‘This Is About Saving Lives’: As Death Toll Passes 1,000, New Yorkers Tackle Wide Range Of Challenges From Keeping Lights On To Testing

The Hill: New York City Coronavirus Death Toll Surpasses 1,000 
New York City’s death toll from the coronavirus topped 1,000 on Tuesday, a grim milestone as the city grapples with a rising number of COVID-19 cases. The New York City Department of Health announced in an update Tuesday that 1,096 people have died from the highly infectious virus. There are more than 41,000 people infected with the illness, and more than 8,500 people are hospitalized. (Axelrod, 3/31)

ABC News: New York City Launches Coronavirus Portal To Assist Infected Residents 
New York City has launched an online portal that provides residents with information and updates if they or someone they know has contracted the coronavirus. The website, which launched Friday at nyc.gov/cv19engagementportal, allows New Yorkers to self-report confidential information if they or someone they know has contracted the disease, shows symptoms, came into contact with someone who tested positive, or are in quarantine. (Pereira, 3/31)

WBUR: New York City Hospitals Struggle To Get Virus Testing Online Amid Patient Surge
Some New York City hospitals are still unable to perform reliable on-site coronavirus testing for patients and staff who show symptoms of COVID-19 and must instead wait days for results from outside laboratories, even as the city’s hospital beds fill up with seriously ill people. For weeks, pathology departments and laboratory facilities associated with hospitals in New York City have been focused on getting on-site testing with a quick turnaround set up so they don’t have to rely on outside laboratories. The goal is to get coronavirus test results within 24 hours for doctors, nurses and patients who show symptoms of COVID-19. (Hersher, /31)

Politico: How New York City Will Keep The Lights On
The nation’s largest state utility has initiated talks with New York’s private generators to enter into a pact to keep critical power plants staffed and fueled as the coronavirus pandemic worsens. The New York Power Authority began isolating critical control room and security staff on-site at its major power plants and transmission control stations last week, as did the independent operator of the state’s power grid. (French and Maldonado, 3/30)

NBC News: Prepared For The Worst, Electrical Grid Workers Isolate As Coronavirus Spreads
Just outside of Albany, New York, 37 electrical grid operators and support staffers are currently cut off from outside human contact, living two to a trailer, to make sure the state’s power stays on. “We’ve had it in our plans as a hypothetical drill that we walk through every year to practice,” said Rich Dewey, the president of the New York Independent Systems Operator, which oversees the state’s energy grid and deployed those sequestered workers. “But we’ve never actually had to put it into practice.” (Collier, 3/31)

The Wall Street Journal: New York City’s Coronavirus Crisis Tests Leadership Of Mayor De Blasio
Days before New York City ground to a halt from the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Bill de Blasio said in an interview on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” that New Yorkers could go about their lives, save for a few inconveniences to contain the spread. During the March 11 episode, he quipped about elbow bumps and warned of the “cascading effect” of closing businesses and schools. “What I worry about is, they become no longer about health and facts, and they become sort of a rush to the exits,” he said. (Honan, 3/31)

The Hill: CNN’s Cuomo Discusses Positive Coronavirus Diagnosis On-Air: ‘You Do Not Want This’ 
CNN’s Chris Cuomo made his first television appearance Tuesday night since testing positive for the novel coronavirus, describing the social distancing precautions he is taking and urging viewers to remain resolute even though “it’s going to get worse” as testing becomes more commonplace. “I feel fine. I’m able to do the show. You do not want this, and I am not able to be there for my family right now in the way that I want to be,” Cuomo said in a broadcast from his basement, where he also broadcast Monday ahead of the test results, adding that he was not yet sure whether he had transmitted the virus to any members of his family. (Budryk, 3/31)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Gov. Edwards: ‘This Is Going To Get Worse Before It Gets Better.’
Grieving for the 239 Louisiana residents who have died as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. John Bel Edwards Tuesday afternoon continued to urge constituents to honor his stay-at-home order, which is expected to be extended through April later this week.“We have a long way to go,” he said. “This is still going to get worse before it gets better. We don’t know how much worse. But we do know we can control it to some degree. We know that the stay-at-home order works. Social distancing works. But these measures only work to the degree that people comply with them.” (Ravits, 3/31)

The Washington Post: Louisiana Sees Largest Spike In Reported Coronavirus Cases In 24-Hour Period
Louisiana reported by far its largest number of new coronavirus cases in a 24-hour period Tuesday afternoon, with reported infections and deaths each jumping about 30 percent, as state leaders renewed calls for residents to comply with social distancing rules, and crackdowns on violators continued. The “very sobering numbers” brought the state’s total number of cases to 5,237, and 239 covid-19 patients have died, Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) said at a news conference. (Montgomery and Webster, 3/31)

The Washington Post: Maryland, Virginia, D.C. Coronavirus Cases Surge Tuesday March 31
The rise in Washington-area coronavirus cases continued to accelerate Tuesday as leaders scrambled to prepare for an even greater surge, cobbling together bed space and supplies while calling for more help and coordination from the federal government. A day after leaders in the District, Maryland and Virginia ordered residents to stay home to limit the spread of the virus, the greater capital region added 477 known coronavirus cases, bringing the regional tally to 3,411. (Schneider, Tan, Chason and Cox, 3/31)

Kaiser Health News: With Coronavirus Rare In Rural Florida, Experts Dispute Way Forward
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has refused to issue a statewide “stay-at-home” order to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus because the disease has not hit many areas of the state, he said. At least 30 states have issued statewide stay-at-home orders so far. Florida, among eight states with the most COVID-19 cases, is the only one without such an order. DeSantis’ approach in trying to manage the disease without doing undue harm to the economy mirrors comments from President Donald Trump, who Monday reiterated his belief that a nationwide stay-at-home order is not needed. (Galewitz, 4/1)

Stateline: Coronavirus And The States: Judges Block Abortion Bans; Governors Push Back On Trump Testing Claims 
Yesterday, judges overturned temporary coronavirus-related abortion prohibitions in Alabama, Ohio and Texas. The decisions may have implications for similar bans in Iowa, Mississippi and Oklahoma, where governors designated abortions nonessential. At least 32 states ordered hospitals and other medical facilities to postpone nonessential surgeries to ease demand for personal protective equipment and other medical supplies during the coronavirus crisis, according to the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association. (Vestal, 3/31)

CNN: Appeals Court Re-Instates Texas Order Limiting Abortion Access Over Coronavirus 
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is allowing a controversial Texas executive order that blocks elective abortions during the coronavirus pandemic to remain in effect for now. The case tees up a battle between supporters of abortion rights and a handful of conservative states arguing that bans on elective abortions and other medical procedures are necessary to help preserve medical supplies. (Kelly and de Vogue, 3/31)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus: Seven Patients Were Early Sign Of Virus In L.A.
In late February, doctors around Los Angeles County began seeing an unexpected rise in the number of patients with mild, flu-like illnesses. The timing was definitely odd. Hospital emergency departments had already dealt with two “spikes” in flu cases. The number of patients with flu symptoms had been falling, from a little more than 100 cases per 1,000 patients at the beginning of the month to around 65 cases per 1,000 a few weeks later. The number of lab tests that came back positive for influenza was dropping too. (Kaplan, 3/31)

The Associated Press: More Than 50 Infected With Virus At California Nursing Home
A Southern California nursing home has been hit hard by the coronavirus, with more than 50 residents infected — a troubling development amid cautious optimism that cases in the state may peak more slowly than expected. Cedar Mountain Post Acute Rehabilitation in Yucaipa has been told to assume that all of its patients have the COVID-19 virus, San Bernardino County Department of Public Health Director Trudy Raymundo said. (Jablon, 4/1)

San Francisco Chronicle: Coronavirus Bans Hit Majority Of Bay Area Commercial, Market-Rate Housing Construction
Bay Area health officials issued a sweeping new order on Tuesday banning a range of commercial and residential construction that had previously been exempt from stay-at-home mandates. The move could swell the record number of Californians seeking unemployment by putting some construction workers out of jobs. (Dineen, 3/31)

Los Angeles Times: Megachurch Pastors Defy Coronavirus Pandemic, Insisting On Right To Worship
At any other time, in a predominantly Christian nation that enshrines freedom of worship in the Constitution, the news would sound absurd or terrifying: “Pastor arrested after holding church services.” But that’s what happened this week when sheriff’s deputies handcuffed a Tampa, Fla., minister for violating municipal stay-at-home orders by gathering hundreds to worship. (Kaleem, 3/31)

Houston Chronicle: Long-Term Care Facilities In Texas Are Battling Coronavirus While Understaffed 
It is clear that healthcare workers across our state are committed to stopping the spread of COVID-19. This is especially true for long-term care staff who are fighting every day to protect a vulnerable population with a staggeringly high mortality rate from the virus.For good reason, federal and state guidelines have restricted visitation into nursing home and assisted living facilities to essential staff only. In the absence of visits from family, friends and community groups, facilities now lack the usual hum of social interaction, while residents’ needs are truly greater than ever. (Kevin Warren, 3/31)

Boston Globe: Baker Says Reopening Recreational Marijuana Shops Amid Coronavirus Outbreak Is A ‘Non-Starter’ 
Despite pleas from leaders in the cannabis industry to reopen adult-use marijuana stores, Governor Charlie Baker defended his choice Tuesday to keep them closed, even while deeming medical dispensaries “essential” and allowing them to remain open. Baker has repeatedly said his biggest concern about reopening adult-use stores is attracting hoards of out-of-state customers, which could further spread the coronavirus virus throughout Massachusetts. (Gans, 3/31)

Boston Globe: Blue Cross, Harvard Pilgrim, Tufts Waive Patients’ Out-Of-Pocket Payments For COVID-19
Three major health insurers based in the state, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Tufts Health Plan, have begun waiving all patient-related payments for treatment of the coronavirus, joining several national health insurers that have announced similar breaks for policyholders. The moves expand upon a directive from the state Division of Insurance earlier in March that insurers waive copays for any treatment related to COVID-19. (Caffrey, 3/31)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Kemp Deploys National Guard To Help Nursing Homes Battle Virus
The state will deploy more than 100 Georgia National Guardsmen to assisted-living facilities and nursing homes with coronavirus cases to help limit exposure to the disease among the most vulnerable residents. Gov. Brian Kemp announced the deployment Tuesday as the state’s long-term care system is starting to feel strains from the pandemic. (Schrade, 3/31)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 3 Wanted After Trying To Sell Coronavirus Insurance In Canton
Insurance scams are nothing new, but Canton police are looking into a group trying to take advantage and profit off the thing affecting everyone’s lives right now: the coronavirus pandemic. About 6:45 p.m. Monday, police were alerted that three people were going around Canton neighborhoods attempting to sell supplemental COVID-19 insurance, police spokesman Pacer Cordry told AJC.com. The targeted areas were near East Main and Crisler streets. (Hansen, 3/31)

Detroit Free Press: Coronavirus Boosts Sales Of Herbal Medicine Businesses In Detroit
For many Detroiters, home remedies have long been the first resort for cures and treatments, particularly among those who have had less access to doctors, less money to pay for health care and less trust of the whole system. For years, many of them relied on folk medicine passed down through families for generations. And as this pandemic sweeps through the state, many of them are flocking to the few stores in town that specialize in the remedies they swear by. (Carlisle, 3/31)