Photos of ravaged grocery stores show how people are panic-buying across the US in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic

Empty grocery shelves, long lines, and fights over toilet paper show how Americans are panic-buying in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.


Not a 'normal Friday at Costco': The scene at a South Carolina grocery store

Genna Contino, Greenville News, USA TODAY•March 13, 2020

Kolby Carignan thought he was being proactive by getting a head start on his weekend grocery trip Friday morning. He headed to the Greenville, South Carolina, Costco 30 minutes before the store opened.

However, "It definitely wasn't a normal Friday at Costco," Carignan told the Greenville News Friday afternoon.

A line – almost the length of the store – had formed. Shoppers clutched their carts, waiting for the doors to open.

And once the store opened, people made a beeline for the toiletries section. A huge single-file line formed, and shoppers could barely move, Carignan said.

Customers at grocery chain HEB in Austin, Texas shop for products on March 13,, 2020 as the city responds to concerns of the spread of the new coronavirus and COVID-19.

"People bumping carts into each other, people snarling at each other because somebody else got to the toilet paper, or the water, or the freaking paper towels before them," Carignan said in a video to his social media followers after finishing his shopping.

Though Carignan said he didn't see anyone physically assault anyone, he did see two women "passive-aggressively" argue over the last packs of toilet paper.

"I've never experienced adults acting like children in a maximum capacity like that," Carignan said.

This is the scene at many grocery stores across South Carolina and the rest of the country amid the coronavirus outbreak. Here's what major grocery store chains in upstate South Carolina say they're doing in response:
Publix


Implemented a "heightened disinfection response program"


Suspended in-store food demonstrations until further notice


Applied purchase limits on some key items to allow more customers to get what they need


Have delivery and curbside pickup options available for customers who want to avoid crowds
Lidl


Stores are cleaned daily with "EPA-recommended sanitizing solutions approved for use in mitigating against COVID-19"


"Working diligently to secure our supply chain and limit impacts on availability to the largest extent possible"


Modified employee attendance policy and employees are encouraged to stay home if they are sick


Restructured benefits so employees can get up to two weeks of pay if they have to miss work because they have the virus or are part of a government- or company-instituted quarantine


Limited non-essential travel for employees
Aldi


Focused on keeping water, pantry staples, pre-made meals, cleaning supplies and toilet paper in stock


Applied purchase limits on some items


Intensifying sanitizing at stores, warehouses and offices


Encouraging sick employees to stay home and extended employees' sick leave policy
Walmart


Increased cleaning and dedicated an associate to clean key areas through the day


"Evaluating whether to modify store hours at some 24-hour facilities to allow for additional cleaning"


Pursuing an easier way to sanitize shopping carts


Have plans to use a third-party for sanitization if a location were to be impacted by the virus


Working to keep stores stocked and prices fair


Working to replenish paper products and cleaning supplies quickly


Diverting products to areas of the country where they're most needed and delivering directly to stores


Taking a firm stance against third-party sellers price gouging


Created a new policy with more flexibility on sick days and "pay options and support if they are affected by the virus"


Have online shopping and pickup options available
Sam's Club


Ensuring CDC-guidelines on cleanliness in stores


Increased frequency of cleaning in bathrooms, cafes and water fountains


Wiping down carts with disinfectant after each use


Posting hand sanitizer at entrances, exits and registers


Providing employees with up-to-date information


Working to replenish paper products and cleaning supplies "as fast as humanly possible"


Have Scan & Go, pickup and delivery options available
BI-LO


Updating stocking plans each day

Limiting customers to two items each for household cleaning, first aid, personal cleaning, facial tissues and respiratory care items

Note: Local Costco managers said they were not allowed to speak with media. The Greenville News has left a voicemail with the corporate office

OUCH

China's richest man to donate 500,000 coronavirus testing kits, 1 million masks to U.S. to help 'in these difficult timesCHEEKY ALIBABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES 
Billionaire Jack Ma, China’s richest man and founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, is lending a hand to the United States by donating 500,000 coronavirus testing kits and one million masks.

© Getty Jack Ma

His namesake charity announced the donation Friday on Twitter, pledging to “join hands with Americans in these difficult times.”


“Drawing from my own country’s experience, speedy and accurate testing and accurate personal protective equipment for medical professionals are most effective in preventing the spread of the virus,” the Jack Ma Foundation said in a statement. “We hope that our donation can help Americans fight against the pandemic!”

The U.S. government hopes to ramp up testing after failing to produce enough test kits to handle the number of people experiencing symptoms in this country.

As of Thursday, fewer than 14,000 specimens had been tested since January, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In South Korea, meanwhile, nearly 20,000 people are being tested every day.

The majority of Americans are still not allowed to be tested because of strict federal guidelines prioritizing elderly people and those with underlying medical conditions.

Ma’s foundation said the pandemic can no longer be resolved by any individual country.

“Rather, we need to combat the virus by working hand-in-hand," the charity wrote. "At this moment. we can’t beat the virus unless we eliminate boundaries to resources and share our know-how and hard-earned lessons.”

Ma, whose nearly $40 billion net worth makes him the world’s 21st richest person, has recently donated supplies and money to several other countries affected by the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak, including Iran, Italy, Japan and Spain.

In January, the business magnate donated 100 million yuan, or about $14.3 million, to support the development of a vaccine against the viral infection.

JACK MA MAKES HIS BILLIONS OFF HIS WAGE SLAVES 

WHO WORK 9-9 6 DAYS A WEEK

The first COVID-19 case originated on November 17, according to Chinese officials searching for 'Patient Zero'

© BSIP/UIG Via Getty Images

The original case of the novel coronavirus emerged on November 17, according to data from the Chinese government reviewed by South China Morning Post.

The identity of the person has not been confirmed, but it appears to be a 55-year-old from the Hubei province.
It wasn't until December that Chinese authorities realized they had a new type of virus on their hands.

The first case of the novel coronavirus emerged on November 17, according to a Chinese government analysis of coronavirus cases reviewed by the South China Morning Post.

It wasn't until late December that Chinese officials realized they had a new virus on their hands. But even then, China's government clamped down on sharing information about COVID-19 with the public, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The data reviewed by the Post, which has not been made public, suggest that the virus was first contracted by a 55-year-old man from the province of Hubei, China. But as SCMP noted, the evidence is not conclusive. The identity of "Patient Zero" - the first human case of the virus - has still not been confirmed, and it is possible that the dataset isn't complete.The new data about "Patient Zero" is consistent with other research

Chinese health authorities reported the first case of COVID-19 to the World Health Organization on December 31. Later, a team of researchers published evidence that the first individual to test positive was showing symptoms December 8, which is the date of the first confirmed case, according to WHO.


Other research, published in The Lancet in January, found that the first individual to test positive was exposed to the virus December 1.

The fact that researchers are continually hiking back the date of the earliest infection means that there still may not be sufficient evidence to identify "Patient Zero," but the new Chinese government data sharpens what we know.

© STR/AFP via Getty Images

Other scholarship, published by a team of infectious-disease researchers from China, found that WeChat users were using terms related to symptoms of the novel coronavirus more than two weeks before officials confirmed the first case of infection.

"The findings might indicate that the coronavirus started circulating weeks before the first cases were officially diagnosed and reported," wrote Business Insider's Holly Secon.

If confirmed, the report on WeChat users' lends further support for the newest government finding that the earliest case of the novel coronavirus did indeed originate in mid-November.Identifying Patient Zero is important for containing the virus

As officials try to locate Patient Zero, the new government data provides clues about the emergence and spread of a virus that has thrown the world into tumult.

"We don't know who the very first Patient Zero was, presumably in Wuhan, and that leaves a lot of unanswered questions about how the outbreak started and how it initially spread," Sarah Borwein, a doctor at Hong Kong's Central Health Medical Practice, told the South China Morning Post. 

© STR/AFP via Getty Images

For experts, finding Patient Zero is not simply a matter of digging through data and conducting research. It is also a race against the clock. As time passes, it becomes more difficult to locate Patient Zero as the number of infections increases - and to identify the areas that have been exposed to the virus the longest.

"We do feel uncomfortable obviously when we diagnose a patient with the illness and we can't work out where it came from," Dale Fisher, chair of WHO's Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, told Reuters. "The containment activities are less effective."

---30---

TRUMP TRANSPARENCY

A Fox News host tried 4 times to ask a Trump official if there were enough ventilators and ICU units for coronavirus patients, but couldn't get a straight answer

Fox News' Martha MacCallum grilled a top health official on whether there will be enough medical equipment to go around during the coronavirus crisis. YouTube/Fox News


Fox News' Martha McCallum tried fruitlessly to grill a top Trump administration health official on whether the US has enough medical equipment like ventilators to treat a growing number of coronavirus patients.

Other countries, such as Italy, have seen dire shortages of such equipment and have reportedly had to make tough decisions about which patients should be given which resources.

McCallum asked the question to Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, four different times, but was unable to extract a clear answer.

At one point, Verma pivoted to praising President Donald Trump for taking "such bold and decisive action," though his administration has been fiercely criticized for its handling of the pandemic.

A top US health official dodged questions repeatedly from a Fox News host on Thursday over whether the country could see a shortage in medical equipment needed to treat severely ill coronavirus patients.

Fox News' Martha McCallum tried four different times to get a straight answer out of Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. But Verma pivoted away from the question each time.

After initially discussing the shortage of coronavirus tests, McCallum brought up a growing concern over the capacity of the US healthcare system to handle the volume of anticipated patients. Other coronavirus-stricken countries have had similar shortages, including Italy, where doctors have reportedly had to make tough decisions on which patients should get vital equipment, such as ventilators.

"In terms of actual equipment, we heard Bernie Sanders today for one coming out and saying there's a major shortage of ICU units, we've heard that there's a shortage of ventilators, even swabs and equipment for the actual tests. What's being done about that?" McCallum asked Verma.

"Well that's why we have an emergency prepared system. We're used to dealing with disasters," Verma replied, going on to describe the government's response to hurricanes in Puerto Rico and Florida in 2017 — which was widely panned for its lack of compassion and ineptitude.

"So are you saying that we do have enough?" McCallum interrupted, to which Verma responded that health officials are "meeting with providers on a daily basis" and have "been putting out so much guidance."

McCallum later tried to interrupt Verma again, though Verma continued talking over her.

Finally, before ending the nearly five-minute segment, McCallum tried one more time to get an answer.

"Before I let you go, I want to ask you one more time. Are there going to be people in this country who don't get a ventilator if they need one?" McCallum said. "Can you reassure everyone tonight that there's not a shortage of ventilators and ICU units?"

Verma's response: "And that's why the president has taken such bold and decisive action. We're not waiting for this to get worse, we're not waiting for this to be a crisis in our healthcare systems."

Verma went on to tout several recent actions the Trump administration has taken, including implementing a travel ban on some parts of Europe and issuing travel advisories on the risks of boarding cruise ships.

But President Donald Trump has been fiercely criticized for downplaying the coronavirus crisis, and taking insufficient action to contain the pandemic. The US has reported 41 coronavirus deaths among more than 1,700 cases so far.

McCallum appeared to lose patience at Verma's final response.

"Okay. That's not a direct answer to the question, but it sounds like a hope that there won't be enough sick people and we won't run out of ventilators because we have mitigated. And we certainly hope that's the case," she said.

---30---

Some people who recover from the coronavirus might be left with '20 to 30%' less lung function, and gasping for breath when they walk quickly, Hong Kong doctors said
Bill Bostock

Health workers in protective gear at Cheung Hong Estate

 in Hong Kong in February. Tyrone Siu/Reuters

People who recover from COVID-19 can still be left with substantially reduced lung functions, the Hong Kong Hospital Authority has found after observing the first wave of patients discharged after becoming infected by the novel coronavirus.

The doctors made the observations after studying a group of 12 patients who had recovered, rather than as part of a wider-ranging study.

They found a drop of 20% to 30% in lung capacity in two or three out of them.

"They gasp if they walk a bit more quickly," a top infectious diseases expert said, according to the South China Morning Post. He added, however, that patients could do cardiovascular exercises to improve their lungs.

While it's too early to establish long-term effects of the illness, scans of nine patients in the group suggested that recovered patients had sustained organ damage, the Post reported.
Out of a global total of 128,000 infections, some 70,000 have recovered. More than 4,700 have died.

The illness — which presents symptoms including fever, breathlessness, and a cough — affects the elderly and those with preexisting symptoms the most.

People who recover after being infected with the novel coronavirus can still be left with substantially weakened lung capacity, with some left gasping for air when walking quickly, doctors in Hong Kong have found.

The Hong Kong Hospital Authority made the findings after studying the first wave of patients who were discharged from the hospital and had fully recovered from COVID-19.

Out of 12 people in the group, two to three saw changes in their lung capacity.

"They gasp if they walk a bit more quickly," Owen Tsang Tak-yin, the medical director of the authority's Infectious Disease Centre, told a press conference Thursday, according to the South China Morning Post.

"Some patients might have around a drop of 20 to 30% in lung function" after full recovery, he said.

Tsang added, however, that patients can do cardiovascular exercises, like swimming, the improve their lung capacity over time.

While it's too early to establish long-term effects of the disease, scans of nine patients' lungs also "found patterns similar to frosted glass in all of them, suggesting there was organ damage," Tsang said, according to the Post.

Current coronavirus patients' CT scans show "ground glass," a phenomenon in which fluid builds up in lungs and presents itself as white patches, as Business Insider's Aria Bendix has reported. The scans below, taken from one coronavirus patient at different points in time, show that the person's "ground glass" became more pronounced as their illness progressed.

Junqiang Lei, Junfeng Li, Xun Li, and Xiaolong Qi

As of Friday morning, 69,607 people had recovered from COVID-19 out of 128,392 confirmed cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. More than 4,700 people have died of the disease.

The disease appears to affect the elderly or infirm worse than any other demographic, as the outbreak in Italy has shown.


"Among those who are infected, most will recover," the World Health Organization's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said Monday.

The most commonly reported symptoms include a fever, dry cough, and shortness of breath, and some 80% patients will experience a mild illness, according to the WHO.

Taiwan has only 50 coronavirus cases. Its response to the crisis shows that swift action and widespread healthcare can prevent an outbreak.
Isaac Scher

Parents wait for their children outside an elementary school 

in New Taipei City's Xindian district on March 3. Getty Images

Though the island state is only 81 miles from mainland China, Taiwan has managed to stem what could have been an even bigger coronavirus crisis.

The country leveraged its public-health infrastructure and affordable healthcare to keep its population safe and healthy compared with nearby countries.

Countries struggling to manage their COVID-19 epidemics can learn something from Taipei's swift, multifaceted response to the virus, experts say.

Only 81 miles from mainland China, the island state of Taiwan and its nearly 24 million residents faced a dire threat as the novel coronavirus broke out in Wuhan, China, late last year.

But instead of fueling pandemonium, the country has taken control of the situation. Taiwan has only 50 confirmed cases and a single death from COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, and more than 40% of infected people have recovered. China, by comparison, has about 81,000 confirmed cases.

China is one of the largest countries by population, with 1.4 billion people to Taiwan's nearly 24 million. Still, China's per-capita case rate is more than 25 times Taiwan's.

In its fight against a countrywide epidemic, the government in Taipei has implemented 124 safety protocols, a testament to its quick, vast, and well-considered policy measures.

"The policies and actions go beyond border control," Jason Wang, a Stanford University pediatrics professor and policy-analysis expert, told Stanford Health Policy earlier this month, "because they recognized that that wasn't enough."

How did Taiwan manage to stem a health crisis that originated in nearby China and has seen more than 127,000 infections and nearly 5,000 deaths around the globe?

In an article published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Wang credited the government's early and swift action: It took advantage of public-health infrastructure and data analytics, affordable healthcare, and extensive educational outreach.
Taiwan quickly implemented extensive screening for people traveling from Wuhan

On December 31, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization that China had several cases of pneumonia. That day, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control began monitoring passengers who arrived in the country from Wuhan. Government officials boarded flights from Wuhan as soon as they landed, monitoring passengers for symptoms.

Less than a week later, the government began monitoring people who had traveled from Wuhan since December 20.

"Suspected cases were screened for 26 viruses, including SARS and MERS," the Stanford Health Policy report said. "Passengers displaying symptoms were quarantined at home and assessed whether medical attention at a hospital was necessary."

People in Taipei view lanterns on display for Lunar New Year in February.

 Chiang Ying-ying/AP Photo

In mid-January, Taiwan sent a team of experts on a fact-finding mission to China — with permission, even though Taiwanese-Chinese relations are less than stellar.


"They didn't let us see what they didn't want us to see, but our experts sensed the situation was not optimistic," Kolas Yotaka, a Taiwanese government representative, told NBC News.

Then the government ramped up safety and health protocols even further.

By late January, Taipei had established a Central Epidemic Command Center, centralizing policy measures to protect public health. On January 26, Taiwan became the first country to ban flights from Wuhan.
 

People pray at the popular Longshan Temple in Taipei on Thursday. 

Chiang Ying-ying/AP Photo

Around the same time, the government banned the export of face masks and ensured they were affordable by capping prices at about $0.17 each.

By late February, Taipei had distributed nearly 6.5 million masks to primary and secondary schools, as well as after-school institutions, plus 84,000 liters of hand sanitizer and 25,000 forehead thermometers.

Intensive health monitoring through big data and repeat testing

Taiwan's health infrastructure, including big-data analysis, is partially the result of the 2003 SARS outbreak, which killed 73 people and stunted its economy.

After the 2003 epidemic, Taiwan put temperature monitors in airports to screen travelers for fever, a symptom of COVID-19. The government had learned its lesson.

Travelers can also report their travel and health history with a QR code, which the government uses "to classify travelers' infectious risks based on flight origin and travel history in the last 14 days," the Stanford report said.

Lanterns on display for Lunar New Year in Taipei on February 9. 

Chiang Ying-ying/ AP Photo

"People who had not traveled to high-risk areas were sent a health declaration border pass via SMS for faster immigration clearance," the report said. "Those who had traveled to high-risk areas were quarantined at home and tracked through their mobile phones to ensure that they stayed home during the incubation period."

Crucially, the government does not forget about people who tested negative for the virus — it retests them to keep track of new cases, Wang told NBC News.

'Taiwan's health insurance lets everyone not be afraid to go to the hospital'

Taiwan's health-insurance system covers 99% of the population, Kolas told NBC News, adding that affordable coverage virtually guarantees that people don't need to choose between their personal and financial health.

"Taiwan's health insurance lets everyone not be afraid to go to the hospital. If you suspect you have coronavirus, you won't have to worry that you can't afford the hospital visit to get tested," she told NBC News. "You can get a free test, and if you're forced to be isolated, during the 14 days, we pay for your food, lodging, and medical care.

"So no one would avoid seeing the doctor because they can't pay for health care," she added.
Easy access to information

To stem the crisis, Taipei required television and radio stations to broadcast hourly public-service announcements about the coronavirus, including how it spreads and how people should prevent infection, NBC News reported.

"We think only when information is transparent, and people have sufficient medical knowledge, will their fear be reduced," Kolas told the outlet.

Two children watch as chefs make dumplings in Taipei on Saturday. Chiang Ying-ying/AP Photo

In turn, citizens have intensified their safety practices. Tu Chen-yang, a school principal, told NBC News that this was especially evident in schools.


"More than 95% of our parents take their child's temperature at home and report it to the school before the children arrive," Tu said. "Regardless of what the government does, people have to take responsibility for their own health."

Public and private buildings have screened entrants for signs of fever, and apartment buildings have put hand sanitizer inside or outside elevators, NBC News reported.

It takes an entire country to keep people safe, and Taiwan's extensive coordination and swift action have helped stem the tide of coronavirus cases in the country.

---30---

OOPS 

Brazil's President Bolsonaro tests positive for coronavirus, further testing being done

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive for coronavirus, Fox News can confirm.

SO IT MUST BE TRUE FOX SAYS SO

© Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images US President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro during a diner at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on March 7, 2020. (Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Bolsonaro’s son Eduardo told Fox News that they are doing further testing to confirm the diagnosis, adding that they expect the second set of testing results later Friday.

The positive diagnosis comes just days after the right-wing Bolsonaro met with President Trump in Mar-a-Lago.

In the wake of the news out of Brazil, a number of White House officials were called into an urgent meeting in the chief of staff's office, Fox News is told.

Brazilian official who met with Trump tests positive for coronavirus, Bolsonaro to be tested

BRAZILIAN OFFICIAL WHO MET WITH TRUMP TESTS POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS

Bolsonaro had been tested after one of his deputies, who was also in attendance at the Florida resort, was diagnosed with COVID-19.

Fabio Wajngarten, the communications secretary for the 64-year-old Brazilian leader who t also comes after Peter Dutton, Australia's minister for home affairs, tested positive after traveling back from Washington D.C., where he met Attorney General William Barr and Ivanka Trump.

I had traveled to Miami for the meeting as well, showed flu symptoms and tested positive for the virus early Wednesday.
t also comes after Peter Dutton, Australia's minister for home affairs, tested positive after traveling back from Washington D.C., where he met Attorney General William Barr and Ivanka Trump.

I

Administration moves forward with rule change that could kick people off food stamps
The Trump administration is moving forward with rule changes to the nation's food stamp program that could kick 700,000 Americans off the rolls even as coronavirus takes a toll on the US economy.

The new guidelines for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) are set to take effect on April 1. They will tighten the ability of states to provide access to food stamps and implement new work requirements for people seeking them.
Adults without children or disability will need to work at least 20 hours to qualify for the program.
At a Tuesday congressional hearing, Democratic Rep. Sanford Bishop called the scheduled rule change "particularly cruel" as more Americans stay home from work to avoid the virus or lose their jobs.
Over a quarter of American workers, or 32 million people, don't have paid sick leave.
Sonny Perdue, the secretary of the Department of Agriculture, told lawmakers that states would be granted leeway to determine "good cause" and exempt people from the rules.
"Obviously if your job says you can't come to work or you're sick in that way, that good cause would eliminate need for work requirements under this rule," Perdue said. "That will be under the discretion of the states to determine that good cause."
Perdue said that the Trump administration had decided to move forward with implementing the new regulations - and any changes in the timeline would require approval from Congress and the White House.
The Department of Agriculture did not return requests for comment.
Experts say that the timing of the new regulatory changes could end up hurting people who lose their jobs as a result of the virus. Both consumers and companies are forecasted to cut their spending, and gig workers are starting to lose their jobs, The Washington Post reported.
"It just seems shortsighted and counterproductive to condition SNAP benefits on making those kinds of decisions during a public health emergency," Ed Bolen, senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told Buzzfeed News.
The move echoes the White House's efforts to put similar requirements in place for Medicaid back in 2018. That met fierce legal challenges that ultimately blocked many states from enacting them after people lost their health insurance coverage.
House Democrats unveiled an economic stimulus package on Thursday that includes emergency food stamp assistance, The Hill reported.

Civil rights groups demand Congress reject virus racism

More than 200 civil rights groups have demanded that the House and Senate leadership take "tangible steps to counter the hysteria" around the coronavirus, offering the passage of a joint resolution denouncing the racism and xenophobia as one solution.

"The level of disruption COVID-19 has had on everyday life has caught many by surprise and left even more people understandably concerned about their health and the health of their loved ones," Gregg Orton, national director of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, told NBC News. "For millions of Asian Americans, there is added anxiety in the way the virus has been racialized. For our country's leaders to come together and set the tone, that despite the uncertainty of these times, we need to stand united against racism — that is a powerful statement."

In a letter spearheaded by the council and sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., this week, a number of racist incidents were cited around the country that were fueled by the virus, including two Hmong guests in Indiana who were harassed and barred from staying at a Super 8 motel and then a Days Inn. In a separate incident, a woman wearing a mask in New York was called a "diseased b----."

The groups also acknowledged that the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus had previously sent a letter to their fellow members of Congress. The caucus had called on the lawmakers to "help us prevent hysteria, ignorant attacks, and racist assaults that have been fueled by misinformation pertaining to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19)" by only sharing confirmed and verifiable information. The organizations called on the other legislators to take the caucus' lead.

"In the face of this growing threat, the American people need to hear from leaders such as yourselves, that we must face these circumstances together, rather than allow fear and misinformation to divide us," the letter reads.

Pelosi has publicly condemned the racism tied to the pandemic on Twitter, writing that "Bigoted statements which spread misinformation and blame Asians and the Asian American community for #coronavirus make us all less safe." She has also called on McCarthy, who tweeted the term "Chinese coronavirus," to delete the words and apologize.

McCarthy, however, has responded to criticisms by pointing to outlets that have used the same language. The Asian American Journalists Association released guidelines for responsible reporting in February to guard against "fueling xenophobia and racism that have already emerged since the outbreak.

Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., the chair of the caucus, says she "commends" the groups for speaking out. "Despite warnings from health experts and government officials" to avoid labeling the virus by country or ethnicity, members of the GOP have continued to do so, Chu said. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., used the term "Wuhan virus" as recently as Thursday.

"It's been especially appalling to see this rhetoric coming from President Trump and House Republican leader McCarthy, who should be working to bring our country together during this public health crisis rather than stoking xenophobia and fear," she said. "If Republicans will not listen to the experts, perhaps they can understand the experiences of those impacted."

On Tuesday, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Robert Redfield, agreed when questioned by Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., at a House hearing that it was "absolutely wrong and inappropriate" to use the term "Chinese coronavirus."

While GOP legislators have since continued to identify the disease by country or ethnicity, Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., previously said that the rhetoric could be a possible tactic to distract from Trump's handling of the pandemic. She believes it's likely some officials are using China or Asian Americans as scapegoats "versus actually dealing with the problem at hand."

Trump administration blocks states from using Medicaid to respond to coronavirus crisis

WASHINGTON — Despite mounting pleas from California and other states, the Trump administration isn’t allowing states to use Medicaid more freely to respond to the coronavirus crisis by expanding medical services.

In previous emergencies, including the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina and the H1N1 flu outbreak, both Republican and Democratic administrations loosened Medicaid rules to empower states to meet surging needs.

But months into the current global disease outbreak, the White House and senior federal health officials haven’t taken the necessary steps to give states simple pathways to fully leverage the mammoth safety net program to prevent a wider epidemic.

That’s making it harder for states to quickly sign up poor patients for coverage so they can get necessary testing or treatment if they are exposed to coronavirus.

And it threatens to slow efforts by states to bring on new medical providers, set up emergency clinics or begin quarantining and caring for homeless Americans at high risk from the virus.

“If they wanted to do it, they could do it,” said Cindy Mann, who oversaw the Medicaid program in the Obama administration and worked with states to help respond to the H1N1 flu crisis in 2009.

One reason federal health officials have not acted appears to be President Donald Trump’s reluctance to declare a national emergency. That’s a key step that would clear the way for states to get Medicaid waivers to more nimbly tackle coronavirus, but it would conflict with Trump’s repeated efforts to downplay the seriousness of the epidemic.

Another element may be ideological: The administration official who oversees Medicaid, Seema Verma, head of the government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has been a champion of efforts by conservative states to trim the number of people enrolled in Medicaid.

The steps that California, Washington and other states hit hard by the epidemic want to take would likely increase the number of people enrolled in the program.

“Medicaid could be the nation’s biggest public health responder, but it’s such an object of ire in this administration,” said Sara Rosenbaum, a Medicaid expert at George Washington University. “Their ideology is clouding their response to a crisis.”

Verma’s office did not provide responses to questions about how her agency, known as CMS, is handling states’ concerns about Medicaid and coronavirus.

Medicaid, the half-century-old government safety net program, and the related Children’s Health Insurance Program provide health insurance to more than 70 million low-income Americans, many of whom gained coverage through the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

To control fraud, the program has extensive rules dictating who is eligible and what kinds of medical services can be covered; federal officials can penalize states that don’t scrutinize who receives benefits.

During major disasters, CMS has traditionally loosened these rules.

In 2005, for example, two weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, the administration of President George W. Bush told states that it would grant waivers so they could rapidly enroll people into Medicaid who had been displaced by the storm.

This meant simplified applications for enrollees and no requirement that states verify applicants’ income or other information to grant coverage.

Similarly, in 2009, after President Barack Obama declared a national emergency in response to H1N1, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius invited states to seek waivers from Medicaid rules to make it easier for medical providers to quickly treat patients without worrying about their eligibility for government assistance.

States need similar flexibility now, said Jacey Cooper, who directs Medi-Cal, as California’s mammoth Medicaid program is called.

“Getting an emergency declaration would really help us get services to people who need it,” said Cooper. Medi-Cal currently covers about 13 million low-income Californians.

Among other things, Cooper said the state wants to shorten lengthy verification procedures to quickly enroll people. Public health experts fear that gaps in insurance coverage make controlling coronavirus more difficult because patients who don’t have insurance won’t seek medical attention and testing they fear they can’t afford.

California and other states also want to ensure that mobile clinics and other temporary facilities set up to handle a crush of patients can bill Medicaid, which also would require a waiver.

And a number of states with large homeless populations — including California, Washington and New York — are interested in potentially using Medicaid funding to help homeless victims of coronavirus who need not only medical care but also housing and other services.

The easiest way to speed Medicaid waivers is a declaration from the president of a national emergency. Obama issued such a declaration in 2009 during the H1N1 outbreak.

On Thursday, the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association and the American Nurses Association sent a joint letter to Vice President Mike Pence calling for the president to issue a declaration.

But the White House hasn’t indicated whether Trump will make such a move.

State leaders are wary of criticizing the president directly, fearing that he may attack them personally or retaliate against their states.

Last week, Trump called Washington Gov. Jay Inslee a “snake” after the governor, a Democrat, criticized the administration’s slow coronavirus response.

That’s left states with a more limited set of Medicaid options that CMS outlined Thursday afternoon. These include small steps such as allowing hospitals to more easily enroll patients in Medicaid.

In California, Cooper said CMS officials have been helping the state develop a plan. But she noted California needs significantly more flexibility.

For example, state health officials do not want to have to send people to hospitals to get rapidly enrolled in Medi-Cal, potentially exposing them to the virus.

“We need help sooner rather than later,” Cooper said.

———

©2020 Los Angeles Times