First Edition: March 17, 2020

Kaiser Health News: Ships, Planes, Trains, Scooters All Need A Virus Wipe. But What Does A ‘Deep Clean’ Mean?
The Diamond Princess cruise ship. A Georgetown church in Washington, D.C. A Latin American restaurant in Raleigh, North Carolina. A hotel in Oklahoma City. Two Broadway theaters in New York City.All announced that they’ve undergone a “deep clean” in recent weeks after discovering that a person infected with the novel coronavirus had been there. They are just the tip of a pile of businesses and consumer gathering spots that say they are stepping up cleaning protocols. (Knight and Heredia Rodriguez, 3/17)

Kaiser Health News: In Face Of Coronavirus, Many Hospitals Cancel On-Site Training For Nursing And Med Students
Yet another casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic may be the clinical training that’s so essential for America’s future nurses and doctors. As university campuses close and disease prevention efforts intensify, hospitals, nursing homes and other health care venues in California and nationally are canceling clinical rotations for student nurses — and, in some cases, medical students. The rationale is to protect both students and patients from getting sick and to reserve personal protective equipment, including masks, that may be in short supply. (Feder Ostrov, 3/17)

Kaiser Health News: Many Schools Have Closed ― But Not All. What Parents Need To Know About That Tough Call.
In the face of a global pandemic, thousands of K-12 school districts from Los Angeles to New York City and many cities in between announced closures in recent days. Every state is experiencing at least some school closures; in nearly three dozen states so far, governors have closed all public schools statewide. On Monday, President Donald Trump signaled even more closures may happen soon, saying children should “engage in schooling from home whenever possible.” (Barry-Jester, 3/17)

Kaiser Health News: Biden Falsely Blames Trump Administration For Rejecting WHO Coronavirus Test Kits (That Were Never Offered)
During Sunday night’s debate, while leveling criticism at President Donald Trump’s handling of the national response to the coronavirus pandemic, former Vice President Joe Biden said the Trump administration refused to get coronavirus testing kits from the World Health Organization. “Look, the World Health Organization offered the testing kits that they have available and to give it to us now. We refused them. We did not want to buy them. We did not want to get them from them. We wanted to make sure we had our own,” Biden said. (Knight andGreenberg, 3/16)

Kaiser Health News: To Stop Coronavirus In Its Tracks, Here’s Your Guide To 5 Degrees Of Separation
As the number of coronavirus cases grows in the U.S., we’re hearing a lot about how social distancing, self-monitoring and even quarantine play into containment efforts. But what do those terms mean and when do they apply? We asked experts and found out there is some overlap and lots of confusion.Here’s a quick guide for what you need to know. (Appleby, 3/16)

Reuters: Trump Urges U.S. To Halt Most Social Activity In Virus Fight, Warns Of Recession
President Donald Trump urged Americans on Monday to halt most social activities for 15 days and not congregate in groups larger than 10 people in a newly aggressive effort to reduce the spread of the coronavirus in the United States. Announcing new guidelines from his coronavirus task force, the president said people should avoid discretionary travel and not go to bars, restaurants, food courts or gyms. (Mason and Holland, 3/16)

Politico: A Chastened Trump Presents A Newly Somber Tone
Faced with a reality that the nation he oversees needs to take dramatic action or follow in the footsteps of deeply troubled nations abroad, the president took on a newly somber tone about a virus outbreak he spent months downplaying. “I’m glad to see that you’re practicing social distancing,” Trump quipped as he stepped up to the lectern in an unscheduled appearance at the sparsely populated James S. Brady briefing room in the White House, where reporters were arranged with open seats between them. It was a short moment of levity for Trump before he laid out dramatic new guidelines aimed at curbing the spread of the virus and saving lives. (McGraw, Orr and Kumar, 3/16)

The New York Times: Trump Urges Limits Amid Pandemic, But Stops Short Of National Mandates
The national guidelines, which also advise home-schooling and the curtailing of visits to nursing homes and long-term care facilities, are the most robust response so far from the Trump administration. But the guidelines, which officials described as a trial set, are not mandatory and fall short of a national quarantine and internal travel restrictions, which many health officials had urged. And they do not reflect the urgency of actions taken around the world as governments in Italy, France, Spain and elsewhere began imposing stringent lockdowns on citizens. Even within the United States, local governments were imposing shelter-at-home orders and police-enforced quarantine zones. (Rogers and Cochrane, 3/16)

Politico: ‘This Is A Very Bad One’: Trump Issues New Guidelines To Stem Coronavirus Spread
“We have an invisible enemy,” the president said at a news conference, where he released guidelines that called for people to avoid gathering in groups of more than 10 people, steer clear of eating and drinking at bars, restaurants and food courts, and work or attend school from home whenever possible. “This is a bad one. This is a very bad one.” (McCaskill, Kenen and Cancryn, 3/16)

The Associated Press: A Somber Trump Urges Americans To Follow Virus Guidelines
The president, when asked when the pandemic would subside, said that “if we do a really good job” the crisis could pass by the height of summer. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the administration’s infectious disease expert, did not challenge that claim. Trump’s prediction was far less optimistic than his earlier ones, when he insisted it could be over in weeks. He also acknowledged that the virus may send the nation’s economy into a recession, a potentially brutal blow for an incumbent seeking reelection. (Lemire, Taylor and Colvin, 3/17)

The New York Times: No More Than 10 People In One Place, Trump Said. But Why?
But where did that number come from? The variations in crowd size requirements and recommendations from assorted government authorities may add to confusion about what people should do to protect themselves and prevent transmission of disease. “It feels like somebody is using a Magic 8-Ball to make these decisions,” said Kelly Hills, a bioethicist and co-founder of the consulting firm Rogue Bioethics. “There is no consistency. There doesn’t even seem to be consistency in who’s making these decisions.” (Sheikh, 3/16)

Reuters: There Will Be ‘Dramatic’ Change In Coronavirus Spread If Americans Follow Guidelines-Official
There will be a “dramatic” change in the spread of coronavirus if Americans follow guidelines issued by the White House on Monday to fight virus, a member of the White House coronavirus task force said. “If everybody in America does what we ask for over the next 15 days, we will see a dramatic difference,” Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, said at a White House briefing also addressed by President Donald Trump. (3/16)

Politico: White House Deploys SWAT Teams Of Technocrats In Attempt To Fix Testing
As hospitals grapple with more coughing and feverish emergency-room visitors than they can test, the White House has deployed a SWAT team of fixers and technocrats to ramp up coronavirus testing, in an implicit acknowledgment that the Trump administration’s response has continued to fall short of what is needed. About 100 staffers and outside advisers, split between the health department and the White House, are currently working on teams to rapidly increase supplies of test kits and cope with shortages across the country, said four people with knowledge of the strategy. (Diamond, 3/16)

The New York Times: Trump To Governors On Ventilators: ‘Try Getting It Yourselves’
President Trump told a group of governors on Monday morning that they should not wait for the federal government to fill the growing demand for respirators needed to treat people with coronavirus. “Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment — try getting it yourselves,” Mr. Trump told the governors during the conference call, a recording of which was shared with The New York Times. “We will be backing you, but try getting it yourselves. Point of sales, much better, much more direct if you can get it yourself.” (Martin, 3/16)

The New York Times: N.Y. May Need 18,000 Ventilators Very Soon. It Has Far Short Of That.
As the coronavirus has swept across New York, officials have become increasingly alarmed about a bleak reality: The state may not have enough ventilators for everybody who could need one. It is still possible that the state could slow down the spread of the virus enough to curb the demand for ventilators, the machines that help the sickest patients to breathe. But a panel convened a few years ago by the state found that in the worst-case scenario of a flulike pandemic, New York could be short by as many as 15,783 ventilators a week at the peak of the crisis. (Rosenthal and Goldstein, 3/17)

The Washington Post: VA’s Mission To See Civilian Patients During Crisis Erased From Website Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
The Department of Veterans Affairs serves as a backup health system in times of crisis, but its mission statement for this crucial role was deleted from the agency’s website Friday as many in the country grew concerned that the coronavirus could overload civilian hospitals. VA’s three missions are to serve veterans through care, research and training in its behemoth health system. But in 1982, Congress mandated what has become known as VA’s “fourth mission”: to absorb non-veteran civilian patients in the event that hospitals overflow with patients in an emergency, such as a pandemic like the coronavirus. (Horton, 3/16)

The Wall Street Journal: Hospitals Push Off Surgeries To Make Room For Coronavirus Patients
Hospitals preparing for an influx of coronavirus patients are canceling some surgeries and moving routine care to virtual visits, an effort to make room for those critically ill and prevent infections as the global pandemic spreads nationwide. A growing number of hospitals, including Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian, the main facility of the University of California, San Francisco and some major systems in the hard-hit Seattle area, are starting to put off surgeries that aren’t urgent or emergencies. In addition to freeing up capacity, doctors say they don’t want to expose patients and workers to potential infection risk. (Evans and Wilde Mathews, 3/16)

Politico: Before Trump’s Inauguration, A Warning: ‘The Worst Influenza Pandemic Since 1918′
Seven days before Donald Trump took office, his aides faced a major test: the rapid, global spread of a dangerous virus in cities like London and Seoul, one serious enough that some countries were imposing travel bans. In a sober briefing, Trump’s incoming team learned that the disease was an emerging pandemic — a strain of novel influenza known as H9N2 — and that health systems were crashing in Asia, overwhelmed by the demand. “Health officials warn that this could become the worst influenza pandemic since 1918,” Trump’s aides were told. Soon, they heard cases were popping up in California and Texas. The briefing was intended to hammer home a new, terrifying reality facing the Trump administration, and the incoming president’s responsibility to protect Americans amid a crisis. (Toosi, Lippman and Diamond, 3/16)

The New York Times: Inside The Coronavirus Response: A Case Study In The White House Under Trump
Senior aides battling one another for turf, and advisers protecting their own standing. A president who is racked by indecision and quick to blame others and who views events through the lens of how the news media covers them. A pervasive distrust of career government professionals, and disregard for their recommendations. And a powerful son-in-law whom aides fear crossing, but who is among the few people the president trusts. The culture that President Trump has fostered and abided by for more than three years in the White House has shaped his administration’s response to a deadly pandemic that is upending his presidency and the rest of the country, with dramatic changes to how Americans live their daily lives. (Haberman and Weiland, 3/16)

Politico: Latest Coronavirus Testing Glitch: Not Enough Cotton Swabs
A potential shortage of cotton swabs and other basic supplies needed for coronavirus testing is emerging as a new threat to the Trump administration’s plans to roll out high-volume testing to 2,000 sites across the country by the end of the week. President Donald Trump and other top administration officials have repeatedly said that millions of Americans could be tested in the coming weeks. But behind the scenes, some officials are warning the nation’s commercial labs that kinks in the supply chain for basic lab materials are the latest obstacle to broader testing. (Lim, 3/16)

Politico: Coronavirus By State: Chart Of New Cases
The United States’ ability to detect COVID-19 is crucial to understanding how the coronavirus — now confirmed in nearly every state and territory — is spreading. While the Trump administration has promised a mass rollout of tests, supply in the U.S has lagged behind that in other countries, making the scope of the disease harder to track. (3/16)

Stat: FDA Moves To Boost Coronavirus Testing Capacity By Giving States More Power
In response to a dire shortage of tests for detecting the fast-moving coronavirus, the Food and Drug Administration is giving states new powers to authorize laboratories to develop their own diagnostic. And the FDA also approved new tests that will be distributed by LabCorp (LH) and Hologic (HOLX), two of the largest manufacturers. (Silverman, 3/16)

The New York Times: U.S. Lags In Coronavirus Testing After Slow Response To Outbreak
Delays in testing in the United States have set back the nation’s response to the pandemic, even though its first case was discovered around the same time that South Korea’s was. But part of the problem in the United States has also been gaps created by the way the state and federal agencies report the data. An internet community effort, called the COVID Tracking Project, is attempting to provide a fuller picture of testing in the United States. According to the tracker — which collects information directly from state health departments, local news reports and live news conferences — at least 41,000 people have been tested in the United States, much higher than official C.D.C. figures. (Buchanan, Lai and McCann, 3/17)

The Washington Post: While CDC Coronavirus Tests Stalled For Six Weeks, A German Lab Made 1.4 Million Tests
When Olfert Landt heard about the novel coronavirus, he got busy. Founder of a small Berlin-based company, the ponytailed 54-year-old first raced to help German researchers come up with a diagnostic test and then spurred his company to produce and ship more than 1.4 million tests by the end of February for the World Health Organization. “My wife and I have been working 16 hours a day, seven days a week, ever since,” Landt said by phone about 1 a.m. Friday, Berlin time. “Our days are full.” (Whoriskey and Satija, 3/16)

The Wall Street Journal: FDA To Allow Private Companies To Market Coronavirus Test Kits Without Prior Approval
In a conference call with reporters Monday night, Dr. Hahn described the measures as a “flexible regulatory approach” intended to strike a balance between speed and the FDA’s regulatory oversight to achieve precision of tests. Dr. Hahn said private companies that make the lab tests will need to file evidence of their accuracy with the FDA within about 15 days of release. (Burton, 3/16)

The Wall Street Journal: How South Korea Put Into Place The World’s Most Aggressive Coronavirus Test Program
Returning home after a workday last week, Kang Min-kyung stared at a jarring notice taped to her front door: “We’d like you to get tested for coronavirus.” A fellow tenant of her downtown Seoul apartment building had tested positive earlier in the day. Her city district’s “Disaster and Safety Headquarters” recommended she get examined within 48 hours and provided the address for a nearby medical facility. Ms. Kang went that night. The free test took 10 minutes. (Yoon and Martin, 3/16)

The New York Times: How Long Will The Coronavirus Outbreak And Shutdown Last?
If we are relying on social or physical distancing to slow down infection, the prevailing optimistic guess among experts on when the virus will abate is about two months: significantly earlier than Mr. Trump’s prediction. “I’d say the beginning of May we’re going to feel like we’re coming out of this,” said Morgan Katz, an assistant professor of infectious disease at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “That’s my hope.” To make loose predictions on how long this outbreak and societal disruption might last in the United States, she and many other experts are turning to China. (Nierenberg, 3/16)

The Washington Post: How Long Will Social Distancing For Coronavirus Last In The United States?
How long are we going to have to keep this up? The closed schools, working from home, six feet of personal space and zombie-apocalypse empty streets? It’s the question now preoccupying America as millions of parents silently scream it into the void amid the coronavirus pandemic. But it is an especially hard one for science to answer. The best and most honest reply, according to epidemiologists and virologists, is simple: “It depends.” It’s not going to be over anytime soon — a matter of months rather than weeks. And these are the key factors that will determine just how many months. (Wan, 3/16)

Stat: Lower Death Rate Estimates For Coronavirus Provide Glimmer Of Hope 
In a rare piece of good news about Covid-19, a team of infectious disease experts calculates that the fatality rate in people who have symptoms of the disease caused by the new coronavirus is about 1.4%. Although that estimate applies specifically to Wuhan, the Chinese city where the outbreak began, and is based on data from there, it offers a guide to the rest of the world, where many countries might see even lower death rates. (Begley, 3/16)

Stat: Explaining Mass Quarantine: What’s Legal? And Who Can Call For It?
Six counties in the San Francisco metro area made headlines when they announced Monday they were ordering all their residents to “shelter in place” in response to the novel coronavirus. The sweeping proclamation is the most striking example to date of state and local governments in the United States taking sweeping action to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus and to limit the impact of the disease it causes, Covid-19. While the Bay Area is the first region in the U.S. to issue such an order, a number of states have mandated school and business closures and vastly curtailed nearly all major events. (Florko, 3/17)

The New York Times: Could Coronavirus Cause As Many Deaths As Cancer In The U.S.? Putting Estimates In Context
Although it’s impossible to say how many Americans will die because of the new coronavirus, under a reasonable set of assumptions the number of fatalities could be high — potentially in the hundreds of thousands or more. Deaths on that scale are not easy to grasp. To put the estimates in context, we’re comparing the possible toll with other leading causes of death in the United States in 2018, the most recent year with data available. We’ve started with an estimate from a Nebraska University public health researcher, Dr. James Lawler, that was recently presented to hospital executives: 480,000 American deaths over the course of the illness known as Covid-19. (Katz, Sanger-Katz and Quealy, 3/16)

The New York Times: Coronavirus Is Hiding In Plain Sight
Scientists tracking the spread of the coronavirus reported on Monday that, for every confirmed case, there are most likely another five to 10 people in the community with undetected infections. These often-milder cases are, on average, about half as infectious as confirmed ones, but are responsible for nearly 80 percent of new cases, according to the report, which was based on data from China. (Carey, 3/16)

The New York Times: The Mask
If there is a symbol of the current confusion and fear, the misinformation and anxiety, generated by the spread of the new coronavirus, it is the surgical face mask. When history looks back on the pandemic of 2020, those white or baby blue rectangles that hide the mouth and nose, turning everyone into a muzzled pelican, will be what we see. The masks began appearing almost immediately after the infection was identified, first in Asia, where masks were already common, and then in Europe. These days they are everywhere. (And nowhere — there is a serious face mask shortage). (Friedman, 3/17)

The New York Times: Trial Of Coronavirus Vaccine Made By Moderna Begins In Seattle
The first testing in humans of an experimental vaccine for the new coronavirus began on Monday, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases announced. The main goal of this first set of tests is to find out if the potential vaccine is safe. If it is, later study will determine how well it works. The trial was “launched in record speed,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the institute’s director, said in a statement. (Grady, 3/16)

Reuters: Pfizer, BioNTech To Co-Develop Potential Coronavirus Vaccine
U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc has signed a deal with Germany’s BioNTech SE to co-develop a potential vaccine for the coronavirus using BioNTech’s mRNA-based drug development platform, the companies said on Tuesday. The drugmakers will start the collaboration immediately and have signed a letter of intent for the vaccine’s distribution outside China, they said in a joint statement. (3/17)

The Associated Press: US Governors Expand Shut Downs Amid Coronavirus Concerns
A growing number of governors ordered a partial shut down of their state economies Monday to limit the spread of the coronavirus, mandating that certain retailers cutoff sales, restaurants kick out diners and fitness centers close their doors. In other states, governors deferred those decisions to mayors and other local officials who went even further. Six counties in the San Francisco Bay area ordered nearly 7 million residents to stay inside, allowing them to venture out only for necessities during a three-week period starting Tuesday. (Lieb, 3/16)

The New York Times: Shelter In Place: Some Residents In Bay Area Ordered To Stay Home
Across California, as the coronavirus marches through communities, life as everyone understands it in the Golden State is changing dramatically, hour by hour, minute by minute. The state has begun enacting extreme measures to halt the coronavirus outbreak. On Monday, seven counties around Silicon Valley, one of the hardest-hit areas in the nation, announced a shelter-at-home order that begins Tuesday, which Mayor Sam Liccardo of San Jose said was the strongest directive yet in the United States. Residents, including those living in San Francisco, were told not to go out for three weeks except to meet “essential needs.” (Arango, Fuller, Eligon and Dougherty, 3/16)

Politico: SF Bay Area Counties Require Nearly 7M Residents To Stay Home
The San Francisco Bay Area is locking down for the next three weeks. Six Bay Area counties will direct nearly 7 million residents to shelter in place through April 7 in the most drastic effort yet in the U.S. to contain the spread of coronavirus and forestall health systems becoming overwhelmed with new cases. (Colliver and White, 3/16)

Los Angeles Times: How The Bay Area Coronavirus ‘shelter In Place’ Order Works
Officials say slowing the spread of the virus is urgent to prevent hospitals from getting overwhelmed. Older adults and those with underlying medical conditions are most at risk for critical illness, with their bodies unable to fight off a viral infection of the lungs that can result in a failure to breathe on their own, septic shock and multiple organ failure. (Lin, 3/16)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Forces Sweeping, Radical Changes In California
Coronavirus cases in California continue to rise as officials turn to extraordinary steps to slow the spread. L.A. County officials announced the closure of all bars, fitness centers and movie theaters and directed restaurants to move to takeout only. The directive applies to all 88 cities and unincorporated regions of the county, including Los Angeles, which issued a similar directive Sunday. (Willon, Wigglesworth, Luna, Newberry and Shalby, 3/16)

Politico: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut Closing Bars, Restaurants Indefinitely Starting Monday Night
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have agreed to close bars, restaurants and other businesses and impose curfews that begin at 8 p.m. daily, a sweeping and so-far unprecedented regional effort to enforce social distancing as new coronavirus cases jump across the nation. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday morning that all gyms, movie theaters and casinos will also close indefinitely starting at 8 p.m. Monday. Bars and restaurants will only be available for takeout services. Gatherings of more than 50 people are banned, a directive that follows guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued Sunday evening. (Gronewold and Hutchins, 3/16)

Politico: Why You Can’t Just ‘Call Out The Military’ To Fix The Coronavirus Crisis
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants the Army Corps of Engineers to build overflow hospitals. Bernie Sanders wants to call up the National Guard. Joe Biden says “call out the military — now.” But the military isn’t a cure-all, and there are significant legal and practical limits to what the armed forces can do during the coronavirus crisis. (Bender and Seligman, 3/16)

The New York Times: De Blasio Resisted On Coronavirus. Then Aides Said They’d Quit.
For most of last week, as Mayor Bill de Blasio continued to urge New Yorkers to mostly go about their daily lives — sending their children to school, frequenting the city’s businesses — some of his top aides were furiously trying to change the mayor’s approach to the coronavirus outbreak. There had been arguments and shouting matches between the mayor and some of his advisers; some top health officials had even threatened to resign if he refused to accept the need to close schools and businesses, according to several people familiar with the internal discussions. (Mays and Goldstein, 3/16)

The Associated Press: DC Closes Gyms, Theaters, Orders Takeout Only In Restaurants
Washington, D.C., is shutting down all movie theaters and gyms, and ordering restaurants and bars to serve only takeout, as the nation’s capital continues to ramp up its social distancing measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday that she is also placing local National Guard units on standby, but not actively deploying them yet. She said she envisions the National Guard playing a role in organizing mass virus testing sites in the future. (Khalil, 3/16)

The New York Times: ‘All Around Us Is Chaos.’ Inside A Rural Town Upended By The Virus.
Closing in on a week after the coronavirus had descended on his small, rural community, James D. Smith sat behind a microphone in the WCYN studio on Main Street for his regular morning show, “Coffee Break Extra.” On his head, he wore a dark blue cap that said “mayor,” and in his eyes, the stress of the past several days. “Everyone knows what’s going on,” the lifelong Cynthiana resident in his sixth year as mayor told listeners. “We’re keeping our hope up. We’re keeping our faith up. We’re keeping our chin up.” (Rojas, 3/17)

The New York Times: Starbucks Goes From Sip And Stay To Grab And Go
There was a new sign affixed to Starbucks doors across the United States on Monday. “We have temporarily closed our seating area, but we remain open to serve you,” it said. “Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience.” The floor was unusually empty at one location in Upper Manhattan, with tables and chairs stacked near the windows. (Fortin, 3/16)

The New York Times: Some Ask A Taboo Question: Is America Overreacting To Coronavirus?
No one wants to be seen as prioritizing profit or, say, youth soccer over saving lives. But in recent days, a group of contrarian political leaders, ethicists and ordinary Americans have bridled at what they saw as a tendency to dismiss the complex trade-offs that the measures collectively known as “social distancing” entail. Besides the financial ramifications of such policies, their concerns touch on how society’s most marginalized groups may fare and on the effect of government-enforced curfews on democratic ideals. Their questions about the current approach are distinct from those raised by some conservative activists who have suggested the virus is a politically inspired hoax, or no worse than the flu. (Harmon, 3/16)

Politico: Senate To Take Up Coronavirus Package After House Passes Revised Bill
The House passed by unanimous consent Monday evening the revised coronavirus emergency bill, sending it to the Senate to take up as the coronavirus continues to spread across the U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin worked out the “technical corrections” bill Monday and were able to get it through the House without objection. The Senate could take up the House’s multi-billion package as early as Tuesday. Following meetings with senior administration officials Monday, some Senate Republicans initially reluctant to support the measure seemed to drop their opposition to the proposal. (Bresnahan and Levine, 3/16)

The Wall Street Journal: House Democrats Scale Back Paid-Leave Program In Coronavirus-Aid Bill
The Democratic-led House scaled back a paid-leave program that the chamber had tried to enact days earlier, following pressure from businesses worried about financial burdens from the sweeping bill in response to the coronavirus crisis. In revised legislation that Democratic leaders billed as a technical correction, but represented a significant rewrite, the House modified a program aimed at providing paid leave to people affected by the coronavirus. The new measure would still provide two weeks of sick leave to a wide swath of workers affected by the pandemic, including those who are in quarantine, caring for family members with Covid-19, and those who have children whose schools or day-care centers have closed. (Hughes, Andrews and Davidson, 3/17)

The Wall Street Journal: Some Senators Question House Coronavirus Response Bill
Congress’s efforts to quickly enact into law a measure responding to the coronavirus crisis overcame a key hurdle Monday, while leaders also began discussing the contours of a large new stimulus package and took steps to protect lawmakers from contracting the illness. The legislation took on more urgency as the stock market tumbled again, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 12.9% and schools, restaurants and other businesses closing in major cities nationwide. (Hughes, Restuccia and Lucey, 3/16)

Bloomberg: Trump Says Virus Relief Bill May Be Amended, Delaying Passage
President Donald Trump said a House-passed virus relief bill should be altered in the Senate to allow expanded sick leave for workers at large corporations, a move that would threaten to delay final action on the measure. Trump said the Senate may act to make the legislation passed overwhelmingly by the House “even better,” although a change would require both chambers to act before Congress can send the bill to his desk. While the Senate is in Washington this week, the House is on a scheduled week-long break. (Litvan and Dennis, 3/17)

The Washington Post: Congressional Leaders Work On Third Coronavirus Relief Bill With Major Economic Stimulus
Congressional leaders and White House officials began work Monday on a massive new coronavirus relief bill that could contain major economic stimulus for corporations and consumers, aiming to move the legislation through the Senate as soon as this week as President Trump warned a recession could be coming. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Congress’ third coronavirus relief bill should include further steps to assist individual Americans and families; actions to secure the economy and small businesses; and additional steps to shore up the health care system and support medical professionals who are expected to be overwhelmed in coming weeks. (Werner, Kane, Stein and Kim, 3/16)

Politico: Senate Could Push Through ‘Phase 3’ Coronavirus Rescue Plan This Week
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other top Democrats will roll out their own $750 billion-plus package on Tuesday, and what Trump and Senate Republicans will propose may equal or top that. “I’m not going to comment on the specific numbers right now. I’ll be talking to the Republicans at lunch tomorrow. But it’s a big number,” Mnuchin said after huddling with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other senior Republicans for more than an hour in the Capitol on Monday. “And we’ll be looking for support for small and medium-sized businesses, we’ll be looking for support for certain industries that we’ve talked about that are particularly hard hit. I’ve talked about airlines, hotels, others. And we will be looking at a general stimulus.” (Bresnahan and Gurciullo, 3/16)

Politico: Trump Team Prepares Rescue Package Of At Least $800 Billion
The White House aims to deploy at least $800 billion in aid in the coming weeks to prop up the U.S. economy, as retailers, restaurants, sporting events and other businesses shut down and Americans slow their spending while staying home to guard against the coronavirus pandemic. Among the administration’s targets this week: providing relief in the form of tax deferments, loans or even direct payments to airlines, the hospitality industry and small-to-medium businesses crippled by plunging demand. (Cook and White, 3/16)

The Associated Press: Officials Seek $750 Billion In Economic Aid To Thwart Virus
With an urgency unseen since the Great Recession, Congress is rushing to develop a sweeping economic lifeline for American households and businesses suddenly capsized by the coronavirus outbreak. Democrats said at least $750 billion would be needed. And top White House officials briefing Senate Republicans at the Capitol said a similar-sized package needs to pass, some suggesting in a matter of days. (3/17)

The Hill: GOP Sen. Cotton Calls For Monthly Cash Payments To Americans During Coronavirus Pandemic
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said Monday he wants to give monthly checks to low-income and middle-class Americans so they can afford necessities during the coronavirus outbreak. “Let’s cut out employers as the middle men and get relief to people not in weeks but in days,” Cotton wrote in a Medium post outlining his proposals for a Senate bill. “We should send relief directly to American families most likely to be in need — those in the bottom and middle tax brackets — to pay for rent, groceries, childcare, and other necessary expenses, as well as to spend at local businesses that are hurting during this crisis.” (Seipel, 3/16)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Stock Futures Rise As Global Markets Seesaw
U.S. stock futures rose on Tuesday, suggesting markets could regain some ground after a punishing selloff on Monday, while international equities endured another turbulent session. Futures tied to the S&P 500 were up 3.8% early Tuesday. Futures prices can be volatile, and changes aren’t necessarily matched by stock moves after the opening bell. On Monday, the three major U.S. stock indexes all plunged 12% to 13%, reflecting fear among investors that the emergency measures taken by the Federal Reserve may not be enough to ward off a coronavirus-induced recession. (Yoon, 3/17)

The Washington Post: Stocks Tank Across The Board As Fed Action Does Little To Subdue Wall Street’s Distress
Fears that policymakers have not done enough to avert a protracted economic downturn deepened a sense of national crisis Monday and sent stocks to their worst single-day losses since the Black Monday crash of 1987. The sell-off accelerated, with the Dow Jones industrial average plunging nearly 3,000 points, after President Trump warned that disruption from the coronavirus pandemic could last through August and issued new public health guidance, saying Americans should limit gatherings to no more than 10 people. (Lynch, 3/16)

The Wall Street Journal: Why Are Markets So Volatile? It’s Not Just The Coronavirus.
Traders like Michael Pomada help explain why the stock market is going through its most turbulent period in recent memory. Mr. Pomada was in good spirits as he drove his convertible to his office in Los Angeles’s Century City complex before sunrise on March 9. Investment funds managed by his $4.5 billion firm, Crabel Capital Management, were up about 5% for the year. He wasn’t especially concerned about financial markets or the economy, even though oil prices were tumbling that morning. (Banerji and Zuckerman, 3/16)

Politico: Trump Faces Echoes Of 1929 In A Race To Save The U.S. Economy
The early signals from the coronavirus crisis point to a scale of damage unseen in the modern U.S. economy: the potential for millions of jobs lost in a single month, a historic and sudden plunge in economic activity across the nation and a pace of sharp market swings not seen since the Great Depression. As the coronavirus outbreak ravages a paralyzed nation, Wall Street suffered another brutal bloodbath on Monday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average diving around 13 percent in its worst percentage loss since 1987’s “Black Monday” crash. (White, 3/16)