Global: 1,088,878 confirmed cases / 58,773 deaths (Johns Hopkins University)

United States: 270,473 cases / 6,889 deaths.

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1/ The CDC recommends all Americans wear simple “non-medical, cloth� masks in public. Trump, however, said “You can do it. You don’t have to do it. I’m choosing not to do it. It’s only a recommendation.� Trump stressed several times that the CDC’s new guidelines are “voluntary� and that he would not be wearing a mask the CDC is now recommending. Trump also underscored that medical masks should be reserved for health care workers and that masks are not a substitute for social distancing. (CNN / NPR)

Dr. Anthony Fauci: “I don’t understand why� all states are not under stay-at-home order. 39 states and Washington, D.C. are currently under stay-at-home orders while 11 other states have not issued stay-at-home orders. Pence, meanwhile, said that Trump has decided he doesn’t want to tell states what to do. “At the president’s direction, the White House coronavirus task force will continue to take the posture that we will defer to state and local health authorities on any measures that they deem appropriate.� (NBC News / Washington Post)

�� Americans are underestimating how long coronavirus disruptions will last, public health experts warn. While coronavirus cases are expected to peak in mid-April, quickly reopening businesses or loosening shelter-in-place rules would inevitably lead to a new surge of infections, they said. (Stat News)

�� When can America reopen from its coronavirus shutdown? The answer depends how you weigh human health against the economy. (

Daily Damage Report.

Global: 1,002,159 confirmed cases / 51,485 deaths (Johns Hopkins University)

U.S. cases: 236,339 confirmed cases / 5,648 deaths

Testing: More than 100,000 Americans are being tested daily for coronavirus. (Bloomberg)

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1/ More than 6.6 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week – double the 3.3 million who applied the previous week. About 6% of the U.S. work force filed for jobless benefits in the last two weeks. In March, more than 10 million Americans lost their jobs, erasing nearly all the jobs created in the past five years. Economists say the real number of people out work is probably higher and that as many as 20 million people could be out of work this summer. The Congressional Budget Office, meanwhile, updated its economic projections and expects U.S. unemployment to exceed 10% in the second quarter – eclipsing the peak of the last recession – and gross domestic product to fall by more than 7%, or an annualized 28%. (Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / NBC News / Bloomberg / New York Times / Politico / CNBC / CNN / CBS News / The Guardian)

Food banks are reporting unprecedented demand across the U.S. as millions lose jobs with demand for aid increasing eightfold in some areas. (The Guardian)

Daily Damage Report.

Global cases: ~905,000 / Global deaths: ~45,000 (Johns Hopkins University)

U.S. cases: ~203,000 / U.S. deaths: ~4,500 (CNBC)

Global projections: Infections will eclipse 1 million with 50,000 deaths in a few days, according to the World Health Organization. (CNBC)

U.S. projections: 15 days until peak daily deaths of ~2,607. (U.S. state-by-state projections)

The coronavirus outbreak won’t peak in every state at once. Many states will see their individual peaks for resources well after that the April 16 projection. (Axios)

Unemployment: The Department of Labor is expected to report between 4.5 million and 5.5 million new unemployment claims tomorrow. Last week, more than 3 million people filed for unemployment from March 15 to March 21 – the largest single-week increase in American history. (New York Times)

Markets: U.S. stocks fell for the third time in four days. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all closed more than 4% lower. (CNBC / Bloomberg)

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1/ The national emergency stockpile of respirator masks, gloves, and other medical supplies is nearly exhausted, despite assurances from the White House that there is availability. “The stockpile was designed to respond to handful of cities. It was never built or designed to fight a 50-state pandemic,� a DHS official said. Trump, meanwhile, has forced states into bidding wars for protective equipment pitting them against each other. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo condemned the federal government for fueling an “eBay�-style bidding war for ventilators, calling it a “bizarre situation� in which every state buys its own ventilators. (Washington Post / Politico / The Guardian)

New York City needs 3.3 million N95 masks, 2.1...

1/ More than 2,000 people could die every day from COVID-19 in the U.S. in April and 224,000 hospital beds – 61,000 more than the U.S. has – will be needed around April 15, when the U.S. is estimated to reach “peak resource use,� according to news projections cited by Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator. Assuming social distancing continues through May, the model finds that, by August, around 82,000 people in the U.S. could die from COVID-19. Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Birx estimated that “our real number� of total coronavirus deaths is between 100,000 and 240,000 Americans – lower than the 2.2 millions estimated deaths that would occur if no distancing or mitigating measures were taken. Fauci added: “As sobering as that number is, we should be prepared for it.� Trump, meanwhile, warned of “a very, very painful two weeks� ahead. Trump’s decision to extend social distancing guidelines until April 30 came after officials reviewed 12 different statistical models that all “ended up at the same numbers.� (CNN / New York Times / Axios / Washington Post / Associated Press / Vox / NBC News / Politico)

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📈 More than 181,000 confirmed cases in the U.S. and more than 3,600 dead. About 3,300 have died in China, where the outbreak originated. Globally, more than 826,222 confirmed cases and at least 41,261 deaths. (Johns Hopkins University)

📉 Social distancing may be working, according to a database of daily fever readings produced by a medical technology firm that produces internet-connected thermometers. Health department data from New York State and Washington State have buttressed the trend that social distancing is saving lives. (New York Times)

✈� Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Americans overseas to return home “immediately� because “We do not know how long the commercial flights in yo...

1/ The U.S. could see 100,000 to 200,000 coronavirus deaths even “if we do things almost perfectly.� Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, said “no state, no metro area will be spared from the virus� and the projections by Dr. Anthony Fauci that U.S. deaths could range from 1.6 million to 2.2 million is a worst case scenario if the country did “nothing� to contain the outbreak. Birx added that “we’re not sure all of America is responding in a uniform way.� Dr. Fauci, meanwhile, warned that the COVID-19 outbreak is still on track to overwhelm hospitals and kill tens of thousands of Americans, even with action to slow the spread. (NBC News / TODAY / Bloomberg / ABC News / NPR)

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 rise to more than 755,000 globally; U.S. cases pass 150,000, more than 2,500 dead. (Wall Street Journal)

The FDA issued an emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine – malaria drugs championed by Trump – saying there are no available alternatives and the “known and potential� benefits of the product outweigh the risks. There are only a few, small anecdotal studies showing a possible benefit of the drugs to relieve the acute respiratory symptoms of COVID-19. Nevertheless, millions of doses will be distributed to hospitals across the country to try to slow the disease. (Politico / Washington Post / Bloomberg)

FEMA sent refrigerated trucks to New York City to serve as temporary morgues as nearly more than 790 people have died in the city from the coronavirus. (Politico)

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2/ Trump raised the idea of iss...

1/ The House passed the $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package and Trump signed it into law. The legislation will deliver one-time direct payments of $1,200 to most taxpayers and enhance unemployment benefits. The measure also creates a $500 billion lending program for businesses, cities and states, and a $367 billion fund for small businesses. The package was approved by voice vote after a Republican lawmaker attempted to delay the approval and force lawmakers to return to Washington in order to assemble the 216 members needed for a quorum. Trump attacked Rep. Thomas Massie in a series of tweets, calling him a “third rate grandstander� and suggesting that Republican leaders “throw� him out of the party. The size of the stimulus package, along with Federal Reserve actions, will amount to an injection of about $6 trillion into the economy – or about 30% of annual gross domestic product. “We got hit by the invisible enemy and we got hit hard,� Trump said before signing the bill. “I think we are going to have a tremendous rebound.� (Washington Post / New York Times / Politico / CNBC / Vox / CNN / NBC News / The Guardian / ABC News / CBS News / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal)

Confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. surpassed 100,000 – doubling in just three days. (CNBC)

The World Health Organization enrolled the first patients in test treatments for the coronavirus in Norway and Spain. Health officials are testing four drugs to fight COVID-19, including malaria medications chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, an antiviral compound called Remdesivir, a combination of HIV drugs Lopinavir and Ritonavir, and a combination of those drugs plus interferon-beta. (CNBC)

Doctors in New York will try to treat patients with COVID-19 with plasma infusions from people who have recovered after the Food and Drug Administration approved the experimental use of plasma on an emergency basis to treat coronavirus patients. (New York Times / Washington Post)

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson tested positive for the...

1/ A record 3.28 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week – the largest number of unemployment claims ever recorded for a single week since the government began collecting data in 1967. The number shatters the Great Recession peak of 665,000 claims in March 2009 and the all-time mark of 695,000 in October 1982. As a result, the U.S. unemployment rate has likely already risen to 5.5% from 3.5% in February – a level not seen since 2015. A similarly large number of initial unemployment claims is expected next week when the Labor Department releases its report on claims filed this week. In the prior Labor Department report, for the week ended March 14, initial claims totaled 282,000. (NPR / CNBC / Washington Post / CNN / New York Times / Politico / Bloomberg)

😷 COVID-ables:

U.S. death toll hit 1,000. (Washington Post)

The U.S. leads the world in confirmed coronavirus cases with at least 81,321 people known to have been infected. (New York Times)

Nearly 1.5 million N95 respirator masks are sitting in a U.S. government warehouse in Indiana, but authorities have not shipped them because they are past their expiration date. (Washington Post)

“We may well be in a recession.� –Fed Chairman Jerome Powell

Trump’s cabinet pastor blamed the outbreak on those who have “a proclivity toward lesbianism and homosexuality.� Ralph Drollinger wrote that the U.S. is “experiencing the consequential wrath of God� because the “forsaken,� which includes environmentalists and members of the LGBTQIA+ community, have “given over� to their “degrading passions.� Betsy DeVos, Mike Pompeo, Ben Carson, and Rick Perry all regularly attend Drollinger’s bible study sessions, with Perry describing him as a “brilliant, knowledgeable bible instructor.� (NBC News / Independent)

🔥 Read This: How the pandemic will end. The U.S. may end up with the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the industrialized world. This is how it’s going to play out.(The Atlantic)

Live Blogs: New York Times /

1/ Senators reached an agreement on a $2 trillion stimulus package to combat the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic – the largest relief package in American history. The package will provide direct payments to Americans, $130 billion in funding for hospitals, $350 billion in small business loans, $250 billion in unemployment insurance benefits, and $500 billion in loans for distressed companies. A vote is expected Wednesday afternoon. The House is expected to take it up no sooner than Thursday. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin promised that Trump would “absolutely� sign it if Congress passes it. The package is the third Congress has considered to address the pandemic. Trump previously signed into law a $8.3 billion emergency aid and relief package providing paid leave, free testing and additional aid for families affected by the pandemic. (New York Times / CNN / NBC News / Washington Post / Politico / The Guardian)

⚠� What’s in the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill: Direct cash payments, expanded unemployment insurance, small business support, assistance for corporations, public health funding, state aid, and more. (CNN / NBC News / CBS News)

💰 Who would get what and when from the $2 trillion stimulus package: Individuals who earn $75,000 or less would get direct payments of $1,200 each, with married couples earning up to $150,000 receiving $2,400. An additional $500 per child will be tacked on to that. Payments would scale down as income rises, phasing out at $99,000 for singles and $198,000 for couples without children. (ABC News / CNBC)

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1/ Congressional negotiators signaled that they are nearing a bipartisan agreement on an estimated $2 trillion emergency stimulus package to address economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin all said they expected an agreement later Tuesday. The Senate bill would direct payments of $1,200 to most American adults and $500 to most children, create a $500 billion lending program for companies, states, and cities, and extend another $367 billion to help small businesses make payroll. White House officials agreed to allow an independent inspector general, and an oversight board to scrutinize the lending decisions after Trump said he would “be the oversight.� (Politico / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / New York Times)

U.S. stocks rallied on the news, posting one of their best days ever. The S&P 500 rose more than 9%, rebounding from its lowest level since 2016 – and the biggest one-day gain since October 2008. The Dow rose more than 11% – its biggest one-day gain since 1933. The Nasdaq notched gains of just over 8%. (Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CNBC / NBC News / CNN / New York Times / Washington Post)

Nancy Pelosi unveiled a $2.5 trillion coronavirus aid package in the House. The “Take Responsibility for Workers and Families Act� would increase the amount of money being offered to individuals from $1,000 to $1,500, and up to $7,500 for a family of five. It also waives $10,000 in federal student loan payments, allocates $150 billion to support hospitals and medical facilities, eliminates cost-sharing for coronavirus treatments and vaccines, provides $500 billion in interest-free loans for small businesses, and much more. (Axios)

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned of “troubling and astronomical numbers� in the rate of coronavirus infections that are rising faster than expected. (The Guardian)

New York has 7,000 ventilators but needs 30,000. America’s essential personnel need an estimated 3.5 billion N95 masks. (Axios)

The Trump administration is set to use the Defense Production Act for the first time to procure about 60,000 coronavirus test kits. FEMA’s administrator ...

1/ The World Health Organization: “The pandemic is accelerating.” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of WHO, said “It took 67 days from the first reported case to reach 100,000 cases, 11 days for second 100,000 cases, and just four days for the third 100,000 cases.” More than 34,000 people have contracted the virus in the U.S., and at least 485 people have died. Worldwide, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases is nearing 350,000, with at least 15,000 deaths. (CNBC / CBS News)

2/ The Senate failed to pass the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill for the second day in a row. The procedural vote on the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act failed 49-46 – short of the 60 vote threshold needed to advance the legislation for a final debate. Democrats argued that the bill disproportionately helps companies and needs to include more benefits for families and health care providers. Republicans, meanwhile, insisted that the bill offers financial assistance to the entire economy and needs to be passed before more people lose their jobs. After the vote, Mitch McConnell warned that the Senate might not be able to pass a bill until Friday or Saturday, blaming Democrats for “mindless obstruction.” Nancy Pelosi said the House would unveil its own coronavirus stimulus bill. (Politico / Washington Post / ABC News / Wall Street Journal / NBC News / Washington Post / NBC News)

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