Hogan, who announced Thursday that all Maryland public schools will be closed from March 16 to 27, said Saturday that he was temporarily suspending a host of child-care regulations so that the Maryland State Board of Education can create temporary child-care facilities for school-age children of police, emergency responders and health-care workers. In Anne Arundel County, officials used the first in what they said would be a weekly series of virtual town halls to detail their emergency plan. County Executive Steuart Pittman (D), who said the virus would certainly spread in the county, said he felt compelled to respond to social media posts downplaying the crisis. “There are still people saying well, a lot more people die of cancer, a lot more people die of gun violence or car accidents than have died from covid-19,” he said. “That’s true. But the scientists who we should really be listening to and should trust have seen it coming. They’ve seen it spread in other counties.” Many of the questions in the town hall were from residents asking when and where they would be able to get a test. But Nilesh Kalyanaraman, Anne Arundel County’s health officer, said testing all residents was not practical. “We are prioritizing tests for those in the hospital or with severe symptoms,” he said. “That means in this present moment, if you have mild symptoms, we ask you to stay home.” More important than widespread testing, he said, was widespread “social distancing,” or limiting contact with others. Asked what the county would do if its hospitals became overwhelmed with covid-19 patients, Kalyanaraman said there were “disaster plans” in place, but he did not detail them. “We’re trying not to get to that point,” he said. The James City resident died shortly before noon, said Jim Icenhour, chairman of the county’s Board of Supervisors, adding that he did not know the man’s name. The man lived in the Stonehouse portion of the county, which is home to many older residents. Icenhour said several of the county’s eight cases stem from two residents who returned from an overseas trip with symptoms. Those two individuals, who tested positive earlier this last week, have since relocated to Dallas, where they are being treated, he said. Icenhour said the eight cases in the sleepy community of 75,000 residents have caused deep concern. “We’ve shut down everything — the schools, the libraries, the rec


Without guidance from the top, Americans have been left to figure out their own coronavirus solutions

officials were slow to cancel large events. A turning point came Wednesday when the NBA made the abrupt decision to suspend its season after a player for the Utah Jazz tested positive for covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus; a second player on the team also tested positive Thursday, raising urgent questions about how many other teammates and audience members may have been exposed. That set off a domino effect as, one by one, every major sports league in the United States announced cancellations. Ackerman called another conference’s commissioner. Then she reached out to a contact at New York City’s Office of Emergency Management, who told her the city would soon be issuing directives to limit large gatherings. On Thursday afternoon, she decided — at halftime of a quarterfinal game — to cancel the remainder of the Big East tournament. “Few of the people running sports leagues or sports organizations are qualified medical professionals,” Ackerman said in a news conference at Madison Square Garden. The president, who said two weeks ago that the coronavirus scare was a “new hoax” seized upon by his political rivals, has been criticized for failing at times to convey the seriousness of the situation. Taking the president’s comments at face value, some of his strongest supporters have expressed skepticism about whether the coronavirus was a real threat. But the reality of the situation has started to set in recently as schools and businesses began to shut down. Alicia Kusky of Port Huron, Mich., said Friday she thinks the government has reacted swiftly and appropriately. Kusky, 39, said she believes the president had previously called the coronavirus “a hoax” because he was trying to prevent mass panic. “He just didn’t want to cause pandemonium. But now it’s legit, and things are really happening, and we have to take safety measures,” she said. “Maybe I’m being naive about this but I feel good about our president taking action.” Her immediate concerns were not political, she said. She had already made peace with a canceled trip to Bellaire, Mich., owing to her compromised immune system after battling leukemia when she was younger. Now, she needed to deal with the canceled fish fry at St. Mary Catholic Church, which meant abruptly finding a place to donate the unused food. With school canceled for her two daughters, who are 12 and 14 years old, she also needed to find


MLB sends out memo to teams to stress social distancing

York Yankees had tested positive for the coronavirus. That is the first known case of the coronavirus in baseball, and it gives MLB even further reason to act swiftly. The memo urged teams to reduce the number of players in their Dominican Republic facilities, and it barred teams from holding any group workouts at those academies. It also “strongly” recommended that all “nonessential staff” return to their club’s home city, especially those who have preexisting medical conditions or are over the age of 60, who are considered to be in a “higher risk category.” The biggest crackdown Sunday came in a section on “Activities at Club Facilities (Spring Training and Home City).” It reads: “Until we develop appropriate protocols to minimize the risks to players (which we are actively working on), Clubs are not permitted to hold or organize any group workouts, practices, skill or conditioning sessions, or other player activities at their facilities.” It was only Friday that MLB and the players’ union gave major league players three options: remain at the club’s spring training city, go to the club’s regular season city or go to wherever they live in the offseason. Many teams collectively decided to stay in Florida or Arizona to minimize travel and keep preparing for the start of the regular season, which has been delayed for at least two weeks and almost certainly longer. The Yankees held a player vote and chose to stick together. The Washington Nationals met Saturday morning and determined the same course of action. But that could change with MLB’s stricter stance on what is allowed at team facilities. Both major league and minor league players can continue to receive necessary medical treatment. For now, facilities are to remain open and operated by “limited staff.” Individual workouts — such as weightlifting or hitting in the batting cage — have not been banned. At least not yet. “To the extent activities are permitted in the future, those activities must be conducted pursuant to protocols that we will issue that are designed to slow the transmission of the virus,” the memo reads. “For example, limiting the number of coaches and Club staff who may work with players at any one time, staggering the time period that players are in the same area of the facility, and implementing hygiene and social distancing policies.” Translation: This memo was just a precursor for MLB’s next step.


U.S. expands coronavirus travel restrictions to include U.K. and Ireland

goods or go to work, medical appointments and banks. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told the nation in a televised address that the restrictions will remain in place for an initial 15-day period but could be extended. The move was so abrupt that several airplanes en route from England turned around midflight to avoid landing in the country. In Russia, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said the nation had closed its land border with Poland and Norway after already closing its border with China. Poland, Denmark and the Czech Republic also sought to seal off their borders, and France ordered all nonessential businesses to close, including restaurants and cafes. The U.K. and Ireland were not included in the initial travel restrictions from Europe that Trump announced Wednesday. But since then, both have seen an increase of cases, and Britian’s death toll nearly doubled Saturday, to 21. The White House said the travel restrictions will go into place at midnight Monday. They do not cover cargo shipments. The effectiveness of such measures continues to be debated, however, and they run counter to the World Health Organization’s recommendations. Critics say they can cause some people to travel more surreptitiously, divert vital resources and hamper the international cooperation needed to fight the virus. “Travel restrictions can cause more harm than good,” World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has stressed. Additional travel restrictions will further hit the airline industry, which is facing enormous losses because of the pandemic. White House officials are considering offering low-interest loans or tax deferrals to airlines to help them survive the downturn. In yet another sign that virtually no facet of society — from museums to sporting events to religious services — will go unscathed, restaurants across France braced for their last meals and customers as part of the government’s closure order. For a country that thrives on food, wine and leisurely afternoons spent alfresco at sidewalk cafes, the government acknowledged it was an extreme measure. But officials said they had no choice because too many people appeared to be ignoring earlier advice about social distancing and staying home. Israel banned all gatherings of more than 10 people. The United Arab Emirates said it will stop issuing visas to all foreigners except diplomats. And amid the season of Lent, one of the most significant holy seasons for Christians, the Catholic Archdiocese of New York announced it was canceling all


The United States excels at retail. Let us put that expertise into action now.

Local businesses in the area can donate parking lots for pickup points. Or local communities can close a nearby side street. Deploy tractor-trailers and tents. Health professionals can get their packages as they leave their shifts. Major retailers do this inside their stores with online ordering on a regular basis. They have the ability to bring the goods to where they are needed most. We are not supply-chain experts, but, hopefully, some of you reading this are. Take this idea, refine it and make it better. We need to identify the places of greatest need and start creating solutions. Big cities may need a different approach than rural areas. Revise accordingly. What about cost? Americans are exceedingly generous. For years in checkout lines, we have been asked to donate to community needs from breast cancer to Special Olympics and all sorts of other charities. We are sure that in this time of need people across the country would do the same to cover those in logistical need who are so busy helping others. Another way to think about this: Because we are all dependent on them sooner or later, we need to prioritize our critical health-care workers now. If the coronavirus crisis presents all of us with new challenges and problems, the good news is that we are an incredibly innovative, solutions-oriented and adaptive people. We think of Chef José Andrés, who founded World Central Kitchen and has gone to natural disaster zones to set up massive kitchens to feed first responders and those in need. Or private relief groups, such as the Red Cross and Samaritan’s Purse, which in addition to setting off with planeloads of supplies, have unusual reach at moments of crisis. Or companies such as Anheuser-Busch, which for more than 30 years has periodically paused its beer production to can emergency drinking water. In 2018, the company sent 300,000 cans to hurricane-ravaged communities in Florida and Georgia. Americans take pride in helping. We need to all be helpers now. Social media, particularly Twitter, which many doctors are already using to share medical information and best practices, should encourage those on the front lines of this crisis to post the gaps and needs that they are seeing. Then others with expertise in different fields can help find and offer solutions. All of us have been sick at some point. We have turned to our medical community for


‘We’ll improvise’: A resource-starved rural hospital steels itself for coronavirus’s arrival

income, but they had voted to increase their own taxes to expand the hospital’s nursing home and keep the ER afloat. Occasionally, Neace treated traumatic injuries coming off the adjacent highway, or the nearby ski area, or the Snake River, but his job mostly consisted of caring for patients who were dealing with the gradual impacts of getting older. Many left their trucks running in the parking lot and greeted him by name. Only during the past few weeks had it occurred to Neace that it could be here in this troubled hospital that he might confront one of the largest global emergencies of his career. A nurse knocked on his office door and held out a piece of paper. “The results finally came back,” she said, and Neace took the single-spaced lab report from her hand and started to scan it, until after a few seconds he noticed a line that read, “Reference Range: Not Detected.” “Not detected,” he said, sounding relieved, and he kept looking at the lab report until he saw a section labeled “COVID-19,” where a single word was printed on its own line. “Detected,” it read. “Oh,” Neace said, wincing, setting the paper down on his desk. “Detected.” * * * Within a few minutes, the news began to travel out of the ER and through the building, spreading from one person to the next until it reached the main nursing station, where Angie Moore was holding an evening meeting for her staff. “In case you didn’t know yet, we got a positive result,” she told them. A few of the nurses started to stay something and Moore held up a hand. She had been born at Dayton General, and now both of her daughters were also on the nursing team. Nobody knew the hospital better, which made her a trusted authority among her staff. “Now, there’s also good news,” she said. “It’s one person that tested positive. That one person was traveling overseas. That one person was tested in the car and never came into the hospital. From what I understand, that one person has been quarantined at home ever since she took the test, which is exactly how this is supposed to go.” “But what about before she took the test?” one of the nurses asked. “How about her family?” asked another. “Have they been quarantined, too?” “Everything spreads in this town,” another


Coronavirus in the DMV: What you need to know

As the number of people confirmed to have the novel coronavirus climbs in Virginia, Maryland and the District, government and school officials are stepping up efforts to contain the spread of the virus. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) on Monday issued the first broad self-quarantine order in the Washington region, for hundreds who attended Christ Church Georgetown. The rector there, the Rev. Timothy Cole, tested positive for coronavirus. At least three schools in the District, one public high school and two charter schools, closed Monday. But all will reopen Tuesday. A story of a D.C. woman who had traveled through the Seoul airport and was initially unable to access a test for covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, circulated on social media over the weekend, drawing attention to testing criteria. D.C. officials said Monday that she has since been tested. Sixteen cases have been confirmed in the District, Maryland and Virginia, but many more people have contacted their doctors and visited emergency rooms wondering whether they should be tested. Health officials throughout the region continue to urge residents to stay calm and take normal precautions, like washing hands frequently and avoiding contact with people who are ill. Here are answers to frequently asked questions. Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked within the newsletter are free to access. Officials encourage residents to first contact their health-care provider with questions. The latest information from the Centers for Disease Control can be found at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus. Virginia, Maryland and the District have also set up resources for residents. In Virginia, call 1-877-ASK-VDH3. The Fairfax County Health Department also has a public information line, 703-267-3511, for questions from its residents. For information on covid-19, visit the Virginia Department of Health website. In Maryland, those worried about potential exposure to persons with the virus can call the state Emergency Management Agency at 410-517-3720. For information about the state response, go to health.maryland.gov/coronavirus. For general questions, call 2-1-1. The District is directing residents to coronavirus.dc.gov. Why outbreaks like coronavirus spread exponentially, and how to “flatten the curve” Public health departments update their surveillance and information websites for Virginia, Maryland and the District daily between about 10 a.m. and noon. At lease three schools in the District closed Monday. The School Without Walls High School, a D.C. public school, closed for a day after city officials determined that a


answers to frequently asked questions. Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked within the newsletter are free to access. Officials encourage residents to first contact their health-care provider with questions. The latest information from the Centers for Disease Control can be found at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus. Virginia, Maryland and the District have also set up resources for residents. In Virginia, call 1-877-ASK-VDH3. The Fairfax County Health Department also has a public information line, 703-267-3511, for questions from its residents. For information on covid-19, visit the Virginia Department of Health website. In Maryland, those worried about potential exposure to persons with the virus can call the state Emergency Management Agency at 410-517-3720. For information about the state response, go to health.maryland.gov/coronavirus. For general questions, call 2-1-1. The District is directing residents to coronavirus.dc.gov. Why outbreaks like coronavirus spread exponentially, and how to “flatten the curve” Public health departments update their surveillance and information websites for Virginia, Maryland and the District daily between about 10 a.m. and noon. At lease three schools in the District closed Monday. The School Without Walls High School, a D.C. public school, closed for a day after city officials determined that a staff member had close contact with a person who tested positive for coronavirus, the school system announced Sunday evening. The employee has displayed no symptoms and tested negative for the virus, city officials said. Two charter schools, Mundo Verde’s main campus and D.C. International School, both in Northwest Washington, are also closed for the day. An employee at D.C. International School had contact with someone who attended Christ Church Georgetown, the Episcopal church whose rector tested positive for the virus Saturday, a spokeswoman for the D.C. Public Charter School Board said. As of Monday, Virginia has reported three residents were exposed to the virus through international travel: A U.S. Marine, who lives at Marine Corps Base Quantico and was treated at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in Fairfax County; a Fairfax City resident in his or her 80s who traveled on a River Nile cruise similar to one taken by others with the virus and an Arlington County resident in his or her 60s. The Marine had returned recently from “official business” overseas, a Defense Department spokesman said. The Fairfax City resident showed signs of a respiratory illness Feb. 28 and was hospitalized Thursday. The Arlington resident developed symptoms after a


Pandemic journal: Family life in Yokohama in the time of coronavirus

evenings and weekends. At least Ziggy is happy to have the company. March 4. Commuting into Tokyo for interviews with parents on the school closures. I thought I’d wear a face mask just to be on the safe side, for the very first time since I moved to Japan. It’s strangely reassuring, especially when everyone else has one on. I get a seat, even on the way home (which is unusual). Some people are now working at home, but the carriage soon gets crowded. Not sure I understand why kids have to stay home while their parents are still commuting, especially since children seem largely immune. March 5. Restaurants in Chinatown have received hate mail, calling Chinese people germs and garbage, and telling them to go home. There is an immediate backlash on social media. Locals flock to one of the most famous restaurants to show their support. March 7. Toilet paper is back in the shops. For a few hours at least. Rice ran short for a while, and garlic disappeared for a couple of days. Good for warding off colds and flu? March 8. Chinatown looks increasingly desolate. The noodle shop has put its shutters down and will be closed until March 16. Many other restaurants have also closed down — temporarily, one hopes. There are no more fortune tellers outside their shops looking for customers. I guess no one wants to know what’s coming next. Even the woman selling bags of roasted chestnuts has disappeared. March 11. Still playing football (not the American kind) at the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club, but now players are joined by their children for a midweek late afternoon kickaround. The sun is shining, the sky is blue and for a couple of hours the virus seems a long way off. The World Health Organization declares the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. We have to face up to facts: the Olympics is unlikely to be held this summer. I’m personally hoping for a one-year delay as the least bad option. March 12. We were supposed to be traveling to Britain next week to look around universities with Molly, but this is not the best time to travel. Vacation canceled. At least the hotels are all refundable. March 13. On hold to Expedia for three hours to cancel flights — the line goes dead. Repeat two more times. I try calling All Nippon Airlines.


The NBA is closed for business. Can it reopen in time to salvage a season?

The NCAA realized it had run out of time this week, canceling its March Madness basketball tournaments as the coronavirus pandemic led all major American sports to suspend play. There is no possibility of a makeup for the 68-team men’s tournament, which typically runs from mid-March through early April in numerous arenas across the country. The coronavirus is still in its early stages in the United States, but it has made large-scale, travel-heavy events untenable for the foreseeable future due to the need for social distancing. The NBA, which suspended its season indefinitely on Wednesday, faces similar challenges but has somewhat greater flexibility when it comes to the calendar. Spring semester timelines and graduation deadlines don’t apply the way they do for college hoops. After placing the NBA on a 30-day hiatus to determine next steps, Commissioner Adam Silver said that the schedule could be pushed back into the summer, a move that could salvage a potentially lost season and crown a champion. “Even if we’re out for a month or out for six weeks, we could still restart the season,” Silver said during an interview with TNT. “It might mean that the Finals take place in late-July. It was my feeling that it was way premature [to say] that we’ve lost the season.” At the same time, Silver acknowledged “of course it’s possible” that the rest of the regular season — which was roughly three-quarters complete before the suspension — and the playoffs could be canceled. Naturally, teams might respond differently if forced to choose between a delayed schedule and a canceled season. For lottery teams that have no hope of reaching the playoffs, April 15, the official end of the regular season, was already in sight. If the NBA resumes play as normal after the 30-day hiatus, nearly half of the league’s teams would be restarting activities and some cross-country travel solely for the purpose of playing meaningless games. Those teams would need to reschedule dates and navigate around arena conflicts, even though the buildings probably still would need to be empty. Given those circumstances, it’s easy to understand why those teams might be more inclined to cancel the rest of this season and look forward to the next one. For teams chasing a championship, though, the motivation to proceed with games is strong as long as the contests are deemed safe. Giannis Antetokounmpo is chasing his first


What every mayor needs to know about this virus

Jenny Durkan, a Democrat, is mayor of Seattle. On Feb. 28, public health officials in the Seattle area announced the first case of covid-19. Initially, the number of cases remained small and concentrated in one location. But the threat was already growing. Now, slightly more than two weeks later, there are 642 confirmed cases statewide, including 387 cases and 35 deaths in our county. But public health officials and Seattle’s best scientists know covid-19 is significantly more widespread than the current level of testing can reveal. Researchers believe there are actually more than 2,000 cases in our region. Experts expect the number of infected will double every six days. Without any action, 25,000 people could be infected, and 400 people could die by April 7 — just in the Seattle area alone. That’s why in our region of more than 4 million people, we have taken unprecedented steps to slow the novel coronavirus’s spread. We have prohibited large events, canceled schools, closed our libraries and community centers, and set up funds to support small businesses, among many other steps. Across every neighborhood in Seattle, citizens are working to prevent the spread of the virus, to check on their neighbors and to tackle this crisis together. As the virus will eventually touch every town and city, here’s my best (and sometimes hard-won) advice to other mayors and local officials who are trying to prepare their communities: Don’t wait to declare an emergency. It may be days before the first case is formally announced, but by then you will have hours to make decisions — not weeks. Know your region’s capacity to test for this virus now. Be transparent and honest with your residents about that. Engage your local research community (colleges, private companies and labs) to help scale testing and modeling now. Speak as one voice across government, and start by telling people how to keep themselves safe. Act now to prohibit large events and postpone all nonessential gatherings. Announce clear public health rules for all transit, retail, restaurants and grocery stores. Ensure your first responders and health-care workers have personal protective equipment; we already face shortages and rationing of gowns, masks and gloves. Urge telecommuting policies for your workforce and your local employers. Engage your nonprofits and foundations to create response funds for the most vulnerable and for small businesses. Ensure all workers know about the new flexibility in unemployment


Rites of passage and years of planning are among coronavirus victims

Now the NCAA tournament has been canceled, and Kincaid has seen half of his friends pull out as people curtail their air travel plans. He is thinking about booking a smaller place for the remaining people who want to hold the party but is worried about making any plans as the virus continues to spread and countermeasures evolve hour to hour. On Thursday, Trump said he would not rule out restrictions on domestic travel. “There’s no point in setting something else up and then we get a full lockdown,” Kincaid said. “We also have to consider: Is there going to be anything to do? I don’t know if you’re going to be able to go skiing by that time. I don’t know if the restaurants and bars are going to be up and running.” He said he and his fiancee are also beginning to worry about whether their May wedding can proceed. Janay Watson, a graduate student at Georgetown University, has already been forced to cancel an eagerly awaited trip. Watson, who said she was the first in her family to obtain a master’s degree, was planning to join a university trip to South Africa in the coming months. She also booked tickets immediately before and afterward for Italy and Brazil — a kind of cross-continental grand tour, in late April and early May. “I really wanted to do it big and go around the world,” she said. When the university called off the South Africa trip and travel to Italy — the most severely virus-afflicted country outside China — became impossible, Watson had to abandon her carefully planned voyage. She said she lost about $2,000 that the airlines would not refund. For Tucker Cholvin, the loss from new virus-related restrictions was less tangible. The 27-year-old District resident had trained hard for half-marathons this summer, including the New York City Half Marathon scheduled for Sunday. The event was called off last week, as was another he planned to enter in Delaware next month. “It’s tough,” he said. “I’ve put a lot of hard work into this, and I’ve been running faster than ever. And suddenly I feel like my entire summer has been yanked.” Cholvin said he hopes to enter other races later in the year, including a full marathon, “assuming society returns.” In the meantime, he said, the uncertainty is unsettling — as is the fear that the sudden


is worried about making any plans as the virus continues to spread and countermeasures evolve hour to hour. On Thursday, Trump said he would not rule out restrictions on domestic travel. “There’s no point in setting something else up and then we get a full lockdown,” Kincaid said. “We also have to consider: Is there going to be anything to do? I don’t know if you’re going to be able to go skiing by that time. I don’t know if the restaurants and bars are going to be up and running.” He said he and his fiancee are also beginning to worry about whether their May wedding can proceed. Janay Watson, a graduate student at Georgetown University, has already been forced to cancel an eagerly awaited trip. Watson, who said she was the first in her family to obtain a master’s degree, was planning to join a university trip to South Africa in the coming months. She also booked tickets immediately before and afterward for Italy and Brazil — a kind of cross-continental grand tour, in late April and early May. “I really wanted to do it big and go around the world,” she said. When the university called off the South Africa trip and travel to Italy — the most severely virus-afflicted country outside China — became impossible, Watson had to abandon her carefully planned voyage. She said she lost about $2,000 that the airlines would not refund. For Tucker Cholvin, the loss from new virus-related restrictions was less tangible. The 27-year-old District resident had trained hard for half-marathons this summer, including the New York City Half Marathon scheduled for Sunday. The event was called off last week, as was another he planned to enter in Delaware next month. “It’s tough,” he said. “I’ve put a lot of hard work into this, and I’ve been running faster than ever. And suddenly I feel like my entire summer has been yanked.” Cholvin said he hopes to enter other races later in the year, including a full marathon, “assuming society returns.” In the meantime, he said, the uncertainty is unsettling — as is the fear that the sudden disruptions that greeted him and many others this week herald more disturbing changes to daily life that nobody can yet foresee. “When cancellation after cancellation starts coming in,” he said, “you start to wonder . . . what else is next?” peter.jamison@washpost.com teddy.amenabar@washpost.com


MLB pushes back Opening Day for a second time as coronavirus continues to spread

more unlikely baseball can contest an entire 162-game regular season in 2020. Baseball officials “remain committed to playing as many games as possible when the season begins,” the MLB statement said. It was only late last week that the NBA and NHL announced the suspensions of their regular seasons and MLB announced a delay of its own. All three, however, initially took more optimistic views as to the lengths of the stoppages — views that appear to no longer apply. In the NBA, Commissioner Adam Silver suspended the season and placed the league on a 30-day break last week while noting that the National Basketball Players Association and the league’s television partners shared a desire to pick up the schedule later this year. That break has been effectively extended to mid-May under the CDC’s recommendation, leading the NBA to instruct teams that players no longer had to remain in their home markets and could travel to be with family. Amid the challenges the virus presents, multiple high-ranking executives have said the league probably will be forced to cancel the remainder of the regular season and turn its attention to salvaging its postseason. Potential measures to save the playoffs, some executives said, include pushing back the start date to June and playing games in empty arenas. In a memo sent to its players Monday, the NHL cited the CDC-recommended eight-week ban on large gatherings and proposed a best-case scenario of training camps reopening around late April and games resuming eventually. The NHL’s hope has been to still play a full regular season and award the Stanley Cup. For now, the NHL said, all players, including those from foreign countries, can return home and must stay in self-quarantine until March 27. That’s a different directive than players received just days earlier, when the league asked players to remain close to where they play and self-quarantine. Major League Soccer was two weeks into its season when the pandemic prompted a 30-day shutdown. Teams are forbidden from practicing through at least this week. Because ticket sales are an important source of revenue, MLS is reluctant to play behind closed doors, multiple people close to the league said. In all likelihood, MLS would try to restart this summer, add some postponed matches to the back end of the schedule — which, at the moment, is due to end the first weekend in October — and


How we can stop the next new virus

Jared Diamond is the author of “Guns, Germs, and Steel” and other books. Nathan Wolfe is a virologist and founder of the epidemic data and analytics company Metabiota. Let’s start thinking about the likely next new virus. No, it’s not too early, even though the covid-19 pandemic is still at an early stage. During the SARS epidemic in 2004, the world largely failed to anticipate the likely next virus and is now paying the price. Emerging human diseases — including not just covid-19 and SARS, but also AIDS, Ebola and Marburg — don’t arise spontaneously in humans. Instead, they are animal diseases (so-called zoonoses) that jumped from an animal host to humans. They come to us mainly from other mammals, our closest animal relatives. The reason is straightforward: A microbe evolves to be adapted to the internal chemical environment of its host and finds it easiest to jump to a new host if that host‘s internal chemical environment is similar to the chemical environment of its old host. Humans are mammals, so most zoonoses spring from other mammals. The jump of SARS to humans occurred in wild animal markets in China. Throughout China, there are many such markets, where wild animals that have been killed or captured are sold, dead or alive, for food and other purposes. SARS came from marketed civets, small carnivores that in turn had contracted SARS from bats. Wild animal markets exist in other countries besides China. But Chinese markets are especially efficient for launching epidemics because China has the world’s largest human population and is increasingly connected by cars, planes and high-speed trains. These facts about the animal origins of emerging human diseases, and about the ideal transmission opportunities offered by Chinese wild animal markets, have been familiar to public health workers for many years. When SARS emerged from the markets in 2004, that should have been a wake-up call to China to permanently close the markets. But they remained open. When a novel coronavirus surfaced in the city of Wuhan in December 2019, public health officials quickly suspected that it came from a wild animal market there. That hasn’t been proved yet, but everything points to wild animals and their trade as the source. The Chinese government reacted initially by playing down the outbreak’s significance. But then Beijing reacted forcefully, establishing systems to limit transmission on a scale the world has never seen before.


Here’s what’s happening in the world besides the coronavirus pandemic

Want smart analysis of the most important news in your inbox every weekday, along with other global reads, interesting ideas and opinions to know? Sign up for the Today’s WorldView newsletter. The center of gravity of the coronavirus epidemic has shifted west. Numbers of infected people are skyrocketing on both sides of the Atlantic, with public health officials widely predicting the worst is yet to come in Europe and North America. On Sunday, Italy saw its single biggest 24-hour spike in coronavirus-related deaths. Germany closed its borders with a number of European neighbors; France and Spain imposed major lockdowns on their cities and towns. Amid the uncertainty and dread of what is for many an unprecedented moment, you can be forgiven for not paying attention to other developments in the world. Here’s a primer to get you up to speed. The United States and Iran are clashing again in Iraq. On Saturday, the Iraqi government issued a statement warning against such unilateral American action against Iranian-linked militias. “In doing so, it does not limit these actions, but rather nurtures them, weakens the Iraqi state’s ability to provide its own security, and expects more losses for Iraqis,” the statement read. It reiterated an Iraqi parliamentary demand for the departure of U.S. troops in the country. “This necessitates the speedy implementation of the parliament’s decision on the issue of the coalition’s withdrawal.” The U.S. airstrikes were hardly a deterrent; U.S. and coalition forces stationed in Camp Taji, a base north of Baghdad, faced renewed rocket attacks over the weekend, with at least five injuries reported. France held the first round of voting in local elections Sunday. In Israel, Benny Gantz was “Gantz, whose party won 33 seats, appeared to have forged alliances in recent days with two unlikely partners: The Joint List of Arab-majority parties, which gained 15 seats, and the right-wing nationalistic secular party headed by Avigdor Liberman, which won seven,” reported The Post’s Ruth Eglash. “The factions have wildly incompatible ideologies, but they share the goal of ousting Netanyahu and ushering in new leadership in Israel.” That may not be enough, and Gantz still has a “mammoth” task ahead of him, Eglash noted. A fragile cease-fire forged between Russia and Turkey has mostly held over Syria’s war-torn Idlib province. “The situation in Idlib is dire,” Syrian political activist Oula Alrifai wrote over the weekend. “A million civilians were forced to


Trump’s comparison between coronavirus and the 2009 pandemic isn’t as useful as he thinks

seven. On April 28, the total hit 60 cases for the first time. The United States hit 60 confirmed coronavirus cases on Feb. 26. Here’s how the number of cases of each virus increased in the days following the 60th confirmed case. The pattern is strikingly similar. There’s no evidence here of any significant difference between how each outbreak was handled. Again, we know that the number of H1N1 infections was actually much higher than what’s shown on each day, in part because epidemiologists later went back and created the estimates that Trump now uses for his comparisons. But we also — again — know that the number of coronavirus cases is much higher, too. We don’t know how much higher, in part because of the slow rollout of testing by the government. What’s more important in this comparison, though, are those death totals. Trump likes to talk about how many people died of H1N1 (based on estimates). Here’s how the daily tally of deaths related to each illness changed from the day of the 60th confirmed case. The difference is obvious and striking. This is largely a function of the deadliness of the coronavirus. H1N1 was actually less deadly than the seasonal flu, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Consider the 2017-2018 flu season, a particularly deadly one. That year, the CDC estimates, there were about 61,000 deaths among 45 million infections. That’s about 1.4 deaths for every 1,000 infections. H1N1, by comparison, saw a bit more than 12,000 deaths among 60.8 million infections — about 0.2 deaths per 1,000 infections. Covid-19 is estimated to be 10 times deadlier than the seasonal flu. As with Maria, Trump’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak will not be measured against the current death count but, instead, by the eventual estimated fatality rate. Some estimates figure that the coronavirus pandemic could result in over 1 million deaths, a number beside which the H1N1 pandemic pales. Hopefully those estimates are far too high and efforts to constrain the spread of the virus will be effective. Should the death toll from covid-19 even surpass H1N1 by a factor of 10, which seems likely, it will be interesting to see how Trump responds. After all, to this day, he’s refused to accept the unhappy reality of what happened on Puerto Rico. It’s not exactly a political winner for him, after all.


States begin imposing harsher measures to contain coronavirus as U.S. cases rise sharply

Europe currently can land. Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of Homeland Security, said the situation had been “fixed” and that wait times were now averaging half an hour. At Washington Dulles International Airport, arriving passengers reported no problems or unusually long waits getting through customs Sunday afternoon. However, several said they were surprised that they hadn’t faced more stringent health screenings and were asked instead to fill out a basic declaration form asking if they’d been to any countries subject to restrictions. Fahim Hayat said he had expected hours of delay after arriving on a flight from Amsterdam. Instead, he breezed through screening in 20 minutes. No one checked his temperature, he said, and there was no hand sanitizer in the arrival hall, where passengers were freely sharing pens as they filled out immigration forms. “I’m a clean freak, so there were a lot of things I would have thought about twice,” he said. Other elements of daily life continue to contract. Classrooms in New York City, which has the nation’s largest school district, will go dark on Monday, joining a cascading number of states and big cities that have shuttered their schools amid coronavirus concerns. De Blasio said Sunday that the schools would be closed at least through April 20 and possibly through the end of the academic year. In Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) issued an emergency order to close all Maryland casinos, racetracks and simulcast betting facilities to the general public indefinitely. “This situation continues to evolve and will escalate rapidly and dramatically,” Hogan said. “These are unprecedented actions in an extraordinary situation, but they could be the difference in saving lives and keeping people safe.” DeWine also said Sunday that schools in Ohio could remain closed for the rest of the semester. The new workweek will open with many white-collar private-sector employees telecommuting. But hundreds of thousands of federal workers are scheduled to report at their offices Monday, creating widespread anxiety. Many say they have received little guidance. The Trump administration has told federal agencies that “only mission-critical travel is recommended at this time” because of the pandemic. That directive, issued Saturday by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, primarily applies to domestic travel because federal workers fell under previous general restrictions on international travel. Under the memo, individual agencies are to determine whether travel is needed for “mission-critical” reasons. nick.miroff@washpost.com hannah.natanson@washpost.com kim.bellware@washpost.com katherine.shaver@washpost.com


Trump can’t save us from the coronavirus. But governors and mayors can.

President Trump promised Friday to “unleash the full power of the federal government” against the novel coronavirus, officially declaring the outbreak a “national emergency” — “two very big words,” as he put it. But although this announcement drew headlines, the reality is that the president’s legal authorities in a pandemic are limited. Trump will continue to capture an outsize share of media coverage, but the most important actions in the fight against the virus probably won’t come from the president — they will come from governors and mayors. The administration’s bungled responses to covid-19 — the snaillike rollout of test kits, the botched announcement regarding restrictions on travel from Europe, the president’s own pseudoscientific speculations on virology and more — have amounted to a comedy of errors with potentially tragic consequences. But the pandemic will be, to a large extent, a drama in 51 acts. The states and the District of Columbia, not the federal government, will decide when to shut schools, shops and other gathering places — and when to reopen them. It’s our governors and mayors — not the president — who will command medical personnel and law enforcement officials on the front lines of emergency response. The diffusion of responsibility across the federal government and the 50 states is often thought to be a flaw in the nation’s disaster response infrastructure. But divided responsibility also leaves us less vulnerable to failures at the national level. Here, what we thought was our Achilles’ heel may be our saving grace. The president can close the borders and impose various restrictions on interstate travel, but those measures will be of limited utility now that covid-19 is present in 49 states and the District (as of this writing). The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health — which report to the health and human services secretary, who in turn reports to the president — will have important roles to play in the development and distribution of testing, treatment and vaccines. But beyond that, the president’s power in a pandemic is largely the power of the bully pulpit. To understand the scope and limits of presidential power in a pandemic, it’s helpful to compare the authorities of federal and state executives in the event of a declared emergency. At the federal level, we now have three declared emergencies related to covid-19.


U.S. Olympic Training Center limits access in response to coronavirus

center serves as a permanent training home for many U.S. competitors, it also hosts athletes from other countries. According to the letter sent to athletes, anyone using the facility on a short-term basis can remain on-site for the remainder of their program, but no new athletes will be permitted. “Despite the ever-changing nature of coronavirus, its global impact, and the hypothetical scenarios that have entered the conversation, the USOPC has not been given any information to suggest that the Tokyo 2020 Games will not go ahead as scheduled and as planned,” USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland said in a separate letter to athletes Friday. “We, like the athletes who are training to compete at their very best in Tokyo, are focused on being prepared to support our Olympic and Paralympic teams in Japan.” Also Monday, USA Wrestling announced it will discontinue all sanctioned events through April 6, including the Last Chance Olympic Trials Qualifier in Millersville, Pa., on March 27-28, and the Olympic team trials scheduled for State College, Pa., on April 4-5. In addition, USA Wrestling strongly encouraged all chartered clubs and coaches to follow the guidelines and recommendations of their local government or school district in deciding whether to host practices. The organization further urged those clubs to require all participants to have their temperature taken and bar the participation of anyone with a reading of 100.4 degrees or higher. Moreover, it discouraged the participation of anyone showing signs or symptoms of a respiratory illness, regardless of their temperature. Also, the International Olympic Committee’s Boxing Task Force announced it would suspend its “Road to Tokyo” European qualifier in London, which had gotten underway March 14 and was scheduled to run through March 24. The decision to halt the event was made to enable participating athletes from more than 60 countries to return home amid increasing global travel restrictions and quarantine measures, the federation explained. The task force said it hopes to complete the process for qualifying boxers in May and June. In addition, boxing officials canceled the Americas Olympic qualifying tournament, scheduled to take place in Buenos Aires from March 26 to April 3, and the World Olympic qualifying tournament scheduled for Paris from May 13 to 24. Hirshland also announced that all Team USA fan events would be canceled through April, including next month’s “100 day out” celebration in New York. Earlier, the USOPC canceled its media summit,


USA Gymnastics tried to wish Simone Biles a happy birthday. She wasn’t having it.

Biles wrote on Twitter, “Ugh at the airport. Heading to team camp. Still want answers from USAG and USOPC. Wish they BOTH wanted an independent investigation as much as the survivors & I do. … And don’t THEY also want to know HOW everything was allowed to happen and WHO let it happen so it NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN? Shouldn’t people be held accountable?” “The problem is USAG & USOC don’t want anyone to know. This is a massive cover up,” Raisman replied at the time. “The only way for anyone to know what really happened is if someone forces them to release ALL documents & data to investigate. HOW CAN WE MAKE THIS HAPPEN?” Also replying to Biles last month was Rachael Denhollander, a former gymnast who was the first to publicly accuse Nassar in 2016, sparking a flood of similar accusations including from athletes in other sports and non-athletes who were abused while in his care. On Saturday, Denhollander again offered words of support for the 30-time Olympic and World Championship medalist, tweeting, “So many reasons you are the GOAT. Strength in 100 different ways.” Former Olympic swimmer Nancy Hogshead-Makar, now the head of an organization that advocates for athletes who have been abused and unfairly treated, told Biles on Twitter Saturday, “And don’t forget to tell @USAGym to make the results PUBLIC.” “We have fully cooperated with all investigative bodies, including by producing information that they have requested,” USAG said in a statement last month. It added, “We are deeply committed to learning from these investigations, and finding ways to prevent abuse in the future. At the same time, we must respect the confidentiality and integrity of the mediation and SafeSport processes. We would welcome the opportunity to continue mediation and discussing how to best resolve the survivors’ claims.” Biles is training for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, and is assured of a spot on the U.S. team. What seems equally likely at the Games is that, if she doesn’t see progress by then on the demands she and others have made from USAG, she won’t be any less reticent in her criticism of the organization. What do you want in an Olympics newsletter? Take our 30-second survey. Read more: Olympic gymnastics qualifying, already complicated, further muddled by coronavirus Boston Marathon postponed until September Greece suspends Olympic torch relay because of coronavirus, one day after flame was lit


Red states are finally starting to Google ‘coronavirus’

the virus than Republicans. People could just be echoing their party’s point of view as a kind of partisan cheerleading — a phenomenon that is often described as “expressive survey response.” The Google Trends data from the past month suggests otherwise. Indeed, partisan differences in coronavirus concerns have apparently seeped into Americans’ behavior even when no one was watching. Seth Stephens-Davidowitz’s economics research shows several ways in which Google searches predict subsequent actions. Of course, correlation is not causation. We need to be cautious about trying to make inferences about individuals from state-level data, too. But these results give us some additional evidence that Republicans and residents of red states have not been taking the coronavirus threat as seriously as other Americans. But those politicized search patterns have weakened Sometimes, when a situation’s gravity becomes undeniable, reality can burst through the partisan bubble. Partisans, for example, almost always think that the economy is doing better when one of their own is in the White House. But those partisan disagreements over economic conditions shrink considerably during economic crises such as the Great Recession. That may be happening now for the coronavirus. Since March 11, when the National Basketball Association suspended its season and much of the United States began shutting down over the pandemic’s immediate threat, statewide Google searches for the coronavirus looked very different from how they’ve looked for the past month. The figure above shows that “coronavirus” search patterns are much less partisan than they were previously. Search rates in “blue” states — states where Trump lost by more than five percentage points in 2016 — have remained high consistently. But coronavirus searches are catching up in both red states, where Trump won by more than five points, and purple states, decided by less than five points. As the public health crisis has started affecting American life — shutting down professional and amateur sports and public events, and leading schools and businesses to send people home — red- and purple-state residents may now be taking the threat more seriously. Since Trump’s national emergency declaration and the House’s bipartisan passage of an emergency spending measure to combat the virus, that may well continue. We don’t know whether the shrinking partisan gap in Google searches will also show up in public opinion. The latest poll continues to show large differences between Republicans’ and Democrats’ concerns about the virus. And the two


How has the coronavirus outbreak disrupted your life? Share your experience with The Post.

As the number of coronavirus cases grows in the United States, The Washington Post wants to hear from you about how the outbreak has changed your daily life. How are you navigating work and family obligations? Has your place of work reduced hours, or been forced to close? What steps has your city or state taken to prevent the virus’s spread? Share your experience in the form below. If you would like to contact us anonymously, you can submit a secure and confidential tip. (If you have tested positive for the virus, please share your experience here.)


NBA’s evolving schedule plans complicated by CDC guidelines

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday announced new recommended guidelines for mass gatherings that could complicate the NBA’s plans to salvage what remains of the 2019-20 regular season and playoffs in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Under the recommended guidelines, any in-person gathering of at least 50 people in the United States should be “canceled or postponed” for the next eight weeks. “Large events and mass gatherings can contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in the United States via travelers who attend these events and introduce the virus to new communities,” the recommendation read. “Examples of large events and mass gatherings include conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, weddings, and other types of assemblies.” Commissioner Adam Silver suspended the NBA’s season and placed the league on a 30-day hiatus last week while noting that the National Basketball Players Association and the league’s television partners shared a desire to resume the schedule later this year if possible. That hiatus, which was set to run through April 11, has been effectively extended to May 15 in light of the CDC’s recommendation. That extension has wide-reaching ramifications for individual NBA teams, which were awaiting guidance from the league office on next steps. Before the coronavirus crisis, non-playoff teams anticipated that their seasons would end April 15. The two-month stoppage theoretically would have required teams to keep their players in town for a month past the standard conclusion of the regular season without any guarantee that games would be able to resume, with or without fans in attendance. Most NBA players had returned to their teams’ home cities but have family and other obligations elsewhere. NBA teams had been advised to hold individual workouts rather than team practices, which had left players in professional limbo and could have kept them away from their families for at least two months. In response to those concerns, the NBA sent a memo Sunday indicating that players could beginning traveling away from their team’s home market Monday as long as they remained in contact with their teams. The Athletic first reported the memo. These complexities led two high-ranking team executives, who both spoke on the condition of anonymity, to predict that the NBA would be forced to cancel the balance of the regular season and drastically alter the draft combine, set for May 21-24 in Chicago. In a sign of how quickly the


Member of Trump’s coronavirus task force reaches out to his Stanford business school Google group to discuss crisis

A member of President Trump’s coronavirus task force emailed his Stanford business school Google group last week to see if members wanted to discuss “topics related to covid-19,” appearing to try to crowdsource thoughts on the crisis response while offering former classmates his insider perspective. Derek Kan, the executive associate director of the Office of Management and Budget, told the group of 2012 graduates in a mass email that he was currently on the president’s task force and was “happy to share how we are approaching this” on a subsequent conference call. The episode appears to be the second time someone with a White House tie has turned to the cyber masses for input on the covid-19 outbreak, drawing criticism over the haphazard nature of the administration’s response. “I think there are a range of topics to discuss from what are the government and companies doing and what should they be doing, how are markets responding, and a host of others,” Kan wrote from a nongovernment email account. “If folks are interested in a conference call, please let me know and also flag what topic or topics you would find interesting to discuss.” While some in the group welcomed the message, others noted Kan might be better off seeking input elsewhere. Trump has faced widespread criticism for providing assessments that seem to contradict those of government health officials and having to clarify even his own public directives. His son-in-law, Jared Kushner, an adviser with no infectious disease experience, has tried to take a large behind-the-scenes role in the White House’s response. “We are not alumni of a public health school. Business school alums are not the appropriate people to consult during a public health emergency,” wrote one member of the group, drawing approval from a few others. “The federal government response to date has been shockingly inept and outright misleading,” he continued, linking to a New York Times article about Trump’s false claims on the outbreak. “Re-hire the actual experts and then do what they say.” That member of the group said Kan later texted him and — after a Washington Post reporter began making inquiries — called to explain “the intent of his email was checking in with his friends and former classmates about what’s going on in their lives, how are they dealing with COVID personally, how are they dealing with it professionally — not asking for policy


How the coronavirus could trigger a backslide on freedom around the world

with any legitimately harmful content. Iran, a leading Internet freedom violator, has become the epicenter of the Middle East’s coronavirus outbreak. During the government’s scramble to respond, Internet connectivity dipped and Wikipedia’s Farsi edition was temporarily blocked, according to civil society group Netblocks — just as similar blunt restrictions were imposed amid nationwide protests in November. China has also deployed its sophisticated censorship apparatus against people contradicting the government’s narrative and those simply seeking health information. CitizenLab found 45 keywords censored across the live-streaming platform YY and 516 on WeChat, including “Wuhan + CCP + Crisis + Beijing” and “Supplementary + Western medicine + Coronavirus.” Given these platforms’ global user base, this silencing of information reaches far beyond China. And, using its controversial Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), Singapore ordered Facebook to restrict domestic access to the States Times Review’s page. While the page may have published some problematic coronavirus-related content, it is run by a government critic, and authorities have repeatedly invoked POFMA to suppress dissenting voices. Moreover, authorities are citing covid-19 to expand their monitoring capabilities beyond what is necessary for public health surveillance. In China, residents must use a new app that determines their health status, assigning a color-coded designation based on unspecified criteria to dictate whether they can move freely. It appears to automatically share users’ location with police. Moscow is following a similar playbook, using citywide, real-time facial recognition to identify people breaking quarantine. Over the past year, Muscovites have experienced protest-related arrests and connectivity disruptions, and this new biometric system will be used beyond tracking quarantine violators and long after the outbreak. Finally, like Moscow last week, some governments are restricting large gatherings to increase social distancing. In some cases, this may be necessary; the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended such an action on Sunday. But not all countries have good records on free assembly. Despite reporting no cases within the country at the time, a Kyrgyzstan court originally banned mass rallies in Bishkek partly because of the coronavirus. The decision came just days after a protest in support of a jailed politician ended in a violent clash, with police arresting numerous attendees. The coronavirus was also cited to ban an International Women’s Day rally. Similarly, El Salvador barred gatherings with more than 500 people on Wednesday, even with no confirmed cases. Iraq, which has been rocked by


health status, assigning a color-coded designation based on unspecified criteria to dictate whether they can move freely. It appears to automatically share users’ location with police. Moscow is following a similar playbook, using citywide, real-time facial recognition to identify people breaking quarantine. Over the past year, Muscovites have experienced protest-related arrests and connectivity disruptions, and this new biometric system will be used beyond tracking quarantine violators and long after the outbreak. Finally, like Moscow last week, some governments are restricting large gatherings to increase social distancing. In some cases, this may be necessary; the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended such an action on Sunday. But not all countries have good records on free assembly. Despite reporting no cases within the country at the time, a Kyrgyzstan court originally banned mass rallies in Bishkek partly because of the coronavirus. The decision came just days after a protest in support of a jailed politician ended in a violent clash, with police arresting numerous attendees. The coronavirus was also cited to ban an International Women’s Day rally. Similarly, El Salvador barred gatherings with more than 500 people on Wednesday, even with no confirmed cases. Iraq, which has been rocked by protests for months, has also prohibited public gatherings. Even liberal democracies risk normalizing emergency measures. For example, to track infections, the United States reportedly pressured airlines to provide international travelers’ phone numbers and email addresses. It is important to communicate with and monitor infected passengers, but it is also crucial to ensure that any information collected is not misused and that these practices do not continue long after. Certain limitations on fundamental freedoms are unavoidable during public health crises. But such restrictions must be transparent, and necessary and proportionate to limiting the outbreak. Temporarily curbing mass gatherings can be justified, as long as authorities are transparent and provide details about when restrictions will be lifted. Yet much of the enhanced surveillance and censorship of recent weeks does not meet these standards. If governments are allowed to impose indefinite and disproportionate restrictions on access to information, free expression, free assembly and privacy in the name of stopping covid-19, the negative effects will extend far beyond this outbreak. People will suffer a lasting deterioration in basic freedoms, and they will lose confidence in the institutions tasked with protecting them. That means that when the next public health threat emerges, both governments and


and this new biometric system will be used beyond tracking quarantine violators and long after the outbreak. Finally, like Moscow last week, some governments are restricting large gatherings to increase social distancing. In some cases, this may be necessary; the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended such an action on Sunday. But not all countries have good records on free assembly. Despite reporting no cases within the country at the time, a Kyrgyzstan court originally banned mass rallies in Bishkek partly because of the coronavirus. The decision came just days after a protest in support of a jailed politician ended in a violent clash, with police arresting numerous attendees. The coronavirus was also cited to ban an International Women’s Day rally. Similarly, El Salvador barred gatherings with more than 500 people on Wednesday, even with no confirmed cases. Iraq, which has been rocked by protests for months, has also prohibited public gatherings. Even liberal democracies risk normalizing emergency measures. For example, to track infections, the United States reportedly pressured airlines to provide international travelers’ phone numbers and email addresses. It is important to communicate with and monitor infected passengers, but it is also crucial to ensure that any information collected is not misused and that these practices do not continue long after. Certain limitations on fundamental freedoms are unavoidable during public health crises. But such restrictions must be transparent, and necessary and proportionate to limiting the outbreak. Temporarily curbing mass gatherings can be justified, as long as authorities are transparent and provide details about when restrictions will be lifted. Yet much of the enhanced surveillance and censorship of recent weeks does not meet these standards. If governments are allowed to impose indefinite and disproportionate restrictions on access to information, free expression, free assembly and privacy in the name of stopping covid-19, the negative effects will extend far beyond this outbreak. People will suffer a lasting deterioration in basic freedoms, and they will lose confidence in the institutions tasked with protecting them. That means that when the next public health threat emerges, both governments and citizens may be even less prepared to respond appropriately. Read more: Dan Hanfling and Tara O’Toole: Your smartphone could be essential to the fight against coronavirus Scott Gottlieb and Caitlin Rivers: Quarantining cities isn’t needed. But a fast, coordinated response to covid-19 is essential. Benjamin Haddad: Nicholas Christakis: Compassion in the time of coronavirus


Endangered tiger salamander making a comeback in Maryland

The tiger salamander is making a comeback in Maryland, according to the state’s Department of Natural Resources, and the resurgence of this curious nocturnal creature might seem particularly relevant at present. The tiger salamander, called America’s largest terrestrial salamander by DNR, is known for a secretive lifestyle, largely carried on in burrows far below ground. In a season of the coronavirus, it might almost be regarded as a spirit animal for the quarantined. In a statement last week, DNR said Maryland has been losing the special wetlands the creatures need, sending them onto the state’s endangered list. But DNR said it has been working to reverse the trend. It said its spring 2020 salamander surveys, made by counting eggs, are encouraging. “It’s great to see them having such a great year,” biologist Beth Schlimm said. “They are really responding well to their restored habitat. If they keep this up, one day we hope to declare them recovered and take them off the endangered species list.” martin.weil@washpost.com


Coronavirus to shut down Maryland General Assembly

For the first time since the Civil War, the Maryland General Assembly will shut down before its regular adjournment as lawmakers hope to slow the spread of coronavirus. Amid social distancing guidelines that bar large gatherings and urge isolation, 188 state lawmakers had for days been sitting elbow-to-elbow in marathon sessions to rush through their work. But on Sunday, leaders announced a nearly unprecedented decision to suspend their annual 90-day session on Wednesday, about three weeks early, and focus only on their highest priorities. Those include passing a state budget and coronavirus legislation that would give job protections to people who are quarantined and temporary unemployment benefits to people who lose pay because of the pandemic. House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) called it a “fragile moment” in the statewide effort to preserve the state’s public health. “This was not an easy decision to make,” Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said at a news conference packed with lawmakers from both parties. “We will essentially be condensing the last month of session into three days, with a third of the staff.” Staff burnout was a chief reason for suspending work, lawmakers said, along with concerns about forcing the general public and lobbyists out of public buildings. Across the country, legislatures in more than a dozen states have adjourned early or curtailed their schedules. Even more have barred the public. Maryland lawmakers plan to return to Annapolis to do unfinished work during the last week of May, after Memorial Day. Ferguson said they picked that time because it is when, they hope, “the public health crisis will have passed.” Roughly 2,400 bills are still pending, including marquee legislation to compensate innocent people who were wrongly imprisoned, address the unrelenting murder rate in Baltimore and legalize sports betting. The Democratic presiding officers promised they would not leave town without passing a top-to-bottom education overhaul and a package of tax increases to help pay for it. The Democratic-controlled legislature has already moved to curtail a large education overhaul, which was three years in the making, over concerns about the economy’s reaction to the pandemic. A package of roughly $700 million in tax increases to finance the proposal are still pending and require compromise to pass. Republican leaders supported the early adjournment. “I stand side by side with my colleagues — at a safe distance,” said Senate Minority Leader J.B. Jennings (R-Harford). He


Most federal workers will report to the office Monday — as the rest of the country isolates itself

the government, but it has the potential to keep many operations going, such as court hearings and addressing tax questions. The fate of public-facing functions, such as meat inspection, postal delivery and passport processing, is unclear. The White House has instructed agencies to update continuity-of-operations plans they last prepared with the influenza virus known as H1N1 in 2009, laying out how they would pare down to essential services with skeletal staffs. They are still waiting to be deployed, with an unclear trigger for when the White House would take action. Federal managers say they are struggling to figure out what comes next for their staffs and their mission. “This is of a shutdown magnitude, but it doesn’t have clear lines like a shutdown,” said Mark Greenblatt, the Interior Department inspector general, who last week told his 265 auditors and investigators they could telework. “With a shutdown, the light switch is on, or it’s off,” he said. “This is rapidly unfolding and uneven. It’s regional. Different populations are more vulnerable.” On the OMB’s daily call Sunday with senior leaders from major agencies, officials ticked through the number of confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases on their staffs. They described which field offices they were having cleaned after employees tested positive. An Interior Department official asked how to convey safe health practices between their employees and the public they serve at tourist sites. A Social Security Administration leader said school closures are starting to affect field offices that serve the public and warned that “at some point” walk-in service and regular office hours would be impossible because of employee absences. But there was little sense of when the public health crisis would or should lead government leaders to move to more of an emergency footing. “We’re seeing agency after agency not release people” to work from home, said David Cann, director of field services and education at the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union representing federal workers. “If I’m a manager who is a jerk, or disengaged, they’re saying, ‘I’m not going to do it.’ ” The Department of Housing and Urban Development has not provided its staff with uniform guidance on telework, with each office adopting its own policies. Some employees say they want concrete instructions to work from home for a period of time, rather than just being told to be “telework ready.” HUD Secretary Ben Carson told staffers


I flew into Chicago and landed in a public health debacle

CHICAGO — At 7 p.m. on Saturday night, my husband and I landed at O’Hare International Airport aboard a nonstop Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul, returning home after 10 days in Qatar and Oman, where my husband had given a professional talk and we’d tacked on a vacation. We’d certainly been following the news about the progression of the covid-19 outbreak and President Trump’s knee-jerk travel ban. But because we hadn’t visited any Level 3-designated countries and were asymptomatic, we stuck to our originally scheduled plan to fly back Saturday. What we encountered when we landed was absurd. But more distressingly, it was dangerous — and it only happened because our government can’t figure out how to deal with the coronavirus. Upon deplaning, all the passengers on our flight, more than 350 of us, were ushered into a single line entering the international arrivals area. Our queue fed into a larger queue with others. Two things quickly became obvious: One, we weren’t getting home anytime soon. And two, anyone in this huge, smashed-together crowd who may have contracted the coronavirus was now potentially infecting others, who could in turn infect any number of additional people. The scene went from annoying to frightening. Passengers began posting photos of the nightmarish throng on social media. We hadn’t yet been given any sort of health forms to complete (unlike in the countries we’d visited), but we trusted we’d be receiving clear instructions about what would occur, since the whole point of the line was, supposedly, to deal with the health crisis. Those instructions never arrived; the only announcement made to the massive crowd came from a frustrated U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, who shouted at everyone not to post photos on social media. An airport security officer eventually handed out a one-sided form titled simply “UNITED STATES TRAVELER HEALTH DECLARATION.” The form bore no official markings or formal insignia of the United States or any federal agency. It looked like an intern’s Microsoft Word busywork project. At least the health screening forms in the Middle East had included some clip art. It’s difficult to explain what exactly happened, because it was so unclear to us. But it seemed that a two-stop entry process had been put in place. First, travelers were sent through the normal customs and immigration entry points. (They’d closed all of the Global Entry kiosks, without explanation, so no


30-year mortgage rate rises amid economic upheaval as coronavirus spreads

not all that negative, because some buyers think maybe there will be a little less competition if some people wait to see what happens with the virus.” Lower mortgage rates have offset rising housing prices, theoretically bringing homeownership within reach of more people. Nationally, the share of homes available in the $2,500 a month range increased nearly two percentage points in the first week of March 2020 compared with the same period last year, according to Redfin. But low inventory of houses for sale continues to be an obstacle. “The typical principal and interest payment is $100 lower now compared with one year ago even though prices are up 3.9 percent,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist of Realtor.com. “Of course, finding a home to buy with the low rate is probably still a bigger challenge for most shoppers.” Morgan Knull, an associate broker with Re/Max Gateway in Washington, D.C., suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia, said he is seeing a bigger impact. “I’m working with buyers whose mortgage budget has increased by $75,000 due to falling interest rates,” Knull said. “This means their purchase ceiling has increased by 10 percent even as their monthly payment would remain the same. That’s a real game changer.” So far, real estate agents say they’re seeing little evidence of buyer hesitation. Still, they say, coronavirus is on everyone’s mind. “Our open houses have been busy, lots of appointments are being made to show houses, properties are coming on the market, and they’re selling fast,” said Corey Burr, a real estate agent with Sotheby’s International Realty in Chevy Chase, Md. On the other hand, Burr acknowledged, consumer confidence has a big impact on real estate and that confidence could change fast if the virus becomes more widespread in the D.C. region and more schools close. In that case, he expects some people would delay their purchase. “Of course, people are talking about the virus, but until people see someone they know get sick they’re not that worried.” Fairweather said Redfin has seen a slight increase in the popularity of virtual tours, which they provide with all their listings. “Maybe buyers will look a little longer online at photos and tours and focus more on only visiting homes that they want to make an offer on,” she said. “We’re also suggesting that agents be flexible and do a live video tour on their phone for a buyer


Why outbreaks like coronavirus spread exponentially, and how to 'flatten the curve'

How to flatten the coronavirus curve


For millions of Americans, no church on Sunday is coronavirus’s cruelest closure so far

the ritual kissing of the mezuzah, the small containers on doorways in Jewish buildings that contain the prayer of Shema. They also stopped the touching of fringes of one’s prayer shawl — after kissing them — to the first letter of the Torah section from which a community reader is about to read. They also stopped the touching of fringes of one’s prayer shawl — after kissing them — to the first letter of the Torah section from which a community reader is about to read. “The rabbi requested we do a drive-by. You hover your hand [over the Torah scroll] but don’t touch the Torah,” said Sandy Reinhard, 76, a semiretired attorney in Weston, Fla. Those changes have been in place for a couple of weeks, Reinhard said, as have the cancellation of many synagogue events, such as a weekly scripture conversation. “Other than the curtailment of the social connection, it’s not a major impact yet. It may become different,” he said. The decision was agonizing for many religious leaders. On Wednesday, after the Episcopal dioceses of Washington and Virginia announced they would be shutting their churches — including in the Maryland suburbs of Washington — to prevent the virus from spreading, Bishop Eugene Sutton of the neighboring Diocese of Maryland issued a statement saying he could not follow suit. “To deny the Holy Eucharist to people on a regular basis in worship would present a serious theological challenge to a sacramentally formed community,” Sutton wrote. Within 24 hours, however, Sutton noted that the state of Maryland had closed schools temporarily — it also banned large gatherings — and said services would be suspended until March 27 in his diocese, which covers northern and central Maryland. “He raised a very good point. In a time of crisis, when it feels like everything is coming apart, we lean on our community and religious rituals to give us frame of meaning and a promise to hold fast to beyond the current crisis,” said the Rev. Anjel Scarborough, interim rector at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Owings Mills, outside Baltimore. Scarborough said the upending of worship services has triggered a kind of grieving, like Americans are doing for the countless weddings, sports events, graduations, trips and other planned events that have been canceled in the hopes of stopping the virus. As a priest, she worries most about the sense of disconnectedness and


The week the coronavirus ground the sports world to a halt

On the afternoon of March 6, a person arriving at Goldfarb Gymnasium on the campus of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore for the first-round game in the NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament — pitting Yeshiva University vs. Worcester Polytechnic Institute — would have been greeted by a curious sign: a blue NCAA logo with two words below in red letters: “No spectators.” By the evening of March 13, a mere week later, that same sign could have been slapped, metaphorically speaking, across almost the entirety of the nation’s sports landscape. There are no spectators — or television viewers or athletes for that matter — because, at week’s end, there were no sports. It all happened so fast, as the novel coronavirus outbreak moved from a mostly overseas threat that was just beginning to reveal itself on American shores to an officially declared global pandemic that was spreading rapidly across this country. Within the world of sports from March 6 to March 13, the effects of the coronavirus similarly moved from an ominous but isolated curiosity — a pair of obscure Division III tournament games, played without fans out of the proverbial abundance of caution — to a full-blown crisis. In a dizzying, 24-hour span from Wednesday evening to Thursday evening, the NBA, the ATP Tour, Major League Soccer, the NHL, Major League Baseball, the WTA, the NCAA and the PGA Tour suspended, delayed or outright canceled the remainder of their seasons. On Friday morning, the Masters and Boston Marathon were postponed as well. This was the week when sports ground to a halt, and it happened so quickly that the mind could barely keep straight the sequence of events. It was as if the vast, complex engine behind the collective enterprise began making a strange, barely audible noise — the sound of basketball sneakers squeaking on a gym floor in an empty arena — but before anyone could get it checked out, the entire, multibillion-dollar vehicle had thrown a rod and crashed into a ditch. The delays and hiatuses range, at least for now, from two weeks to — in the case of the NCAA, which canceled all postseason tournaments and the remaining spring sports — forever. Nothing in the nation’s recent history, not even 9/11, had brought about such a long and thorough stoppage of play. At some of America’s worst times, sports has been there to restore


held its annual gala at a grand theater, with the team’s three NBA championship trophies on display near the entrance. As guests entered, they were met by an attendant who offered them a squirt of hand sanitizer. Servers walked around offering glasses of champagne; others offered more hand sanitizer. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced it was canceling its media summit scheduled for the following week in Los Angeles. More than 100 Olympians and Olympic hopefuls had been scheduled to attend, including track standout Allyson Felix, swimmer Ryan Lochte and basketball stars Diana Taurasi and Elena Delle Donne. Bringing so many athletes and media members into one room, the USOPC said in a statement, “with 136 days to the opening of the Olympic Games, and 168 to the opening of the Paralympic Games, that simply isn’t a risk worth taking.” At the Zions Bank Basketball Campus in Salt Lake City, where the Utah Jazz held a shoot-around ahead of its game that night against visiting Toronto, Rudy Gobert, Utah’s all-star center, was asked how players were handling the coronavirus outbreak. “Just being aware of it,” he said while seated behind a table with microphones and recording devices arrayed in front of him. “There’s not much we can do right now. We’re not going to stop touching — stop saying hi to each other or stop giving each other high-fives. But just being aware of it. And try to have some hygiene — a little more hygiene, especially with the hands.” Moments later, Gobert rose to leave, but before departing he reached down and with a grinning glance at the media touched each of the microphones and recorders on the table. Finally, he smiled and jogged out the door. “Roses are red, Violets are blue,” Enes Kanter of the Boston Celtics tweeted at 7:08 p.m. “Wash your hands! WASH YOUR HANDS!” That day, there were more than 600 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States. Things began to change but still slowly. The Ivy League became the first NCAA conference to cancel its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, a decision it announced just before noon — to a mixture of bewilderment, frustration and vitriol, particularly from affected athletes and coaches. In a scenario that would occur several more times in the coming days, some of those athletes were seniors who seemingly had their collegiate careers end with a tweet


Why your next vacation should be in the Netherlands

[The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted travel domestically and around the world. You will find the latest developments on The Post’s live blog, which is continuously updated.] Where When to go Why go Logistics Money Paperwork Language Health Prevailing myth Itinerary for first-timers Itinerary for repeat visitors Eat this Special events Reading list Playlist Cultural sensitivities Souvenirs Quote travel@washpost.com


The coronavirus is testing us all

officers, firefighters, public-works employees or garbage collectors. Along the way, we are learning essential things about ourselves. Many of us just learned how to wash our hands the right way. Some have developed an unfortunate post-corona strain of bias against Asians and Italians and those who cough in public. Suddenly, we have to think about what we need for comfort or security if we’re stuck indoors for weeks. Wine? Frosted Flakes? A working Internet connection? Medicine?. Board games? Ever wondered if you would turn into your parents by default? You’re figuring that out, too. Anyone raised by Depression-era parents now understands why Mom and Dad kept a closet in the basement filled with canned goods and rutabagas. Anyone raised in poverty knows why there was a secret can of oatmeal packed behind the towels and sheets. Anyone raised by boomers will understand why buying in bulk seemed strangely comforting to their parents. The virus will also test our faith and trust in leaders. Some have already failed key measures of speed, credibility or willingness to work with experts who bring knowledge and experience to the table. While those leaders wrestle with their own demons, we will be mastering new and unfamiliar terms and phrases on the coronavirus vocabulary list. Community spread. Herd immunity. Contact tracing. Zoonotic. Super-spreaders. History will hit this moment like a fist recalling a president who talked about miracles and magic instead of science, and a congressman who clowned around with a gas mask just days before going into a self-imposed quarantine because he had been exposed to the virus. The words “hunch” or “hoax” don’t belong on the vocabulary list. Our assumptions about our country’s superpower status will be tested as well. The virus is not intimidated by our might. It doesn’t care about our military or technological strength. It is an equal-opportunity invader. Perhaps there is a lesson in that. Our racial, social, religious or geographic differences mean little to this pathogen. We are all human and all vulnerable, and everyone around the world is facing these tests at the same time. Results will vary. There will be false starts and mistakes. There have already been missed opportunities. But one of America’s true strengths is our ability to summon unity and collective confidence when facing an external threat. We’ve seen it in time of war. We’ve seen it during the race to the moon. We’ve


As movie theaters begin to close, Universal moves some films to on-demand

will accept. After staying open through the weekend, the theater closures came relatively quickly. At the end of the weekend, officials in Los Angeles and New York — the country’s two largest box-office markets — had ordered all theaters shut down. Ohio and Pennsylvania made similar orders. The District ordered theaters to close beginning at 10 p.m. Monday, along with restaurants and bars. Those orders came as President Trump urged people to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people. On Tuesday, the industry group, the National Association of Theatre Owners, released a long statement that sought to downplay the long-term impact of both the closures and Universal’s move. “Although there has been speculation in the media that the temporary closure of theaters will lead to accelerated or exclusive releases of theatrical titles to home streaming, such speculation ignores the underlying financial logic of studio investment in theatrical titles,” the group said. “While one or two releases may forgo theatrical release, it is our understanding from discussions with distributors that the vast majority of deferred releases will be rescheduled for theatrical release as life returns to normal. ” In the past, theater owners have aggressively objected to studios bringing their films anywhere but theaters first and suggested they would be open to the idea only if they could participate in revenue-sharing. Though the organization acknowledged that “movie theaters have faced voluntary and mandated restrictions and closures,” it sought to put a bright, longer-term spin on the news. “People will return to movie theaters because that is who people are. When they return they will rediscover a cutting edge, immersive entertainment experience that they have been forcefully reminded they cannot replicate at home,” the group said. It also noted that “when those titles are rescheduled, they will make for an even fuller slate of offerings than normal as they are slotted into an already robust release schedule later in the year.” The Tuesday news came as Disney indefinitely postponed several spring releases, including Marvel picture “Black Widow." “Invisible Man” has been a modest hit since its late-February release, grossing $64 million in the United States. “The Hunt” and “Emma” have taken in less than $15 million apiece. “Trolls World Tour” was expected to be a decent performer when it arrived in theaters in April. The DreamWorks Animation film, inspired by the popular toy and starring Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick, is a


How will coronavirus affect voting in Tuesday’s primaries for Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders?

doing well among young voters and Biden doing well among older voters — but not enough to run away with the nomination and settle Sanders’s doubts he can defeat Trump? There are potential political downsides for Sanders, too. Wyoming holds its Democratic nomination April 4. It’s a caucus, which has benefited Sanders because caucuses favor passionate voters willing to spend hours to cast their vote. But Wyoming canceled the in-person portion of the caucus, asking people instead to mail in ballots and rank their choices. (Before the coronavirus, Nevada had a mixture of early voting, mail-in voting and in-person caucus. Sanders handily won that state.) Some Sanders supporters are pushing to postpone all primaries until it’s safer to vote. At almost the last minute, Ohio officials did do just that, postponing all in-person voting from Tuesday to June. (Election officials of the three states holding primaries have said voting doesn’t mean people stay in one space, like a concert, but rather come and go quickly.) Early voting already is happening in the four states voting Tuesday — Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio. It looks like more voters are taking advantage of that this year, which could be good news for Biden. In Arizona, Monmouth University found half of likely Arizona primary voters already cast their ballots. A large chunk of them prefer Biden, by 50 percent to Sanders’s 27 percent. In Ohio, the secretary of state calculates early and mail-in voting is up significantly. A week before Tuesday, 44,000 more people requested absentee ballots than at the same time in 2016. In-person early voting has doubled from 2016 to 2020. In Chicago, early voting set a post-World War II record, reports the Chicago Tribune. Could that mean Biden banks up enough support to win these primaries even if turnout among his base goes way down on the actual Election Day? Maybe. Florida seems to favor Biden with older voters and moderate Latino voters. Reports there say early voting has been slow, especially in the Democratic stronghold of South Florida. Florida’s top election officials, who are Republicans, did not heed calls from voting advocates to extend early voting beyond the weekend. It’s too late to mail in a ballot, reports the Miami Herald. That adds to the complications for actual Election Day in Florida: Some counties say so many poll workers have quit they’ve had to consolidate polling locations, potentially crowding


Emphasizing ‘faith rather than fear,’ a college wrestling tournament went on

Although sports leagues around the country suspended competition last week because of the coronavirus pandemic, the National College Wrestling Association held its national championships over the weekend, with the organization’s executive director explaining, “We’re going to operate on faith rather than fear.” The organization is not affiliated with the NCAA, which canceled its March Madness and all national championships in response to the covid-19 pandemic, and the championship is the top event for college wrestlers outside the NCAA. More than 600 athletes from 84 colleges, including UCLA and Ohio State, participated in the event, held in the Dallas suburb of Allen, Tex. Three main mats were used, according to the Dallas Morning News, and those were sanitized three times a day. Referees were not allowed to hold up the winning athlete’s hand after a match, traditional in wrestling. Athletes with a temperature over 100.4 were to be disqualified, but the NCWA’s executive director said temperatures were not taken at the event. “I think a lot of this is driven by fear,” the executive director, Jim Giunta, said Friday when asked why the event hadn’t been canceled. “We’re going to do everything in our power to create an environment that’s more than safe for our athletes. But after we do everything we can do, we’re going to operate on faith rather than fear.” Eleven schools did not participate because of coronavirus concerns, and roughly nine more pulled out before the competition began, although they had traveled to Allen for the event, which began Thursday and ended Saturday. Signs were posted about how to prevent the spread of covid-19, and sanitizers were on the scorer’s tables. Athletes were not allowed to practice on the competition mats, instead using one practice mat, according to the Morning News. One coach told the Morning News that his coronavirus concerns were “on the back burner,” and Liberty University Coach Jesse Castro said he thought the pandemic was “overhyped.” “You know the talking points. We’ve dealt with this kind of stuff before,” Castro said. ”… We’re vigilant and we use common sense, but I refuse to live in fear. I’m not gonna do that.” Castro brought 19 athletes to the competition and said he agreed with Liberty President Jerry Falwell Jr., who has said that he believes the coronavirus is a Democratic tool to impeach the president. “Call me a conspiratorist or whatever,” Castro said. “Is that