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The coronavirus pandemic is “accelerating” in the United States and “there are other parts of the country which we need to get a better feel for what is going on,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN Wednesday night.
Fauci added: “I mean, I have spoken to the political officials in New Orleans and in the state of Louisiana. They are now shutting things down in a very vigorous way. It is likely that that should have been done a little bit sooner — not blaming anyone on that but you get caught unaware because the nature of this outbreak.”
There are at least 65,201 cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States, according to CNN Health’s tally of US cases that are detected and tested in the country through public health systems,
So far, 928 people have died.
The total includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as all repatriated cases.
Alaska Airlines – which is based in Seattle and primarily serves the Pacific Northwest – is announcing it will cut its flight schedule by 70% for at least the next two months.
In a statement, the company says demand for its flights has fallen by more than 80%, forcing dramatic reductions.
Alaska Airlines says it is cutting contract and temporary jobs and suspending annual pay increases. The airline also is offering employees the opportunity to take a voluntarily leave of absence. Those who accept would not be paid a salary, but would keep their health and travel benefits.
Alaska Airlines CEO Brad Tilden will forgo his pay through September 30, as will president Ben Minicucci, according to the airline. Additional pay cuts will be made in the executive ranks — all the way down to vice president level — and the board of directors will receive no pay.
The moves are being made as the company actively lobbies the federal government to pass a relief package for the airline industry.
The US Army has reached out to retired medical personnel to possibly volunteer to support the coronavirus response effort.
In an email obtained by CNN, the Army called upon retired personnel on Wednesday looking for “voluntary recall of retired soldiers” with specific medical specialties.
The Army is asking for help from retired soldiers qualified in these specialties: “60F: Critical Care Officer; 60N: Anesthesiologist; 66F: Nurse Anesthetist; 66S: Critical Care Nurse; 66P: Nurse Practitioner; 66T: ER Nurse; 68V: Respiratory Specialist; 68W: Medic.”
A spokesperson for the Army said they’re “gauging the availability and capabilities of our retired career medical personnel to potentially assist with Covid-19 pandemic response efforts if needed.”
The spokesperson made clear they do not want to interfere in any civilian medical needs, stating, “This information request will no way interfere with any care they may be providing to their communities, it is for future planning purposes only, and is completely voluntary.”
The Pentagon confirmed Wednesday a Marine who works inside the building has tested positive for Covid-19.
A defense official said the last time the Marine, an officer, was in the Pentagon was March 13. He began self-isolation on March 15. He works in the plans, policy and operations office of Marine Corps headquarters.
This is the first military person based at the Pentagon to test positive.
Separately, a staff who works in the Pentagon’s National Military Command Center is awaiting test results, a second defense official confirmed.
It’s not immediately clear when the person was last in the command center and what part of that complex they work in.
Defense One was first to report both cases.
Boeing, which recently asked lawmakers for a massive financial aid package to prop up its industry, could qualify for a special $17 billion slice of the proposed $2 trillion stimulus package.
It’s not clear, however, whether the company would actually take the funds.
The aerospace giant is among the companies that would qualify for the government-backed loans reserved “for businesses critical to maintaining national security,” and the only one that has made it clear that it needs the assistance.
The company is intricately linked to both the US government and the nation’s economy. It is the country’s largest exporter, is a major government contractor, and consistently ranks among the top 10 companies lobbying federal officials, with millions spent annually.
The company has also come under scrutiny from lawmakers and the Federal Aviation Administration after two fatal 737 MAX crashes killed 346 people and internal documents showed the company mocked and belittled its regulators.
Some context: Boeing said last week that “a minimum of $60 billion” in public and private loans is necessary “to manage the pressure on the aviation sector and the economy as a whole.”
It said it would share “much of any liquidity support to Boeing” with its vast network of suppliers.
On a series of conference calls with House Democrats today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made clear she is already thinking about the substance of the fourth coronavirus relief package that Congress will have to pass to respond to the crisis, according to sources on the calls.
She is making clear to her members who are disappointed that the pending stimulus bill did not include enough of their priorities that they will have a chance to add those provisions in the fourth package, the source said.
The comments come as Pelosi told CNN tonight that she does not think the current $2 trillion stimulus bill will help keep the economy afloat beyond a few months.
“I don’t think we have enough to go the three months,” she told CNN.
At New York City’s Bellevue Hospital, a makeshift morgue including tents and refrigerated trucks is being set up in preparation for what may be a surge in the need for autopsies.
“We’re in a public health crisis, and the city has declared a state of emergency. As part of that declaration, agencies like OCME have enacted emergency contingency plans to help prepare for every possible outcome,” New York City’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said in a statement to CNN.
A similar plan was utilized after September 11 attacks.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it has a request from New York and other states for assistance in mortuary operations.
“FEMA’s National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) has received requests for HHS Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Teams (DMORT) from the States of Hawaii, New York, and North Carolina. These requests are currently in the review and approval process,” a FEMA spokesperson told CNN.
New York City has longstanding contracts with companies to also provide refrigerated trucks to store bodies, but that plan has not been put in to effect just yet. If and when it is, those trucks would likely be stationed at various locations including makeshift hospitals such as the Javits Center.
CNN’s Elizabeth Hartfield contributed to this report.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told House Democrats that it’s important to “recognize the good” in the $2 trillion stimulus package that’s aimed at providing a jolt to an economy struggling due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The legislation, if it passes Congress, would be the largest emergency aid package in US history. Pelosi appeared on Wednesday to be sending a message to progressives in her caucus who are criticizing the bill.
“What is important is for us to recognize the good that is in the bill, appreciate it for what it does. Don’t judge it for what it doesn’t because we have more bills to come,” the California Democrat told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on “The Situation Room.”
“At the start of all this we had two bills, which were about emergencies … and the emergency isn’t over, but the focus was on those two bills. Now we’re mitigating for the damage of it all to the health and to the livelihood of the American people. That is in this bill. And then we will go forward for recovery. Emergency, mitigation, recovery,” she said.
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New data shows nearly 70% of the hotel rooms in the United States were vacant last week, according to data and analytics group STR.
That national occupancy rate is a 56% decline from the same week last year. The average occupied room cost is about $93, also down from last year.
The San Francisco area and New York recorded the worst declines, with less than 17% of hotel rooms in both cities occupied, according to STR. That represents an 80% decrease from this time last year.
Many hotels across the country have closed entirely. One example, The Boston Harbor Hotel, a luxury property in downtown Boston, closed last Saturday, according to its website, and hopes to reopen May 18.
An emergency meeting of the All England Lawn Tennis Club Main Board (AELTC) is scheduled for next week to discuss the future of Wimbledon, the group announced in a statement on Wednesday.
Playing the event behind closed doors has been ruled out, and “postponement is not without significant risk and difficulty” because of the grass surface used, according to the statement.
Wimbledon is current scheduled to begin June 29.
Elissa Rill, an emergency room nurse at the Northridge Hospital Medical Center in South California, told CNN she believes the number of reported cases in the Los Angeles area is “artificially low” due to lack of testing.
According to Rill, the two Covid-19 testing options are Los Angeles County Health and Quest Diagnosis, which are both taking about eight to 10 days to turn around a test result in her area.
Northridge Hospital, which is in Los Angeles County, has at most 30 ventilators for the entire hospital, Rill said, and most of them are already in use in the 24-bed Intensive Care Unit. Despite having an overflow ICU with capacity for eight more beds, there are not enough ventilators for every ICU bed, let alone other areas of the hospital that might need to use ventilators.
Dr. Anthony Fauci was asked Wednesday about reports of people around the country working to sew DIY masks and whether that was safe or effective.
Fauci continued: “I mean, obviously, if you don’t have a mask and you need a mask and it’s appropriate for you then wear it, you do what you can. But I don’t see that now as a necessity given what’s going on right now.
Dr. Deborah Birx came to the White House podium Wednesday with a personal story meant to express a dire warning to Americans shirking social distancing guidelines.
Birx said that her grandmother lived with the guilt of infecting her mother during the pandemic of 1918.
Birx continued: “This is why we keep saying to every American: You have a role to protect each and every person that you interact with and we have a role to protect one another. It’s why we are social distancing, why you are social distancing, but to every American out there: when you are protecting yourself, you are protecting others. And if you, inadvertently, I know, brought this virus home to someone with a preexisting condition, I can tell you my grandmother lived with that for 88 years… This is not a theoretic, this is a reality, you can see the number of deaths that are occurring.”
Birx is the response coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
Director Matt Reeves tweeted Wednesday that filming has ceased on the upcoming “The Batman” movie.
“The Batman” was set for release in 2021. (Warner Bros. Pictures, the studio behind the film, is, like CNN, owned by WarnerMedia.)
Actor Robert Pattinson took over the role of Batman from Ben Affleck, who played the masked hero in 2016’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.”
President Trump addressed a provision in the stimulus bill that gives $25 million to the Kennedy Center, a performing arts space in Washington, DC, named for the late President John F. Kennedy.
Trump said it was a provision from the Democrats that initially started at $35 million, but they negotiated to $25 million, saying he approved it because he is a “fan” of the facility.
The Kennedy Center, he said, “has suffered greatly because nobody can go there, it’s essentially closed.”
Trump also praised Democratic negotiators.
“And they do need some funding, and I said, look, that was a Democrat request, that was not my request, but you gotta give them something. It’s something that they wanted, you know, works that way. The Democrats have treated us fairly. I really believe we’ve had a very good back and forth. And I say that with respect to Chuck Schumer, I spoke to him a number of times, but you know, they had requests also. So that was a request,” Trump said.
Even though the funding is a “lousy soundbite,” Trump was resigned to it.
“That’s not a good soundbite but that’s the way life works. With that being said, the Kennedy Center, they do a beautiful job, an incredible job, David Rubenstein does a fantastic job, he’s very much involved and puts up a lot of money and does things a lot of people wouldn’t be able to do. But they’ve been essentially closed. They have tremendous deficits that are built up, I mean, this thing has been devastating to it. So I didn’t have problem with it but this was a request from the Democrats because of the fact that they have a facility that’s essentially closed,” he said, later adding that he’d “love” to go see Romeo and Juliet, but he can’t because it’s closed.
Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., lambasted funding for the arts included in the bill last night, tweeting, “Republicans want to save your job, Democrats want to save the Picassos.”
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US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Wednesday that the Trump administration expects to issue direct payments to taxpayers within three weeks of a stimulus package being signed into law.
Mnuchin added that by the end of next week, the administration wants all banks to be able to originate loans on a “same day” basis.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the company’s shuttered Buffalo, New York, factory would reopen “as soon as humanly possible” to aid with ventilator production.
Telsa’s Giga New York factory suspended activity on Monday to protect employees from the spread of coronavirus.
But in a verified tweet Wednesday, Musk says the factory “will reopen for ventilator production as soon as humanly possible. We will do anything in our power to help the citizens of New York.”
CNN has reached out to Tesla for further comment.
Musk previously said that Tesla factories could convert to ventilator production if there was a crisis of supply.
A tough situation: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called the need for ventilators “our single greatest challenge.”
New York needs 30,000 ventilators, Cuomo said in a news briefing Wednesday.
The state has 4,000 ventilators in the existing hospital system, the federal government has sent 4,000, and the state has purchased 7,000 others and is “still shopping,” Cuomo said.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis declared a stay-at-home order beginning Thursday through April 11.
As of Wednesday, the state had 912 cases of coronavirus and 11 deaths.
