‘The Peak Will Be Bad’: State Response Efforts Range From Mandatory Quarantines To Paid Sick Leave To Banning Large Gatherings

Politico: How States Are Responding To Coronavirus, In 7 Maps
States have enacted a wide range of policies in an effort to “flatten the curve” and address the economic effects of the novel coronavirus. While all 50 states have declared states of emergency, giving governors emergency powers, the policy response from states has been wide-ranging. We tracked seven metrics using data from the Kaiser Family Foundation to pull apart the differences in how states are responding to the outbreak. Five of the statewide metrics are aimed at mitigating the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, such as closing all nonessential business. Two metrics track health policy enacted by the states, including paid sick leave for affected workers. (Rahman and Ollstein, 3/24)

Reuters: Coronavirus Sweeps Across New York, California Fears It Could Be Next
The White House advised anyone who has visited or left New York to isolate themselves. “Everybody who was in New York should be self-quarantining for the next 14 days to ensure that the virus doesn’t spread to others, no matter where they have gone, whether it’s Florida, North Carolina or out to far reaches of Long Island,” Deborah Birx, who is helping lead the White House coronavirus tax force, said at a late-afternoon press conference. (Caspania dn Whitcomb, 3/24)

Los Angeles Times: Garcetti Warns L.A. Coronavirus Crisis Will Get Much Worse
Mayor Eric Garcetti warned Los Angeles on Tuesday that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is still to come and that residents should be prepared for more loss of life. Garcetti said L.A. could be six to 12 days from seeing similar numbers to the outbreak in New York City, where the death toll has dramatically increased in recent days. “It’s coming,” Garcetti said. “The peak is not here yet. The peak will be bad. People will lose their lives.” (Parvini, Cosgrove and Winton, 3/24)

Kaiser Health News: Photo Essay: LA Under Lockdown
Some of Southern California’s most iconic destinations were deserted Monday. There were no tourists trying to fit their palms into Marilyn Monroe’s handprints at the TCL Chinese Theatre, no shoppers on Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive and shockingly few cars on LA’s famously gridlocked freeways. Gavin Newsom on Thursday became the first governor in the nation to order nearly all state residents to stay at home and most retail businesses to close their doors to stem the spread of COVID-19. (de Marco, 3/24)

Politico: ‘Dumbest S—’: DeSantis Takes Heat As He Goes His Own Way On Coronavirus
While New York, California and other states shutter their economies to keep the coronavirus at bay, Gov. Ron DeSantis is refusing to follow the herd. His cure-can’t-be-worse-than-the-disease approach has put the Republican governor under a glaring spotlight locally and nationally as cases of the virus in Florida surge past 1,400. It’s a philosophy that aligns DeSantis with other conservatives, including President Donald Trump and Florida House Speaker Jose Oliva, a Republican with a strong libertarian bent. (Dixon, 3/24)

Los Angeles Times: Sacrifice The Old To Help The Economy? Texas Official’s Remark Prompts Backlash
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick faced a backlash Tuesday for suggesting that fellow seniors should risk their health for the sake of the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Let’s get back to living,” Patrick, a tea party Republican stalwart and longtime ally of President Trump, told Fox’s Tucker Carlson late Monday, defending the president’s push to reopen businesses in a matter of weeks despite dire warnings from public health officials. “Those of us who are 70-plus, we’ll take care of ourselves, but don’t sacrifice the country,” said Patrick, who turns 70 next week. (Hennessy-Fiske, 3/24)

Texas Tribune: Rural Texas Hospitals Should Be Staffing Up To Face Coronavirus. Many Can’t Afford To. 
At a time when most hospitals are ramping up capacity to treat a massive number of patients who may become infected with COVID-19, rural hospital administrators say financial hardships could force them to do the opposite.Before the contagious new coronavirus arrived in Texas, rural hospitals already faced a bleak financial forecast. Demographic shifts, high shares of uninsured patients and cuts to the facilities’ Medicare payments have for years led hospital administrators to abandon small-town markets where they could not turn a profit. (Walters, 3/24)

Houston Chronicle: Cigna And Memorial Hermann Extend Contract Again 
Memorial Hermann and Cigna are extending their contract again, this time to June 30, in light of the public health crisis growing around COVID-19. The hospital system said Tuesday it had extended the contract an additional 60 days for 178,000 Cigna members on employer-sponsored plans and 1,460 affiliated doctors. (Wu, 3/24)

Houston Chronicle: Here Are All The Businesses Exempted From Harris County’s Stay-At-Home Order 
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo issued a stay-at-home order Tuesday closing most businesses and directing residents to stay home unless they are going to grocery stores, running errands or exercising outside.The order requires that businesses in Harris County cease all activities — except those defined as “essential” within the order. Here is a complete list of the businesses that may remain open under Hidalgo’s order, which takes effect at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday and goes through April 3. (Scherer, 3/24)

The New York Times: 3 Of The Busiest National Parks Close Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
With tens of millions of Americans under orders to stay at home or practice social distancing, scores have been converging on places like Yellowstone, Grand Teton and the Great Smoky Mountains to escape the specter of the coronavirus — until now. On Tuesday, the National Park Service announced that all three national parks would be closed immediately to prevent the spread of the virus, citing concerns about crowding and requests from local public health authorities. Even the governor of Montana had pressed for the closing of Yellowstone. (Vigdo, 3/24)

The Washington Post: Local Leaders Blast Trump As Deaths Rise, Metro Closes Stations
Washington-area leaders slammed President Trump on Tuesday for defying health experts by calling for the United States to return to normal by Easter, and announced plans to further restrict business and improvise solutions for medical equipment and bed space as the coronavirus outbreak claimed more lives. D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), who has largely refrained from criticizing Trump, said the city is fighting coronavirus “absent any national direction” and condemned the president’s about-face. (Schneider, Nirappil, Wiggins and Chason, 3/24)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Communities Wrestle With What’s An ‘Essential Business’
Even in a crisis, virtually every part of American commerce is apparently essential. That much is clear even as local government leaders throughout Georgia struggle over which business operations should close down and remain open. The debates are playing out while the federal government and Gov. Brian Kemp cede much of the decision making — and public health officials urge people to stay home to combat the coronavirus pandemic. (Kempner, 3/24)

Stateline: Coronavirus And The States: Governors Keep Away Vacationers; Some States Bar Abortions As ‘Nonessential’ 
Governors trying to reassure their state residents have words for second homeowners in resort towns and tourists: Stay home, lest you bring disease in and overwhelm our small, local health care systems. The governors of Massachusetts and New Jersey are calling on those with summer homes on the islands of Cape Cod and at the Jersey Shore to stay out. South Lake Tahoe’s mayor says he knows his California town is beautiful and soothing, but he’d rather you not come right now, thanks. (Povich and Henderson, 3/24)

WBUR: School Counselors Try To Keep Students Connected To Mental Health Services
To help counselors like Briley navigate these new virtual settings, the Brookline Center for Community Mental Health, which created BRYT, is coordinating video conference meetings and training sessions. (Jung, 3/24)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Quarantining Patients At Pa. Drug Treatment Centers Could Pose Risk, But Many Have Nowhere Else To Go
As drug and alcohol treatment centers in Pennsylvania continue to operate and accept new clients, they’re searching for the answer to a critical question: What happens when someone inside a facility needs to be quarantined because of the coronavirus?Treatment centers can house anywhere from a handful of patients to more than 100. If one person contracts COVID-19, it could spread quickly, which is particularly concerning since people with substance use disorder could be at greater risk for severe complications. (Pattani, 3/24)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Nursing Homes In Philadelphia And New Jersey Report 17 Cases Of The New Coronavirus. What Should Happen Now?
A Philadelphia nursing home said Tuesday that 11 of its residents and a contract employee have tested positive for the new coronavirus since March 19. Three residents and two staff members of a nursing home in Mount Laurel have also tested positive for the new coronavirus over the last week, the facility’s medical director said. (Burling, and Verma, 3/24)

CNN: NBA Player Karl-Anthony Towns Says His Mother Is In A Coma And Urges People To Take Covid-19 Seriously
Minnesota Timberwolves player Karl-Anthony Towns took to Instagram to share his mother’s fight with Covid-19 in hopes it would encourage others to follow precautions to stop its spread. “This disease is real,” he said. “This disease needs not to be taken lightly. Please protect your families, your loved ones, your friends, yourself.” Holcombe, 3/25)