State and local officials take a harder line on the virus
Tim Sullivan | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 8 months AGO
John Sinoski sits in a shopping cart while waiting for an H-E-B grocery store to open Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in Spring, Texas. Sinoski, who arrived around 6:30 in the morning, was near the front of a line of more than 150 people waiting to enter the store which opened at 8:00 a.m. Grocery store executives and city officials reassured the community, on Monday, that plenty of food will be available in their stores and urged people not to stockpile groceries amid coronavirus concerns. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Medical personnel prepare for the arrival of a patient at a drive-through coronavirus testing facility at a site in a parking lot, at Cape Cod Community College, in Barnstable, Mass., Tuesday, March 17, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some it can cause more severe illness. The vast majority of people recover from the virus. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
People wear masks as they commute during rush hour on a subway, Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in New York. The subway is normally crowded but many people are staying home out of concern for the spread of coronavirus. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
A man, who hoped to vote in the scheduled primary election, stands outside a closed polling station Tuesday, March 17, 2020, at Schiller Recreation Center in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio called off its presidential primary just hours before polls were set to open there and in three other states, an 11th-hour decision the governor said was necessary to prevent further fueling the coronavirus pandemic that has paralyzed the nation. (Joshua A. Bickel/The Columbus Dispatch via AP)
A United States flag is reflected in the window of the Nasdaq studio, which displays indices and stocks down, in Times Square, New York, Monday, March 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Lisa Wang wears a mask while walking her dog Rooney on Bernal Heights Hill in San Francisco, Monday, March 16, 2020. Officials in six San Francisco Bay Area counties issued a shelter-in-place mandate Monday affecting nearly 7 million people, including the city of San Francisco itself. The order says residents must stay inside and venture out only for necessities for three weeks starting Tuesday in a desperate attempt by officials to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
An empty gymnasium is viewed at Robertson Elementary School, Monday, March 16, 2020, in Yakima, Wash. All 15 Yakima County school districts announced they are canceling classes because of the coronavirus outbreak starting Monday. (Amanda Ray/Yakima Herald-Republic via AP)
Tourists stand inside The Oculus at the World Trade Center transportation hub, Monday, March 16, 2020 in New York. New York state entered a new phase in the coronavirus pandemic Monday, joining with Connecticut and New Jersey to close bars, restaurants and movie theaters starting Monday night. The governors said restaurants and bars will move to take-out and delivery services only. The three states also will limit crowd capacity for social and recreational gatherings to 50 people, effective 8 p.m. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
A man looks toward the skyline from Bernal Heights Hill in San Francisco, Monday, March 16, 2020. Officials in six San Francisco Bay Area counties issued a shelter-in-place mandate Monday affecting nearly 7 million people, including the city of San Francisco itself. The order says residents must stay inside and venture out only for necessities for three weeks starting Tuesday in a desperate attempt by officials to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
A polling place worker uses gloves outside of the Boca Raton Library during the Florida primary election, Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in Boca Raton, Fla. As Florida officials try to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, the state's voters headed to the polls to cast ballots in the Democratic presidential primary. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Nearly 7 million people in the San Francisco area were all but confined to their homes Tuesday, while Florida put a damper on spring break and St. Patrick's Day by ordering the closing of all bars, as state and local officials took an increasingly hard line against the coronavirus.
Ohio canceled its presidential primary hours before the polls were to open, but three other states pressed ahead with their elections, recommending such precautions as putting tape on the floor to keep voters a safe distance apart.
On Wall Street, stocks bounced around in early trading, one day after the worst market loss since the Black Monday crash of 1987.
With the economy grinding to a halt, the White House proposed a roughly $850 billion rescue package — a sweeping stimulus not seen since the Great Recession of 2008 — and called for its rapid approval.
It would provide relief for small businesses, $50 billion for the airline industry and a big tax cut for wage-earners, said two people familiar with the request who described it on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly.
“If we do this right, our country and the world, frankly, but our country can be rolling again pretty quickly," President Donald Trump said.
Officials in six San Francisco Bay Area counties issued a “shelter-in-place” order that went into effect Tuesday, requiring most residents to stay inside and venture out only for food, medicine or exercise for three weeks — the most sweeping lockdown in the U.S. against the outbreak.
"It's really a scary situation for us because if we don't work, we don't eat,” lamented Miguel Aguirre, a janitor at San Francisco's Boys and Girls Club.
Coronavirus infections across the country reached approximately 4,700, and the death toll climbed to at least 93, with more than half of the victims from Washington state. Worldwide, more than 7,300 have died.
Over the past day, new and more urgent warnings have come from the White House, which has called on Americans not to gather in groups of more than 10 and advised older people to stay home.
Still, the response across states varied.
While beaches on Florida’s Gulf Coast were still open, and at least one was full of spring breakers, Gov. Ron Desantis ordered all the state's bars and nightclubs closed for 30 days and asked Florida's university system to send students home for online instruction for the rest of the spring semester.
Desantis has said he would leave beach restrictions up to local authorities.
In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott has left many decisions up to local governments. Unlike other governors of heavily populated states, Abbott has not made explicit calls for limiting mass gatherings.
“This is not a time to panic," he said. “It’s not as if we have never been through this before. We’ve been through this many, many times."
Election officials in Florida, Arizona and Illinois, all of them holding primaries, said they were taking precautions to make sure voters could safely cast their ballots. The immediate problem: Hundreds of poll workers dropped out, forcing state officials to scramble.
"Please, please heed our call and volunteer," said Marisel Hernandez, head of the election commission in Chicago. "Help us."
Election officials in Illinois' Cook County, home to Chicago, urged poll workers to use blue painter’s tape to mark the floor every 6 feet so voters could keep their distance while waiting in line.
Meanwhile, millions of Americans were holed up at home, many thrown out of work until further notice as offices, stores and other businesses shut down. School was canceled for tens of millions of students, forcing parents to scramble for child care or find ways to entertain their children.
The rapid work stoppage had Americans fretting about their jobs and their savings, threatened to overwhelm unemployment benefit programs, and heightened fears the country could plunge into a recession.
Most people who come down with the disease have relatively mild symptoms, but it can be deadly for some, especially the elderly and those with underlying health problems. Most people infected with the virus recover in a matter of weeks.
Health officials say that "social distancing" — encouraging people to avoid close contact with others — is a key to slow the spread of the virus and keep U.S. hospitals from being overwhelmed with a sudden deluge of patients.
In Detroit, bus riders were stranded Tuesday after most drivers didn't report to work, apparently concerned about the spread of the virus and confused as to whether Michigan's new restrictions on gatherings included vehicles loaded with commuters.
The city canceled bus service shortly after 8 a.m. because of the shortage of drivers. Surprised riders waiting at stops across the city pulled out phones to try to get a lift from friends or family.
“Just now?" a maintenance man, Amadou Sanders, asked. “How am I going to get to work?”
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Associated Press writers Ed White in Detroit, Angela Charlton in Paris; Geir Moulson in Berlin; Kelli Kennedy and Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida; Sophia Tareen and Tammy Webber in Chicago; John O'Connor in Springfield, Illinois; Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta; Julie Watson in San Diego and Olga R. Rodriguez in San Francisco contributed to this report.
ARTICLES BY CHRIS RUGABER
US virus reaction? Some go on lockdown, some go to the beach
Nearly 7 million people in the San Francisco area were all but confined to their homes Tuesday in the nation's most sweeping lockdown against the coronavirus, even as spring break crowds partied in Florida and tourists lined up to pose for pictures in front of the world-famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign.
State and local officials take a harder line on the virus
Nearly 7 million people in the San Francisco area were all but confined to their homes Tuesday, while Florida put a damper on spring break and St. Patrick's Day by ordering the closing of all bars, as state and local officials took an increasingly hard line against the coronavirus.