life-threatening risk if infected with the novel coronavirus, which has caused deaths of 60-plus-year-olds stretching across the cities of China to the metropolises of Italy and now the United States. French President Emmanuel Macron advised his citizens to limit their visits to retirement homes last week, and Italy’s government has limited access to older people in nursing homes in an effort to keep from exposing them to infection. (Beachum, 3/11)

The New York Times: Coronavirus Has Caused A Hand Sanitizer Shortage. What Should You Do?
Alarm over coronavirus has caused a run on hand sanitizers. And now, sanitizers from Purell and other brands are exceedingly hard to come by. Where it isn’t sold out, enterprising sellers are charging outrageously inflated prices simply because they can. If you don’t have any hand sanitizer, you’re not likely to get some while the manufacturers create enough supply to meet the frenzied demand caused by panic over coronavirus. (To be clear, we don’t think anyone should panic.) (Suthivarakom, 3/11)

The New York Times: Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson Test Positive For Coronavirus
The 63-year-old Oscar-winner said they will be “tested, observed and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires.” “Not much more to it than a one-day-a-time approach, no?” added Hanks. Hanks had been in Australia shooting an untitled Elvis Presley biopic directed by Baz Luhrmann. Hanks plays Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker. The film, currently slated for release in October 2021, has suspended production, Warner Bros. said. (3/11)

CNN: NBA Season Suspended After Player Tests Positive For Coronavirus
The NBA is suspending its season after a player preliminarily tested positive for coronavirus, the league announced Wednesday. The news came after the NBA game between the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder was abruptly postponed on Wednesday night. Players for both teams were on the court at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City for warm-ups but were called back to the locker rooms. The NBA said the affected player was not in the arena and the test results were reported shortly before tip-off. (Close and Jackson, 3/12)

The Associated Press: From Handshakes To Kissing Babies, Virus Upends Campaigning
Podiums get sanitized before the candidate steps up to speak. Fist or elbow bumps take the place of handshakes, and kissing babies is out of the question. Rallies are canceled, leaving candidates speaking to a handful of journalists and staffers instead of cheering crowds of thousands. This is campaigning in the age of the coronavirus, when fears of the new pandemic’s rapid spread are upending Joe Biden’s and Bernie Sanders’ campaigns. The urgency of the issue comes at a pivotal time in the Democratic presidential primary, as Biden is beginning to pull ahead as a front-runner for the nomination and as Sanders is scrambling to catch up. (3/11)

The Associated Press: States Shuffle Poll Locations To Protect Seniors From Virus
The coronavirus threat is forcing elections officials in some states to remove polling places from nursing homes and other senior care facilities to protect older Americans, who appear to be more susceptible to the disease. Last-minute shuffling left voters in Michigan and Missouri scrambling to get to new polling places for their Tuesday primaries. Officials in states voting next week are trying to get ahead of those disruptions by announcing changes now and beginning public information campaigns to tell voters where they are supposed to cast ballots. (3/11)

NPR: The Case For And Against Closing Schools Over Coronavirus
The spread of coronavirus has compelled hundreds of K-12 schools in the U.S. to close, affecting more than 850,000 students, according to an analysis by Education Week. And those numbers are certain to increase in the coming days, as concerned parents call for more school closures. The growing health crisis presents school leaders with a painful choice. Closing schools — as has been done, so far, in China, Japan, Italy and elsewhere — is a proven measure that has been shown to slow the spread of disease and, in turn, save lives. But it also causes huge economic and social disruption, especially for children, millions of whom depend on the free and reduced-cost meals they get at school. (Turner and Kamenetz, 3/11)

Politico: San Francisco Bans Mass Gatherings, Warriors To Become First NBA Team To Play With No Fans
San Francisco Mayor London Breed and city health officials today plan to ban gatherings of more than 1,000 people to prevent the spread of the coronavirus — bringing to a halt major public events in Northern California’s entertainment and tourism capital. The move follows Santa Clara County’s similar directive Monday night and signals that local governments are taking more aggressive measures. (Cooliver and Kahn, 3/11)

The New York Times: From Pandemic To Social Distancing: A Coronavirus Glossary
When is an epidemic considered a pandemic, and what is the difference? What do health officials mean when they recommend “self-quarantining” or “social distancing”? As the coronavirus spreads around the world, new terms are entering the lexicon — and we’re here to help. Here’s a guide to the words and phrases you need to know to keep informed of the latest developments. (Gross and Padilla, 3/11)

The New York Times: A Fumbled Global Response To The Virus In A Leadership Void
In Frankfurt, the president of the European Central Bank warned that the coronavirus could trigger an economic crash as dire as that of 2008. In Berlin, the German chancellor warned the virus could infect two-thirds of her country’s population. In London, the British prime minister rolled out a nearly $40 billion rescue package to cushion his economy from the shock. As the toll of those afflicted by the virus continued to soar and financial markets from Tokyo to New York continued to swoon, world leaders are finally starting to find their voices about the gravity of what is now officially a pandemic. (Landler, 3/11)

The Wall Street Journal: Virus Outbreak Pushes Italy’s Health-Care System To The Brink
When her hospital in the northern Italian city of Cremona had its first case of coronavirus three weeks ago, Francesca Mangiatordi was on a night shift. Since then, as dozens of new cases poured in, the emergency-room doctor has been faced with heart-rending choices, such as how to allocate scarce oxygen supplies among critically ill patients. “These are the choices I would have never wanted to make,” she said. “It’s somewhat like being in war.” (Lombardi and Petroni, 3/12)

Politico: Italy Brings In Stricter Lockdown Measures
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced further measures to try and contain the spread of coronavirus. All shops, restaurants and cafés will be closed 24/7 and businesses and factories will have to limit activities as much as possible, encouraging staff to take holiday or work from home. Food and drug stores, as well as post offices and banks, will remain open. Public transport will continue to run. The new measures will last for two weeks. (Borrelli, 3/11)

The Wall Street Journal: Italy Hardens Nationwide Quarantine
Italy ordered the nationwide closure of all restaurants and bars along with most stores, as it raced to contain the worst novel coronavirus outbreak outside China. From Thursday, all retail outlets except for food stores and pharmacies must stay shut, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said. The announcement tightens a nationwide quarantine in place since Tuesday morning, aimed at cutting social interactions to a minimum. (Sylvers and Legorano, 3/11)

The New York Times: Insulin Costs May Be Capped In A Medicare Program
A new Medicare pilot program would lower the cost of insulin to $35 a prescription for older Americans who need the lifesaving drugs, the Trump administration announced Wednesday. If insulin manufacturers and insurers agree to offer the plans — which are voluntary — then people 65 and older who need insulin could save an average of $446 a year beginning in January 2021, according to Medicare officials. (Thomas, 3/11)