My favorite of the Italian mayors is the one who yells: Hairdresser? Why do you need a hairdresser to come to your house? Don’t you know it’ll be a closed casket?
Belgium sees 50% increase in hospital admissions on previous day.
Jennifer Rankin, Guardian
Belgium has seen a significant rise in people being admitted to hospital for coronavirus, as experts warned the disease had not yet reached its peak, reports my colleague Jennifer Rankin in Brussels.
At a daily briefing, Belgium’s federal crisis centre announced that 434 people had been admitted to hospital in the last 24 hours, an increase of 50% on the previous day. Hospital admissions had declined for two consecutive days, although experts had previously warned against calling that decline a trend.
Belgium now counts 4,937 people with a coronavirus diagnosis, an increase of 668 cases in the last 24 hours. A total of 178 people have lost their lives, including 56 recorded in the last count. Officials said not all had died in the last 24 hours and there had been delays in recording people who had passed away in care homes.
Crisis centre spokesman Emmanuel André said the increase in hospitalisations was significant: “It is very clear that we are not yet at the peak of the epidemic.” He added that it was very important that current measures - a nationwide lockdown - remain in force.
And he urged people not to wear surgical masks in the street, voicing concern that they give a “false impression of protection”, as people are less diligent in washing their hands.
Belgium’s prime minister Sophie Wilmès has been put on the defensive, after two surgeons criticised the government in a widely-shared open letter for not having enough tests for medical staff or patients, as well as a shortage of masks.
In a letter entitled “the double penalty on hospital staff” the medics deplored the lack of systematic tests for medical staff, meaning they could infect patients or family.
In a three-page reply published in Belgian media on Wednesday, Wilmès said the government was “working without respite” to safeguard the health of the population and medical staff. She said that in the last ten days 11.5m surgical masks and 459,000 specialist masks had arrived in the country and work was ongoing to increase stocks further.
Iran reports 2,206 new Coronavirus cases
Akhtar Mohammad Makoii, Guardian
Patrick Wintour
@patrickwintour
Latest numbers from Iran disturbing. New cases per day has risen over past 4 days from 996, 1,028, 1,762 and today a new record of 2,206. Major travel bans and social distancing finally being imposed. Nature Day cancelled. Real test of regime’s authority and capability.
Iran reported 2,206 new Coronavirus cases in last 24 hours raising the total number to 27,017, reports my colleague Akhtar Mohammad Makoii.
Spokesman for Iran’s health ministry also announced 143 deaths in the same period raising the total number of deaths to 2,077.
So far 9,625 patients have recovered.
Kiyanoosh Jahanpoor, Iranian health ministry spokesman said 68 % of the deaths are above 60 years old, 32 % are under 60.
Stimulus bill limits compensation for high-paid employees at businesses receiving federal assistance
From CNN’s Jeremy Herb
The stimulus bill includes limits on raises and compensation for high-paid employees at businesses receiving assistance from the federal government, including potential cuts in pay to those making more than $3 million, according to a draft bill text obtained by CNN.
The legislation includes a prohibition on anyone making more than $425,000 at businesses getting government help from receiving an increase in total compensation from 2019. It also limits severance pay to more than “twice the maximum total compensation received by the officer or employee from the eligible business in calendar year 2019.”
In addition, for those making more than $3 million at businesses receiving funds, the bill states they will only receive 50% of the compensation they received in 2019 above $3 million. That means that someone who received $5 million in compensation in 2019 would only be allowed to make $4 million this year.
The bill defines total compensation as “salary, bonuses, awards of stock and other financial benefits.”
Similar compensation limitations were included in the section of the legislation specifically dealing with funds being provided to the airline industry.
Canada enforcing mandatory 2-week quarantine for all travelers entering the country
From CNN’s Paula Newton in Ottawa
All travelers returning to Canada will have to enter a 14-day mandatory quarantine as of midnight Wednesday as the country deals with a significant spike in coronavirus cases and hundreds of thousands of people return home to Canada by both air and land border crossings.
“We have decided that now is the time to make that measure mandatory, I think we all really appreciate that is so important to have this self-isolation to protect the health and safety of Canadians,” said Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s deputy prime minister.
Canadian officials did not provide much detail as to how they would enforce this order. Canadian public health officials have been recommending the quarantine for travelers for several days.
Canada also announced it was nearly doubling its financial support to workers during the Covid-19 crisis with at least $36 billion being distributed directly to workers affected by the pandemic. This will mean that a family of four could collect as much as $3,100 per month for at least four months through a combination of a wage subsidy and a child benefit.
14 million US jobs could be lost to coronavirus response by 2020, report predicts
From CNN’s Annalyn Kurtz
Fourteen million US jobs could be lost by this summer as businesses shutter in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Economic Policy Institute predicts in a new report.
That’s more than 10% of all private sector jobs lost, the group writes. Retail, leisure and hospitality are expected to take the biggest hits.
These sectors “are likely to be disproportionately affected by the social distancing measures that are needed to slow this pandemic,” said Julia Wolfe and David Cooper, Senior Economic Analysts at the EPI. “States like Nevada, Montana and Hawaii are projected to lose the highest percentage of their employment because a large amount of their workforce is employed in leisure, hospitality and retail sectors.”
The EPI also estimates the US will need “at least $2.1 trillion in federal stimulus through 2020 to restore the country to reasonable economic health.”
Even with $2 trillion, the group added that “many people will still need to remain out of work, potentially for months, in order to stop the virus’s spread.”
Stimulus bill includes funds for State Department evacuations
From CNN’s Marshall Cohen and Jennifer Hansler
The stimulus bill includes $324 million for the State Department, and it specifically includes funds for “evacuation expenses,” according to a draft obtained by CNN. The proposed legislation doesn’t specify who would be evacuated, whether it’s US diplomats or American citizens living overseas, or potentially both.
A senior State Department official said that 9,300 Americans had already been repatriated. A different senior State Department official said the government was tracking 13,500 Americans seeking assistance abroad.
Why this matters: An estimated 9 million Americans live overseas. Last week, the State Department warned American citizens not to travel abroad during the pandemic. Because countries are shutting down their borders, Americans abroad “may be forced to remain outside of the United States for an indefinite timeframe,” the warning said.
[ Didn’t the Wuhan evacuees pay over $1K each for their flights home?]
German chancellor tests negative in second coronavirus test
From CNN’s Nadine Schmidt in Berlin
In her second test for coronavirus, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has tested negative, a spokesperson at the chancellery confirmed to CNN on Wednesday,
"The Chancellor’s second coronavirus test was negative. She continues to work from home and there she will be tested again at the beginning of next week,’’ the spokesperson confirmed.
Merkel went into self-quarantine late Sunday after learning that a doctor who gave her a vaccination on Friday last week tested positive for the deadly virus.
State attorneys slam Amazon, Facebook and Walmart over “failed” price-gouging protections
From CNN’s Brian Fung
Nearly three dozen state attorneys general have called on Amazon, Craigslist, eBay, Facebook and Walmart to fight price gouging during the coronavirus pandemic.
Novel measures by the companies to prevent overcharging have not been enough, the coalition wrote in letters to all five companies’ CEOs. (CNN has obtained copies of all five letters.)
"Even new protections by your company including heightened monitoring, bans on certain advertisements, and bans on selling certain items, have failed to remove unconscionably priced critical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the attorneys general wrote. “When consumers cannot get what they need to protect their homes and loved ones—or in this case, help prevent the spread of the virus—consumers suffer not only economic harm, but serious health consequences as well.”
The 33-member coalition behind the letters includes the top law enforcement officials of California, Louisiana, New York, North Dakota, Utah and Pennsylvania, among others. Some in the group have been tough critics of the tech industry and are in the midst of antitrust investigations into Google and Facebook.
More context: Earlier this week, Amazon said it has banned as many as 3,900 seller accounts from its platform for price gouging, and continues to use a mix of algorithms and human reviewers to fight price gougers. In a blog post Monday, the company said it has “zero tolerance” for price gouging and reports suspected price gougers to state attorneys general.
As recently as last week, CNN reported that ads for face masks still remain on platforms such as Facebook, despite the company’s pledge to ban them.
The companies named in the letters didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the letters.
CDC will receive $4.3 billion in stimulus deal
From CNN’s Lauren Fox
The US Centers for Disease Control will get an additional $4.3 billion through fiscal year 2024 “to proven, prepare for and respond to coronavirus," according to a draft of the stimulus bill.
That money includes at least $1.5 billion for grants for states and localities to “carry out surveillance, epidemiology, laboratory capacity, infection control, mitigation, communications and other preparedness.”
Trump still pushing to send checks to Americans by April 6 despite warnings it could take longer
From CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and Katherine Lobosco
President Trump and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin are still pushing for an April 6 deadline of having direct payments issued to taxpayers who make less than a certain threshold, a White House official tells CNN, though lawmakers and Internal Revenue Service experts are warning it could take much longer than that.
Americans with direct-deposit bank account information on file with the IRS from tax refunds are expected to receive checks that way, according to aides, while those who don’t will likely get a physical check in the mail, which could also take much longer.
The IRS has sent out economic stimulus checks before, and although those plans were slightly different, they can offer some insight into how long the process might take.
In 2001, it took six weeks for the IRS to start sending out rebate checks authorized by President George W. Bush’s tax cut. Then in 2008, amid the Great Recession, it took three months for the checks to start going out after the law was signed by Bush.
Iran to impose social distancing
Patrick Wintour, Guardian
A crack down on travel and an imposition of social distancing measures are to be introduced in Iran in the next 24 hours, Patrick Wintour, the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, reports.
The country’s President Hassan Rouhani made the announcement at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday following recommendations from the health ministry about the course of the pandemic.
Initial details of the new laws, and their enforcement, were vague, but is likely to include a ban on inter-city travel, including journeys out of Tehran.
A requirement for people to cut short their new year holidays and greater controls on cars as holiday makers return to their homes in cities such as Tehran is also likely, the president said, in what amounts to a major change of policy.
The closure of parks, the abandonment of Iran’s nature day and tighter social distancing laws are also to be introduced. Nature day, or Sizdah Bedhar, is celebrated on the 13th of the first month of the Persian new year, marking the end of the Nowruz celebrations before a return to work. It normally sees Iranian families spending the day out of doors having meals in the fields, parks and gardens, preferably by a river or stream.
Rouhani said the harsh measures were needed to save people’s lives, and the new bill “may advise people to cut their holidays short and get back to their homes”. The government has been widely criticised within Iran for not taking more stringent measures earlier, but Rouhani repeatedly claiming the crisis was under control pointed to statistics on declining numbers of rail journeys and cancelled hotel bookings to claim the guidance was largely being followed.
The President also said only a third of government employees should be in work, with a large proportion of those permitted to work being health workers. He said more than 1.2m of the 2.5m government employees would continue to be kept away from work.
Claiming the coronavirus pandemic was about to enter a second phase in Iran, he praised those Iranians that had abided by advice and not travelled to holiday resorts during Iran’s new year break, but there is clearly a concern that the pandemic will spread again when millions return from their holidays. The ability of Iran to track those with the infection is limited, and promises by the army to clear the streets have been made before, only for little to happen.
Rouhani also claimed the issue of US economic sanctions on Iran was set to be raised at the UN Security Council. The head of the Central Bank of Iran claimed Iran had made progress in being allowed to repatriate its assets in overseas banks to purchase medicines following fresh guidance to banks.
The US has claimed it has allowed Iran to purchase medicines, but banks have been wary of financing the deals.
Rouhani has already announced that prisoners released on furlough will now not be required to return to jail at the beginning of April, as originally planned, but instead the end of the April, an implicit admission that the pandemic is going to take longer to control than originally hoped.
There is widespread distrust within Iran of official daily government figures on the numbers killed or infected by the disease.
[ Seems really late. ]
China’s tough lockdown and social distancing measures in Wuhan and other provinces appear to have successfully ended coronavirus infections and may chart a route back to normal life, according to a report from the University of London’s Imperial College, Sarah Boseley, the Guardian’s health editor, reports.
The report, from Prof Neil Ferguson and his team who have been the main modellers of the epidemic for the UK and other governments, suggests it is possible to lift the social distancing restrictions, as China has begun to do, without a resurgence of the epidemic.
At this difficult time, these results suggest that, after containment, a carefully managed and monitored relaxation of effective large-scale lockdowns may be possible even before an effective vaccine is available.
Ferguson said their analysis “provides some hope for countries currently in various levels of lockdown that once case numbers are brought to low levels, it might be possible to relax social distancing – provided equal measures to limit the risk of the resurgence of transmission are introduced.”
But, he stressed, relaxing the lockdown policies would depend on “rapid and ubiquitous testing and rigorous case and contact isolation policies”.
That would mean testing everyone with symptoms and following up and isolating their contacts, in order to stamp out any further flare-ups of infection.
Guardian
Has this been posted
Ekzekiel EManuel
Fourteen Days. That’s the Most Time We Have to Defeat Coronavirus.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/opinion/contributors/us-coronavirus-response.html?referringSource=articleShare
Doschicos thank you for all this information. Is this getting to you? I don’t know how you are managing to do this for all of us. Grateful.
This is what Bezos is doing. I call it, hutzpa:
– asks the public for donations to help his employees who have no sick leave (face palm)
Some of the discussion here gets to me. My lack of response doesn’t mean I agree with the comments. 
The Gates donated $100 million very early on.
Not everyone advertises their philanthropy. I used to work for billionaires who were generous but anonymously so.
Is there help for small businesses in the Senate stimulus package?
Your questions, answered
CNN’s Phil Mattingly is answering your questions on the Senate stimulus package.
On the question regarding help for small businesses in the bill, Mattingly said:
"There’s a lot of focus on the individual checks, but I’m firmly of the mind the small business loan piece of this is far and away the most important given what’s happening right now.
The bill directs $350 billion for loans to small businesses and non-profits with under 500 employees. The loans would be guaranteed by the Small Business Administration but the actual lender would be approved banks and financial institutions, which should get the money out the door faster. Businesses could receive up to $10 million in loans to float employee salaries, payroll expenses, mortgage and other debt payments. If used for those purposes, the loans would be forgiven in the future. It’s a huge deal if it works properly."
Surge of coronavirus cases in Africa prompted decision to cancel Olympics, IOC says
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said Wednesday that a surge in coronavirus cases in Africa had prompted the decision to postpone the world’s biggest sporting event.
Bach and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Tuesday that the Olympic Games, which was due to start in Tokyo on July 24, would be postponed until no later than the summer of 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Coronavirus death toll rises again in Italy
The daily death toll from the coronavirus has increased once again in Italy, after two days of smaller rises, suggesting the worst may not yet be over for the embattled country.
In Italy, 743 people died from the virus on Tuesday, according to government data — the highest daily increase since Sunday. As of Wednesday morning, a total of 6,820 people have died in Italy due to the pandemic.
However, the number of new confirmed cases of coronavirus slowed down for a third consecutive day, according to the Emergency Commissioner and Civil Protection Chief Angelo Borrelli. The total number of infections in the country now stands at 69,176.
German business sentiment has become ‘extraordinarily dire,’ Ifo Institute says
Sentiment among German managers has become “extraordinarily dire,” Germany’s closely watched Ifo index of business sentiment shows, as its business climate index falls from 96.0 points in February to 86.1 points in March.
This is the steepest fall ever recorded since German reunification and the lowest value since July 2009, Ifo said. “Companies’ expectations in particular have darkened as never before. Assessments of the current situation have also worsened considerably. The German economy is in shock,” Ifo said in a statement Wednesday.
Over 170,000 Brits sign up as volunteers to help health service
More than 170,000 people in Britain have reportedly signed up to become volunteers to help the country’s National Health Service (NHS). It comes less than a day after the U.K. government appealed for 250,000 “people in good health” to help the NHS cope with the coronavirus outbreak.
Appealing to the public Tuesday evening, Health Minister Matt Hancock said the network of volunteers will help around 1.5 million people deemed vulnerable to the coronavirus due to pre-existing health conditions, and who have been told to “shield” themselves for 12 weeks.
CNBC
Sweden’s economy expected to contract 4% in 2020, Swedbank says
Sweden’s economy is forecast to contract 4% this year, banking group Swedbank said in its latest economic outlook, as the coronavirus hits growth in the Scandinavian country.
“The downturn in the Swedish economy is broader and faster than during the financial crisis. Unemployment will reach 10% already by summer, despite unprecedented fiscal stimulus,” Swedbank said in its report released Wednesday.
“Most sectors in the Swedish economy are bleeding. In the services sector, several companies are completely without demand, abandoned as cautious households have gone home. Manufacturing is struggling with broken supply chains and falling demand.”
Singapore says it will make its contact tracing tech freely available to developers
Less than a week after launching an app to track potential exposure to the coronavirus, Singapore is making the technology freely available to developers worldwide.
The city-state rolled out an app called TraceTogether on March 20 and described it as a supplementary tool for its contact tracing efforts that relied on the recall and memory of infected individuals.
Asian economies may ride out the virus crisis better than the West, analysts say
Investors hunting for safe spots to park their money should look to Asia now amid the current pandemic, analysts said, highlighting that the region is much more prepared economically to ride out the current crisis compared to the West.
Additionally, the virus appears to be more contained in Asia now, while it’s still running its course in the West, according to Morgan Stanley.
“It does make sense to tilt your portfolio towards China or towards Asia generally because the virus is moving from that region … to the West where it is unfortunately not yet contained,” said Andrew Harmstone, a senior portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley.
CNBC
Sweden’s economy expected to contract 4% in 2020, Swedbank says
Sweden’s economy is forecast to contract 4% this year, banking group Swedbank said in its latest economic outlook, as the coronavirus hits growth in the Scandinavian country.
“The downturn in the Swedish economy is broader and faster than during the financial crisis. Unemployment will reach 10% already by summer, despite unprecedented fiscal stimulus,” Swedbank said in its report released Wednesday.
“Most sectors in the Swedish economy are bleeding. In the services sector, several companies are completely without demand, abandoned as cautious households have gone home. Manufacturing is struggling with broken supply chains and falling demand.”
Singapore says it will make its contact tracing tech freely available to developers
Less than a week after launching an app to track potential exposure to the coronavirus, Singapore is making the technology freely available to developers worldwide.
The city-state rolled out an app called TraceTogether on March 20 and described it as a supplementary tool for its contact tracing efforts that relied on the recall and memory of infected individuals.
Asian economies may ride out the virus crisis better than the West, analysts say
Investors hunting for safe spots to park their money should look to Asia now amid the current pandemic, analysts said, highlighting that the region is much more prepared economically to ride out the current crisis compared to the West.
Additionally, the virus appears to be more contained in Asia now, while it’s still running its course in the West, according to Morgan Stanley.
“It does make sense to tilt your portfolio towards China or towards Asia generally because the virus is moving from that region … to the West where it is unfortunately not yet contained,” said Andrew Harmstone, a senior portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley.
CNBC
I really wish there could be a moratorium on junk mail until this settles down!
I didn’t know about this before. Thank you @doschicos . I have a small business that’s been pummeled by recent events.
I wonder what is going on in Switzerland. You don’t hear much about it, but they have more cases per capita than Spain, and just today passed Italy.
China has/had 56 cases per million people, the US is currently at 183. Italy is at 1230, Spain at 1018, and Switzerland just passed Italy and has 1259 cases per million people.
I got the info from this site, and they recently added a column that is deaths per million people.
Private equity eyes coronavirus-struck industries
The coronavirus pandemic is shutting down entire sectors of the economy and putting millions of Americans out of work, but one corner of Wall Street may find opportunity amid the carnage: private equity.
The group, which includes investment giants Blackstone, Carlyle and KKR, has a record $1.5 trillion in cash ready to deploy and has been actively seeking deals across the struggling travel, entertainment and energy industries, according to a half-dozen investment bankers who declined to be identified speaking candidly about potential clients.
“They have been waiting for this type of market dislocation,” the head of mergers at a major Wall Street firm told CNBC in an interview. “I don’t think they wanted something quite this bad, but they did want a pullback in valuation.”
Masks donated by Apple and Facebook for health workers were stockpiled after wildfire regulations
When large tech companies including Apple and Facebook announced this week that they’d be donating stockpiles of protective masks to health workers around the world, some people may have wondered why they had them in the first place.
Executives said they had them in storage because of the recent spate of wildfires in California. They were required to have them by law.
In 2019, the state of California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board adopted regulation forcing employers to provide respiratory equipment, including N95 masks, for workers when the Air Quality Index (AQI) reaches unhealthy levels.
What the coronavirus bill means for unemployment benefits, gig workers
A coronavirus relief bill unveiled Tuesday would significantly expand unemployment benefits for Americans who lose their jobs due to the country’s recent economic contagion.
The measure would beef up the nation’s unemployment insurance program, a state-administered program that provides temporary income support for out-of-work Americans. Final language could change before the bill’s scheduled release later today, though experts don’t expect it will relative to unemployment.
Under the legislation, unemployed workers would both collect bigger unemployment checks — which could, in some cases, even exceed their typical wages — and receive those payments over a longer period of time.
The legislation would also extend benefits to a broader pool of people, like gig workers and freelancers.
CNBC