Wisconsin voters faced the choice of going to the polls or abiding by the state’s stay-at-home order Tuesday while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was in a life-and-death struggle with the coronavirus that already has killed almost 11,000 Americans.
Global stocks were up Tuesday, fueled by hopes the peak of the coronavirus pandemic may come soon and President Donald Trump’s hint of at a second round of stimulus checks.
While federal health officials have warned Americans of a grim week ahead, there are “positive signs” emerging in coronavirus hot spots. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, pointed to fewer deaths, hospitalizations and intubations in New York City, and the governors in a pair of hard-hit states reported encouraging news.
There were nearly 370,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S. and more than 1.3 million worldwide early Tuesday, according to the Johns Hopkins University data dashboard. The global death toll swept past 75,000.
Our live blog is being updated throughout the day. Refresh for the latest news, and get updates in your inbox with The Daily Briefing. More headlines:
• The US is facing a crisis that rivals Pearl Harbor. And the world’s superpower is pleading for aid.
• Students are flocking to Kahoot! and Duolingo. Is this the end of language teachers?
• The hydroxychloroquine debate:What we know about the malaria drug that Trump has advertised as a possible treatment.
• Empty buildings across US are now housing coronavirus patients, the homeless and first responders.
• News you can use: Here’s where you can still buy thermometers. And how to de-germ your laundry.
• Is it safe to go grocery shopping?Here’s what the experts say.
After bitter court battle, Wisconsin election is on for Tuesday
Wisconsin voters were bound for the polls Tuesday after Gov. Tony Evers historic, eleventh-hour effort to postpone the election was swiftly rejected by the conservative majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Polls were opening at 7 a.m. statewide in the face of a warning from the state’s top health official who said voting in person will “without question” lead to more illness and death as coronavirus spreads through the state.
Six chaotic hours of litigation Monday also resulted in a U.S. Supreme Court decision requiring all absentee ballots to be postmarked by Tuesday, reversing a federal judge’s order to extend absentee voting by a week.
“People have bled, fought and died for the right to vote in this country,” Evers said in a statement. “But tomorrow in Wisconsin, thousands will wake up and have to choose between exercising their right to vote and staying healthy and safe.”
– Molly Beck and Patrick Marley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Boris Johnson getting ‘oxygen support’
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was hospitalized Sunday as he continued to experience COVID-19 symptoms 10 days after testing positive, remained in intensive care Tuesday. Johnson, 55, had been moved to ICU so that he would be near a ventilator if needed, the BBC reported. Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove told BBC on Tuesday that Johnson was “not on a ventilator. He has received oxygen support.”
Johnson asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab “to deputize for him where necessary,” according to a Downing Street statement issued Monday. “Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the Prime Minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital,” the statement said.
Britain appears to have become Europe’s deadliest hotspot, recording more than 600 deaths Sunday and nearing 6,000 total deaths from the outbreak.
US stocks point higher; Asian stocks up after China reports no new deaths
The Dow Industrial Average futures pointed to more big gains ahead of the opening of U.S. stock markets Tuesdays. The Dow Jones shot up 1,627.46 points, or 7.7%, to 22,679.99 on Monday, and the Nasdaq rose 540.15, or 7.3%, to 7,913.24. Asian shares rose Tuesday, mirroring the rally on Wall Street, amid a few glimmers of hope that the coronavirus pandemic could be slowing and a daily report showing no new COVID-19 deaths in China. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.3%, South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.2% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.7% after
Donald Trump: A second stimulus check may be coming for Americans
Even before Americans get to cash in their stimulus payments, President Donald Trump is floating the idea of a second round. At Monday’s news briefing, Trump said a second set of direct payments is under consideration to help blunt the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We could very well do a second round,” Trump said. “It is absolutely under serious consideration.”
Millions of Americans will receive one-time checks of up to $1,200 as part of a $2.2 trillion economic recovery package that Trump signed into law at the end of March. The IRS said the payments should start arriving as early as next week.
Congressional officials and the Trump administration also have said another recovery package may be needed.
– Michael Collins
Your coronavirus money questions, answered:Can I apply for unemployment for my second job? When does the $600 check arrive?
More grocery stores will be closed Easter Sunday amid coronavirus crisis
In addition to the long list of companies that have temporarily shuttered stores due to COVID-19, some grocery stores that have traditionally kept their doors open on Easter will be closed to give employees a day off.
Many stores also have reduced hours to give staff time to restock shelves and clean in addition to special hours for seniors and those most vulnerable to the virus.
Trader Joe’s, Sprouts Farmers Market, BJ’s Wholesale Club and Southeastern Grocers (BI-LO, Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie) are among the retailers who have announced they will be closed April 12, a change from last year. Not all companies have announced 2020 plans.
Is it safe to go grocery shopping? Helpful tips during the coronavirus pandemic
US border agency confirms 160 COVID-19 cases among officers, agents
The federal agency responsible for securing U.S. land, air and sea borders disclosed Monday that 160 of its employees, including customs officers and border agents, have tested positive for COVID-19.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection published the information on its website dedicated to the coronavirus pandemic. It breaks down the cases by location.
The majority of the COVID-19 cases among CBP employees, 113, are at the country’s coastal cities, especially in the New York City metro area, the current epicenter of the epidemic in the U.S.
– Rafael Carranza, Arizona Republic
3M to boost mask production by millions amid coronavirus outbreak
President Donald Trump said Monday that Minnesota-based 3M would produce more than 166 million masks to help the government confront the coronavirus pandemic, apparently ending a showdown in which Trump repeatedly threatened the company.
Days earlier, Trump said 3M would have a “big price to pay” over what the administration described as the company’s desire to export N95 respirator masks it had produced to other countries. Trump had threatened to use his wartime powers to seize control of the masks.
In a statement Friday, 3M responded to the president’s harsh rhetoric by arguing it had gone “above and beyond” to make enough respirator masks available in the U.S., and saying domestic production would increase to 50 million a month starting in June.
The N95 respirators have proven more effective at protecting wearers from the spread of virus-carrying particles than standard masks.
– John Fritze and Brett Molina
Trump: Flights still needed to ferry health care workers, military
Although it’s been suggested that flights be cut between coronavirus hotspots around the country, President Donald Trump said Monday he recognizes it’s important to maintain airline service to support movement of the military and medical workers.
“We need those flights for emergency use, for military people,” Trump said at his daily press conference on the crisis. “We need some flights for medical people – and there are very few flights.”
He acknowledged that while flights are largely flying empty, the alternative would be to use government planes, not airlines, so essential workers can fly between cities.
Under the coronavirus stimulus package, airlines benefiting from $50 billion in aid are required to maintain a minimum amount of service on their route network. The airlines have been dramatically cutting the number of flights, though, because there are so few passengers.
– Chris Woodyard
More coronavirus news and information from USA TODAY
Anthony Fauci, Peter Navarro at odds over value of hydroxychloroquine
Controversy intensified Monday over the value of hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug frequently touted by President Donald Trump as a crucial tool in the battle to save the lives of COVID-19 patients.
Peter Navarro, director of the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, vigorously defended the drug in a CNN interview, one day after Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, had suggested the data on the drug was “at best suggestive.”
“I would have two words for you,” Navarro said when told of Fauci’s reticence. “Second opinion.”
Dr. Robert Glatter, emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, says more testing and analysis are needed: “The reality is that we will likely need multi-drug regimens, similar to the way we have approached HIV or cancer. One drug will likely not be enough.”
Coronavirus in the US: The number of new cases each day
Contributing: The Associated Press
