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VOL.CLXIX... No. 58,649 ©2020 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, TUESDAY, MARCH31, 2020 $3.00
Why President PANDEMIC TEMPTS
Let Go of Goal
LEADERS TO SEIZE
Of Easter Reset
SWEEPING POWERS
Numbers Cast Cloud on
Reopening Nation
Fears That Measures Necessary in a Crisis
Will Become Everyday Oppression
By PETER BAKE
and MAGGIE HABERMAN
WASHINGTON — The num-
bers the health officials showed By SELAM GEBREKIDAN
President Trump were over- LONDON — In Hungary, the are few sunset provisions to en-
whelming. With the peak of the co- prime minister can now rule by sure that the powers will be re-
ronavirus pandemic still weeks decree. In Britain, ministers have scinded once the threat passes.
away, he was told, hundreds of what a critic called “eye-water- “We could have a parallel epi-
thousands of Americans could ing” power to detain people and demic of authoritarian and repres-
face death if the country reopened close borders. Israel’s prime min- sive measures following close if
too soon. ister has shut down courts and be- not on the heels of a health epi-
But there was another set of gun an intrusive surveillance of demic,” said Fionnuala Ni Aolain,
numbers that also helped per- citizens. Chile has sent the mili- the United Nations Special Rap-
suade Mr. Trump to shift gears on tary to public squares once occu- porteur on counterterrorism and
Sunday and abandon his goal of pied by protesters. Bolivia has
restoring normal life by Easter. postponed elections.
Political advisers described for As the coronavirus pandemic
him polling that showed that vot- brings the world to a juddering
ers overwhelmingly preferred to halt and anxious citizens demand
keep containment measures in action, leaders across the globe
place over sending people back to are invoking executive powers
work prematurely. and seizing virtually dictatorial
Those two realities — the dire authority with scant resistance.
threat to the country and the cau- Governments and rights
tion of the American public — groups agree that these extraordi-
proved decisive at a critical junc- nary times call for extraordinary
ture in the response to the pan-
measures. States need new pow-
demic, his advisers said.
ers to shut their borders, enforce
The first of those two realities, quarantines and track infected
the deadly arc of the virus, has people. Many of these actions are MARTIN BERNETTI/A.F.P. — GETTY IMAGES
been known for weeks even if dis- protected under international A checkpoint in Chile. The na-
regarded by the president when rules, constitutional lawyers say. tion’s military is on city streets.
he set his Easter target. But the But critics say some govern-
second of the two upended Mr. ments are using the public health human rights.
Trump’s assumptions about the crisis as cover to seize new pow- As the new laws broaden state
politics of the situation and re- ers that have little to do with the surveillance, allow governments
strained, for a moment at least, his outbreak, with few safeguards to to detain people indefinitely and
eagerness to get back to business ensure that their new authority infringe on freedoms of assembly
as usual. will not be abused. and expression, they could also
The president’s reversal may The laws are taking swift hold shape civic life, politics and econo-
prove to be an important pivot across a broad range of political mies for decades to come.
point in the effort to curb the pan- systems — in authoritarian states The pandemic is already rede-
demic, one that in the view of pub- like Jordan, faltering democracies fining norms. Invasive surveil-
lic health officials averted a great- like Hungary, and traditional de- lance systems in South Korea and
er catastrophe. Mr. Trump’s CHANG W. LEE/THE NEW YORK TIMES mocracies like Britain. And there Continued on PageA6
abrupt change of heart reflected a RELIEF ARRIVESThe hospital ship U.S.N.S. Comfort coming into New York on Monday. Page A13.
volatile president who has veered
from one message to another, at
points equating the virus to ordi- Nowhere to Turn but the Subway, and Its Risks In Georgia, They Came to Mourn
nary flu that will “miraculously”
go away and at others declaring it
an all-out war endangering the great equalizer, a space where And Soon Found Themselves Ill
country.
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spread of the virus. With new or- As the coronavirus pandemic of the city’s inequality, amplifying By ELLEN BARRY
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soon be under the directive to re- on gatherings in New York, re- changed. “This virus is very dangerous. I lime cake. Andrew Jerome 29 will be recorded as what epide-
main at home. moving hoops from basketball It is a striking turnabout for a don’t want to get sick, I don’t want Mitchell, a retired janitor, was one miologists call a “super-spreading
They took that action as the courts and sending the police to system that has long been the Continued on PageA16 of 10 siblings. They told stories, event,” in which a small number of
number of cases in New York debated for the umpteenth time people propagate a huge number
climbed past 66,500 and the num- how he got the nickname Door-
ber of deaths surpassed 1,200, by face.
far the most of any state. Layoffs People wiped tears away, and
continued apace, with Macy’s an- embraced, and blew their noses,
nouncing it would furlough a “ma- and belted out hymns. They
jority” of its 125,000 workers. Gap laughed, remembering. It was a
said it would do the same for big gathering, with upward of 200
80,000 store employees in the mourners overflowing the memo-
United States and Canada. rial chapel, so people had to stand
In the past two days, Mr. Trump outside.
has dispensed with the assertion Dorothy Johnson has gone over
Continued on Page A10 the scene in her mind over the last
month, asking herself who it was
who brought the virus to her
TRACKING AN OUTBREAK brother’s funeral.
“We don’t know who the person AUDRA MELTON FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
MORE HELPLawmakers are was,” she said. “It would help me Albany, Ga., is part of an in-
eyeing a fourth package to bolster to know.” tense cluster of infections.
the U.S. economy. PAGE A12 During the weeks that followed,
illnesses linked to the coronavirus
of infections.
DETROITPoverty and a weakened have torn through her hometown,
This rural county in southwest
public health system are driving Albany, Ga., with about two dozen
Georgia, 40 miles from the nearest
up cases in the city. PAGE A9 relatives falling ill, including six of
her siblings. Ms. Johnson herself interstate, now has one of the
EARLY RELEASETo curb the ANDREW TESTA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES was released from an isolation most intense clusters of the coro-
spread behind bars, thousands of COMMUNITY CAREThe owner of a restaurant in North London accepting a tip Sunday while on a de- ward to the news that her daugh- navirus in the country.
inmates have been freed. PAGE A9 livery round. The restaurant has been providing free meals for residents over the age of 70. ter, Tonya, was in grave condition, Continued on PageA8
Democrats Wage Uphill Battle on Digital Front Trump to Deal Final Blow to Car Pollution Goals
what office he was running for or the president, his eldest son and effort to combat climate change. be emitted under standards being
By JIM RUTENBE whom he was vying to run the multitudinous conservative By CORAL DAVEN The new rule, written by the En- enacted in Europe and Asia.
and MATTHEW ROSENBERG agTaihnes td.octored video didn’t origi- icnafrlruye ncheirss maensds agwee btsoit esv ottehrast’ WASHINGTON — The Trump vanirdo ntmheen tDale pParrtomteecntito no f ATgreanncsy- to Acodmmpinleistter athtieo na uotoff ircuialels b yra tcheids
The deceptively edited video nate with one of the extremist palms hour by hour, minute by administration is expected to an- portation, would allow cars on spring, even as the White House
that purported to show Joseph R. sites that trade in left-bashing dis- minute, second by second. nounce on Tuesday its final rule to American roads to emit nearly a was consumed with responding to
Biden Jr. endorsing President information. It was posted on The video, based on a speech rollback Obama-era automobile billion tons more carbon dioxide the coronavirus pandemic. Presi-
Trump’s re-election bounced re- Twitter by Mr. Trump’s own social Mr. Biden gave earlier this month, fuel efficiency standards, relaxing over the lifetime of the vehicles dent Trump is expected to extol
lentlessly around the internet, media director. From there, it col- registered five million views in a efforts to limit climate-warming than they would have under the the rule, which will stand as one of
falsely painting the former vice lected shares, retweets and likes day before his campaign re- tailpipe pollution and virtually un- Obama standards, and hundreds the most consequential regula-
president as too confused to know from the social media accounts of Continued on PageA22 doing the government’s biggest of millions of tons more than will Continued on PageA20
INTERNATIONAL A17-18 SPORTSTUESDAY B8-9 ARTS C1-8
Beijing Claims Indonesian Seas Get Set: Olympics in July 2021 Pouncing on Boldface Names
Despite brazen moves by China into The Tokyo Games made the new start The virus has altered relations among
rich fishing waters, Indonesia has date official, allowing athletes and the masses, the elites and the celebri-
backed away from confronting its larg- sponsors a chance to regroup. PAGE B8 ties who liaise between them. PAGE C1
est trading partner. PAGE A17
Antidoping Efforts Take Hiatus When ‘Outbreak’ Was on Top
BUSINESS B1-7 Signing Off as Royals The coronavirus pandemic is giving SCIENCE TIMES D1-8 Wesley Morris decides to visit 1995,
Alarm on Europe’s Farms With little fanfare, Harry and Meghan elite athletes a break from the usual Looking for Help Underwater when the pandemic-related film star-
transferred control of their brand to drug-testing regimens. The cheaters ring Dustin Hoffman was a hit. PAGE C1
Eastern European workers who harvest advisers in Los Angeles. PAGE A18 may see this as an opportunity. PAGE B8 In a submerged forest, scientists raced
crops from Spain to Sweden can’t enter, to search for creatures that might con- EDITORIAL, OP-ED A26-27
raising concern for food stocks. PAGE B1 ceal medicine of the future. PAGE D1
NATIONAL A19-23 OBITUARIES A24-25 Michelle Goldberg PAGE A27
G.M.’s Race for Ventilators Scientists Have Their Say Nobel Laureate in Physics The World vs. E-Cigarettes
The company and a partner had strate- Federal scientists have embedded data Philip W. Anderson, who deepened The launch-first, seek-permission-later
U(D54G1D)y+=!&!$!$!z
gized for days when the White House into documents that lawyers can use to science’s understanding of magnetism strategy of the e-cigarette company
said G.M. was wasting time. PAGE B1 fight environmental rollbacks. PAGE A19 and superconductivity, was 96.PAGE A24 Juul seems to be backfiring. PAGE D1
A2 N THE NEW YORK TIMES, TUESDAY,MARCH31, 2020
A.G. SULZBERGER
NEWS EDITORIAL
Publisher
DEAN BAQUETExecutive Editor JAMES BENNETEditorial Page Editor
JOSEPH KAHNManaging Editor JAMES DAODeputy Editorial Page Editor
Founded in 1851 KATHLEEN KINGSBURYDeputy Editorial Page Editor
REBECCA BLUMENSTEINDeputy Managing Editor
ADOLPH S. OCHS STEVE DUENESDeputy Managing Editor
Publisher 1896-1935
MATTHEW PURDYDeputy Managing Editor BUSINESS
APuRbTliHshUerR 1 9H3A5Y-1S9 6S1ULZBERGER ELISABETH BUMILLERAssistant Managing Editor MARK THOMPSONChief Executive Officer
SAM DOLNICKAssistant Managing Editor ROLAND A. CAPUTOChief Financial Officer
ORVIL E. DRYFOOS MONICA DRAKEAssistant Managing Editor MEREDITH KOPIT LEVIENChief Operating Officer
Publisher 1961-1963 MATTHEW ERICSONAssistant Managing Editor DIANE BRAYTONGeneral Counsel and Secretary
ARTHUR OCHS SULZBERGER ALISON MITCHELLAssistant Managing Editor ELLEN C. SHULTZExecutive V.P., Talent and Inclusion
Publisher 1963-1992 CAROLYN RYANAssistant Managing Editor WILLIAM T. BARDEENChief Strategy Officer
SAM SIFTONAssistant Managing Editor R. ANTHONY BENTENChief Accounting Officer, Treasurer
ARTHUR OCHS SULZBERGER JR. MICHAEL SLACKMANAssistant Managing Editor STEPHEN DUNBAR-JOHNSONPresident, International
Publisher 1992-2017
Inside The Times ANote to Our Readers
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
There is no separate New York
section today. New York coverage
is included as part of the Tracking
an Outbreak section on Pages
Helping you live better. A4-16.
No matter where you live.
The Newspaper
And Beyond
nytimes.com/realestate
CORRECTIONS A20
CROSSWORD C3
OBITUARIES A24-25
OPINION A26-27
TV LISTINGS C7
WEATHER B10
SCOTT GARAPOLO
Margaux Laskey making meatballs with daughters Olympia (left) and Remember Garapolo.
AUDIO
A special episode of “The Daily”
A Helping of Comfort podcast features a short playlist of
songs selected by Jody Rosen, a
The joys.
Well over a billion people worldwide are staying home because of the coronavirus pan- writer for The Times Magazine,
demic. One of them is Margaux Laskey, an NYT Cooking editor who lives in Jersey City, that are helping him adjust to a
The tribulations. Npa.Jr.t,m weintht) h aenr dh utwsboa ynodu (nSgc doattu Gghatrearpso. lSoh, ae Thaims ebse esnta wffeorr kwinhgo fwroomrk hs oinm teh sei nEcdei teoarrialyl de- liisf eb yco Anlfbineretda i Hnduonotresr,. bOenleo wof. them
March, and when it comes to cooking in unusual circumstances, she has a secret weapon: nytimes.com/thedaily
a mental Rolodex of countless New York Times recipes from among the thousands that
The twists.
have been cultivated. Last week, she hopped on a video call to talk about cooking while
social distancing. These are edited excerpts from the conversation. JAKE LUCAS
What kind of recipes have you gravitated you’re offering to readers?
toward? It’s evolving. Lately we’ve been primarily
Using things that I have, and that’s a lot of focusing on pantry recipes, cooking with
frozen or pantry items. So canned beans or things that you have in your fridge, in your
dried beans. I always have an extra jar of freezer, in your cabinets. So we’ve built lots
Rao’s spaghetti sauce on my shelf. I was of collections.
COPING TIPS
just having a conversation with somebody We created an Instagram story about
Our new At Home section online
about how this is the time to use up all of using substitutions for ingredients, be-
can help you adjust to sheltering
those weird half boxes of pasta you have. cause that’s a question we get a lot anyway
in place. In one location, you’ll find
Basically I’m just trying to use what I have with recipes. What if I don’t have fresh
recommendations on what to
and what’s in the freezer, and if I have any dill? What else can I use? We’re really
read, watch, eat and listen to, and
leftovers, pulling those out. trying to address that need. I think as we
how to deal with this new reality.
progress into this further, it’s going to
When you get groceries, what’s in your cart? change. Access to food will increase be- nytimes.com/at-home
We normally have our groceries delivered. cause there’s not a food supply problem,
I usually do Peapod or sometimes Insta- it’s a retail stocking problem. And so the
ModernLove cart, and I was able to get a delivery slot food is there. Maybe once that levels out
one week ago yesterday, but I’ve since we’ll start offering more project baking.
logged on to try to get another delivery
Read,watchandlistentothestories. spot and there’s nothing for two weeks. What’s been difficult about cooking lately?
nytimes.com/modernlove I get fresh fruit and vegetables for sure, Normally I plan my menu on Friday for the
because we have to stay healthy. Also, I’m next week, and I put my grocery order in,
leaning toward comforting foods that I and maybe I won’t get one or two items,
know my kids will eat, things that I know but I get nearly everything that I ordered. NEWSLETTER
they like. This is not the time, for my fam- And now, first of all, you’re not even sure The “Wait ...” newsletter, which
ily anyway, to try a crazy dish. There’s you’re going to get a slot. Then you’re not gets delivered every Tuesday,
enough uncertainty and enough weirdness even sure you’re going to get everything. features lively conversations
about all of this. So I get my go-tos that I I had an order delivered last night, and I between Times staffers on culture,
get every week, and then more rice and was going to make pork roast today in the technology, society and more.
beans. And ice cream. For sure ice cream. slow cooker with the pork roast that I got Sign up for free at
last night. But they don’t have it. So now nytimes.com/newsletters.
Yeah, I made cinnamon rolls the other day
it’s just like, “OK, what am I going to do?
because my wife and I have made it a point to
What am I going to make?”
have little treats.
It’s the unknown. I don’t know what I’m
The truth Is uwgaasr gaonidn gb utott esar yb, eIc baouusgeh bta ekxintrga ffolor umr ea nisd going to get in the grocery order. I don’t Contact the Newsroom
know how I’m going to make this work. [email protected]
such a comforting act, you know? And, I
is worth it. wrote a piece about this, it’s also a wonder- And it’s being able to cook on the fly with Share a News Tip
ful activity for me to do with the girls. Even what you have. [email protected] or nytimes.com/tips
if we can’t eat it all now, we can freeze it. Sign up for the free NYT cooking newsletter at Contact Customer Care
nytimes.com/newsletters. Or, for full access to nytimes.com/contactus
What are some of the things the Cooking thousands of recipes, subscribe to our service at or 1-800-NYTIMES (1-800-698-4637)
team has been keeping in mind with what cooking.nytimes.com.
On This Day in History
AMEMORABLE HEADLINE FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES
REAGAN WOUNDED IN CHEST BY GUNMAN
March 31, 1981.President Ronald Reagan and three others were wounded in an assassi-
nation attempt in Washington that was captured on TV cameras, The Times reported.
Surgeons would say that “the prognosis is excellent.” Before that good news, however,
passed several hours of turmoil and uncertainty about presidential succession. Vice
President George Bush was in Austin, Texas. In the capital, Secretary of State Alexander
M. Haig Jr. asserted that he “was in charge.” Americans “watched as the nation’s leaders
scrambled to meet one of the sternest tests of the democratic system.”
Subscribers can browse the complete Times archives through 2002 at timesmachine.nytimes.com.
THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018-1405
The New York Times (ISSN 0362-4331) is published Times Book Review..................................1 Yr. $208.00 ners or third parties who offer products or ser- an advertisement shall constitute final acceptance.
daily. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and Large Print Weekly..................................1 Yr. 114.40 vices that are likely to interest its readers. If you ©2020, The New York Times Company. All rights
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THE NEW YORK TIMES, TUESDAY,MARCH31, 2020 N A3
Of Interest
NOTEWORTHY FACTS FROM TODAY’S PAPER
In 2015, people reported losing Evidence from a coastal cave in
$33 million to romance scams; last Portugal suggests that Neanderthals
year, they lost $201 million — more ate a variety of seafood including
than victims lost to fake lotteries and seals and dolphins, as well as “turf”
sweepstakes, impostor frauds or tech items like horse, porcupine and
support phishing. tortoise.
When a Romance Is Really a Swindle D3 A Paleo Diet With a Lot of Fish D3
• •
In the 18th century, the composer In South Korea, a nation of 51
Emanuel Bach’s renown eclipsed that million, over a third of men smoke
of his father, Johann Sebastian Bach. CARI VANDER YACHT cigarettes.
His Final Nod, to a Son of Bach C3 The World Pushes Back Against E-Cigarettes D1
• The territory of Russia, the world’s •
Bats make up about a quarter of all largest nation, covers 13 time zones. Informal workers generate nearly a
mammal species. Who Relays Bad News? Right Now, quarter of the economic output in
At the Dinner Table, Vampire Bats Seem It’s Not Putin A6 Mexico, according to the country’s
Less Bela Lugosi, and More Emily Post D2 government.
Crisis Batters Region’s Already Fragile
Informal Economies A7
The Conversation Spotlight
THREE OF THE MOST READ, SHARED AND DISCUSSED POSTS ADDITIONAL REPORTAGE AND REPARTEE
FROM ACROSS NYTIMES.COM FROM OUR JOURNALISTS
1. Coronavirus Live Updates On the newest episode of “Popcast,” Jon Caramanica, the
Times journalists continually kept this briefing updated podcast’s host and a Times pop music critic, talked with three
throughout Monday. Among the day’s biggest coronavirus- other music critics — Rob Harvilla, Craig Jenkins and Lindsay
related developments were the docking of a 1,000-bed Navy Zoladz — about the role of their profession during a crisis like
hospital ship, the Comfort, in Manhattan, and an alarming the current pandemic. A lightly edited excerpt of their conver-
spike in cases in Detroit. sation follows.
2. Coronavirus Slowdown in Seattle Suggests jixiansheng
Restrictions Are Working Jon Caramanica Even at the best of times, the act of
The Seattle area, which had been the first American location criticism is sort of a fraught thing right now. You say
hit hard by the coronavirus, is now seeing evidence that strict you like this Pearl Jam record that you’re about to write
containment strategies, imposed in the earliest days of the about. What would be your feeling be if it was a piece of
outbreak, are beginning to pay off. But officials warned that art that you felt negatively about?
restrictions would have to stay in place for months.
Rob Harvilla I think I would be less inclined to be super
negative about it.
What I’m struggling with right now, both as a critic and
as just a lover of music, is what music is for right this
second.
I don’t know what I want from music right now; I don’t
know what music can reliably deliver right now. And I’m
trying to not listen to new music and think, “This music
isn’t rising to this moment.” Because it’s not the music’s
fault.
RUTH FREMSON/THE NEW YORK TIMES
And I don’t really know what I’m looking for, if I’m
3. Liberty University Brings Back Its Students,
looking for anger and release that way, if I’m looking to
And Coronavirus Fears, Too
be soothed. This is such a fluid situation, it’s so bizarre
The decision by the school’s president, Jerry Falwell Jr., to and surreal; I don’t really know what I want, and so I
partly reopen his evangelical university enraged residents of can’t demand anything from music.
Lynchburg, Va. Then students started getting sick. On Mon-
day, Mr. Falwell took to Twitter to dispute some of the claims
in this article. The Times stands by its reporting. Listen to the episode at nytimes.com/popcast.
Spring Fever
Quote of the Day “Everything passes. Wars end, as do epidemics and 18KTURQUOISEANDRUBYNESTINGRINGS
WHO RELAYS BAD NEWS? RIGHT quarantines.”
NOW, IT’S NOT PUTIN A6
LYUDMILA YEVGENYEVNA,aresident of Moscow invoking other hardships Russians have faced, among
them the years-long siege of Leningrad.
PAULMORELLI.COM
The Mini Crossword Here to Help NYC:895MADISON(72ND&MADISON)
BY JOEL FAGLIANO WHAT TO DO WHEN A CHILD REFUSES TO NAP PHL:1118WALNUTSTREET
212.585.4200
1 2 3 4 5 Having a child who won’t nap is frustrat-
ing during the best of times. But being
locked in a house with a grumpy, scream-
6
ing toddler during a lockdown or social
distancing is torture.
7 It’s hard to predict the ideal nap timing
and frequency, because every kid has a
different version of normal. If you are
8
struggling with your child’s naps, there are
some steps you can take. CRAIG CANAPARI
9
See if your child’s nap pattern fits in the
range for their age. Sleep drive is the
3/31/2020 EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ body’s natural need for sleep, and it in-
creases the longer you are awake. It accu-
ACROSS
1 What casino workers are always mulates more quickly the younger you are.
dealing with This is why young children nap and why IGOR BASTIDAS
6 Plant life well-rested older kids and adults do not. ful way to help your child wind down and
7 Designer Vuitton When I evaluate a child’s sleep problems prepare for sleep. You don’t have to rep-
8 Queen ___ lace (plant) in my clinic, I first check that their sleep licate your whole bedtime routine. Keep it
9 Toy bear named for a U.S. patterns are normal for their age. You may under 15 minutes. And don’t forget the
president want your 2-year-old to take three naps sleep environment. Blackout shades are
per day, but one is more realistic. Infants useful for daytime sleep, as well as for
DOWN tend to sleep longer during naps as they preventing early morning awakenings.
1 Key equivalent to B become more physically active, like when Sleep in motion — walking your child in a
2 Bad way to watch a scary movie they learn to crawl or walk. stroller or driving in a car — is fine in the
3 Quarterfinals or semifinals
4 Like prunes and raisins If nighttime sleep is bad, work on that first few months, but after three or four
5 Full of backtalk first.If your child struggles to fall asleep months it becomes a crutch.
in the evening or wakes up multiple times
Know when your child is ready to give up a
during the night, your first priority should nap.If your child keeps fighting a nap,
SOLUTION TO U M P S be teaching them to fall asleep at bedtime they may be giving it up. When going from
PREVIOUS PUZZLE S P O R K (a process known as sleep training). Once three to two naps, cut the last one. When
A S D O I yfeowu rw ceheiklds ,i st hfaeyll imnga yas slteaerpt atot btaekdet ilmoneg feorr a ginogin nga fpr.o Wmh tewno g nivaipnsg t ou po nthee, cluast tt hnea pm, owrenl-l,
R E E F S naps. However, if they continue to strug- just expect a lot of whining and arguing
A T M S gle, try whatever sleep-training technique after lunch. About half of children give up
you used at bedtime. Don’t let them nap napping by age 3, two-thirds by age 4, and
too late or your child may struggle to fall the majority no longer nap before kinder-
asleep at night. Generally children need garten. The silver lining is that children
three or four hours from the end of their who give up their last nap usually sleep
last nap until bedtime. longer at night.
TOKEEPYOURFAMILYCLOSE
Replicate your bedtime routine as much
as possible.As much as you might want to For more parenting guidance, go to TheFourImageLocket
parenting.nytimes.com.
dump your child in their crib and walk DesignedinSterlingSilver,18KYellowandRoseGold
away, a short nap-time routine is a power-
Pleasecall866.598.2784orVisitUsat
MONICARICHKOSANN.COM
A4 TUESDAY, MARCH31, 2020
N Tracking an Outbreak
Coronavirus Update Where Cases Have Been Reported
As of Monday evening, at least 159,000 people across every state, plus Washington, D.C., and four U.S. territories, have tested positive for the
Navy Hospital Ship Docks in Manhattan coronavirus, according to a New York Times database. At least 2,900 patients with the virus have died. The outbreak in this country, where there are
now more known cases than in China or Italy, looks vastly different than it did a month ago.
Forecast of ‘Over 100,000 Deaths’ in U.S.
3 in 4 Americans Told to Stay at Home
Wash.
4,916
Mont. N.D. Maine
By JAMES BARRON 171 109 Minn. Vt. 275
Ore. 576 256
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symbol of hope for a beleaguered city, and the governor of Florida S.D. 6,525
moved to keep out another, an ominous carrier of contagion. W9y4o. 101 Conn.
The vessel that docked in Manhattan — after sailing past the Iowa Pa. 1,993
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“We needed this boost,” he said. “We needed this hope.” N.C.
The ship that Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida said he did not want Tenn. 1,303
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passengers and crew members of the 1,800 people onboard have
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were headed toward South Florida. Mr. DeSantis said it would be “a 2,981 La.
mistake” for them to disembark there. 4,025
“We cannot afford to have people who are not even Floridians Fla.
dumped into South Florida using up those valuable resources,” he Alaska 5,473
told Fox News. 114
Hawaii
Grim Prediction for the U.S. 175
The continuing agony in Spain and Italy suggested that the pain
in the United States could be prolonged and harrowing. In Spain,
roughly 35 people died every hour over the weekend; in Washing-
ton, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease Note: The map shows the known locations of coronavirus cases by county. Circles are sized by the number of people there who have tested positive, which may
expert, said he “wouldn’t be surprised if we saw over 100,000 differ from where they contracted the illness. Some people who traveled overseas were taken for treatment in California, Nebraska and Texas. Puerto Rico and
deaths.” the other U.S. territories are not shown. Sources: State and local health agencies; hospitals; C.D.C. Data is as of March 30 at 5:24 p.m., Eastern. THE NEW YORK TIMES
Spanish officials called for tighter restrictions — specifically, a
time of national “hibernation” modeled on the near-total shutdown
of the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak began.
BABY CARE
But there were hopeful notes in Italy and New York. The death
rate in Italy dropped for the third day in a row. Still, Italian govern-
Coping When Essential Supplies Are Hard to Find
ment officials said their national lockdown would almost certainly
be extended beyond April 3. And in New York, Mr. Cuomo said the
rate at which the caseload was doubling had tapered off, to every six
days. A week ago, it was every two days. He also said that more By JESSICA GROSE that can tide you over, or may be
than 4,200 coronavirus patients had been discharged from hospitals. Until Catie Weimer’s baby, Arlo, able to contact the company di-
was 4 months old, he would rectly to fill in that gap before you
More Restrictions on Daily Life scream and pull his head away run out,” said Dr. Anthony Porto, a
from the bottle every time she pediatric gastroenterologist and
About three out of four Americans are under instructions to stay tried to feed him formula. If she associate professor of pediatrics
at home, or soon will be. Maryland and Virginia became the latest got any of it into him, he would at Yale University. Dr. Dina M. Di-
states to issue stay-at-home directives. “We are no longer asking,” vomit. He was born at 37 weeks, Maggio, a clinical assistant pro-
Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland declared. Mr. DeSantis, the Florida and she was already worried that fessor of pediatrics at New York
governor — who had resisted taking a similar step, preferring local he was on the small side when she University, also recommended go-
action to statewide mandates — said he would sign an order unify- learned that he had a milk protein ing directly to the formula manu-
ing a patchwork of stay-at-home directives. allergy and was put on the hypoal- facturers’ websites, as they may
Across the world, other nations tightened restrictions or im- lergenic formula Alimentum. be stocked sooner.
posed new ones. In Russia, President Vladimir V. Putin, who hates “It completely changed all our Dr. Porto and Dr. DiMaggio cau-
to be the bearer of bad news, left it to the mayor of Moscow to order lives to get this diagnosis,” Ms. tioned against diluting formula
residents to stay indoors. St. Petersburg followed suit. Russia also Weimer said of her son’s allergy. with extra water. Follow the man-
closed its border crossings. But Ms. Weimer, 33, has not seen ufacturer’s instructions on the
Laos announced a nationwide lockdown except for buying food Alimentum on the shelves for proportions of powdered formula
weeks in Ogden, Utah, where she to water so babies receive the full
or seeking medical care, and in Sri Lanka, the police threatened to lives. benefits. If your baby is close to a
seize property owned by citizens who returned from abroad if they Adding to her anxiety about year old, switching to cow’s milk
violated a 14-day self-quarantine order. finding the formula at all are the VIA LIZ PUTNAM slightly early is an option, Dr. Di-
Portugal sought help from vintners, asking them to turn over a limitations on the size and quan- With baby prod- Maggio said, but check with your
half-million liters of alcohol, about 132,000 gallons, to hospitals and tity that she can purchase as a re- ucts in short pediatrician first, and make sure
pschaarrcme,a acnedu tpicraolm ciosmedp acnomiesp.e Onfsfaictiioanls fsoari dth dei swininfeecmtaankte rres.mained ctaipl iNenutt roitfi othne P Srpoegcraiaml S fourp Wpleommeenn-, supply at many trhicaht yfoooudrs c lhikiled issp ainlsaoc he,a etignggs i raonnd-
Infants and Children (WIC). stores, Catie
beans to supplement.
“The way the checks work, if I Weimer and
New Coronavirus Cases Announced Daily in U.S. only find three cans at a store, I Ethan Pack of Diapering alternatives
Asptosa sotietfi ,vM peol ufnosdr W athya ese hvveiinrnugisnt,og an,c ,m cDoo.rCrde.i, nt ahgna tdno f1ao5 uN9re ,U0w.0 SY0.o trpeker Toriiptmolerei esa scd,ra ohtsaasvb eea vsteeers.yte d caWfoanuen ri’mt ac gadeenrd tsis t,aia oo irnrde a.I i’l“mm I b cfjuuianrsndst e damlo aswettenonrtr ,” aet ocw aMgintes.h”t. Oaarbgeod uweton fr,i rnUidetdianhg, “ttuhSreonmme edt h rtoop uacgrlehon ttthhs e d sihahapoveretra sg aeto;lr ehhaoedwlpy-
Before the pandemic, she drove enough of the ever, these diapers may not be
20,000 to two to three stores before she special formula easily accessible for all parents,”
said Dr. Nia Heard-Garris, an at-
was able to find four cans in one their son, Arlo
tending physician at the Ann and
place. With store stocks depleted, Pack, needs.
15,000 she wonders, “Am I going to have Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospi-
tal of Chicago.
to force him to drink a milk-based
formula because that’s what I can PATRICK T. FALLON/REUTERS “Another alternative to pre-
10,000 afford?” The easily digestible for- made cloth diapers is to make
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Before he switched to Alimen- “This is mostly panic buying,” Ms. McDaniel said that her dia- or maxi pads and even T-shirts,”
tum, Arlo cried all the time and he said. “Especially at the start of per bank was out of formula, and she said.
barely slept. Now, at 7 months old, the shutdowns and quarantines, that it had fewer diapers to give Wipes alternatives
Feb. 28 March 30 heL’si k“teh eM hsa. pWpeieimst ekri,d p,”a srheen tssa iadn.d pweaosp lgeo winegr et noo lta ssutr ea nhdo wh loown gl tohnigs oDuatn. i“eTl shaeiyd’ roef hteerrr cifliieedn,t”s .M “As .l oMt ocf- Use a spray bottle with water to
Note: Data is as of March 30 at 6 p.m., Eastern. caregivers across the country and they might not be able to get out. the families we serve are WIC clean babies at diaper changes,
Source: C.D.C.; state and local health agencies; hospitals THE NEW YORK TIMES at all socioeconomic levels are People ended up buying for weeks families,” she continued, and and pat their bottoms dry with tis-
searching multiple stores for es- and even months at a time.” those families could not get the di- sues or a clean rag, Dr. DiMaggio
Bracing for the Worst in Britain smeunltaia, ld biaapbeyr sp raonddu wctisp seus.ch as for- NeAtwt otrhke, Nwahtiicohn ails Dai ahpaevre nB afnokr abpecearsu sthee syt’orree asl laorcea steodld t hoiust m. onth saalsiod . dPuanrke ntthse a bnadb cya irne gaiv bearsth ctuanb
A high-ranking British health official warned people to expect Alia Anderson, 35, who has a 2- those who cannot afford baby es- Ms. Weimer is nervously wait- full of water and air the child out
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thinIgns trheetu mrneeadn ttiom neo, rBmriatla.in has asked airline cabin crews, tToa rtgheet ,w Fipooeds sLeiocnti,o Fna amt iWlya Dlmolalartr,, ‘I am having dreams rmeocroer d wsteoerke, wainlld l ashte rfo rb oonylfyri eonnde How to help
grounded by global travel restrictions, to work at coronavirus field Dollar Tree,” and it’s all empty, about finding four cans of Ethan, Arlo’s father, who also Many experts and brands recom-
hospitals. Many flight attendants are trained in first aid and could she said. works at the store, has been fur- mend checking for the WIC label
change beds and do other nonclinical tasks, the National Health Lauren Whitney, 36, a mother the right size at any store loughed indefinitely because the to make sure you do not buy those
Service said. of four who lives in Washington, here. It’s all he can eat.’ store is expecting having to shut products if you have the ability to
Buckingham Palace said Prince Charles had taken himself out of Utah, broke down at her local Wal- down soon. Her friends are look- buy whatever is on the shelves.
isolation and was “in good health” on Monday, seven days after mart because she could not find CATIE WEIMER ing for extra cans of Alimentum, “We know that this is one of the
testing positive for the coronavirus. The 71-year-old heir to the dseiavpeerrasl ointh tehre s stoizree ss.h Seh nee feildmeedd a at acannds hfreorm p Maroennttasn ha.ave sent two gshreoaptpeesrt, tfor usshtorawt iounps ato ft hae sWtoIrCe
throne experienced mild symptoms the weekend of March 21 and TikTok video that went viral, ask- more Americans out of work and If she cannot find the WIC-ap- and find out that the specific al-
was tested in Scotland on March 23. ing “How am I supposed to diaper seeking assistance. Joanne Gold- proved quantities near her home lowable items are not available,”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson — who sounded hoarse in a video my child if I can’t afford to buy 20 blum, the nonprofit’s chief execu- in Utah, she fears she will run out said Brian Dittmeier, senior public
posted on Twitter on Sunday in which he implored people to stay at a time like you can?” tive, said that supplies had gone of the food her son needs by the policy counsel at the National
inside — remains in quarantine, and his chief adviser went into Experts say that the issue is not down in part because some diaper end of the month. WIC Association. “Families may
isolation. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu isolated with the supply of these baby es- banks were no longer accepting “I am having dreams about have additional benefits as a sub-
himself after an aide tested positive. sentials — it’s that some Ameri- open packages because of virus finding four cans of the right size stitute for the school meals pro-
In the United States, at least six members of Congress have cans are hoarding the available concerns, and diaper banks could at any store here,” she said. “It’s gram,” with the Families First Co-
tested positive for the virus. Representative Nydia M. Velázquez, stock. not hold drives because of social all he can eat.” ronavirus Response Act, which
Democrat of New York, said she had received a diagnosis of “pre- “Especially with diapers and distancing measures. Here’s what to do if you are low provides additional funds for the
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Capitol physician had advised her not to be tested at the moment. Natarajan, assistant professor of “We typically serve about 20,000 find any online, in stores near you about more panic buying.
Supply Chain and Operations at
diapers a week to Central Texas. or at local diaper banks, reach out The best way to support diaper
Coronavirus Update wraps up the day’s developments with infor- Now we’re surpassing 50,000 dia- to your pediatrician. banks is through financial dona-
mation from across the virus report. Dani Blum contributed reporting. pers each week. On average, we “They tend to have samples tions, Ms. McDaniel said.
THE NEW YORK TIMES, TUESDAY,MARCH31, 2020 N A5
jixianshen
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A6 N THE NEW YORK TIMES, TUESDAY,MARCH31, 2020
Tracking an Outbreak Global Response
POOL PHOTO BY MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV
President Vladimir V. Putin at his residence outside Moscow.
RUSSIA
Who Relays Bad News?
Right Now, It’s Not Putin
By ANDREW HIGGINS He held a teleconference on
MOSCOW — Russia’s propa- Monday with the Kremlin’s repre-
gandist in chief was seconds away sentatives in the regions, endors- SERGEY PONOMAREV FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
from starting his show on state ing Mayor Sergei Sobyanin’s lock- In line for testing on Friday in Moscow. The mayor decreed that residents would be forbidden to leave their homes starting Monday.
television, a two-and-a-half-hour down decree as “justified and nec-
fiesta of flattery celebrating Presi- essary” while presenting himself stop pedestrians. Traffic on the said. But much of it, particularly in out of control, as it has done in
dent Vladimir V. Putin’s cool- as the defender of ordinary Rus- city’s central ring road, while But others wondered whether more remote areas of the country, other countries. Doing that would
hneaavdireuds preasnpdoenmseic taon dt hRe uscsoirao’s- ssipaencsu blayt ioornd aenridn gp rai ccer-agcokudgoiwngn. on ligThhteerr eth wana su nsuoa sli, gwna osf s ptialln hice,a dvey-. tliheev ev iirnu sc oreroanllayv eixruisst,”s . s“aIi ddo Lna’tr bisea- ims epdlaicgiuneed a bnyd smhoodrteargne esq oufi mpmoneenyt,. econndsatnrguecrte dh oisv eri mtwaog ed,e ccaadreesf uanlldy
catomvmhanniraaeTl dumyy h URsoo pe’inrrsunna iso tn csacefioi acdcdaMncm ’esSetgoc retlrsreaa siacerstpioenaettp wudst tiai.ao n.nl t aBggtirho eomneEcsn apuil nourfrrcgeosokSa epumdd ueopo,n fdw adtttanahhhntdyeeees M‘smalEihnnarv“Me’d.snO ee Prfhnrpu.oy uu,.Pr’r tm” mucianotaf ei aunnrspmn ,aomr stiiilrdaglieyyt.ihmi d c“ti sasEbBh leock uaronatcs u etoo aen fmbs rcti iithimgntlshe, a fe“e a KSnwymbctr alahesianltamuycoty,lks”r--, smptvtrrpaoooeFinroltdt.ocepsiir a sne , g fatwafh noonhedrnde t strmah evrte oiaomd mcn esoaooetrpnosneiy kttda,me al v ptotihetopu he eost iaa cnfrkrla eeeeskssd oect cr oariindoeacf----l IndsionlateeyghRireid e nadwu rtil sc hlti tshlhihacisinasno Cwa ucdfh,olen obiretn6so rksa0erieoe dd.i nmns ei“d t rleOsa stwt 2 thuhwei,ari6t inJ htt0 ahga i0tn .u”t -wwumhthaehaior lisdecyr och i batlz oioneesrindst-- hompsomeoemTBomnmphuetelete e h nos iatMredtos dna sotenituhsoiroocgre nio ligserwo,”e gtfh sa feaotismclcem htirdaahine gyleissthoc h .cartaai ’tltstrlyo y e ags cattoto a avn“lykeerf-iiareannnsctget--- tlMaMtahhpraeaiSpsi yttoohb yo iwau.nrfssa ititlreSsli, dn oooM ,bp fnt yrrohl.iay mians P anieuwnnn mt iniodaniouenn ynshid scpa mterset eh arda,len eeMd cyf tnip i skeRoiihtwopu anutlsyios--l
evening, all residents of the capi- to bring only good news, not bad tions in Moscow seem to have re- shares a frontier. the coronavirus threat seriously, sians.
tal would be forbidden to leave news.” assured rather than alarmed the The first crack in the Kremlin’s rather than viewing it merely as Mr. Mishustin on Monday
their homes starting Monday and By the official count, Russia has public. They also turned pet dogs facade appeared last Wednesday, something that the state media called on local authorities around
would need special passes to 1,836 confirmed cases — far fewer into especially valuable pos- when Mr. Sobyanin warned Mr. can use to gloat over the travails of the country to follow Moscow’s
move around the city. than the 143,000 in the United sessions, since the only outdoor Putin publicly that the real num- foreigners and promote Mr. lead and order people to stay
By late Monday, at least 14 Rus- States and the nearly 100,000 in It- leisure activity permitted under ber of sick people was “much big- Putin’s image as the savior of a be- home.
sian regions and the country’s aly, but a fivefold increase over a Mr. Sobyanin’s order is walking a ger” than official numbers indi- sieged country. Mr. Putin, always wary of asso-
second biggest city, St. Peters- week ago. Only 10 Russians have pet within a 100-yard radius of Much of a flagship news show ciating himself with bad news, last
burg, had announced that they, died from Covid-19, the disease home. on Sunday — presided over by the week delivered a surprise televi-
too, were ordering residents to caused by the virus. Walking her corgi on a back firebrand host Dmitri Kiselyov — sion address to the nation, warn-
stay at home, indicating that the But the number of infections in street in the center of the city, Letting his underlings focused on Mr. Putin’s visit to the ing that Russia “cannot isolate it-
wtoorryl dc’osv learrignegs t1 3n atitmioen ,z ao nveass,t cteorurlid- tidhley ,c opuonsitnryg haa ste bsete fno rg rMowr. inPgu trianp’s- Aomnnisat ,I vsaaniodv as, hae 5 5s-yuepapro-rotledd e ctohne- take the heat over ionnf ehcotiwou, ss hdoiwseinagse ss teheolsyp ictoaul raangde sneoluf nfrcoemd a t hwee ethkrloenatg,” p bauidt vthaecnat aionn-
soon be in lockdown. security state. lockdown and believed that Rus- containment. that was said to have surprised for the whole country.
For weeks the Kremlin and its Of the 302 new cases nation- sia has the pandemic under con- even his close aides, the president This left the streets of Moscow
cheerleaders in the state news wide reported on Monday — the trol, since she does not know went inside alone, without his and other cities filled with people
media have insisted that, unlike biggest one-day rise yet — 212 many people who are infected. bodyguards. enjoying their time off. The Krem-
Italy, Spain and, more recently, were in Moscow, Russia’s largest Russian stubbornness, she add- cated. That, he said, was because In a reprise of the action-man lin later had to clarify that the
the United States, Russia could city. ed, meant that the authorities many of those returning from stunts that have been staged country was not being given a bo-
tackle the virus without major dis- Russia has conducted more needed to introduce controls step hard-hit European countries had throughout his 20 years in power, nus vacation but was simply being
ruption. than 260,000 tests, but this in- by step if the public is to obey not yet been tested. Mr. Putin put on a canary-yellow asked to stay at home.
But in recent days, they have cludes cases of multiple tests on them. “If we were to enact tough More troubling, a still small but protective suit and gas mask. Tatiana Stanovaya, a nonresi-
come around to where much of the the same person, lowering the measures immediately, we’d have growing portion of recent infec- To remind Russians of their dent scholar at Carnegie Moscow
world has been for some time: head count considerably. the same kind of panic as in Italy,” tions are the result of community president’s hands-on style, Mr. Center, said that Mr. Putin’s public
forced to accept desperate meas- Holed up for much of the past she said. transmission rather than people Kiselyov showed pictures of Mr. detachment from the health crisis
ures to try to contain the outbreak. week at his country estate outside As typically happens in times of returning from abroad. A sudden Putin’s previous exploits: flying in fit into what, since he annexed
In a country where all impor- Moscow, Mr. Putin left it to Mr. crisis, many Russians recalled surge in infections would proba- a fighter jet, descending into the Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, has
tant events usually revolve Sobyanin to order the city’s 13 mil- that they had seen much worse bly overwhelm Russia’s extensive sea in a submarine and visiting been his view that the presidency
around Mr. Putin, however, the lion residents to stay at home. On before. but often ramshackle state medi- front-line soldiers in Syria. is not so much a job as a sacred
president has been curiously ab- Monday, Mr. Sobyanin vowed The coronavirus, said Lyudmila cal system. Mr. Putin, he gushed, “shows up mission.
sent or tardy. “tougher and tougher measures” Yevgenyevna, 64, is nowhere near The health service includes a in person everywhere.” “This is all connected to his
to keep people indoors. as perilous as World War II or the few showcase facilities, including The question now, however, is sense of having a personal mis-
Anton Troianovski, Ivan Nechepu- As snow returned to the capital, siege of Leningrad. “Everything a new, state-of the-art infectious whether Mr. Putin will also “show sion,” she said. “Why should he
renko and Sophia Kishkovsky con- the police cordoned off parks in passes,” she said. “Wars end, as do diseases hospital in Moscow that up” and take ownership of a coro- spend his sacred political capital
tributed reporting. downtown Moscow but did not epidemics and quarantines.” she Mr. Putin visited last Tuesday. navirus crisis that risks spiraling on a virus?”
FREEDOM AND PRIVACY
Fears That the Pandemic Will Tempt World Leaders to Seize Sweeping Powers
using the pandemic to expand
From Page A1 their power.
Singapore, which would have in- Britain has a long history of de-
vited censure under normal cir- mocracy and well-established
cumstances, have been praised democratic customs. Neverthe-
for slowing infections. Govern- less, a coronavirus bill that was
ments that initially criticized rushed through Parliament at a
China for putting millions of its cit- breakneck pace affords govern-
izens under lockdown have since ment ministries the power to de-
followed suit. tain and isolate people indefi-
Israel’s prime minister, Ben- nitely, ban public gatherings in-
jamin Netanyahu, has authorized cluding protests, and shut down
his country’s internal security ports and airports, all with little
agency to track citizens using a oversight.
secret trove of cellphone data de- Introducing the bill in Parlia-
veloped for counterterrorism. By ment, the health secretary, Matt
tracing people’s movements, the Hancock, called it “a departure
government can punish those who from the way that we do things in
defy isolation orders with up to six peacetime.” He said the measures
months in prison. ADAM DEAN FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES ZOLTAN MATHE/MTI, VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS would be “strictly temporary and
And by ordering the closing of Screening passengers’ temperatures at a Singapore airport, left. Prime Minister Viktor Orban can now suspend laws in Hungary. proportionate to the threat that
the nation’s courts, Mr. Netanya- we face.”
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to take over private businesses. break. Rights groups say govern- Law in Washington, which is that could hinder the govern- “Each clause could have had
“This limitless grant of emer- While the virus itself may have ments may continue to absorb tracking new legislation and de- ment’s response to the epidemic months of debate, and instead it’s
gency powers is tantamount to au- cooled protesters’ will to crowd more power while their citizens crees during the pandemic. could face up to five years in pris- all being debated in a few days,”
tocracy,” a Philippine rights public squares, Chile’s declaration are distracted. They worry that “It’s really easy to construct on. The legislation gives broad lat- said Adam Wagner, a lawyer who
group, the Concerned Lawyers for of a “state of catastrophe” and the people may not recognize the emergency powers,” Mr. Rutzen itude to the public prosecutor to advises a parliamentary commit-
Civil Liberties, said in a state- military’s presence on city streets rights they have ceded until it is said. “It’s really difficult to decon- determine what counts as dis- tee on human rights.
ment. The lawyers noted that Mr. has muted raging dissent that too late to reclaim them. struct them.” torted or false information. “Everybody’s been trying just
Duterte had once compared the rocked the nation for months. Some emergency bills were The pandemic may be a boon to “The draft law is alarming,” to read it, let alone properly cri-
country’s Constitution to a “scrap The pandemic has also dis- waved through so quickly that governments with an autocratic said Daniel Karsai, a lawyer in Bu- tique it,” he said of the legislation,
of toilet paper.” rupted planned elections. This lawmakers and rights groups had bent. dapest who said the new legisla- which runs to 340 pages.
Some states are using the pan- month, Bolivia suspended a much no time to read them, let alone de- In Hungary, a new law has tion had created “a big fear” “These are eye-watering pow-
demic to crack down on dissent. In anticipated presidential election bate their necessity. Rights advo- granted Prime Minister Viktor among Hungarians that “the Or- ers that would have not been re-
Jordan, after an emergency “de- that had been scheduled for early cates have also questioned the Orban the power to sidestep Par- ban administration will be a real ally imaginable in peacetime in
fense law” gave wide latitude to May. A disputed election last year speed with which states have liament and suspend existing dictatorship.” this country before,” said Silkie
his office, Prime Minister Omar set off violent protests and forced drafted lengthy legislation. laws. Mr. Orban, who declared a “There is not enough trust in Carlo, the director of Big Brother
President Evo Morales to resign. Certain governments have a set state of emergency this month, the government in this respect,” Watch, a rights group. She called
Reporting was contributed by Ben- The interim president, who of desired powers “ready to go” in now has the sole power to end the he said. the measures “draconian.”
jamin Novak from Budapest; Han- promised to serve only as a care- case of emergency or crisis, said emergency. Parliament, where Others pointed to the govern- Ms. Carlo fears that Britain will
nah Beech from Bangkok; Jason taker, has since consolidated Ms. Aolain, the United Nations two-thirds of the seats are con- ment’s record of prolonging emer- “swing from crisis to crisis, health
Gutierrez from Manila; Julie power and announced her plan to special rapporteur. They draft trolled by his party, approved the gency legislation long after a cri- panic to health panic, and then
Turkewitz from Bogotá, Colombia; run for an elected term. The coun- laws in advance and wait “for the legislation on Monday. sis. One such decree, issued at the find that we’ve lost.”
Anatoly Kurmanaev from Cara- try’s election tribunal said on opportunity of the crisis to be Critics say the new legislation height of Europe’s migration cri- “We risk easily finding our-
cas, Venezuela; and Rana Sweis Thursday that it would hold the presented,” she said. could allow Mr. Orban’s govern- sis five years ago, is still in effect. selves in a perpetual state of
from Amman, Jordan. elections sometime between June It is far from clear what will be- ment to further erode democratic Robust democracies are also emergency,” she said.
THE NEW YORK TIMES, TUESDAY,MARCH31, 2020 N A7
Tracking an Outbreak Global Fallout
Around LATIN AMERICA
The World Crisis Batters Region’s Already Fragile Informal Economies
By KIRK SEMPLE
and NATALIE KITROEFF
DISRUPTIONS
MEXICO CITY — His clientele
Migrant Laborers had all but disappeared since the
Struggle in India Mexican government told people
to stay home. And he knew he was
In one of the biggest migrations in running the risk of contracting the
India’s modern history, hundreds coronavirus himself.
of thousands of migrant laborers Yet Leonardo Meneses Prado
have begun long journeys on foot was still tending his hamburger
to get home, having been ren- cart at his usual sidewalk spot in
Mexico City.
dered homeless and jobless by
“I can’t stop,” he said late last
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
week, an edge of desperation in
nationwide lockdown to contain his voice. “If I don’t sell, I don’t eat.
the spread of the coronavirus. It’s as simple as that.”
With businesses shut down in Latin America’s economies
cities across the country, vast were fragile even before the ad-
numbers of migrants — many of vent of the coronavirus. But now
whom lived and ate where they the outlook is far worse as govern-
worked — were suddenly without ment efforts to confront the pan-
food and shelter. Soup kitchens in demic paralyze economic activity.
Delhi, the capital, have been And no sector of Latin Ameri-
can society may be as vulnerable
overwhelmed. So far, more than a
as the workers who toil in the re-
dozen migrant laborers have lost
gion’s vast informal economy,
their lives in different parts of the mostly beyond government
country as they tried to return to oversight, without labor protec-
their home, hospital officials said. tions or formal contracts.
Thousands of migrants in Delhi, These workers, a majority in
including whole families, packed the region, range from street ven-
their pots, pans and blankets into dors in Asunción, Paraguay, to de-
rucksacks, some balancing chil- livery men crisscrossing Lima,
dren on their shoulders as they Peru, to trash recyclers in Teguci-
walked along interstate highways. galpa, Honduras. They live hand-
to-mouth, with meager or no sav-
Some planned to walk hundreds
ings and a limited social safety
of miles. But as they reached the
net.
Delhi border, many were beaten As the pandemic has spread, DANIEL BEREHULAK FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
back by the police. many of these workers are also at Even as the virus spread in Mexico, Leonardo Meneses Prado kept his food stand open. “For us, it’s a luxury to get sick,” he said.
“You fear the disease, living on a greater risk of contracting the
the streets. But I fear hunger virus, working jobs that put them
citing a shift in the outbreak, an- immigrated to Colombia, escaping that would directly benefit Mexi- lyst, argued that living outside
more, not corona,” said Papu, 32, in contact with strangers and then
nounced a stricter set of protocols, their country’s economic collapse. co’s poor. corporate structures may have its
waghoo f coarm weo rtok Danedlh wi tahsr neeo ww etreykisng rcerotiwridnegd haot mdeasy.’s end to over- cthaannc e1l0in0 gp eeovpelen tasn dd craawlliinngg f omr othree Mingasn yt oo fp tahye mth uaste n eiagchht’ ds asyt’asy e ainr na- saOidn t hWe epdlanne swdoauyl,d tihnec lupdree said menilt- athdeviar nctaargeeesr.s Soonm thee w sthroe ehta avree baubillet
troa nrpetuurr inn ttoh he isst hatoem oef iUnt Staarha- omuaAsn tsy tt ahctoeeu snoaftm rpieeus bt liiinmc tehh, eeta hrleteh gp icoraenrc eha raiins- squusirpienngs wioonr keorf s teom cpolmoymmuetne tt o raen- mdoowtenl,. mWaitnhy tahree naalrteioand ys hfiuntdtiinngg l$i1o,n0 00l,o taon ssm, aella bcuhs inweosrstehs ina bbootuht tuos eafdualp at sq uthicek lpya, an dskemill itch aret owridlle bres
Pradesh, 125 miles away. left them even more vulnerable to office. themselves on the street. the formal economy and informal even the most stable economies.
the worst ravages of the pan- And over the weekend, the On Tuesday, a large crowd of economy. Eligible recipients, he During the influenza pandemic of
demic. López Obrador administration be- protesters packed Bogotá’s Plaza said, would be “humble, hard- 2009, which followed the global fi-
ROIuCHtr VagS.e P aOsO WR ealthy bMae“dxTlyihc ehaynu retac,”ro esn aoigmdo iSisnatg na tnitdao g soeb neLi oevvr eyfe,r lya- ghmwaooanmrn ked f.ua rrtBoogmurinyt h .g to hmAeM nemed, ox eriacm fsaouanrrngseyo wwtocoa arsnks nn tfaoooyrtt d“WeI enB’ ronele íhviguahrn bgtorory i!nv”go ti hcVeee ynt shehzeouirue ltaaen,d g.there. wtuotMirokrn.i n Lgsea vpiyde ootpfh lteah.t”e eBvreono kiifn ggso vInesrtni-- nwnaeownrck wi afoal ryccsre it sgoir see,k wMe aoesux tpic eaoo ’lspiv lieinn sfgoo.rumghatl
Flee to Second Homes low at the Brookings Institution in weeks. government has imposed a na- ments go through with these cash “That becomes part of the solu-
In France and across Europe, WaTshhei nigmtopna.ct could be particu- haMmrb. uMrgeenress aensd, 4h3o,t wdohgos hfraosm s ohlids twioonuwldi dter anloscfkedr otwhen , eqaunidv asleanidt oitf htoarnyd pourotsg raamnds , omthaenry wcoomrkpeernss ian- tmioonr,e” fMlexr.i bdlee ylao uC aarlele, tshaei db.e t“tTehr.”e
affluent city dwellers have been larly brutal and far-reaching in cart for 19 years, said he was less up to $50 to six million informal the region’s informal labor sector But Mr. Meneses, the ham-
decamping epicenters of the crisis Mexico, where informal workers worried about contracting the vi- and private-sector workers to will be invisible to government burger vendor, is not as sanguine.
to their second homes. But they generate nearly a quarter of the rus than he was about the finan- compensate them for lost income. agencies because they don’t ap- All he can see is disaster ahead.
also bring fears that they will economic output, according to the cial effects of the pandemic. For most, the amount will barely pear on social security or tax reg- “If it comes and hits us hard, it’s
spread the virus to regions with Mexican government. His business has already cra- cover a fraction of their losses. istries. going to be a massacre,” he said. “I
few hospitals to handle a surge in And compared with some other tered. His sales are down about 50 Meanwhile, the López Obrador As bleak as the landscape looks hope this is just a dream and it
the sick. nations in the region, the Mexican percent from two weeks ago and administration has been design- for informal workers, Luis de la passes fast, a nightmare that we
On Île de Noirmoutier off government has taken a far more still falling. ing an economic recovery plan Calle, a Mexican economic ana- wake up from.”
France’s Atlantic Coast, some of restrained approach to the pan- If the authorities force street
the locals watched, with growing dPermesiicd.e Tnht eA tnodnreé sh aMs abneueenl sLeótp beyz vneensedso srsa idto, h seh duote sd noowtn k,n Mowr. wMhaet-
dread and rage, the images from Obrador, whose attitude, at times, he will do to support his wife and
Paris. “Irresponsible and selfish,” has been lackadaisical and even three daughters. Maybe start
thought Dr. Cyrille Vartanian, one dismissive. pawning possessions, he said.
of the six physicians on Noir- Mr. López Obrador, who won of- The family has no health insur-
moutier. fice in 2018 as a populist defender ance.
Overnight, the island’s popula- of the downtrodden, said he was “For us, it’s a luxury to get sick,”
tion nearly doubled, to 20,000. waiting to impose stricter public he said.
Nearly two weeks after the na- health measures in order not to In some countries in the region,
tionwide lockdown went into disrupt the economy prematurely. when governments have tried to
effect on March 17, there are Hbeies ng rtheaet ceosut ncotrnyc’se rpno, ohre, h siasi dp,o hliatis- irmusp, opsoeo rre wstorrikcetirosn hsa tvoe f irgehbte tlhleed v —i-
about 70 suspected cases of the cal base. and been met with force. In Peru,
coronavirus on the island. Some critics say that by delay- more than 21,000 people, includ-
Perhaps more than anything ing the inevitable, Mr. López ing street vendors and other la-
else, the influx into second homes Obrador may have given the virus borers in the informal economy,
has ignited anger over what the a greater opportunity to infect a have been detained for not com-
global pandemic is laying bare larger percentage of Mexico’s im- plying with the government’s or-
every day: the ever widening gap poverished population. ders to stay at home.
between the rich and the poor. “It’s one thing to continue to Governments in Latin America
Nowhere is that anger rawer than have tons of people living day by have promised to help the poor, in
in France, which has 3.4 million day, and another to have thou- some places announcing cash as-
sands dying of this every day,” sistance programs.
second homes — far more than
said Jesús Silva Herzog, a profes- In Colombia, President Iván
any of its neighbors — and whose sor of government at the Tec- Duque recently announced,
domestic politics have been roiled nológico de Monterrey, a univer- among other aid measures, pay-
in recent years by debates over sity in Mexico. outs of about $40 for informal
inequality. On Tuesday, Mexican officials, workers who were not already re-
ceiving social assistance. But as
Kirk Semple reported from Mexico the country began its quarantine
OFF THE COAST OF MAINE City and Natalie Kitroeff from New this week, there was widespread
York. Paulina Villegas and Elda concern that the disbursements
‘Local Vigilantes’ Try Cantú contributed reporting from would not be enough to maintain
Mexico City, Julie Turkewitz from social order.
To Quarantine Visitors
Bogotá and Anatoly Kurmanaev Particularly vulnerable are the
A group of residents from an from Caracas. 1.5 million Venezuelans who have
island town in Maine cut down a
tree and dragged it into the mid-
dle of a road in an attempt to
forcibly quarantine three room-
mates they believed could have
the new coronavirus after arriv-
ing from out of state, law enforce-
ment officials said on Saturday.
The tree was discovered after
one of the roommates left their
kaleidoscope gem
residence on Cripple Creek Road
in Vinalhaven, an island off the
coast of Maine, at about 3:30 p.m. OPAL PENDANT NECKLACE
on Friday to see why the cable
service wasn’t working, the Knox
Extraordinarygemstone.Dynamiccolor.One-of-a-kindbeauty.
County Sheriff’s Office said in a
statement. Arareanddazzlingpear-shapedcabochonopalshinesatthe
“While investigating the centerofthispendantnecklace.Surroundedbyahaloofdiamonds
downed tree, a neighbor started ADRIANA LOUREIRO FERNANDEZ FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES andtsavoritegarnets,this12.35-caratopaldanceswithcolorand
yelling at him and a group of light,flashingflecksofgold,blue,greenandorange.Setin18K
people showed up and began to
gather around,” the sheriff’s office whitegold.Chain:18”length.Pendant:11/2”length.#31-1151
said. “Believing the group may be
there to harm him,” it added, the
man fled back to the residence
and alerted his roommates.
The roommates in Maine used
a radio to contact the Coast Guard
and a drone to keep an eye on the
group outside until the authorities
arrived, the sheriff’s office said.
The authorities found that the
622RoyalStreet,NewOrleans,LA • 888-643-7958 • [email protected] • msrau.com
three roommates had been living
in Vinalhaven for about 30 days,
Since1912,M.S.Rauhasspecializedintheworld’sfinestart,antiquesandjewelry.
much longer than the two-week
Backedbyourunprecedented125%Guarantee,westandbehindeachandeverypiece.
quarantine guideline issued by
public health officials, and that DANIEL BEREHULAK FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
none of them had any symptoms Central Caracas last week, top. A vendor in Mexico City, José
of the virus. Luis Miguel Monroy, said he was the only earner in his family.
A8 N THE NEW YORK TIMES, TUESDAY,MARCH31, 2020
Tracking an Outbreak Hot Zones
On March 10, word reached Albany that a funeral guest had The Rev. Daniel Simmons, whose church was not connected to In a rural area like this, a county commissioner said, “We know
tested positive for the virus. A few days later, the crisis began. the funeral, worried that houses of worship would suffer. who is in our hospital, and we know who went to what funeral.”
ADANGEROUS GATHERING
The Mourners Who Soon Fell Ill
A funeral service here in Albany, Ga., last month was attended by about 200 people and is believed to have been a “super-spreading event” that led to a huge number of coronavirus infections.
school, she found him face down pez, 41, a surgical intensivist, who so aggressively” that those who don’t know if I have been exposed
From Page A1 on the floor.” specializes in treating the criti- Photographs by attended either of the funerals to it.”
With a population of only The night of the funeral, a 67- cally ill. AUDRA MELTON for should get tested, Mr. Cohilas She feels, she said, “as if they
90,000, Dougherty County has year-old man who had come to Al- “All the units were full, all of The New York Times said. But not quickly enough to sent my mother home to die.”
registered 24 deaths, far more bany to attend was admitted to them, and there would be days prevent an infected person from Phoebe Putney is diverting pa-
than any other county in the state, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospi- when we would be intubating five serving as a juror in a high-profile tients to other Georgia hospitals
with six more possible coro- tal, complaining of shortness of people in a row, back to back, room murder trial that ended on March at a rate it has never before ap-
navirus deaths under investiga- breath, Mr. Steiner said. after room after room,” he said. 12. That set off a new set of infec- proached, transferring 40 in a re-
tion, according to Michael L. The man had chronic lung dis- The cases arrived in great tions in the sheriff’s office and the cent 72-hour period, Mr. Steiner
Fowler, the local coroner. Ninety ease, and no history of travel that waves, overwhelming each new courthouse, he said. said. But he denied that any grav-
percent of the people who died would suggest exposure to the co- effort to add beds. The warnings drove a wedge ely ill patients were sent home.
were African-American, he said. ronavirus, and he was not put in The 14 medical intensive care between people in Albany, said the “Anybody we’ve discharged has
The region’s hospitals are over- isolation, Mr. Steiner said. Staff unit beds were filled within two Rev. Daniel Simmons, the senior been discharged appropriately,
loaded with sick and dying pa- members figured that he had just days of the first wave of coro- pastor of Albany’s Mt. Zion Bap- clinically,” he said.
tients, having registered nearly run out of oxygen. navirus patients; they converted tist Church, who, like others inter- Mr. Simmons said that many
600 positive cases. Last week, The man spent the next week in 12 cardiac I.C.U. beds, but those, viewed, said he questioned families are struggling to care for
Gov. Brian Kemp dispatched the the hospital, attended by at least too, were filled two days later; 12 whether the funerals were in fact the sick at home.
National Guard to help stage addi- 50 employees, then was trans- beds in the surgical I.C.U. were the sole source of the infections. “Part of the control in life is
tional intensive care beds and re- ferred on March 7 back to the At- filled three days after that, Mr. “It created fear: Who will be at thinking, if you needed help,
lieve exhausted doctors and lanta area, where he was tested Steiner said. the gathering that I’m going to on you’ve got somewhere to go,” he
nurses. for the coronavirus. Not until For a few days, the hospital was Sunday, that funeral, or that wed- said. “When that is taken off the
Ms. Johnson said that she as- March 10 did the Albany hospital so short of staff members that em- ding? Do I go? Do I not go?” said table, all sense of control is gone,
sumed one of the guests had learn he had tested positive, Mr. ployees who had tested positive Mr. Simmons, whose church was and hope starts fading.”
brought the virus to her brother’s Steiner said. He died on March 12, but did not yet have symptoms not connected to either funeral. He read aloud text messages he
funeral, where “you hug and you the state’s first coronavirus death. were asked to work. “People began to say, were you at received over the weekend.
kiss and you embrace.” But she By then, the infection was qui- “If I had 1,000 nurses sitting at the funeral? That became a ques- “Please continue to pray,” one
had no more information than etly spreading through town. Mr. home, and could send the ones tion.” said. “My mother, my grand-
that. Mitchell’s longtime companion, testing positive out, I would, but The city’s churches, he said, be- mother and my grandfather have
“Really, there is no face to what Ms. Murray, 75, found herself we don’t have that, and nobody gan to feel unfairly singled out. been admitted to the ER with co-
is going on in Albany,” she said. racked with chills and fever, Ms. has that,” Mr. Steiner said. “You “That is the focus: the church, ronavirus symptoms.”
Bell, her daughter, said. She was get to the point where you say, ‘If I the church,” he said. “It has done
Whether the initial carrier — told she had a urinary tract infec- don’t have the staff, I can’t care for damage because there is stigma. Then, later, “My mother has
the whodunit of infectious disease tion and admitted to an ordinary the patients.’” There is almost this wall of hostil- died.”
— matters at all depends on whom ward, where she was visited by State directives changed last ity that has been raised between For Ms. Johnson, only one per-
you ask. But the timing does mat- three of her sisters, Ms. Bell said. week, mandating a weeklong certain parts of the community son mattered last week.
tinevr.i sFiobrly 1, 0a ndda ynso t ohnee v kirnuesw s pitr ewaads, Awlilt hth rtheee hcaovreo nsainvcireu bs,e csohme e ssaiicdk. qerusa wrahnot itnees tf opro shietiavleth. care work- ‘It just hurts anMd tsh. e Jcohhunrcshon.”, whose family asH, wera sd aaullg hstheer , tThoonuygah tM o. fT whohmile-
there. By the time stringent social One of them has died. Dr. Lopez, the surgeon, avoided so bad, I just don’t hosted the Feb. 29 funeral, said she was in the hospital. The illness
dMisa“trWacnhec’ r2ine2 g,n iot tww baalassm eiivnnetgrr ytohwdauhtc eoerndee,. voisn- ‘It Hit Like a Bomb’ coon“neIt o’amfc ot uswlrei ctehlpo fisanemgts ii,l”ny h fteoh rse at wigdao. r “waIge peea krisnk. Weu cnadmeer sttoagnedth ite.r at tbhee“c Ias uphseaecv uepl afeatoimopnliel yh aamdree b mesbeaneyr ipnsa gai nntfghuraly.t hn51ae-odyu esahlryi-t,o lbdtuh te dmua nuagaclhmctoeoursn tt awsbailmsy , uhlttheaer-
iitso ro, nbeu tp eprostoenn tiaawllyay a fcroommm suonmitey- Obann yM tahracth t h1e0 , Pwhooredb er ePaucthneedy pAal-- trhaeg et,r uwcaks, hs tmripy sdeolfw onf f,i nm tyh ew giafe- a funeral of someone msayid b. “rHoteh’se ra wdeaasd t pheer scounlp. rHite,”’s snhoet wo“rIs wt haist , twryitihn gd otou bfelee pl nbeeuttmero snoia I.
thing like this exploding,” said tient had tested positive for the vi- puts out a plate of food for me, I eat we love, and even breathing. But they’re angry could come up here and take care
Scott Steiner, the chief executive rus. A few days of relative quiet the food, and then I go back to the because the rumor mill is saying of my daughter,” said Ms. John-
of Phoebe Putney Health System, followed, and then, in the words of garage.” everyone came up that he was the spreader of the vi- son, a retired oncology nurse. “I
which has taken the brunt of the Mr. Fowler, the coroner, “it hit like and got sick.’ rus.” felt like if I hadn’t been in the hos-
ssuh“rogIwfe sy. oyuo uge wt ehaartl yc adne lhivaeprpye onf, ”i th, iet ato b “toShmoem bf.e”u noef trhael,”m M mri.g Fhto hwalevre wsaeindt. DTheet efucnteirvaels Win oArlbkany — of Mr. DOROTHY JOHNSON, A Scramble for Care phietSra.”hl eI acroruivlde dh ianv eti madev, oact a5t:e4d5 foonr
said. “Had that person come in, “Some may have been family Mitchell, and then of a man named speaking about her daughter, By last week, the question of how Friday afternoon, to be with Ms.
had a barbecue, visited family and members of people at the funeral. Johnny Carter, held at the funeral Tonya M. Thomas (photograph the virus had entered the county Thomas as she died. She called
went home, that would have been Every day after that, someone home a week later — quickly from family above), who died had been eclipsed by the number her “a beautiful spirit,” her fam-
a different story.” was dying.” emerged as a source of infection. after contracting the virus. of people sick and dying. Mr. ily’s center.
The six-month stockpile of pro- Of the first 23 patients to test Mitchell’s companion, Ms. Mur- She unplugged her daughter’s
A Big Southern funeral tective equipment that the hospi- positive at Phoebe Putney, all had ray, has been hospitalized and dis- ventilators and removed the IV
tal had prepared was gone, Mr. attended at least one of the two fu- charged twice, against her daugh- tubes from her body.
Mr. Mitchell died suddenly. Emell Steiner said, in seven days. nerals, Mr. Steiner said. That was ter’s protests. Ms. Thomas’s husband, son and
Murray, Mr. Mitchell’s companion At first the doctors and nurses easy to figure out. “I begged them not to let her sister Abrigale were in the room.
of 20 years, found him in the living just tried to take in what they were “This wasn’t like a team of sci- come home, but they did it any- “It just hurts so bad, I just don’t
room of their home on the morn- seeing: a series of people — in- entists in a bunch of suits,” said way,” Ms. Bell said. “They brought understand it,” Ms. Johnson said.
ing of Feb. 24, said her daughter, cluding young people in relatively Chris J. Cohilas, chairman of the her into this house like a sack of “We came together at a funeral of
Alice Bell. There was no autopsy, good health — showing up with a Dougherty County Board of Com- potatoes, on a stretcher.” someone we love, and everyone
but it appeared to be natural cough and fever. missioners. “We’re a big small Ms. Bell, 49, said she did not came up and got sick.”
causes, she said, possibly a heart Then, alarmingly, their need for town where everybody knows ev- have the strength to turn her Her daughter’s funeral will be
attack. oxygen would sharply increase, erybody. We know who is in our mother over in bed, and had called at the graveside, with no more
“He had been up all night,” said and they would go into full-blown hospital, and we know who went repeatedly to ask for help. than 10 people present, in accord-
Ms. Johnson, his sister. “When she respiratory failure, their lungs fill- to what funeral.” “I’m begging for help,” she said. ance with social distancing regu-
woke up to get the baby ready for ing with fluid, said Dr. Enrique Lo- Word went out “so quickly and “I’m here with two kids, and I lation.
THE NEW YORK TIMES, TUESDAY,MARCH31, 2020 N A9
Tracking an Outbreak National Fallout
IN THE RUST BELT
Detroit, Inured to Crisis,
Sees One Without Equal
This article is by Mary M. Chap- airport, with a significant number
man, Julie Bosman and John of flights from overseas, may have
Eligon. contributed to the spread.
DETROIT — It has seen its pop- Since then, the virus has spread
ulation plummet, houses fall to to employees in the Detroit police
ruin, and the largest municipal and fire departments and other
bankruptcy in the nation. Now an- city services that have been
other crisis has descended on De- slowly rebuilt over several years.
troit: the coronavirus. “The city itself is under-
In less than two weeks, 35 peo- equipped,” said Dr. Howard
ple with the coronavirus have died Markel, a professor of the history
in Detroit. The police chief has of medicine at the University of
tested positive for the virus, and Michigan. “It’s a perfect storm of
more than 500 police officers are poverty and very rudimentary
in quarantine. On Sunday morn- public health conditions.”
ing, the city’s downtown, a center Lately, Detroit has been emerg-
of Detroit’s post-bankruptcy re- ing from a fiscal and economic cri-
surgence, was quiet and mostly sis that was decades in the mak-
deserted. ing, and the specter of a new crisis
The coronavirus has landed on is dizzying. In 2013, Detroit be-
this city’s doorstep, its unwelcome came the largest city in the United
arrival a sign of the outbreak’s States ever to seek bankruptcy
growing reach across America to protection, leaving its future ut-
cities far from the coasts and not terly uncertain as it struggled un-
as densely populated as New der a mound of debt as well as tens
York. But the virus could place a of thousands of abandoned build-
unique burden on Detroit, a city of ings, vacant lots and unlit streets.
670,000 people where three of 10 The bankruptcy had followed
residents live in poverty, a large years of population decline and
number have asthma and other sliding tax revenues: The city’s PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRITTANY GREESON FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
chronic diseases, and hospitals role as the early heart of the Above, empty streets in downtown Detroit. At left, waiting, at a
are already overwhelmed. It is a American automotive industry distance, for the bus. The city has seen 35 virus deaths.
city that has seen more than its and home to 1.8 million people in
share of crisis, and now finds itself 1950 gave way to fewer than
staring at yet another. 700,000 residents now. were wearing masks and gloves. ban Wayne, Oakland and Macomb
Residents have been shaken by But there have been many signs Dale Rich, a veteran photogra- Counties. More than 80 percent of
the number of people falling ill of recovery of late, including a pher who lives on Detroit’s north- the cases identified in Michigan
from the virus, including a well- rush of new construction and east side, said he believed that have been in the Detroit area.
known community activist, Mar- some bustling neighborhoods generational poverty had, in some Still, more than 1,800 of the
lowe Stoudamire, who died last amid the city’s vast 139 square pockets of the city, limited the lev- state’s cases have come in Detroit.
week at the age of 43. He had at- miles. Some in the city pointed to el of alarm over the possibility of “I don’t mean to sound too
tended a neighborhood pancake its size as one possible reason for infection from the virus. 30,000-foot about it, but Detroit
breakfast on March 6 where sev- the rapid spread; people travel “If you see prosperity when you has always been the canary in the
eral police officers apparently long distances, often on the public go downtown, but every other coal mine,” said Dream Hampton,
were exposed. bus system, to get to jobs. house of your street is abandoned a Detroit filmmaker and writer.
“Everybody is starting to un- “Unfortunately, the shift that or falling down, you’re maybe not “We’ve been on the front lines of
derstand that this virus is looking I’ve seen happen is grief because going to break your neck looking the truth of American hypercapi-
for more hosts,” Mayor Mike Dug- people are dying now,” Khalilah for hand sanitizer,” he said. “This talism for decades.”
gan of Detroit said in an interview Gaston, a consultant to nonprofit virus is odorless, colorless, taste- “So, yes,” she added, “poor peo-
on Sunday. “Even if you’re young organizations in Detroit, said. less, and that renders it almost un- ple in the hourly wage and gig
and healthy.” “We’re looking at the numbers ev- rooms were being divided or mon- tioned whether city leaders even real. So, if we’re hungry, or trying economy who lack health insur-
By Monday afternoon, with eryday. It’s a lot to process.” itors were being used. But he said know all the homes where water is to find rent, it’s going on the back ance have higher rates of the
more than 6,500 cases, Michigan One nurse practitioner who in an email that “the demand to needed, and called on officials to burner.” kinds of underlying conditions im-
was fourth in known cases among works at several hospitals in the care for the ever-increasing num- move more rapidly to solve the In some realms, though, dis- munologists are saying put people
the states, behind New York, New Detroit area described dire scenes ber of patients is putting a strain problem. tancing rules have taken hold. at risk.”
Jersey and California. Across the unfolding. on our resources and staff.” “Put aside all of the policies and And for social services groups, On the flip side, Ms. Hampton,
state, at least 196 residents have Hospitals in the Detroit Medical “We are using all available politicians and you come back to that has complicated efforts. Lisa whose mother is working 12-hour
died, placing Michigan fourth Center network are putting two space in our hospitals to care for this: One of the main defenses for Johanon, the executive director of shifts at a hospital in the region,
across the nation in deaths from patients at a time into intensive patients,” he added, including con- public hygiene is handwashing,” Central Detroit Christian, said her suggested that Detroit — which
the virus, behind New York, care unit rooms that are made for verting operating rooms, outpa- said Monica Lewis-Patrick, a organization had suspended edu- has experienced a level of eco-
Washington and New Jersey. one patient, she said. Because of a tient areas and recovery rooms leader of We the People of Detroit, cation programs for young people nomic and fiscal strife unlike al-
No one is sure why the Detroit shortage of equipment, some pa- into patient treatment areas to which has advocated access to and home repairs for residents, as most any other American city —
region is seeing a flood of cases in tients are hooked to portable mon- handle the surge. safe water for all residents. well as job training, housing coun- might actually be better prepared
the weeks since officials an- itors that cannot be monitored in a Also emerging as a concern in a Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of seling and preschool services. to contend with crisis than other
nounced the state’s first known single, central system. moment when handwashing has Michigan, a Democrat, issued a The father of a child the organi- places.
case on March 10. Mr. Duggan said “Every day I drive home, I start become essential is water service stay-at-home order for all resi- zation works with died from the vi- “We know what it’s like to come
he suspected that an international crying,” said the nurse, who asked in Detroit homes where it had dents last week, but not everyone rus, Ms. Johanon said, adding: together for one another,” Ms.
that her name not be used for fear been shut off for nonpayment. in Detroit was heeding the calls “For me and for our staff, it’s like Hampton said. “We never meas-
Mary M. Chapman reported from of losing her job. “I’ve been in City officials promised to restore for social distancing. we’ve been in shock. And now it’s ured our city’s comeback by how
Detroit, Julie Bosman from Chi- health care for 20 years and I’ve water service in those homes, and Cherish Browning, 28, said she like, OK, this is our new reality.” many people moved here from
cago and John Eligon from Kansas never seen anything like this.” hundreds of people had it restored was at a house party last weekend Areas just outside Detroit have Brooklyn, or how many down-
City, Mo. Mitch Smith contributed Brian Taylor, a spokesman for by the weekend, city officials said. with about 100 people. also reported large upticks in town buildings a single Republi-
reporting from Overland Park, the Detroit Medical Center, de- The number was expected to “Everybody’s really not taking cases, with more than 3,500 addi- can billionaire could buy. We focus
Kan., and Monica Davey from Chi- clined to address specific ques- grow in the coming days, city offi- it seriously,” she said. Still, she tional cases and more than 100 ad- on our ability to come together as
cago. tions about how intensive care cials promised. But activists ques- said, many people at the party ditional deaths reported in subur- a community.”
LAW AND ORDER
Social Distancing Isn’t an Option, So Prisons Free Inmates to Try to Slow Infection
This article is by Timothy infected more than 150,000 people of one of the nation’s largest jail advocates said there are almost
Williams, Benjamin Weiser and in the United States, with more systems. certainly many undetected cases
William K. Rashbaum. than 2,500 deaths. “Our population within the jail across the country.
The coronavirus is spreading “By keeping more people in the is a vulnerable population just by Unlike county jails, where most
quickly in America’s jails and pris- jails, you are increasing the over- virtue of who they are and where inmates are either serving sen-
ons, where social distancing is im- all number of people who contract they’re located,” he said. tences for minor crimes or are
possible and sanitizer is widely the virus,” and the demand for Sheriff Villanueva said the re- awaiting trial, state prisons —
banned, prompting authorities hospital beds, ventilators and leases had been limited to inmates which hold the majority of the na-
across the country to release thou- other lifesaving resources, said scheduled to be freed in 30 days or tion’s 2.3 million incarcerated peo-
sands of inmates in recent weeks David E. Patton, head of the fed- fewer. All had been convicted of ple, most of whom were convicted
to try to slow the infection, save eral public defender’s office in nonviolent misdemeanors, he of felonies — are less likely to
lives and preserve medical re- New York City, which represents said. So far, there are no confirmed make large-scale releases.
sources. nearly half of the 2,500 inmates in coronavirus cases inside the coun- Virginia’s Department of Cor-
Hundreds of Covid-19 diag- the city’s two federal jails. “They ty’s jails. rections said it has not had any
noses have been confirmed at lo- are playing roulette with people’s Deputies in Los Angeles have positive tests, and it has halted
cal, state and federal correctional lives.” also been instructed to make visits to prisoners as a way of try-
facilities — almost certainly an America has more people be- fewer arrests, and Sheriff Villa- ing to keep the virus out. Many
undercount, given a lack of testing hind bars than any other nation. nueva asked the district attorney other states, as well as the federal
and the virus’s rapid spread — Its correctional facilities are fre- and courts to delay some criminal prison system, have also limited
leading to hunger strikes in immi- quently crowded and unsanitary, SANTIAGO COVARRUBIAS/CHICAGO SUN-TIMES proceedings. Arrests in areas pa- or halted visits.
grant detention centers and de- filled with an aging population of Infections have soared at the Cook County jail in Chicago. trolled by the Sheriff’s Depart- In New York City, where the Bu-
mands for more protection from often impoverished people with a ment have dropped to about 60 a reau of Prisons said four inmates
prison employee unions. hofi swtohroym o f spuofoferr h feraolmth rceasrpei,r mataonryy the need to ensure that prisoners ministrative and presiding judge day from around 300 a day. htwado fteedsetreadl jpaoilssi tbiyv eS uinn dtahye, ac liatyw’s-
A week ago, the Cook County and heart problems. Practices would not spread the virus once of the Cuyahoga County Common Jackie Lacey, the Los Angeles suit filed late Friday asked the fed-
jail in Chicago had two diagnoses; urged elsewhere to slow the freed. Pleas Court. County district attorney, said that eral court in Brooklyn to order the
by Sunday, 101 inmates and a doz- spread of the virus — avoiding In Chicago, as the number of Judge Sheehan led an effort to as a way to remind her prosecu- immediate release of about 540
en employees had tested positive crowds, frequent hand washing, positive test results at the county expedite cases for inmates in the tors about the seriousness of the federal prisoners there identified
for the virus. A nearby Illinois disinfecting clothing — are nearly jail have skyrocketed, the sheriff, jail awaiting trial. The usual proto- threat to inmates, “I have asked as “particularly vulnerable” to the
state prison reported a coro- impossible to implement inside. Tom Dart, has established a quar- cols — hearings, plea deals, re- my attorneys to consider the virus because of their age or un-
navirus-related death on Monday, “Even as a visitor,” said Mr. antine area for those who have the quests for trials — were kept in health risks in every decision they derlying health conditions.
and Michigan prisons had 78 pos- Brewer, “if you want to wash your virus, and another one for those place, but proceedings that might make.” Katie Rosenfeld, a lawyer for
itive tests. The Rikers Island jail hands, you’ve got to walk out and showing symptoms who have not have taken 60 or 90 days were re- But officials acknowledged that the plaintiffs, said prisoners and
complex in New York City had 167 go into another building to do it.” tested positive but need to be solved within two or three. there are concerns about reducing their family members were “terri-
confirmed cases among inmates The federal Bureau of Prisons, monitored. The most serious pa- “I don’t want people to think incarceration: About 30 percent of fied” that the jail would “very soon
by Monday. And at least 38 in- which holds more than 167,000 tients are being taken to the hospi- that we’re opening up the jail the county’s jail inmates are be overwhelmed with hundreds of
mates and employees in the fed- people nationwide, has been criti- tal. doors and letting people go,” the homeless, and they might be liv- people sick and dying inside.”
eral prison system have the virus, cized by its own employees as “Our jails are petri dishes,” said judge said, adding, “We have to ing on the street as soon as they Even before the suit was filed,
with one prisoner dead in Louisi- slow to act. On Friday, dozens of Toni Preckwinkle, president of the protect the public, and we also are released, making them at least prosecutors in Brooklyn had been
ana. public health experts sent a letter Cook County Board of Commis- have to protect the safety of the in- as vulnerable to the virus as they directed to review their cases and
“It’s very concerning as a par- to President Trump urging him to sioners, comparing them to nurs- mate.” might be behind bars. decide whether releasing inmates
ent,” said William Brewer Jr., take immediate steps to protect ing homes or cruise ships — both In New York City, where the jail In recent weeks, the city has would be appropriate, consider-
whose son is serving time for rob- inmates and immigration detain- places where the virus has spread system’s chief physician warned started to open recreation cen- ing their age, health status, the na-
bery in Virginia. “He’s in there ees. rapidly. She said officials are seek- several days ago that “a storm is ters, which were closed to stop the ture of the charges against them
sleeping in an open bay with 60 Attorney General William P. ing to reduce the jail’s population coming,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said spread of the virus, to homeless and their risk to the community.
other people. There’s no way they Barr said officials were trying to to 4,000 people, from about 6,000 the city had released at least 650 people. Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore’s
can isolate and get six feet be- expand home confinement, as op- before the outbreak began. Cur- people by Sunday from Rikers Is- “We’re not going to keep them chief prosecutor, is going through
tween each other.” posed to directly releasing federal rently, the population stands at land, the city’s main jail complex. in jail because they don’t have a a similar exercise, but has also an-
Defense lawyers, elected offi- prisoners, almost all of whom about 5,000. Only inmates ac- Most of those inmates were con- home,” Sheriff Villanueva said. nounced that she will decline to
cials, health experts and even were convicted of felonies. He or- cused of nonviolent crimes are eli- victed of nonviolent crimes and California has the second-larg- prosecute certain low-level cases,
some prosecutors have warned dered an assessment of at-risk gible for release, she said. serving sentences of less than a est prison population in the coun- including trespassing, drug pos-
that efforts to release inmates and nonviolent inmates, particularly In Cleveland, the legal system year. Hundreds more were under try, after Texas, and at least 12 Cal- session, prostitution and urinat-
to contain the spread of the dis- those who have served much of was quick to act as the coro- review for possible release. ifornia state prison employees ing in public, during the coro-
ease are moving too slowly in the their sentence. navirus took hold in the United In Los Angeles County, Sheriff have tested positive for the coro- navirus outbreak.
face of a contagion that has so far But it was unclear how many States, cutting the county jail pop- Alex Villanueva has embarked on navirus. Staff and inmates have “The thing that we’re con-
would qualify under a complex list ulation in half, to about 1,000 peo- what appears to be the largest also tested positive at correctional cerned with is public safety,” she
Reporting was contributed by of criteria. And Mr. Barr cautioned ple, since March 12. “Otherwise, U.S. effort to release inmates, free- facilities in Florida, Texas, Michi- said, “and we don’t want to pre-
Danielle Ivory, Nicole Hong, Jan that the review would not result in once this hits, we’d be crippled,” ing 1,700 people this month, or gan, Pennsylvania, New York and scribe someone with substance-
Ransom and Alan Feuer. immediate transfers because of said Brendan J. Sheehan, the ad- about 10 percent of the population Washington, among others, and use disorder to a death sentence.”
A10 N THE NEW YORK TIMES, TUESDAY,MARCH31, 2020
Tracking an Outbreak U.S. Response
ACALCULATION
Why President Let Go of His Goal of Reopening the Country by Easter
was moved to order a surgical
From Page A1 airstrike on Syria after seeing hor-
that the cure could be worse than rifying footage of a lethal gas at-
the disease and circled back tack, the images helped get him to
closer to the tenor of the warnings a new place, officials said.
he has gotten from health advis- Mr. Trump also said he now
ers. Rather than lift the restric- knew people who had been hospi-
tions he had outlined by April 12, talized because of the coro-
he extended them to April 30 and navirus, without naming them,
said on Monday that they “may be and seemed almost shocked that
even toughened up a little bit,” al- his own associates had been af-
though a national stay-at-home fected.
order like those in New York and The larger picture fell to the
California was “pretty unlikely, I public health advisers, who pro-
would think, at this time.” vided Mr. Trump with a grim prog-
At Monday’s briefing, Mr. nosis in a meeting on Sunday be-
Trump recycled his line from a fore his announcement extending
couple of weeks ago putting the vi- social distancing guidelines. Dr.
rus ahead of the economy among Anthony S. Fauci, the director of
his concerns. “The economy is No. the National Institute of Allergy
2 on my list,” he said. “First, I want and Infectious Diseases, and Dr.
to save a lot of lives.” Deborah L. Birx, the White House
Indeed, he again accentuated response coordinator, showed the
the starkest projections given to president models of how many
him by public health officials, not- people across the country could
ing that more than two million be affected if more stringent
Americans could have died in the measures were not maintained.
absence of any measure, perhaps “He looked at them, he under-
to set expectations so that any stood them, and he shook his head
eventual death toll below that can and said, ‘I guess we got to do it,’”
be cast as a victory. Dr. Fauci said on CNN on Monday.
But advisers said he was struck Senator Lindsey Graham, Re-
by the political surveying that in- publican of South Carolina and a
dicated that the public wanted the close adviser to the president, also
restrictions to continue long said soon before Mr. Trump re-
enough to beat back the virus for versed course that he was coun-
fear that letting up too soon would seling the president to look at the
simply reinvigorate the outbreak. arc of the virus.
AL DRAGO FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
“There’s an acknowledgment Advisers said President Trump was struck by polling that indicated the public favored continuing restrictions to beat back a virus. Even so, Mr. Trump has contin-
that there’s no getting ‘back to ued to paint a rosy picture about
normal’ if the virus is still a the government’s response in the
threat,” said Kristen Soltis Ander- one other than those deemed es- and limits on gatherings of 10 or can ally, to replace him. But Mr. The president’s Easter target for face of widespread criticism. Dur-
son, a Republican pollster. “And sential to stay at home as opposed more people were necessary re- Meadows waited more than three reopening came after some of his ing a conference call with gover-
for the most part, we are seeing to 38 percent who favored univer- sponses to the pandemic. weeks to actually resign his advisers expressed concern about nors on Monday, Gov. Steve Bull-
people supportive of leaders at the sal testing and isolating only “One of the things that the dis- House seat, making it official only the devastating effects on the ock of Montana asked the presi-
state and federal level, even if those demonstrated to be infected course needs to help the country at 5 p.m. Monday, and will for- economy wreaked by the wide- dent about the lack of availability
there is frustration about an ini- with the virus. move forward is what are the dy- mally start his new job on Tues- spread closings and urged him to of testing for those who had con-
tially slow response. However, if In an article on Newsmax, the namics that get you to that transi- day. consider making changes to the tact with infected Americans.
there’s a rush to reopen, the virus conservative website run by a tion point to begin to re-engage In the interim, Mr. Meadows social distancing measures. “I haven’t heard about testing in
surges and people feel like the sac- friend of the president’s, that ap- the economy at that scale,” said has been spotted in the West Wing The president’s complaint weeks,” Mr. Trump insisted, ac-
rifices they’ve made so far have peared the day before Mr. Trump’s David Winston, another Republi- and has attended meetings, but he about the cure and his aspiration cording to an audiotape of the call
been for naught, I can see that reversal, the McLaughlins wrote can pollster. “What you’re seeing has only begun to assemble his to pack the churches by Easter fol- provided to The New York Times.
changing.” that the sentiment for a national at a policy level, at a political level team, and many holdovers in the lowed. He added, “We’ve tested more
In a survey conducted by John shutdown prevailed in every re- and at an individual level is trying White House are nervous about But then came troubling images now than any nation in the world.
and Jim McLaughlin, who were gion of the country and even to understand what all those ele- job security as they try to focus on from around the country, and es- We’ve got these great tests and
pollsters for Mr. Trump during the among those who said they could ments are.” the virus. Michael McKenna, the pecially New York City, where we’re coming out with a faster one
2016 campaign, 52 percent of not afford to be out of work for a The president’s swerving mes- deputy legislative director, re- Elmhurst Hospital Center, near this week.” And he concluded, “I
Americans preferred a full na- month or less. sages came during a period when signed under pressure last week his childhood home in Queens, haven’t heard about testing being
tional shutdown requiring every- A survey released by the Pew he had no fully installed White after being accused of making an was overwhelmed with patients a problem.”
Research Center on Monday House chief of staff to guide him offensive statement in what some and where temporary hospital During his briefing for report-
Peter Baker reported from Wash- showed that roughly nine in 10 and run his operation. He fired saw as a precursor to a broader tents were being erected in Cen- ers later in the day, Mr. Trump
ington, and Maggie Haberman Americans believe that restric- Mick Mulvaney, the acting chief of shake-up. tral Park. The images were on characterized the governors as
from New York. Jonathan Martin tions on international travel, can- staff, on March 6 and named Rep- Mr. Trump often whipsaws back television and in The New York praising him. “I think for the most
contributed reporting from Wash- cellation of sporting and enter- resentative Mark Meadows of and forth as aides compete for his Post, which he still reads every part they were saying thank you
ington. tainment events, school closings North Carolina, a close Republi- ear and offer conflicting advice. day. As in 2017, when Mr. Trump for doing a great job,” he said.
FLORIDA DESPERATE GOVERNORS
Pastor Arrested After Holding Packed Sunday Services Amid Clamor for Test Kits,
Trump Sees No Problems
By PATRICIA MAZZEI ized because we believe that God
MIAMI — Before the Rev. Rod- heals, that the Lord sets people
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reconsider putting his congrega- that church staff members wore not “heard about testing in The president has recently tak-
tion in danger of contracting the gloves on Sunday and provided weeks,” suggesting that a chronic en to pointing to the volume of
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sands of residents who may inter- itors to quarantine. Florida has Panera Bread, open,” she said. “I White House and prayed over Mr. if we don’t get test kits from the coming in” and that “Boeing gave
act with them this week in dan- closed restaurants except for would like to hear the message Trump, had encouraged his pa- C.D.C., that we wouldn’t be able to us their big, monster cargo plane;
ger,” Sheriff Chronister, who is a takeout and delivery, urged peo- that this is really serious.” rishioners to greet one another do testing in Montana,” Mr. Bull- it’s the biggest cargo plane in the
Republican, said at a news confer- ple 65 or older to stay home, sus- Democrats have called on the despite public health warnings ock said. world.”
ence in Tampa. “Our goal here is pended vacation rentals and tak- governor, a strong supporter of against shaking hands: “This Bi- The midday call was one of a At another point in the call,
not to stop anyone from worship- en other steps, but it has not or- President Trump, to issue a state- ble School is open because we are handful that Mr. Trump has held when someone asked if the gover-
ing, but the safety and well-being dered a statewide shutdown of wide stay-at-home order, but he raising revivalists, not pansies,” with governors, some of whom nor of Utah was on the line, Mr.
of our community must always nonessential businesses or has insisted on what he calls a he said on March 15. have sparred with the president Trump cracked that he was proba-
come first.” beaches. “tailored” approach. Sheriff Chronister said that law- over the federal government’s re- bly visiting Mitt Romney, the
Mr. Howard-Browne, 58, who The editorial boards of local That allowed Hillsborough yers from his office and the county sponse to the spread of the coro- state’s junior senator who has
lives in Hernando County, turned newspapers have clamored for County to order that people stay at attorney’s office, responding to an navirus. Others have calculated been in quarantine after coming
himself in on Monday afternoon. the governor to take bolder action. home — and it was that local order anonymous tip, had advised the that it will be easier to get the into contact with Senator Rand
He was booked in jail and freed 40 Physicians in Southwest Florida Mr. Howard-Browne defied, even church’s legal team on Friday that needs of their states fulfilled by Paul, Republican of Kentucky,
minutes later after posting a $500 who are worried about hospitals as religious services of all kinds holding services would violate the praising Mr. Trump, who seeks who tested positive for coro-
bail. He faces two second-degree becoming overwhelmed have have been canceled across the law. Members of the sheriff’s com- credit in most interactions. navirus.
misdemeanor charges of unlawful asked Collier and Lee Counties, country, or moved online. mand staff went to the church in On the Monday call, Mr. Bullock And at the daily White House
assembly and violation of public home to Naples and Fort Myers, to The pastor had claimed the person on Sunday to try to dis- — whose state is heavily rural — briefing on Monday afternoon,
health emergency rules. shutter nonessential businesses First Amendment protected him suade Mr. Howard-Browne. He tried to stress the disparity Mon- Mr. Trump described the call as an
Florida is the second-largest and order people to remain at from having to follow the order. would not meet with them, the tana faces in trying to mitigate the opportunity for the governors to
state in the country, after Texas, home. County commissioners Andrew Warren, the state attor- sheriff said, and held services in spread of the virus because of the thank his administration.
with no statewide order requiring have refused to go that far without ney for Hillsborough County, said the morning and evening. lack of testing. “I think for the most part, they
people to stay at home, leaving in guidance from the governor. emergency orders “are constitu- “They have access to technol- Mr. Trump initially said that Dr. were saying, thank you for doing a
place a hodgepodge of restrictions Wildly different approaches by tional and valid” and apply to ev- ogy allowing them to live stream Anthony S. Fauci, the director of great job,” he said.
that have allowed many Florid- local officials have prompted out- eryone. their services over the internet the National Institute of Allergy Meanwhile, Mr. Inslee said on
ians to maintain a semblance of rage, especially online. While the “I’d remind the good pastor of and broadcast television for more and Infectious Diseases, could re- Monday that he was shocked to
normal life. Local authorities have city of Jacksonville, in Duval Mark 12:31, which says there is no than their 4,000 members to spond to the question, but then hear the president convey a lack
frequently cited the lack of a state County, shut down its beaches, St. more important commandment watch from the safety of their own quickly offered a rejoinder. “I ha- of awareness about testing con-
mandate as reason to urge — Johns County to the south did not. than to love thy neighbor as thy- homes,” Sheriff Chronister said. ven’t heard about testing in cerns and that he was hopeful the
rather than require — residents to A striking aerial photo over the self,” said Mr. Warren, a Demo- “Instead, they encouraged people weeks,” the president said. “We’ve president would look into the is-
take precautions. The coronavirus weekend showed bare beaches on crat. “Loving your neighbors is to come and gather at church.” tested more now than any nation sue.
poses a unique threat to the state, one side of the county line and protecting them, not jeopardizing Other area churches, including in the world. We’ve got these great “It would be shocking to me that
with its large older population and crowded sand on the other. (St. their health by exposing them to the 34th Street Church of God, a tests and we’re coming out with a if anyone who has had access to
millions of visitors. Johns County later closed its this deadly virus.” nondenominational church in faster one this week.” Reiterating any newspaper, radio, social net-
Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republi- shoreline.) Video of the Sunday morning Tampa, have shut their doors and his point, Mr. Trump added, “I ha- works or any other communica-
can, said on Monday that he would “It’s really rather scary, be- service showed members of the moved their services to live ven’t heard about testing being a tion would not be knowledgeable
sign an order codifying local rules cause my neighbors aren’t really congregation standing close to- stream, the Rev. Thomas Scott problem.” about the need for test kits,” Mr.
urging people to remain indoors, paying attention — and I live in an gether, even as Mr. Howard- said at the news conference. Although testing has picked up Inslee said. “I can be assured that
but only in Southeast Florida, elderly community,” said Vicki Browne claimed that social dis- “We value the importance of the since a series of setbacks left the the White House knows very well
from Key West to West Palm Stanbury, 59, of Boynton Beach, a tancing rules were in place. laws of the land, and we value the United States behind, governors about this desperate need for test
Beach, the most densely popu- city in Palm Beach County. She “I know that they’re trying to importance of social distancing,” have continued to warn in recent kits.”
lated stretch of the state where said she was aghast to see people beat me up for having the church he said. “And more importantly, days that their response is still Mr. Inslee said his state was fac-
many restrictions were already in packed inside Walmart and Publix operational, but we are not a non- protecting our parishioners to hampered by shortages, including ing a “dire” shortage of kits, leav-
place. The region accounts for over the weekend without any ap- essential service,” he told parish- make sure that they’re not in of basic supplies like swabs. Gov. ing a choke point in an effort to
about 60 percent of Florida’s parent attention to social distanc- ioners. “Suddenly we are demon- harm’s way.” Jay Inslee of Washington told ramp up testing.