So you’ve been asked to self-quarantine. Here’s what you should know.

14-day incubation period is based on what researchers know about the incubation period of MERS, which is in the same family as the novel coronavirus. Quarantine also doesn’t mean you can’t still live with your roommates or family. While the CDC recommends you stay in your own bedroom, use a separate bathroom if possible, wear a face mask around others, and don’t share dishes, towels or bedding, you don’t need to move out. To prevent the virus from spreading, keep your distance from other people, prohibit unnecessary visitors, and wash your hands frequently. Do a daily wipe-down of “high-touch” surfaces, such as doorknobs, tabletops, toilets and phones. If you need to share something with others while in quarantine, wash it thoroughly with soap and water. It’s also wise to restrict contact with pets until researchers know more about whether animals can contract the virus. If avoiding your pets isn’t an option, wear a face mask and wash your hands before and after interacting with the pet. The biggest lifestyle change in quarantine is the lack of mobility. The CDC recommends restricting activities outside your home, except when you need to go to the doctor. “Do not go to work, school or public areas,” the CDC advises. “Avoid using public transportation, ride-sharing or taxis.” Robyn Gershon, an epidemiology professor at New York University, updates a fact sheet daily that she sends to her students and colleagues with tips such as, “Don’t ride the subway if you’re symptomatic.” She said she understands that it can be confusing for people, especially when the terms quarantine and isolation are used interchangeably. However, she’s optimistic that if testing for coronavirus improves, there will be less of a need to stay secluded for the full two-week period. The concept of quarantine isn’t new. Even as the bubonic plague rolled through Europe in the 17th century, at least one village instituted a quarantine, which ultimately saved neighboring villages. The CDC has considered quarantines before in recent history. When the H1N1 pandemic broke out in 2009, the agency chose not to quarantine. But in this case, public health officials had advance notice before the virus hit U.S. soil, Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told the Los Angeles Times. “What was different about this one is that the outbreak was caught so early before it really got to the United States,”


or public areas,” the CDC advises. “Avoid using public transportation, ride-sharing or taxis.” Robyn Gershon, an epidemiology professor at New York University, updates a fact sheet daily that she sends to her students and colleagues with tips such as, “Don’t ride the subway if you’re symptomatic.” She said she understands that it can be confusing for people, especially when the terms quarantine and isolation are used interchangeably. However, she’s optimistic that if testing for coronavirus improves, there will be less of a need to stay secluded for the full two-week period. The concept of quarantine isn’t new. Even as the bubonic plague rolled through Europe in the 17th century, at least one village instituted a quarantine, which ultimately saved neighboring villages. The CDC has considered quarantines before in recent history. When the H1N1 pandemic broke out in 2009, the agency chose not to quarantine. But in this case, public health officials had advance notice before the virus hit U.S. soil, Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told the Los Angeles Times. “What was different about this one is that the outbreak was caught so early before it really got to the United States,” she said. “But this is a situation where hopefully because of improved global capacity and surveillance and lab capacity, it was caught early before it spread around the world, and we had this window of time in which we could intervene to slow it down. I think that is different from other situations that we faced.” Now that you better understand quarantine, it’s useful to know how it differs from isolation and social distancing, two terms being bandied about by experts in the past few months. Isolation is separating those with confirmed infections from the population so they can get better without passing on the virus. Social distancing comprises tactics people use to separate themselves from others and reduce their risk of infection. That can mean anything from avoiding crowded events to greeting friends with a nod instead of a smooch or embrace. Cuomo advised New Yorkers on Thursday “I’m of Italian American descent, I’m a hugger,” Cuomo said. “But precautions during the flu season, don’t shake hands and don’t hug. During this season with coronavirus, if you want to take precautions, don’t shake hands, don’t hug.” The U.S. government is requiring evacuees from China’s Hubei province, a coronavirus hot


Should I get tested for coronavirus? Here’s when to stay home, or to see a doctor.

By now, you may have memorized some of the most common symptoms of coronavirus: fever and a cough. In other words, those are some of the same symptoms as the common cold or the flu. But as the coronavirus outbreak progresses, experts say it’s increasingly likely that you might have the new illness. “This is much more widely spread than people realize,” said Amesh Adalja, an infectious-disease expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “The events in Washington state really show that this has established itself in our communities and will continue to do so.” So how do you know if you have coronavirus, and when should you see a doctor? We asked experts some of your most common questions about symptoms, medical care and testing: Not only can you self-manage from the comfort of your couch, but health officials want you to do so. You should stay home if your symptoms can be handled with over-the-counter cold and flu aids from your local drugstore. Evidence from the more than 80,000 coronavirus cases that have been reported in China indicates that about 80 percent of illnesses are mild. If everyone with a cold floods their local emergency rooms, it will be harder for health-care workers to treat patients who are critically Ill. Plus, you could pick up the virus in the hospital if you don’t already have it. “If you feel well enough that if it weren’t for coronavirus you wouldn’t see a doctor, don’t see a doctor,” said Lauren Sauer, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine. It’s a good idea to call your primary-care doctor if you have both a fever and a cough, said Maria Raven, chief of emergency medicine at the University of California at San Francisco. And if you have shortness of breath, unremitting fever, weakness or lethargy, it’s definitely time to get in touch with a health-care professional, according to Adalja. Those could be signs of pneumonia, which is common in severe cases of coronavirus. To determine whether you’re lethargic or just tired, Adalja advises thinking about whether you’ve gotten a good amount of sleep. If you have, and you’re still unable to move at a normal speed or carry out your daily activities, you’re probably lethargic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recommends that you seek medical help if you recently traveled to a coronavirus-infected area


Climate news quiz: Australian wildfires and garbage

All right: Time to see if you’ve been paying attention to The Post’s climate-related coverage. If you have, this quiz should be an easy A. Answer: A Answer: B. Answer: A. Answer: B. Answer: C. Answer: False. Answer: D. Answer: C. Answer: Answer: D. Climate novice: 0 to 3 questions correct You’ve still got a lot to learn about climate change. But that’s okay: We’ve got you covered. Got a question? Ask us here. Climate curious: 4 to 7 questions correct Hey, not bad! You know a thing or two about climate change. But there’s still more to learn, and we’ve got you covered. Got a question? Ask us here. Climate expert: 8 to 10 questions correct Well done! You’re super climate-literate. You probably already know that one of the most important things you as an individual can do to combat climate change is to spread the word? Go ahead: Brag a little, share this quiz with your friends, and find out who knows the most about climate change.


Refund policies and coronavirus: Companies and colleges should be prepared to be generous

Travel plans have been disrupted. Theaters are lowering the curtain. And kids are being sent home early from college. As the novel coronavirus continues to wreak havoc, you may be asking: What’s fair compensation for cancellations and shuttered services? It’s understandable that cruises, concerts and sports games are being canceled. We may want our lives to continue uninterrupted, but health officials recommend we avoid large venues, which is why major sports leagues have suspended or postponed their seasons. Of course, our first concern with the spread of the coronavirus should be about the health of those infected with covid-19, the disease caused by the virus. We all should be doing what we can to avoid spreading it. But as our political leaders scramble to figure out how best to contain the virus, consumers are also concerned about refund policies in the wake of this pandemic. My take: Give people their money back whenever possible. Yes, I know this crisis isn’t of your making, but folks generally don’t want vouchers for future events or travel. If this pandemic goes on too long, and if there’s a disruption in their income, they’re going to need every dollar to cover daily expenses. Companies shouldn’t shift losses to their customers. With the cost of college already stressing the financial limits of families, those colleges shutting down should consider how to compensate students sent home. Many of them have taken out education loans to pay for rooms they can’t sleep in and meals they can’t consume. It may be too soon for colleges to figure this out, but eventually they do need to address the issue of compensation. Will students get a discount on next semester’s room and board charges? Will they get a refund? Since December 2018, Crystal McDonald of Washington has been making monthly payments for her daughter’s high school-sponsored trip to France and Spain as part of a foreign language experience. “It was the only way my daughter would have been able to participate,” McDonald said. The total cost of the spring break trip, which has been scrapped because of the coronavirus outbreak, was $3,500, including travel insurance. McDonald and other parents of students at Benjamin Banneker Academic High in Washington have been told they won’t get a full refund. In response to my questions, the tour company, EF Educational Tours, emphasized that it is allowing for a change of itinerary, change


Metro scales back, and D.C. and Virginia schools close as coronavirus pandemic expands

session early for the first time since the Civil War. The State House is already closed to visitors and public witnesses as lawmakers race to finish work on hundreds of bills. Ferguson said the decision will be made on a “day by day” basis. District Judge Patricia Mitchell issued an order stopping all evictions for 15 days in Montgomery County, Maryland’s most populous jurisdiction. County Council member Will Jawando (D-At Large), who worked with the county’s sheriff to recommend the order, said it will help struggling tenants keep a roof over their heads as the state takes dramatic steps to curtail the spread of the virus. In the District, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum said it would close as of Saturday through at least March 29. The National Archives said it was closing its research rooms and presidential libraries because of the virus, also effective Saturday, until further notice. The National Park Service said national parks remain open. D.C. officials adopted emergency rules Friday banning gatherings of 250 or more people, which Hogan had done in Maryland a day earlier. They said such gatherings may include no more than 10 people from populations deemed at-risk, including those over 60 and people with chronic medical conditions and compromised immune systems. The ban does not apply to schools, workplaces, residential buildings and health-care facilities. Officials also urged the cancellation of senior citizen activities and gatherings. Bowser announced the closure of the District’s public library system as of Monday. The system has more than two dozen branches, which in addition to serving the public are a valued oasis for residents without Internet access, including the homeless. Late Thursday night, Montgomery County said its public libraries would close as well. The District’s Cherry Blossom Festival Parade, which was scheduled for April 4, has been canceled, organizers said. Virginia’s Prince William County canceled all public events and meetings, closing senior centers, community centers and county-owned fitness centers until further notice. Meanwhile, residents stocked up on supplies, filling their shopping carts with cases of bleach, paper towels, food and alcohol at a Costco off South Dakota Avenue in the District’s Northeast. The store was so crowded that would-be customers were temporarily denied entry. A few helpful people pointed out likely parking spaces to wandering motorists. One woman blamed President Trump for the situation. Another blamed the devil. Another blamed fear of the unknown. darran.simon@washpost.com laura.vozzella@washpost.com ovetta.wiggins@washpost.com


Pakistan fears Afghan peace failure could bring violence its way

ISLAMABAD — For years, Pakistan has been accused of playing a double game in Afghanistan — harboring suicide bombers, hosting Taliban insurgents and seeking to destabilize its poorer neighbor while paying lip service to efforts to settle the Afghan war through negotiations. But when U.S. and Taliban officials signed an agreement in Qatar on Feb. 29, paving the way for the withdrawal of U.S. troops and power-sharing talks between Taliban and Afghan leaders, Pakistan hailed the breakthrough. It also hoped to take some of the credit, having freed a jailed Taliban leader who then became the group’s chief negotiator. Instead, the deal quickly hit several snags, including a bitter struggle among Afghan political rivals and a Taliban dispute with President Ashraf Ghani over the promised release of thousands of insurgent prisoners. Taliban attacks resumed after a brief partial truce, and the follow-up talks were put on hold. Now, Pakistanis say they are worried that the crisis could unleash the same kind of violence and refugee exodus that followed the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1989. “Sadly, it appears as if history is repeating itself in Afghanistan,” the editors of Dawn newspaper wrote Wednesday, recounting how the power vacuum and civil war of the post-Soviet era gave rise to the Taliban takeover in 1996. Some of the most notorious figures from that era are involved in the current political fight. “Unfortunately,” the editors wrote, “it appears that the Afghan power brokers have learned nothing.” What you need to know about the U.S.-Taliban peace deal Numerous international experts portray Pakistan, which once backed the Taliban regime, as still favoring the insurgents over the Afghan government led by Ghani, which has been highly suspicious of Pakistan and has built a close relationship with Pakistan’s archrival, India. They suggest that regardless of whether intra-Afghan talks succeed, Pakistan will come out a winner. “As a nation, Pakistan is better off with its Afghan neighbor at peace,” said Michael Kugelman, a regional expert at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. “But Islamabad would derive strategic benefits from an Afghanistan that remains at war, because its Taliban partner only gets stronger and India’s ability to operate there is diminished.” Pakistani officials take strong exception to that analysis, insisting that they are sincere about wanting peace and that they are far more worried about external “spoilers” sabotaging it. They also insist that Pakistan, having been


‘I need to leave right now’: American students rush out of Europe amid covid-19 pandemic

colleges sent students home, cities canceled events, and libraries and museums closed as case counts and death tolls mounted. For Ofer Levy, who has been racing to combat the virus as director of the Precision Vaccines Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, it was the moment when the pandemic hit him personally, as a father. It was also the week when covid-19 hammered study-abroad programs. Hundreds of thousands of Americans study abroad every year, and though many students have returned to the United States from their programs, especially in hard-hit areas such as China and Italy, many were still in Europe at the time of the president’s speech. The State Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued sharply escalated warnings this week. That set off a wild scramble among students in Europe — and among universities and other study-abroad programs. The situation is unprecedented in recent memory, experts said. People from 400 institutions took part in a virtual meeting about the issue Thursday, said Brad Farnsworth, vice president of global engagement with the American Council on Education. Johns Hopkins University suspended all of its spring undergraduate study-abroad programs worldwide Thursday and advised students to use the university’s travel service for help with limited flight availability. University System of Maryland Chancellor Jay A. Perman said in a statement Thursday, “In light of President Trump’s new travel restrictions, I’m advising USM universities to recall all students studying abroad, including those not currently in Europe.” New York University urged its 800 students studying in continental Europe to return and dispatched staff to each location to help with travel plans and other logistics. Canceling a program launches a host of problems, Farnsworth said, including how to get students home, the question of whether flying exposes them to more risk than staying where they are, where to quarantine them if needed, and how to continue the studies for which they have already paid. “We understand it’s a complicated situation,” said Levy, a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. “Restricting travel is one way to the reduce the spread. I am an infectious-disease doctor, after all. We’re also parents, and we were worried about our daughter.” Sharon Levy, who also is a pediatrician and has a master’s degree in public health, said she wasn’t terribly worried that her daughter would become sick. But the president’s speech concerned her. “The idea that your kid


Bee-saving practices sometimes are more marketing than real help

Bee hotels — boxes promoted as good nesting places. “Bee-friendly” farming techniques behind favorite foods. Are the claims true — or just honey-drenched hype? Lila Westreich, a bee researcher at the University of Washington, says companies take advantage of well-intentioned consumers by “bee-washing.” The term, first coined by researchers in 2015, refers to greenwashing, in this case a marketing strategy that makes a product or practice seem beneficial to threatened bees. (Greenwashing evolved from the term whitewashing and means an environmental spin.) In The Conversation, Westreich writes that the practice can actually hurt bees. Bee hotels are advertised as safe nests for bees, for example, but some may be dangerous. The welfare of honeybees may be overemphasized, misleading the public about environmental priorities. Wild native bees are at particular risk. Of the 20,000 or so bee species in the world, only about 4,000 are native to North America — the bumblebee among them. These bees don’t produce honey, and they’re less sociable and well-known than their so-sweet counterparts. The majority of American bees don’t produce honey. Honey bees came to the United States from Europe. Kelsey K. Graham, another bee researcher, calls them the “chickens of the bee world” because they are so domesticated. Unlike hive-dwelling honeybees, which are carefully bred, imported to the country for use in crop pollination and managed, the majority of native bees are solitary and nest underground. They reportedly pollinate up to 80 percent of plants, including many crops. They’re also at risk: In a 2017 study, the Center for Biological Diversity found that more than 50 percent of North American native bee species are declining; 24 percent are threatened with extinction. Native bees are threatened by climate change, habitat depletion and pesticide use — but honey bees get most of the publicity. “While many people are worried about honey bees, it’s also important to understand the jeopardy that native bees face,” Westreich writes. “Companies and organizations use bee-washing to boost their image, taking advantage of the public’s lack of knowledge of native bees.” By bragging about how they help honey bees, notes Westreich, they play down the importance of native species that, unlike honey bees, are actually endangered. They also play up their solutions, such as bee hotels, that can hurt bees by spreading disease. Ready to inoculate yourself against misleading claims about bees? Read Westreich’s article at bit.ly/beewashing


Keeping your distance is good for public health but tough for small businesses

able to provide for their families. But I can’t have people come in and do nothing.” He’s considering asking his landlord for a discount on his rent. At Peregrine Espresso on 14th Street, customer traffic is down by a third this week, said barista Jennifer Henry. At Leon, a normally popular lunch spot near Farragut Square, the emptying out of nearby office buildings killed a promotional event Thursday meant to introduce new menu items. “There were supposed to be 30 people here. We have two people,” said marketing manager Carlen Dickerson, motioning toward empty tables. “A lot of the offices around here are remote now.” Holly Wade, director of research at the National Federation of Independent Business, or NFIB, said the same scenes are playing out across the country. The problems are particularly acute in restaurants, catering groups and any businesses that are “public-facing,” she said. But NFIB has also heard from other businesses reporting impact, all across the country. A plastics manufacturer in Pennsylvania says a conference its employees were supposed to attend was canceled at the last minute, costing the company money and work time. The owner of a parking lot near an airport said business is down. John Bailey, owner of a charter-bus company employing 50 people in York, Pa., said 50 groups have canceled trips in the past week, with more sure to follow suit in the coming weeks as college sports, schools and universities shut down. He anticipates the disruption will cost his company hundreds of thousands of dollars. On a conference call with members of the Pennsylvania Bus Association on Friday, Bailey heard plenty of other dire stories. A hotel owner said tour groups were canceling into mid-May. “It’s not just the hotel room that gets canceled,” Bailey said in an interview. Tour groups “eat in restaurants, they go to shows, the buses do rest stops, they are buying fuel along the road. Things wear out on buses and you’ve got to buy parts,” he said. “It’s going to have a real ripple effect on the economy.” After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, business dried up for about three weeks, and then things rebounded, Bailey said. “With this one, there’s no end date,” he said. David Wilcox, an economist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said hourly workers at small businesses could be in for considerable pain. Their shifts and income may


Only Mother Nature can save us now

cough on each other and take their infections home to their vulnerable elders. Seasonal deficiencies of vitamin D related to low sunlight may also be implicated. In the present national emergency, as Trump belatedly declared it on Friday, understanding seasonality is less important than experiencing it — the sooner the better. With the approach of spring, we’ve reached the point where flu season typically begins to ebb. Similar behavior by the new virus could make up for some of the feckless government response. But only for a little while. Let me repeat: only for a little while. As we know from flu, seasonal viruses typically return after a few months on hiatus, and sometimes they have mutated into even more virulent forms. Given the pandemic spread of covid-19, the world will still be mopping up from this outbreak when the virus — if it’s seasonal — comes roaring back. Will we be ready? More ready than the first time? I can imagine two possibilities. Over the next month or six weeks, the extent of the covid-19 epidemic in the United States will be written in death, suffering and economic dislocation. But then we luck into a seasonal reprieve. New infection rates drop. Makeshift ICUs in tents and convention centers discharge their last patients and bury their last corpses. Rather than relax, U.S. authorities use the cease-fire to prepare a massive defense. As the end of summer nears, every student in the country gets a daily temperature check at school. Instant fever scans greet commuters, airport passengers, audience members. Every fever triggers a covid-19 test. Every positive test triggers aggressive contact tracing and quarantines. Meanwhile, scientists work furiously on treatments and a vaccine. The other scenario: After a gruesome spring, covid-19 cools off thanks to a seasonal reprieve. Desperate to flip the campaign script, the president declares victory and dismisses talk of a new outbreak as politically inspired to hurt his reelection chances. His acolytes sing along. Thus shielded once more by Trump’s incomprehension, covid-19 roars back in November, worse than before. Our one possible lucky break — seasonality — will matter only if Americans keep up the fight no matter which way the numbers are trending. We all know the president won’t admit his mistake in minimizing this threat. But please, Mr. Trump: If you finally understand the stakes, blink three times. david.vondrehle@washpost.com Read more from David Von Drehle’s archive.


NCAA extends eligibility for many athletes whose seasons were cut short

An NCAA committee Friday granted another year of eligibility to thousands of college athletes whose seasons were abruptly cut short by concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. The Division I Council Coordination Committee announced its “leadership agreed that eligibility relief is appropriate for all Division I student-athletes who participated in spring sports,” a day after the NCAA canceled all winter and spring championship athletic events. Many leaders within college athletics viewed the move as the fair resolution but one that will involve complications. “It’s a challenge,” Ryan Bamford, the athletic director at Massachusetts, said in a telephone interview Friday morning, speaking of the potential ramifications of an eligibility waiver before the NCAA’s decision was announced. “The concept I think everybody agrees with. I haven’t gotten a lot of pushback on the concept, but the mechanics of it are really, really sticky.” Spring sports include baseball, golf, lacrosse, softball, tennis and outdoor track and field. Most of those teams had played only a fraction of their seasons. For instance, the men’s and women’s lacrosse schedule runs from early February through the end of May. Outdoor track and field had yet to begin. The NCAA, according to reports, will discuss whether to extend the measure to winter sport athletes, who were nearing their postseason, if not already there. Those athletes missed out on participating in their marquee events but still competed in the bulk of their scheduled competitions. Winter sports include basketball, gymnastics, ice hockey, wrestling and swimming and diving. The postseasons for those sports were scheduled for the coming weeks and into next month. The ramifications of Friday’s decision, as well as the possibility of extending it to winter sports, will be significant. Teams have scholarship and roster limits, with freshmen set to enroll next season. Even though the NCAA easily could adjust the number of scholarships allowed per sport, that would raise costs for individual athletic departments to support additional athletes. Connecticut women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma supported eligibility relief, particularly for spring sport seniors, and said on ESPN that the NCAA should pay for the additional scholarships the school hadn’t anticipated. The logistical challenges of the NCAA’s decision could persist for years because it’s not only seniors who will be given the eligibility relief. The Division I Council Coordination Committee’s statement said the details of eligibility relief “will be finalized at a later time.” “Additional issues with NCAA rules must


D.C. culture continues to shut down, with Children’s and Spy museums latest to close

the end of the month. The museum’s temporary shut down is open-ended. “I just think it’s too fluid,” Bowyer said of the situation, noting that announcing a reopening that isn’t guaranteed might only further disappoint its young visitors. Bowyer’s decision came after sellout weekends since Feb. 24, when the museum finally opened to the public after missing its planned November debut. She acknowledged that this is a delicate time for the museum. “I’m terrified [about] the situation financially for the institution, but especially our employees,” Bowyer said. Full-time employees are going to be paid, at least in the short term, she said. The museum will continue selling tickets for April through June admission and will work to add content to its website. “We’re going to try to help families and children while we’re closed,” she said. “Families need us now more than ever.” The Hirshhorn announced Friday it would delay the April opening of “One With Eternity: Yayoi Kusama in the Hirshhorn Collection.” The Hirshhorn, and all of the Smithsonian museums, close temporarily as of Saturday. “We anticipate the exhibition will now tentatively open in June. We look forward to welcoming you back to the museum to celebrate this exhibition and will be sure to keep you apprised as more information becomes available,” Hirshhorn Director Melissa Chiu wrote to patrons in announcing the change. Other cancellations and postponements are unfolding as government officials continue to discourage mass gatherings. The Museum of the Bible announced Friday that it will close to the public March 16-22, although it could be longer. The International Spy Museum will close Monday through at least March 27. Wolf Trap has postponed all performances and classes until March 31, including concerts by Rodney Crowell and Aoife O’Donovan and a four-night appearance by The Second City comedy troupe. The National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Va., will close temporarily beginning Saturday, as will the Weinberg Center in Frederick, Md. The Choral Arts Society of Washington is postponing two performances of the March 28 program, “Music by Women on a Mission,” planned for Live! at 10th and G. Information about a new date will come in the near future, officials said. Round House Theatre Studio Theatre The Phillips Collection will close its 21st Street NW museum and satellite space, Phillips@THEARC, from Saturday through April 3. The American University Museum has canceled all of its spring exhibitions and


to its website. “We’re going to try to help families and children while we’re closed,” she said. “Families need us now more than ever.” The Hirshhorn announced Friday it would delay the April opening of “One With Eternity: Yayoi Kusama in the Hirshhorn Collection.” The Hirshhorn, and all of the Smithsonian museums, close temporarily as of Saturday. “We anticipate the exhibition will now tentatively open in June. We look forward to welcoming you back to the museum to celebrate this exhibition and will be sure to keep you apprised as more information becomes available,” Hirshhorn Director Melissa Chiu wrote to patrons in announcing the change. Other cancellations and postponements are unfolding as government officials continue to discourage mass gatherings. The Museum of the Bible announced Friday that it will close to the public March 16-22, although it could be longer. The International Spy Museum will close Monday through at least March 27. Wolf Trap has postponed all performances and classes until March 31, including concerts by Rodney Crowell and Aoife O’Donovan and a four-night appearance by The Second City comedy troupe. The National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Va., will close temporarily beginning Saturday, as will the Weinberg Center in Frederick, Md. The Choral Arts Society of Washington is postponing two performances of the March 28 program, “Music by Women on a Mission,” planned for Live! at 10th and G. Information about a new date will come in the near future, officials said. Round House Theatre Studio Theatre The Phillips Collection will close its 21st Street NW museum and satellite space, Phillips@THEARC, from Saturday through April 3. The American University Museum has canceled all of its spring exhibitions and will close from Saturday through June 12. The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore will close Saturday through the end of March, and the Baltimore Museum of Art will close March 16-31 and cancel all public programs through April 12. Arts leaders are bracing for a significant financial hit from the virus outbreak, and not just because of the cancellations. “All of our advance sales have come to a halt,” Boland said. “That will have as much of an impact as these canceled performances.” “We are really hoping our audiences will consider, if they don’t attend the show, donating their tickets back,” she continued. “Not asking for a refund right now is a really significant way to support theaters.” peggy.mcglone@washpost.com


Further postponements and cancellations leave sports calendar all but empty

What little remained of the dwindling spring sports calendar was wiped nearly clean Friday. The Masters golf tournament and Boston Marathon became the latest iconic events to announce postponements in the wake of the public health crisis wreaked by the novel coronavirus. Virtually every major U.S. sporting event scheduled for the coming weeks was either shelved or canceled, and many leagues and organizers around the globe followed suit. European soccer ground to a halt Friday, and NASCAR and IndyCar postponed upcoming races. They were among the last holdouts. The NBA and NHL already suspended their seasons; Major League Baseball delayed its Opening Day; and the NCAA canceled all of its championship tournaments — all happening in a dizzying 48-hour period this week that was unlike anything the sports world has experienced. Augusta National Golf Club spent the week weighing its options for hosting the Masters before announcing Friday morning that the event, steeped in tradition and covered in azaleas, would not start April 9 as planned. Tournament officials offered no timeline on when it might be rescheduled but were hopeful it could still be held this year. The decision came less than 24 hours after the PGA Tour canceled the final three rounds of the Players Championship, as well as all other Tour events through April 5. The Masters was scheduled to take place the following week, which means the world’s top golfers probably won’t play a tournament again until at least mid-April. “Ultimately, the health and well-being of everyone associated with these events and the citizens of the Augusta community led us to this decision,” Fred Ridley, chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, said in a statement. “We hope this postponement puts us in the best position to safely host the Masters Tournament and our amateur events at some later date.” Around the same time Friday, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh appeared at a news conference and announced the Boston Marathon, originally scheduled for April 20, would be postponed until Sept. 14, another proactive measure by event organizers to minimize large gatherings and help stem the outbreak of the virus that causes covid-19. “Our expectation and hope right now is that this day will get us to a safer date,” Walsh said. “We want to make sure that we keep people safe. … That’s what all this is about." Moving the marathon — one of the largest and most


Maryland lawmakers prepare for possible early adjournment; lobbyists barred from legislative chambers

The Maryland General Assembly’s presiding officers announced heightened social distancing policies Friday, barring lobbyists from State House legislative chambers and allowing them to enter state office buildings only by appointment. Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) also raised the possibility of adjourning the 90-day session early, though that decision will be made on a “day-by-day” basis. State lawmakers are triaging the more than 2,400 bills still pending before them, advancing the most crucial legislation. The top priorities include the $48.5 billion budget, an overhaul of public schools and coronavirus legislation that, among other things, would give job protections to workers ordered into quarantine. The Senate also fast-tracked a bill to loosen restrictions on telemedicine. “We will do what it takes to get the most critical and important work done, and nothing more,” Ferguson said. State legislatures across the country are weighing whether to shut down work. In Colorado and Idaho, lawmakers are rushing to finish their work early because of the epidemic. The Missouri Senate broke early, and the Ohio House of Representatives canceled sessions indefinitely. In Tennessee, a lawmaker’s request to adjourn early was rebuffed. In Maryland, the General Assembly has not adjourned early since the Civil War, the Senate president said. “We need to get out of here,” Senate Minority Leader J.B. Jennings (R-Harford) said in an interview. He suggested that the General Assembly take action on the operating budget, capital budget and emergency bills. “The minute someone in this chamber or that chamber tests positive, we all get quarantined and this gets shut down.” The general public has already been barred from the Maryland State House under aggressive social distancing policies Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced Thursday evening. Schools will be closed for two weeks starting Monday, and all gatherings of 250 or more have been prohibited, among many other measures. In a tweet late Friday, Hogan urged lawmakers to finish a smaller subset of their priorities by Tuesday, prompting a harsh rebuke from House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County). “Please don’t degrade our collaborative work to Twitter bombs in this time of uncertainty,” she tweeted. In legislative action on Friday, both chambers gave initial approval to a bill that gives Hogan the authority to reduce costs for testing for the virus, ban price gouging, improve access to telehealth and ensure private and public employees who are under quarantine do not lose their jobs. The legislation


Coronavirus triggers run on grocery stores, with panic-buying, hoarding and some fighting, too

pasta, paper towels and dog food into the parking lot. “I couldn’t wait to get outside and breathe. That’s a lot of exposure.” Cox said this panic-buying spree seemed different than others. “I just think people are really afraid,” she said. “This is something we’ve never experienced before. … It’s scary.” Ruth Hrubala and Kyle Johnson became friends while waiting on line Friday afternoon at the Trader Joe’s on 14th Street NW. The line — five hairpin turns around the shelves, some of which were cleaned out — took maybe an hour to get through. “We’re making fun of this mayhem,” Hrubala, 50, said. “It’s crazy.” “I didn’t stock up beforehand, and that clearly was a mistake,” Johnson, 24, said. “Now that everyone else has panicked, well, … we have to panic.” Johnson, who recently opened The Hollows coffee shop in Adams Morgan, and Hrubala, chief of staff for a business in Alexandria, said they have witnessed consumer mayhem in some stores. Flowers strewn on the ground, people gobbling down food in the stores without buying it, battling outside for parking spots and battling inside for whatever they could get their hands on. “I went to Costco last night and people were fighting over things,” Johnson said. “I tried to get one onion last night and couldn’t get a single one. This is the first time I’ve been able to get bananas.” Similar scenes left Hrubala feeling distraught. “Yesterday was dire for me. I left this store actually in tears,” said Hrubala, who also had seen people at their worst in the past few days. “It just felt so strange for shelves to be empty and people fighting over food,” she said. “People were grabbing food out of people’s hands at the frozen section.” The Giant Co., which operates 186 stores in Maryland, Virginia and other states, reported overwhelming demand for many household staples, including cleaning supplies. “We are focused on getting back in stock as soon as possible,” Giant spokeswoman Ashley Flower said in an email. “We apologize to our customers for this inconvenience.” Shortages hit Hrubala, who was at Trader Joe’s buying for friends and for her dog. But the dog — thanks to a run on ground beef — might have to cope with a change in diet. “I’m trying to keep a level head,” Hrubala said. “Personally, I don’t think there’s this much need for panic.”


Passengers flying to the U.S. from 26 countries in Europe will face enhanced screening

by the Trump administration, with the goal of slowing the spread of the coronavirus, which has now sickened more than 1,800 people and killed more than 40 in the United States. Administration officials now think that Europe — not China — is the new hot spot for outbreaks and that reducing the number of people entering the United States from those nations will aid efforts to control the virus’s spread. That belief was reinforced by the World Health Organization on Friday. Wolf said arriving passengers will be directed to “enhanced entry screening,” where they will be asked about their medical history and current condition, and for contact information to be given to local health authorities. Passengers will then be given written information about the novel coronavirus and instructed to self-quarantine in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention best practices. “While the overall risk of serious infection from the coronavirus to the general public remains low at this time, the Trump administration is taking these aggressive measures to keep the risk low, requiring all Americans returning from affected areas in Europe to be funneled through 13 airports for screening upon their return to the U.S.,” Wolf said in a statement. In an effort to minimize disruption, Wolf said airlines, officers from the Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection will work to identify passengers who fit the criteria before they board their previously scheduled flights. Once identified, those passengers would then be put on flights headed to one of the 13 designated airports. “I understand this new process will be disruptive to some travelers, however this action is needed to protect the general public from further exposure and spread of the coronavirus,” Wolf said. “Once back in the U.S. it is imperative that individuals honor self-quarantine directives to help protect their loved-ones and communities.” The Trump administration has had similar restrictions in place for travelers from China and Iran. The new restrictions will require significantly more resources than those already in place, in part because the number of travelers coming from the 26 European nations covered under the new policy dwarfs the number arriving from China and Iran. Before the restrictions were put into place, roughly 15,000 travelers a day arrived from China, a number that has since dropped to about 1,000. About 66,000 passengers per day typically arrive from the countries subject to Trump’s new order.


The companies that feed America brace for labor shortages and worry about restocking stores as coronavirus pandemic intensifies

at Columbia Business School and the former chief executive of Sears Canada. “But this is a different situation: This is serial hoarding — and no part of the machine that supplies consumers is geared for this." There are already signs of far-reaching shortages: Shelves of hand sanitizer and disinfecting sprays have remained empty for weeks across the country. Amazon is largely sold out of toilet paper, with shipments that were due to be delivered earlier this week delayed indefinitely. Costco’s website, meanwhile, is out of peanut butter and canned tomatoes, and has removed its online listing for Kirkland brand baby wipes. Amazon and Costco did not respond to requests for comment. Wegmans, the regional supermarket chain based in Rochester, N.Y., said this week that shoppers are buying shelf-stable foods, paper products and cleaning supplies faster than it can keep up with. Like its competitors, it has begun rationing sales of high-demand items such as bottled water, hand sanitizer and toilet paper. “As demand for these items continues to grow and supply remains limited, we’re working with our current suppliers and pursuing additional sources to replenish our supply,” the grocer said on its website. Analysts say the buying spree could end up lifting prices, after years when chains cut prices amid growing competition from Walmart and newcomers such as Aldi. “Either prices will start to go up as we see shortages, or companies will have to figure out new ways to move things around,” said Per Hong, a senior partner in the strategic operations at Kearney, a consulting firm. “Companies can start to pivot, but there is no question we’ll see disruptions because of coronavirus.” Supermarkets are doubling down on essentials, such as food, water and cleaning supplies, while letting everything else go by the wayside, according to Brittain Ladd, a consultant to Kroger and other retailers. “Fresh food, milk, dairy, meat, eggs — the consumables are the only focus now,” he said. “Everything else, like dish towels and candle holders, is of zero concern." Among food items, products such as seafood, apple juice and garlic, which are heavily sourced from China, are likely to be hit first, according to Phil Lempert, a California-based food industry analyst who bills himself as the “supermarket guru." “The fact that we get a lot of food from China, where factories have been closed, does indicate that we are going to have a supply chain


problem,” he said. “We’re going to have two-, three-, four-month lag time until those factories get back up to speed.” In the United States, grocery chains and distributors are taking their own measures to keep the coronavirus outbreak from spreading to their workers. Warehouses have begun limiting visits from vendors and suppliers, while some supermarkets are toying with reducing their hours, according to Maharaj. Instacart and other delivery services are offering “contact-free” drop-offs to customers’ doorsteps. Big-box stores such as Walmart and Target, which have invested heavily in store-pickup and same-day delivery programs, have been doubling down on them in recent days, industry experts say. Many companies have also revised their sick leave policies in recent days to encourage employees to stay home if they feel ill. “The issue is: Grocery stores are essentially giant petri dishes,” Maharaj said. “You have a lot of people touching a lot of food.” Although grocery stores may struggle in the short term to keep shelves stocked, some experts say current shortages are temporary supply-chain glitches. American stockpiles of basic foods are strong, they say. Lowell Randel, vice president of government and legal affairs for Global Cold Chain Alliance, which provides temperature-controlled storage and distribution to 1,300 companies in 85 countries, says he sees no supply problems. “It’s not a shortage of availability of food,” he said. “It’s nothing like the situation with hand sanitizer. Our member facilities are full, not empty. That should provide comfort for consumers.” If anything, he said, the United States currently has excesses of certain food items, such as pork and soy, because of a slowdown in exports to China. The pork industry continues to run near full capacity, slaughtering 490,000 animals per day, according to Steve Meyer, an economist for Kerns and Associates who covers the pork industry. But, he added, the big fear is that the coronavirus outbreak could impact workers. “If we had a major plant that had two or three workers test positive, they would have no choice but to suspend operations,” he said. “Same would be true for the beef business.” Fears of a “serious market disruption with catastrophic implications for hog farmers” prompted the National Pork Producers Council to send a letter to the White House and lawmakers this week asking for federal action such as expedited worker visas and support for farmers suffering from supply-chain bottlenecks. Pointing to a Tyson meat plant


The number of covid-19 cases in the D.C. region is doubling every 48 hours

In one week, the number of covid-19 cases in the District, Maryland and Virginia went from zero to 42, a majority of them located in or around the nation’s capital. As of Thursday night, 11 cases were reported in the District, 18 in Virginia and 13 in Maryland. The numbers continued to jump on Friday. The Washington Post examined the first week’s worth of cases, and found that slightly fewer than half the patients are older than 60; more are male than female. The cases spread to 17 jurisdictions in the first week, with most linked to either travel in a place where there was an outbreak or to a preexisting patient. There are seven cases in which authorities have either not determined or not revealed the likely source of the virus. Here is an accounting of the first week of coronavirus patients in the region: The virus’s first known appearance in the region was announced on March 5: three travel-related cases in Montgomery County, Md., a suburb of 1 million just north of the Washington, D.C. Over that weekend, more cases emerged, including the first positive test for covid-19 in the District — a rector at a prominent Georgetown church, which has since been connected to several other patients. As health officials tried to track down people who were possibly infected and ramp up testing, the number of cases more than doubled every 48 hours and spread to 17 jurisdictions. While the one-week tally is a relatively small number, it is certain to grow, potentially mirroring the type of exponential increase first seen in China, then in Italy and now in metropolitan areas across the United States. In New York, where the governor has created a one-mile containment zone in suburban New Rochelle, the caseload grew from zero to 216 in less than two weeks. In Washington state, where more than two dozen mostly elderly patients have died of the novel coronavirus, the number of cases grew from zero to 366 in 50 days. Containment efforts are concentrated in emergency command centers around the region. In Maryland’s Montgomery County, health officials are hunkered in a converted conference room in Silver Spring, mobilizing staff and resources for what could be months of work. These officials have expertise in infectious diseases. Many led the response to the spread of Ebola and the H1N1 crisis, and some dealt with the 2001 anthrax


Coronavirus can stay infectious for days on surfaces. But it’s still okay to check your mail.

Scientists studying the novel coronavirus are quickly uncovering features that allow it to infect and sicken human beings. Every virus has a signature way of interacting with the world, and this one — SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease covid-19 — is well-equipped to create a historic pandemic. The coronavirus can be shed by people even before they develop symptoms. That pre-symptomatic transmission has helped it become a stealth contagion, spreading through communities before they know what hit them. The coronavirus may take many days — up to 14 — before an infection flares into symptoms, and although most people recover without a serious illness, this is not a bug that comes and goes quickly. A serious case of covid-19 can last for weeks. The virus lurks in the body even after people feel better. A new study in the Lancet, based on research in China, found that the median length of time the virus remains in the respiratory tract of a patient after symptoms begin is 20 days. Among patients who survived the disease, the virus continued to be shed for between eight and 37 days. (The study did not reach any conclusions on whether and to what extent this persistence could lead to infections in other people.) This coronavirus can establish itself in the upper respiratory tract, said Vincent Munster, chief of the Virus Ecology Section of Rocky Mountain Laboratories, a facility in Hamilton, Mont., that is part of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. That enables the virus to spread more easily through coughing and sneezing and stands in contrast to another coronavirus that Munster’s laboratory has studied — MERS, which tends to infect cells in the lower respiratory tract, he said. Though more lethal than the new virus, MERS did not spread as easily and did not become a pandemic. Munster and his colleagues have been studying the novel coronavirus under laboratory conditions to better understand its viability outside a host organism — in the air and on surfaces. Those experiments found that at least some coronavirus can potentially remain viable — capable of infecting a person — for up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to three days on plastic and stainless steel. When aerosolized into fine, floating particles, the virus remained viable for three hours. On a copper surface, it was four hours, the study found. The median length of viability for


These simulations show how to flatten the coronavirus growth curve

[This story has been optimized for offline reading on our apps. For a richer experience, you can find the full version of this story here. An Internet connection is required.] After the first case of covid-19, the disease caused by the new strain of coronavirus, was announced in the United States, reports of further infections trickled in slowly. Two months later, that trickle has turned into a steady current. This so-called exponential curve has experts worried. If the number of cases were to continue to double every three days, there would be about a hundred million cases in the United States by May. That is math, not prophecy. The spread can be slowed, public health professionals say, if people practice “social distancing” by avoiding public spaces and generally limiting their movement. Still, without any measures to slow it down, covid-19 will continue to spread exponentially for months. To understand why, it is instructive to simulate the spread of a fake disease through a population. In a population of just five people, it did not take long for everyone to catch simulitis. In real life, of course, people eventually recover. A recovered person can neither transmit simulitis to a healthy person nor become sick again after coming in contact with a sick person. Let’s see what happens when simulitis spreads in a town of 200 people. We will start everyone in town at a random position, moving at a random angle, and we will make one person sick. Notice how the slope of the red curve, which represents the number of sick people, rises rapidly as the disease spreads and then tapers off as people recover. Our simulation town is small — about the size of Whittier, Alaska — so simulitis was able to spread quickly across the entire population. In a country like the United States, with its 330 million people, the curve could steepen for a long time before it started to slow. When it comes to the real covid-19, we would prefer to slow the spread of the virus before it infects a large portion of the U.S. population. To slow simulitis, let’s try to create a forced quarantine, such as the one the Chinese government imposed on Hubei province, covid-19’s ground zero. Whoops! As health experts would expect, it proved impossible to completely seal off the sick population from the healthy. Leana Wen, the former health commissioner


Photos: How coronavirus has disrupted life in six places around the world

It often feels as if the world is shrinking, that almost all of us are interconnected, our disparate cultures linked by things from Internet memes to the latest Netflix film. But in generations nothing has so bound the world together as the coronavirus pandemic. It quickly has become a common language: the fear, the helplessness, the unnerving empty streets and vacant parks and shuttered schools. Traveling by airplane and cruise ship and train, the virus ties Seoul to Tehran to Milan to Washington state, where it has spread at places of worship and conferences and offices and schools and markets. “This is a virus that knows no borders,” said Olaf Scholz, Germany’s vice chancellor and finance minister, urging people worldwide to use it as a rallying cry. “It actually shows that solidarity is the only way that we can move forward as human beings." Florida faces unique challenges amid the coronavirus outbreak, the health crisis posing potentially dire consequences for an aging population in a place that relies heavily on people wanting to visit. The cruise and travel industries already have been hit hard, with residents like Gabriella Simonelli, executive director of Perfection Travel in Miami, saying the coronavirus implications are ominous: “We survive through tourism." Her business has been issuing refunds for cruises and flights booked with her agency. Simonelli also said that she was scheduled to go on a cruise this week, but decided against it because of a recent cold she had. “What if they put me in quarantine? For me, it’s not worth it.” Asma Ghazouani, a Fulbright scholar from Tunisia studying at Southern Illinois University, was at South Point Park in Miami Beach while on spring break, watching cruise ships pass by Wednesday. “Coronavirus for me is proof that we have reached the state of global connection," she said. “What happens in a specific country will affect others. It will affect the economy and global health.” Cruise ships have been at the center of concerns about the coronavirus The coronavirus has taken an outsized toll on Italy, with more than 15,000 confirmed covid-19 cases and more than 1,000 deaths, leading to a lockdown that has left parks and public spaces empty. Every year at the end of February, an amusement park sets up in front of the Arena Civica. Children wait for it all year, and during its stay the park is one of the


United States emerged in Kirkland, Wash., a community just outside Seattle. A nursing home, Life Care Center, saw more than 50 of its residents and staff fall ill during the outbreak and as of Friday 25 had died — accounting for more than half of all deaths related to covid-19 in the United States. The outbreak spurred restrictions on gatherings and cancellations of public events. Sue Heale, executive director of Kirkland Academy of Music and Performance, moved her lessons online, providing digital instruction via video chat. Claire Raymond, 9, received piano instruction remotely to avoid the potential spread of the virus. “The biggest challenge is that this disease is moving so fast. Every day I wake up, and I have this huge weight of decision-making,” Heale says. “If we had to shut down, we would go out of business in two to four weeks.” At Café Suisse in Seattle, Urs Berger waits for customers across the street from Amazon campus. He said loyal customers have kept him going at a time when authorities have implored residents to keep a distance from each other, saying not to sit “shoulder-to-shoulder” at the city’s establishments. The streets of Seattle have been empty in recent days. In South Korea, life in the entertainment districts is at a standstill. Video-game parlors, which are very popular, have been criticized for not being more careful about the virus. And food markets and restaurants are empty, dealing a blow to local businesses. South Korea has been taking the virus outbreak seriously, doing more than 10,000 tests per day. The country has tested more than 240,000 people, or about one per every 250 people, among the highest testing rates in the world. From drive-through kiosks to hospitals to local clinics, hundreds of test sites are available across the country, and the tests are largely free. For the elderly or those too ill to step out, medics visit their homes to take swabs for testing. South Koreans have been closing restaurants to help stop the spread of the virus. Some have waited in long lines to buy protective masks at pharmacies in Seoul. So many things have been canceled or suspended because of the virus, from the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament to professional sporting events to Broadway shows. But the cancellation of the South by Southwest Festival in Austin this year — one of the signature annual things that


and the tests are largely free. For the elderly or those too ill to step out, medics visit their homes to take swabs for testing. South Koreans have been closing restaurants to help stop the spread of the virus. Some have waited in long lines to buy protective masks at pharmacies in Seoul. So many things have been canceled or suspended because of the virus, from the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament to professional sporting events to Broadway shows. But the cancellation of the South by Southwest Festival in Austin this year — one of the signature annual things that “keeps Austin weird” — was a major disappointment to the Texas capital. Hotels and bars vowed to continue on with musical events and gatherings anyway. At Feels So Good Records, a store in downtown Austin, the cancellation of South by Southwest is “a bummer but it’s not the end of the world,” said Felipe Granados, musician and co-owner of the store. “They’ll get the coronavirus under control and everyone will come back next year.” Crews took down banners for the event — also known as SXSW — an international interactive, film and music festival. Blake Bermel, an artist who goes by the name “Mez Data,” said seven of his planned murals were canceled and that he estimates losing thousands of dollars because SXSW isn’t happening this year. He said a lot of local workers — artists, musicians, club owners — depend on this time of year. “I know that there are a lot of others that are happy they don’t have to deal with this headache, but for us it’s like, dude, this is our income, this is a substantial chunk of what we make throughout the year, so it’s really important.” Chinatown in Tokyo has been abandoned, much like other Chinatowns around the world, one example of how some stereotypes are persistent. The coronavirus has had a huge effect in China, where there have been more than 80,000 cases and more than 3,000 deaths — and in Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe closed schools for a month after cases began to soar. As streets lay empty in Chinatown, Japan has repeatedly insisted that postponing or canceling the Tokyo Olympics, slated for this summer, is not an option. The country is preparing for them as normal, although sporting events worldwide have been held without spectators or have been canceled outright.


Man charged in fatal shooting in Petworth neighborhood in 2019

A 29-year-old man has been arrested in a fatal shooting that occurred in June 2019 near Sherman Circle Park in the Petworth area of Northwest Washington, according to D.C. police. Davon Patterson, of Northwest, was charged with first-degree murder while armed. Police said members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested him on Friday. Patterson is accused of shooting Bryant McClain, 46, shortly before 1 a.m. in the 800 block of Crittenden Street NW. Police said McClain, of no fixed address, was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead on the scene. Authorities did not discuss a possible motive. peter.hermann@washpost.com


PM Update: Showers develop overnight. Drying out Sunday.

With everything going on in the world right now, it’s nice to get a bit of cooperation from the weather to allow for some outdoor activities. Rain is on the way, but most of it will fall while we sleep. That means Sunday will be another day where you can get outside and try to distract yourself from the chaos. Listen to our daily D.C. forecasts: Apple Podcasts | Amazon Echo | More options Through tonight: View the Tomorrow (Sunday): See Ian Livingston’s forecast through the week. And if you haven’t already, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For related traffic news, check out Gridlock. Tropical Cyclone Herold: Want our 5 a.m. forecast delivered to your email inbox?


Trump defiant on testing and handshakes even as third Mar-a-Lago case emerges

to an infected person as Trump and Vice President Pence did in Florida, can lead to infection. “These interactions would be categorized as LOW risk for transmission per CDC guidelines, and as such, there is no indication for home quarantine at this time,” Conley’s memo said. The memo went on to say that since Trump “remains without symptoms, testing for COVID-19 is not currently indicated.” It was not clear early Saturday whether than meant that Trump had decided not to be tested after all. Trump’s words and behavior seemed to signal that he still may be underestimating the diseases’s threat to the country — and even to his own health. As thousands of schools close, sports leagues suspend games, and American cities retreat into an eerie emptiness in the name of limiting the disease’s spread, the president’s actions seemed out of step. Public health and medical experts have urged people to stop shaking hands, touching their faces, limit large gatherings and self-isolate if they have come into contact with a confirmed case of the coronavirus because the disease spreads easily. Trump has continued to shake hands even though he has come into close contact with a number of people and, at 73, is in a high-risk age group. On Friday, the Brazilian Embassy in Washington said that its ambassador, Nestor Forster — who sat at Trump’s table during a dinner Saturday night at Mar-a-Lago — had tested positive for the coronavirus. Forster is the second Brazilian official who visited Mar-a-Lago that night and then was diagnosed with the fast-spreading virus: Fabio Wajngarten, the communications secretary for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, tested positive on Wednesday. Wajngarten had posed for a photo with Trump; Forster, the newly diagnosed ambassador, seems to have been in even more prolonged close contact with the president. On Friday, Republican officials also said a guest of a donor who attended a Sunday luncheon at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club had later tested positive for the virus. “As you may have had contact with this individual, please contact your medical provider if you or any of your loved ones is ill” or shows symptoms like fever or shortness of breath, donors were told, according to a copy of the warning obtained by The Washington Post. At the time, Trump did not seem to believe the coronavirus could pose much of a risk to his personal health. According to an account


‘An earthquake’: Coronavirus crisis rocks higher education, forcing students and professors into uncharted territory

Colleges run on routines and rituals. Students and parents watch the calendar from drop-off day through graduation, one term after another. Midterms come and go, and spring break offers a respite before the last push to final exams and summer. The coronavirus pandemic smashed all the routines this week, forcing hundreds of thousands of undergraduates to scatter from campuses around the country, return from study abroad and hunker down at home. They will still be taking classes, but remotely, with cellphones and laptops for at least a few weeks and perhaps the rest of the school year. “I don’t want to go home,” said Rebecca Gibbons, a freshman from the Eastern Shore studying chemical engineering at the University of Maryland. She was among the stunned students packing up this week without any idea of when they’ll return to College Park. “I just know that being in class and being able to ask questions and being able to physically see the professor writing down every step is important. It’s just going to be very difficult.” On Friday, the fast-moving crisis rocked another public flagship. The University of Texas shut down abruptly, just before spring break, because it had its first confirmed case of covid-19. “It is difficult for me to write this because the person who tested positive is my wife Carmel,” UT President Gregory L. Fenves wrote in a message to campus. “And a second member of my family (who works at UT) is presumed to have COVID-19 as well. I have now been tested for the virus, and the three of us are in self-isolation.” UT added an extra week to spring break and is shifting many lectures online. That dramatic announcement followed days of drama that have convulsed campuses from coast to coast and even threatened commencements. “It is an earthquake,” said William E. “Brit” Kirwan, a former university president and retired chancellor of the University System of Maryland. Schools faced upheaval after the September 2001 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. But this crisis feels different because its full dimensions are still unknown. “It’s developing so fast that what we thought was true yesterday or last week is no longer true,” said Mary Sue Coleman, president of the Association of American Universities. At U-Md., students said their goodbyes Thursday and hauled gear out of dormitories to get ready for the unexpected online phase of their year


The tale of how a Nile cruise boosted the international coronavirus outbreak

Aswan and Luxor. The American passengers on four trips — departing Feb. 12, Feb. 19, Feb. 26 and Mar. 4 — are now considered persons of interest by the CDC, Seslow said, adding that Gate 1 was cooperating with U.S. health authorities and the State Department. Retirees Pamela Allen, 69, and Harold Allen, 72, of Pennsylvania boarded the Asara on Feb. 26. They were in Egypt for a nine-day trip, thinking they were getting away from the coronavirus tumult. Their vacation destination seemed to be free of the cases popping up elsewhere in the world. “No one talked about the virus,” Pamela Allen said. “We would see it on the news, but we weren’t concerned. It was far away.” But toward the end of their cruise, crew members began to “clean like mad,” she said. “We didn’t think anything of it at the time,” she said. “Hindsight tells us now that they knew.” When the couple flew back to Pennsylvania on March 5, U.S. customs officers asked whether they had been in China. When they said they had traveled to Egypt, they were waved through. Only when they saw news that their ship had been put under quarantine did they wonder whether they, too, should be in quarantine. Neither showed signs of illness. Their tour company, Gate 1, contacted their local health department, which called the Allens and told them to stay home. Officials wearing masks, gowns and gloves showed up at their door with paperwork as well as masks for the couple to wear. “It could be worse,” Pamela Allen said. “We could be quarantined in Egypt.” On March 6, the same day the Asara sailed into Luxor on its last cruise, Hogan reported that three residents of Montgomery County, Md., had tested positive for the virus, and he said all had contracted it on an Asara cruise. The three travelers had returned to the United States on Feb. 20. By the time they were tested for the virus on March 4, one had attended an event near Philadelphia, coming into contact with students and teachers from a local school, the governor said. He added that the school district later closed five schools. Another of the three travelers went to an event at a retirement community in Rockville, Md., and came into contact with between 70 and 100 people. Hogan urged anyone who attended the Rockville event to contact


would have gone to the hospital,” he said. “Our hospital in Aswan did not receive a single case.” The outbreak on the Asara has torpedoed the tourist season. There has been a sharp decrease in recent days in the number of foreign tourists coming to Luxor, home to the famed Karnak Temple and the tomb of the boy king Tutankhamen, and a huge drop in local incomes. Farrag Yousef, 49, a tour guide, recently refused a job on a cruise ship. “Many of my tour guide friends are afraid as well,” he said. “We fear catching corona.” On the Asara, crew members worry about the future. The quarantined crew member — a 30-year-old cook — has a wife, and they are expecting their first child. They and his mother depend on his $200 monthly salary from the Asara. But now he’s worried he may never find a job. Even though he has tested negative, he fears there will forever be a stigma associated with the Asara. Already, relatives of crew members have been harassed. “They are being targeted,” said the cook, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he fears attacks on his own family. This week, in an attempt to defuse fears about the virus and entice tourists to return, Egyptian heath officials in Luxor randomly tested more than 2,400 people in hotels and on cruise ships, said the senior health official. They all tested negative, he said. “It’s a very weak virus,” he declared. That was enough to convince Egyptian health officials to end the quarantine of the at least 82 foreigners who were being held on board the Asara and send them home, even though the potential incubation period during which they could develop symptoms wasn’t even half over. A day earlier, they had been told they would be tested again by health officials, according to passengers. They all left Egypt on commercial flights. Ashley Colette, one of the passengers, traveled from Luxor to Cairo to Dallas. “They didn't even check my temperature at any of the airports,” she said. When she returned home, she emailed the Texas Department of Health to ask for another coronavirus test, hoping to confirm that she was still virus-free, but the department responded that she couldn’t get a test since she wasn’t experiencing symptoms of the coronavirus disease. “It’s like most people aren’t taking it seriously,” she said. sudarsan.raghavan@washpost.com meryl.kornfield@washpost.com


Britain and Ireland added to U.S. travel restrictions as coronavirus barriers expand

LONDON — Hoping to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the Trump administration is extending its travel restrictions from Europe to include Britain and Ireland, Vice President Pence announced Saturday. President Trump earlier this week issued 30-day controls on foreign nationals traveling from 26 countries in the Schengen area — the area of border-free travel across much of the European Union. That came into force on Saturday, and saw the number of flights from Europe to America plummet. The inclusion of Ireland and Britain, scheduled to take effect Tuesday, essentially means that some 500 million British and E.U. citizens are prohibited from traveling to the United States — using an ocean to enforce social distancing between the closest of allies and trading partners. The ban may or may not do much to slow the movement of the novel virus, which is now being transmitted from person-to-person on both continents. But it will seriously disrupt transatlantic business, trade and university study. It will pummel the travel and tourism sectors. Many in Britain imagined that the country’s “special relationship” with America might keep the turnstiles open, but they will be shut. A day after the first U.S. restrictions were announced Wednesday, Trump met in the Oval Office with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, raising hopes in Ireland that the country would also be left off the list. American citizens and U.S. permanent residents are still allowed to travel home to the United States. U.S. citizens have not been banned from entering Britain, Ireland and most European countries, though in the past few days, countries within Europe have begun restricting travel. Italy, especially its hard-hit north, is on virtual lockdown and Spain followed suit Saturday, announcing its own nationwide lockdown. Trump administration officials said they seek to protect Americans in the face of a soaring number of coronavirus cases in Europe. On Friday, the director-general of the World Health Organization called Europe the new epicenter for the virus. Britain and the E.U. now have the second-highest number of cases and deaths outside of China. The number of deaths from the virus doubled in 24 hours in Britain to 21 and there are 1,140 confirmed cases. Britain’s chief scientific officer, Patrick Vallance, however, said because most sick or infected people are not tested, the real number of infected individuals in the country is likely 5,000 to 10,000. When Trump first announced travel restriction for


How a blogger in Florida put out an early warning about the coronavirus crisis

news outlets, however, were slower to grasp what Sanders watched unfold in those early morning hours. The New York Times on Jan. 6 took note of a “pneumonia-like illness” that had sickened 59 people in Wuhan; two days later, The Washington Post, the Times and AP published staff stories about the outbreak after Chinese researchers determined that the illnesses in Wuhan — later dubbed covid-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO) — were the result of a previously unknown coronavirus. Even so, the story wasn’t big news. That first Times story was published on page 13 of its print edition; the Post put its first story on A14. The story didn’t fully enter mainstream discussion in the United States until later in the month. Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto, for example, brought it up in an interview with an emergency-room physician on Jan. 20, noting the potential for rapid transmission. “So I’m beginning to wonder now whether the genie is out of the bottle here...” he said. The slow-building reaction suggests the Western media underplayed what was unfolding, certainly in the first weeks after the Chinese disclosed it. Even after SARS, swine flu and other outbreaks of recent vintage, a small but novel infection halfway around the world might not have seemed like a very compelling story, especially when other stories — including the impeachment trial of the president — were at the top of the agenda. When news outlets finally devoted more attention to the story in late January and early February, President Trump and his allies responded by criticizing the coverage as hype, branding it a Democratic conspiracy to undermine Trump‘s reelection chances. To be sure, much of the early reporting about the virus was tentative and sometimes inaccurate, as is often the case with breaking news events. The authorities involved often don’t have a full understanding yet of what’s unfolding, leaving the journalists who are reporting on them equally in the dark. But the first reports and commentary about the outbreak were further complicated by questions about the credibility and candor of Chinese officials — the same questions that arose with the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in China in 2003. During that contagion, WHO accused Chinese officials of covering up the number of cases. The reports flagged by FluTracker, in fact, were based on government statements about patients who had already been sick for


small but novel infection halfway around the world might not have seemed like a very compelling story, especially when other stories — including the impeachment trial of the president — were at the top of the agenda. When news outlets finally devoted more attention to the story in late January and early February, President Trump and his allies responded by criticizing the coverage as hype, branding it a Democratic conspiracy to undermine Trump‘s reelection chances. To be sure, much of the early reporting about the virus was tentative and sometimes inaccurate, as is often the case with breaking news events. The authorities involved often don’t have a full understanding yet of what’s unfolding, leaving the journalists who are reporting on them equally in the dark. But the first reports and commentary about the outbreak were further complicated by questions about the credibility and candor of Chinese officials — the same questions that arose with the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in China in 2003. During that contagion, WHO accused Chinese officials of covering up the number of cases. The reports flagged by FluTracker, in fact, were based on government statements about patients who had already been sick for weeks. Efforts to sound the alarm earlier were suppressed; eight doctors in Wuhan who raised concerns before the official announcement on Dec. 31 were detained by police. One of the whistleblowers, Li Wenliang, became a national hero in China before he died of the virus. Sanders, however, recognized quickly that there was something unique about this outbreak — in part because it seemed highly unusual for Chinese officials to even be acknowledging a health crisis in the first place. “Local officials and media in China need government approval before they can disclose negative information,” she said in an interview. “Any type of disease outbreak is considered negative [news] and may impact social order.” When Chinese officials admit to a problem, she said, they tend to undersell it — a red flag that there’s far more to the story. This is what prompted her to stay up late on the night of Dec. 31. But Sanders said she had no idea where the story of the pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan would lead. Her blog’s contributors — who include some medical professionals, though many merely “self-trained” disease-detection enthusiasts — routinely submit links to local news reports, medical journals and other data from


Seven states, D.C. order all schools closed in effort to prevent spread of covid-19

but nothing close to a statewide action had been taken before now. The orders affect traditional public, charter and private schools. With these sweeping announcements, at least 10,600 public and private schools had been closed or were scheduled to close, affecting at least 4.9 million students, according to a tally by EdWeek. Many early closures had been for just a day or two for cleaning or to give teachers time to plan for possible distance learning, but each day this week has brought more weeks-long closures. Children do not appear to be at particular risk from the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease covid-19, but there is significant concern they could contract the virus at school and bring it home to older relatives and neighbors. There is no treatment or vaccine yet for the illness. The U.S. Education Department responded to the growing number of closures with new guidance, easing some rules around testing requirements and clarifying responsibility for educating students with disabilities via remote instruction. Ohio was the first to announce a statewide closure, a surprising move by a state that, with just five confirmed cases of covid-19, has not been seen as a particular hot spot. But the state’s health department surmised that more than 100,000 people in the state would test positive. That estimate is based on an assumption that 1 percent of the population is infected. New Mexico, which has six presumptive positive cases of covid-19, also acted early. Ryan Stewart, the state’s education secretary, said he had watched as other states acted only after widespread infection. “New Mexico is going to be proactive and do everything we can to prevent the potential spread of the virus,” he said. The statewide orders were far more aggressive than what has been seen in other states, as public and private officials alike escalate their responses to the unfolding situation. Just two days ago, for instance, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) announced 31 new cases in the state, for a total of 173 at the time. But he ordered closures only for schools that sit inside a one-mile radius of the New Rochelle synagogue that was ground zero of the spread there. A large number of universities have canceled classes this spring, moving courses online. But K-12 school systems have been reluctant to close for numerous reasons. Officials worry about children who depend on schools for free


March Madness is worth billions to the NCAA and networks. Canceling will cost them.

the country. Those payouts are in six- and seven-figure increments that many colleges and universities probably can absorb with significant operational changes. But the cancellations of all spring sports will have broader ripple effects, Patriot League Commissioner Jennifer Heppel said Friday. Some seniors in canceled spring sports probably will come back for the extra year of eligibility the NCAA granted them Friday. Schools, in turn, will have to petition the NCAA for extra scholarships so they can bring back those seniors while honoring offers to incoming freshmen. That could lead to budget crunches at smaller schools, not to mention competitive bottlenecking if freshmen suddenly have fifth-year seniors battling for the same, finite number of spots. “Those are the things we’re just starting to talk about and not at all wanting to be in restrictive mode with our student-athletes, because of these unique circumstances,” Heppel said. “There’s no precedent here.” At the television networks that broadcast the games, officials declined to discuss the financial ramifications, including whether they would still make planned payments to the NCAA this year or whether they have insurance policies to protect against this outcome. “We are fully supportive of the NCAA’s decision to cancel this year’s NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship," CBS and Turner said in a joint statement. "We’ll continue to work closely with the NCAA and all our partners as we prioritize the health and well-being of everyone involved.” Most networks have clauses in their largest broadcast contracts that protect against unforeseen and unpreventable disasters that cancel events. Whether it’s a natural disaster or a terrorist attack, the clauses are designed to protect the networks from having to pay contractually obligated rights fees in the event of what is known as “force majeure.” Whether the coronavirus threat would qualify remains unclear. Some networks also have insurance policies for major broadcast events. Brian Roberts, chairman and CEO of Comcast, which owns NBC, recently said his network has insurance that would cover losses if the Olympics are canceled. CBS and Turner could face significant losses in advertising income. According to analyst firm Kantar Media, advertisers spent $910 million during last year’s men’s tournament. Networks will have to reimburse some advertisers or make it up to them when other sports return to the airwaves. Despite the circumstances, industry analysts predicted there was too much at stake, given the amount of money and the length of the


Coronavirus is mysteriously sparing kids and killing the elderly. Understanding why may help defeat the virus.

One of the few mercies of the spreading coronavirus is that it leaves young children virtually untouched — a mystery virologists say may hold vital clues as to how the virus works. In China, only 2.4 percent of reported cases were children and only 0.2 percent of reported cases were children who got critically ill, according to the World Health Organization. China has reported no case of a young child dying of the disease covid-19. Meanwhile, the new coronavirus has proved especially deadly on the other end of the age spectrum. The fatality rate in China for those over 80 is an estimated 21.9 percent, per the WHO. For ages 10 to 39, however, the fatality rate is roughly 0.2 percent, according to a separate study drawing on patient records of 44,672 confirmed cases. And fatalities and severe symptoms are almost nonexistent at even younger ages. That means the new coronavirus is behaving very differently from other viruses, like seasonal influenza, which are usually especially dangerous for the very young and very old. “With respiratory infections like this, we usually see a U-shaped curve on who gets hits hardest. Young children at one end of the U because their immune systems aren’t yet developed and old people at the other end because their immune systems grow weaker,” said Vineet Menachery, a virologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch. “With this virus, one side of the U is just completely missing.” Figuring out why children are so unaffected could lead to breakthroughs in understanding how and why the virus sickens and kills other age groups, said Frank Esper, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Cleveland Clinic Children’s. Among the questions Esper and others are exploring: Is the severity of infection related to what patients were exposed to previously? Does it have to do with how our immune systems change with age? Or could it be due to pollution damage in the lungs that people accumulate over years? “Or maybe it has nothing to do with the virus and has to do with host, like underlying conditions in the lungs, diabetes or hypertension. After all, few 7-year-olds or newborns have hypertension,” said Esper, who studies viral respiratory infections and new diseases. “Figuring out what’s at play here could be helpful in so many ways." Previous coronavirus outbreaks have also mysteriously spared the young. No children died during the SARS outbreak in


systems aren’t yet developed and old people at the other end because their immune systems grow weaker,” said Vineet Menachery, a virologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch. “With this virus, one side of the U is just completely missing.” Figuring out why children are so unaffected could lead to breakthroughs in understanding how and why the virus sickens and kills other age groups, said Frank Esper, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Cleveland Clinic Children’s. Among the questions Esper and others are exploring: Is the severity of infection related to what patients were exposed to previously? Does it have to do with how our immune systems change with age? Or could it be due to pollution damage in the lungs that people accumulate over years? “Or maybe it has nothing to do with the virus and has to do with host, like underlying conditions in the lungs, diabetes or hypertension. After all, few 7-year-olds or newborns have hypertension,” said Esper, who studies viral respiratory infections and new diseases. “Figuring out what’s at play here could be helpful in so many ways." Previous coronavirus outbreaks have also mysteriously spared the young. No children died during the SARS outbreak in 2002, which killed 774 people. And few children developed symptoms from the deadly MERS coronavirus, which has killed 858 since 2012. To find out why, Menachery has been giving mice at his Texas lab SARS — which is a very close cousin to the new coronavirus. Baby mice at his lab have shaken off the infection, while the older mice have had their lungs and bodies ravaged by the disease. Menachery found the older mice’s fatalities were strongly related to not just weakness in their immune systems but also a “disregulation” that caused their immune systems to overreact to the SARS coronavirus. That’s similar to how humans die of infections from the new coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2. “It’s the aggressive response from their immune system that is damaging them, even more than the infection itself,” Menachery said. “It’s like police responding to a misdemeanor with a SWAT team crashing through the door.” The question he and others have still struggled to answer, however, is why the baby mice escape unscathed. Some experts have floated a theory that because children are so heavily exposed to four other mild coronaviruses, which circulate every year and cause the common cold, that may give kids


Here’s what you need to know about dining out in the age of coronavirus

a necessity for everybody.” Diners across the country are reassessing their relationship with restaurants, fast-casuals and even neighborhood bodegas as the coronavirus makes its rounds. Many diners are wary of setting foot into eateries of all kinds, especially since some public health experts have suggested that they stay away in the interest of “social distancing.” On Sunday, Washington mayor Muriel Bowser announced that the city was putting into place new rules for bars and restaurants to keep more space between diners, including a ban on bar seating and a mandate that tables be placed at least six feet apart. Owners and operators across the United States, from corporations such as McDonald’s to your local pizzeria, are hyper-aware of customer concerns. They only have to read the stories out of Italy to know how quickly fortunes can change from a packed restaurant to a ghost town. So they’re trying to get ahead of the fears by implementing new procedures and tightening up current ones. Here’s what people should know about dining out right now: Stay flexible. Leana Wen, a physician and visiting professor of health policy and management at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, notes that the coronavirus spread is a “very fluid” situation and that people should keep monitoring it so they’re basing their choices on the latest information. “People should make decisions right as they go out,” she says. They should heed the most up-to-date advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she said, and because the outbreak is playing out differently in areas around the country, they should also be aware of what local health officials are recommending. Right now, the CDC is advising people in affected areas to avoid close contact. “Put distance between yourself and other people if COVID-19 is spreading in your community,” the CDC recommends. High-risk people — older people and those with underlying conditions — in areas where the virus is spreading should “take extra measures to put distance between yourself and other people,” according to the CDC, and “stay home as much as possible.” Public health officials have been urging “social distancing,” and Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on Sunday suggested he would like to see people staying away from bars and restaurants. “I would like to see a dramatic diminution of the personal interaction that we see”


Coronavirus claims life of Virginia man as new cases roil Washington region

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus reached a grave new phase in the Washington region Saturday with the death of a man in Virginia. The man, who was in his 70s and from James City County, had been infected with the virus through an unknown source, officials said. “Pam and I were deeply saddened to learn that a Virginian has died from COVID-19, and we grieve for everyone this virus has touched around the world,” Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said in a statement. “This is a public health crisis—we must all treat it as such. Again, I urge Virginians: take this seriously.” The death was the first known fatality in the District, Maryland or Virginia from the virus. It came as the number of cases in the region grew by more than two dozen to at least 85 on Saturday. Maryland announced nine new cases since Friday night, bringing the state’s total number of known infections to 27. That overall tally includes a health-care provider at Johns Hopkins Hospital, the hospital announced Saturday. The case is the first confirmed infection of a health-care provider in Maryland, Virginia or the District. Kim Hoppe, senior director of public relations at Johns Hopkins Medicine, declined to say how and when that person may have contracted the virus or how many people at the hospital came in contact with the individual. She did say that all patients, clinicians and staff who may have been in contact with the provider have been identified and have been instructed to self-quarantine. Virginia announced 11 new cases Saturday, bringing its total to 41. Four of those new cases were in Fairfax County, which has now reported 10 people who have tested positive. Arlington County added two more cases, for a total of seven. Loudoun County reported two more cases, bringing its total to five. James City County has one more case, for a total of eight. The Fairfax County cases include a teacher at Lynbrook Elementary School in Springfield. The county said it is working to identify and contact anyone at risk of exposure. Another new case was an 80-year-old man in Virginia Beach who recently returned from a trip to a heavily affected country. He tested positive on Saturday after developing symptoms, officials said. An overseas trip also led to the first case in Chesterfield County, where a male resident in his 60s tested positive Friday night.