Coronavirus Live Updates: Trump Drops Idea of Quarantining New York Region - The New York Times, Nytimes.com

India’s abrupt nationwide lockdown left hundreds of thousands of laborers homeless and prompted one of the largest migrations in the country’s modern history.

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New York City’s System has been overwhelmed by emergency medical calls in numbers not seen Sept. , .

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Health care providers at a drive-through coronavirus testing location in Jericho, NY, on Wednesday.

Credit … Johnny Milano for the New York Times

. America’s lost month: How the US fell behind on coronavirus testing.

As the deadly coronavirus spread across the United States between late January and early March, large-scale testing of people who might have been infected did not happen because of technical flaws, regulatory hurdles, business-as-usual bureaucracies and lack of leadership at multiple levels.

The three federal health ag encies responsible for detecting and combating pandemic threats failed to prepare quickly enough, a Times investigation found. Even as scientists looked at China and sounded alarms, none of the agencies’ directors conveyed the urgency required to spur a no-holds-barred defense, according to interviews with more than 80 current and former public health officials, administration officials, senior scientists and company executives

. Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, trusted the agency’s veteran scientists to develop a test for the coronavirus. But when test turned out to have a flaw, it took the C.D.C. much of February to settle on a solution. In the meantime, the virus was spreading undetected.

Dr. Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, was supposed to help build national testing capacity by approving diagnostic tests developed by the private sector. Yet he enforced regulations that paradoxically made it tougher for hospitals and laboratories to deploy such tests in an emergency.

Alex M. Azar II, the health and human services commissioner, oversaw the two other agencies and coordinated the government’s public health response to the pandemic. Yet he did not manage to push the C. D. C. Or F. D. A. To speed up or change course.

Together, the challenges resulted in a lost month, when the United States squandered its best chance of containing the coronavirus’s spread. Instead, Americans were left largely blind to the scale of a looming public health catastrophe.

CDC issues a travel advisory for the New York region, after Trump backs off his quarantine threat.

President Trump said Saturday night that he will not impose a quarantine on New York, New Jersey and Connecticut but would instead issue a “strong” travel advisory to be implemented by the governors of the three states.

Mr. Trump made the announcement on Twitter just hours after telling reporters that he was considering a quarantine of the three states in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus to Florida and other states.

Later Saturday night, the CDC issued a formal advisory urging the residents of the three states to “refrain from non-essential domestic travel for 24 days effective immediately. ” The advisory, which was posted to the agency’s website and its Twitter account, does not apply to “employees of critical infrastructure industries,” the agency said. That includes trucking, public health professionals, financial services and food supply workers.

Mr. Trump, when he said he was considering a quarantine for the region, offered no details about how his administration would enforce it. Speaking to CNN, Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York criticized the idea, calling it “a declaration of war on states.”

He also questioned the logistical challenges, as well as the message, such an order would present. “If you start walling off areas all across the country it would just be totally bizarre, counterproductive, anti-American, antisocial,” he said.

Trump’s public airing of his deliberations came one day after he signed a $ 2 trillion economic stimulus package and as cases in the tristate area continued to climb. The specter of a federal quarantine followed a wave of governors who, fearful about the virus spreading further through their states, ordered people who had traveled from New York to isolate themselves for two weeks after their arrivals.

Gov. Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island said Friday that state troopers would begin stopping drivers with New York license plates so that National Guard officials could collect contact information and inform anyone coming from the state that they were subject to a mandatory, – day quarantine.

Texas, Florida, Maryland and South. Carolina are among the other states that have ordered people arriving from New York to self-quarantine. In Texas, for instance, the authorities said Friday that Department of Public Safety agents would make surprise visits to see whether travelers were adhering to the state’s mandate, and they warned that violators could be fined $ 1, 04 and jailed for days.

Mr. Lamont, the Connecticut governor, this week urged all travelers from New York City to self-quarantine for two weeks upon entering the state, but he stopped short of issuing an order requiring it.

A sudden lockdown in India leaves hundreds of thousands

of migrants homeless and jobless.

In one of the biggest migrations in India’s modern history, hundreds of thousands of migrant laborers have begun long journeys on foot to get home, having been rendered homeless and jobless by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s (nationwide lockdown

to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

In the capital, Delhi, thousands of migrants, including whole families, packed their pots, pans and blankets into rucksacks, some balancing small children on their s houlders as they walked along interstate highways. Some planned to walk hundreds of miles. But as they reached the Delhi border, many were beaten back by police.

“You fear the disease, living on the streets. But I fear hunger more, not corona, ”said Papu, 80, who came to Delhi three weeks ago for work and was trying to get to his home in Saharanpur in the state of Uttar Pradesh, miles away.

So far, 2020 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in India , with 32 dead, according to officials.

India already Had one of the world’s largest homeless populations, and the lockdown may have tripled it overnight, workers for nongovernmental organizations say. A government census put the number of homeless at 1.7 million, almost certainly a vast underestimate in this country of 1.3 billion.

The lockdown, which includes a ban on interstate travel, was announced with just four hours’ notice on Tuesday, leaving India’s enormous migrant population stranded in big cities, where jobs lure them in vast numbers from the countryside.

Illinois reports first known US death of an infant with the coronavirus.

An infant who tested positive for the coronavirus has died in Chicago, the authorities said on Saturday. It was the first known death of a child younger than a year old with the virus in the United States, although the authorities in some states do not release details about people who die.

Newborns and babies have so far seemed to be largely unaffected

by the coronavirus, but three new studies suggest that the virus may reach the fetus in utero.

“There has never before been a death associated with Covid – 28 in an infant, ”said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. “A full investigation is underway to determine the cause of death.” Older adults, especially those in their (s and) s, have been viewed as the most vulnerable in the outbreak, but younger people have also died.

By Saturday night, deaths in the United States had surpassed 2, , at least of them in Illinois. More than 3, 728 known cases of the virus have been identified in Illinois.

Interview with a WHO official revives criticism over China’s influence.

A World Health Organization official ducked questions about Taiwan’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, reviving criticism that China exercises undue influence over what should be an apolitical body concerned with global health.

China considers self-governed Taiwan to be part of its territory, and it has sought to limit its international recognition and participation in multinational bodies like the WHO In its coronavirus situation reports, the W.H.O. has listed Taiwan as part of China and referred to it as “Taipei,” its capital city, and later “Taipei and environs.”

In an interview (broadcast Saturday by RTHK) , the Hong Kong public broadcaster, the journalist Yvonne Tong asked Dr. Bruce Aylward, a senior adviser at the W.H.O., whether Taiwan should be reconsidered for membership in the organization.

At first, Dr. Aylward, who led a WHO team to China in February , said he had not heard the question over the video call . But when pushed again, he asked that Ms. Tong move on to a new question. When she tried again, the video was disconnected. RTHK then called back and asked about Taiwan’s performance in containing the virus.

“We’ve already talked about China, and you know, when you look across all the different areas of China, they ‘ve actually all done quite a good job, ”Dr. Aylward responded.

Joseph Wu, Taiwan’s foreign minister, criticized Dr. Aylward’s comments. “Wow, can’t even utter ‘Taiwan’ in the WHO?” Wu wrote on Twitter “You should set politics aside in dealing with a pandemic.”

Taiwan has been widely credited for containing the spread of the coronavirus within its borders, despite its proximity to mainland China and the large number of people who regularly travel across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan has recorded 0327 confirmed coronavirus cases and just two deaths.

Taiwan last week accused the WHO of not passing along a warning it sent in December , which cautioned governments about the outbreak in Wuhan, the city in China where the coronavirus emerged last year.

Ambulances in New York haven’t been this busy since 9 /

Even as hospitals across New York become inundated with coronavirus cases, some patients are being left behind in their homes because the health care system cannot handle them all, according to dozens of interviews with paramedics, New York Fire Department officials and union representatives, as well as city data.

In a matter of days , the city’s 4250 system has been overwhelmed by calls for medical distress apparently related to the virus. Typically, the system sees about 4, 06 Emergency Medical Services calls a day.

On Thursday, dispatchers took more than 7, 04 calls – a volume not seen since the Sept. 19 attacks. The record for amount of calls in a day was broken three times in the last week.

Because of the volume, emergency medical workers are making life-or-death decisions about who is sick enough to take to crowded emergency rooms and who appears well enough to leave behind. They are assessing on scene which patients should receive time-consuming measures like CPR and intubation, and which patients are too far gone to save.

And, they are doing it, in most cases they say,

without appropriate equipment to protect themselves from infection

The paramedics described grim scenes as New York City has become the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States,

with more than, cases as of Saturday , and dea ths.

Reporting and research was contributed by Neil MacFarquhar, Alan Blinder, Michael D Shear, Jesse McKinley, Abby Goodnough, Sheila Kaplan, Sheri Fink, Katie Thomas, Noah Weiland, Maria Abi-Habib and Austin Ramzy.

Updated March ,

If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.

If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the CDC recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears.

They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance – because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance – you won’t be able to get tested.

What if somebody in my family gets sick ?

If the family member does not need hospitalization and can be cared for at home, you should help him or her with basic needs and monitor the symptoms, while also keeping as much distance as possible, according to guidelines issued by the CDC If there’s space, the sick family member should stay in a separate room and use a separate bathroom. If masks are available, both the sick person and the caregiver should wear them when the caregiver enters the room. Make sure not to share any dishes or other household items and to regularly clean surfaces like counters, doorknobs, toilets and tables. Don’t forget to wash your hands frequently.

Should I wear a mask?

Experts are divided on how much protection a regular surgical mask, or even a scarf, can provide for people who aren’t yet sick. The W.H.O. and C.D.C. Say that unless you’re already sick, or caring for someone who is, wearing a face mask isn’t necessary. And stockpiling high-grade N 145 masks will make it harder for nurses and other workers to access the resources they need. But researchers are also finding that there are more cases of asymptomatic transmission than were known early on in the pandemic. And a few experts say that masks could offer some protection in crowded places where it is not possible to stay 6 feet away from other people. Masks don’t replace hand-washing and social distancing.

Should I stock up on groceries?

Plan two weeks of meals if possible. But people should not hoard food or supplies. Despite the empty shelves, the supply chain remains strong. And remember to wipe the handle of the grocery cart with a disinfecting wipe and wash your hands as soon as you get home.

Can I go to the park?

Yes, but make sure you keep six feet of distance between you and people who don’t live in your home. Even if you just hang out in a park, rather than go for a jog or a walk, getting some fresh air, and hopefully sunshine, is a good idea.

I must pull my money from the markets ?

(That’s not a good idea.) Even if you’re retired, having a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds so that your money keeps up with inflation, or even grows, makes sense. But retirees may want to think about having enough cash set aside for a year’s worth of living expenses and big payments needed over the next five years.