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CONTENT © 2020

The Washington Post

Year 143, No. 120

Business news.........................a

comics ........................................ c

lotteries....................................B

oBituaries..................................B

opinion pages..........................a

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get ready for the

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BY LOVEDAY MORRIS

AND MICHAEL BIRNBAUM

BERLIN — The coronavirus pan-

demic, with its simultaneous

health and economic crises, is

deepening fault lines within eu-

rope in a way some leaders fear

could prove to be a final reckon-

ing.

The cohesion of the european

Union had been battered by

Brexit, bruised by the political

fallout from the 2015 migration

surge and the 2008 financial

crisis, and challenged by rising

autocracy in the east that runs

contrary to the professed ideals

of the european project.

now, if europe’s leaders can-

not chart a more united course,

the project lies in what one of its

architects described this week as

“mortal danger.”

In the early days of the coro-

navirus outbreak, the response

among european Union mem-

ber states showed that national

interests trump more-altruistic

european ideals. Border restric-

tions were reimposed haphaz-

ardly, and Germany and France

threw up export bans on medical

equipment such as masks and

ventilators, even as Italy clam-

ored for assistance.

Quick to capitalize were the

propaganda machines of Russia

and China. Moscow and Beijing

have swept in with much-trum-

peted — if sometimes defective

— medical aid, pushing a savior

narrative and providing fodder

for the region’s euroskeptics.

e.U. countries have begun to

coordinate their efforts to pro-

see european union on a

E.U. leaders

warn latest

discord could

doom the b loc

see defiance on a

Pockets of U.S.

still resisting

urgent mantra

to stay at home

BY ISAAC STANLEY-BECK AND

CHELSEA JANES

Kay Ivey, the Republican gov-
ernor of Alabama, put down a
marker last week in affirming
that it was “not the time to order
people to shelter in place.”
“Y’all, we are not Louisiana,
we are not new York state, we
are not California,” she said,
suggesting that the fate of hard-
hit parts of the country would
not be shared by Alabama.
In Missouri, Republican Gov.
Mike Parson said he was not
inclined to “make a blanket poli-
cy,” adding, “It’s going to come
down to individual responsibili-
ties.”
And in Florida, where Gov.
Ron Desantis issued a statewide
stay-at-home order this week
under growing pressure as his
state’s death toll mounted, a
Tampa-area megachurch pastor
who was arrested for holding
services in violation of a local
order announced Thursday he
was considering reopening the
church in time for easter and is
“praying and seeking the Lord
for wisdom.”
“I will say, however, that the
church cannot be closed indefi-
nitely,” the Rev. Rodney Howard-
Browne wrote on his website.
“We believe that there are less
restrictive means available to
balance all the various inter-
ests.”
A growing number of states
and cities are restricting Ameri-
cans’ movements in response to
a fast-spreading pandemic like-
ly to claim hundreds of thou-

BY JEANNE WHALEN,

ROSALIND S. HELDER AND

TOM HAMBUR

on March 5, as the deadly nov-

el coronavirus was racing

through the United states, Vice

President Pence paid a visit to the

Minnesota headquarters of 3M,

the manufacturing giant that

produces protective respiratory

masks.

Pence, who leads the White

House’s coronavirus task force,

praised the company during a

public roundtable for deciding at

the o utset of the crisis “to go t o full

capacity” a nd r amp u p production

of high-grade n95 masks.

With its factories in south Da-

kota and nebraska cranked up

and r unning a round the c lock, 3M

was on pace to double its global

output to nearly 100 million a

month, according to the c ompany.

But i n a private meeting s hortly

before Pence spoke publicly, com-

pany leaders had warned the vice

president that 3M had a problem,

according to people familiar with

the session, who s poke on t he c on-

dition of anonymity to describe

the c losed-door discussion.

Chief executive Michael Roman

said he was concerned that repur-

posing the company’s industrial

masks, which made up the bulk of

its production, for use by doctors

and n urses c ould l eave t he c ompa-

ny v ulnerable to lawsuits. The lack

of a liability waiver f rom Congress

— a protection the industry has

sought for years — would hinder

full distribution of the gear, he

said.

While all n95 masks, also

known as r espirators, f ilter at l east

95 percent of airborne particles,

masks f or construction and m edi-

cal use vary in design and fit —

and are subject to different regu-

lations.

The liability issue, w hich s et o ff

a scramble by Pence’s aides, was

one of a number of roadblocks

that delayed the distribution of a

basic protective item desperately

needed to stem the spread of the

virus.

The confluence of a slow initial

response by the Trump adminis-

tration, its wariness of compel-

ling the industry to produce gear

see masks on a

Inside the mask crunch: Federal hesitation, industry fears

coronavirus. Port after port had

denied entry to the ship, which is

operated by Holland America

Line, a subsidiary of Carnival.

There was nothing to do but float

on a beautiful vessel that had

become a beautiful prison — one

beset by illness and the presence

of a potentially deadly virus —

and hope for deliverance.

stranded on the water, the

cruise became a microcosm of

what’s happening on land, with

see cruise sHip on a

before the novel coronavirus was

classified as a pandemic, the ship

set sail from Buenos Aires for its

routine trip around Cape Horn. It

carried more than 1,000 passen-

gers from around the world. They

were hoping for an unforgettable

journey. They had no idea.

Three weeks later, all of Zaan-

dam’s passengers were quaran-

tined in their cabins. Four people

had died. Dozens were reporting

symptoms consistent with covid-

19, the disease caused by the

BY MONICA HESSE

AND DAN ZAK

The cruise ship Zaandam is

nine decks of escapism, stretch-

ing 781 feet bow to stern, with a

casino and spa, a steakhouse and

two swimming pools. Its walls

are adorned with signed guitars

from Iggy Pop and eric Clapton.

It w as christened 20 years ago by

Mary Kate and Ashley olsen,

who wore matching nautical

suits. on March 7, four days

An oral history of an infected, rejected cruise ship

Luis acosta/agence France-Presse/getty images

The cruise ship Zaandam, seen sunday from panama city, set sail march 7 from buenos aires, before

the pandemic. Three weeks later, all of its passengers were quarantined and four people had died.

More coverage

guidance on masks

the White House is expected to

urge americans to begin wearing

cloth masks or face coverings in

public, a reversal of its earlier

recommendations. a

toll estimate: Disease forecasters

question White House figures. a

life care center: nursing home

faces $611,000 fine for lapses. a

india: authorities race to contain

spread from religious event. a 14

Video-call service: everyone’s

using Zoom, but at what risk? a

oversight: Pelosi announces

panel to scrutinize rescue law. a

the district: Delays in overhauling

unemployment site fuel turmoil. B

diY masks: What materials are

best for crafting one at home? c

New deaths in

the U.S., by day 1,065*

Feb. 29 April 2

5,

Cumulative

deaths

0

200

400

600

1,

800

* As of 8 p.m.

BY HEATHER LONG

AND ABHA BHATTARAI

A record 6.6 million Ameri-

cans filed for jobless benefits last

week, the Labor Department

said T hursday, p ushing the num-

bers of unemployed Americans

due to coronavirus closures to

levels not seen since the Great

Recession.

The past two weeks have

wiped out all the economy’s job

gains since President Trump’s

november 2016 election, a sign

of how rapid, deep and painful

the economic shutdown has

been for American families

struggling to pay rent and buy

prescriptions, food and health

insurance.

The number of coronavirus

infections worldwide crossed the

1 million mark on Thursday. In

the United states, the spreading

outbreak has prompted a rever-

sal from the White House, which

is now expected to recommend

Americans wear cloth masks or

face coverings in public. Presi-

dent Trump also invoked the

Defense Production Act to com-

pel 3M to provide more n95 face

masks for health-care workers.

The coronavirus recession is

shaping up to be the biggest b low

to the U.s. economy since the

Great Depression, and fears are

rising that it will take years to

reverse the damage.

The economic Policy Institute

predicts nearly 20 million Amer-

icans will be out of work by July,

which would be the worst unem-

ployment situation the United

states has faced since the Great

Depression. even the normally

cautious Congressional Budget

office predicts the unemploy-

ment rate will exceed 10 percent.

“Job layoffs broke the ceiling

again this week, shattering re-

see Trump on a4 see Jobs on a

Trump’s crisis

response short

on consistency,

long on blame

BY PHILIP RUCK

AND ROBERT COSTA

In the three weeks since de-
claring the novel coronavirus
outbreak a national emergency,
President Trump has delivered a
dizzying array of rhetorical con-
tortions, sowed confusion and
repeatedly sought to cast blame
on others.
History has never known a
crisis response as strong as his
own, Trump says — yet the self-
described wartime president
claims he is merely backup. He
has faulted governors for acting
too slowly and, as he did Thurs-
day, has accused overwhelmed
state and hospital officials of
complaining too much and of
hoarding supplies.
America is winning its war
with the coronavirus, the presi-
dent says — yet the death toll
rises still, and in the best-case
scenario more Americans will die
than in the wars in Vietnam,
Korea, Afghanistan and Iraq
combined.
The economy is the strongest
ever and will rebound in no time,
he says — yet stock markets have
cratered and in the past two
weeks a record 10 million people
filed for unemployment insur-
ance.
As Trump has sought to re-
make his public image from that
of a skeptic of the pandemic’s
danger to a savior forestalling
catastrophe and protecting hun-
dreds of thousands of people
from a vicious contagion, he also
has distorted the truth, making
edits and creating illusions at
many turns.
Trump’s machinations have a
dogged showman’s quality, u sing
his omnipresence at daily White
House news conferences —
which sometimes stretch two

As economy craters, 6.6 million more jobless

How unemployment claims

exploded in just two weeks

This chart does not cover all

unemployed people in America, only

those with unemployment insurance

claims. Seasonally adjusted.

Jobless claims in Thursday's report set a

record, nearly doubling the prior week's

sky-high figures.

On Feb. 29, a 58-year-old man

near Seattle became the first

announced U.S. coronavirus

death.

On March 13, President Trump

declared a national emergency.

On March 19, California became

the first state to issue a

stay-at-home order.

The first week of June

in 2009 saw the

highest tally of total

unemployment claims.

March 22

to March 28

May 31 to

June 6, 2009

Total number of

people claiming

unemployment

Height of the

Great Recession

March 15 to

March 21

March 8 to

March 14

March 1 to

March 7,

2020

7.2 million

Total

1.9 million 2 million

5.1 million

11.

million

To tal number of claims at the

New claims height of the Great Recession

from that

week

new claims

filed

existing

claims

existing

claims

claims still

being

processed

People already

claiming

unemployment

benefits

596,

211,

new claims

282,

1.

million

3.

million

6.

million

2.

million

3

million

1.

million

1.

million

6.

million

Source: U.S. Department of Labor ALYSSA FOWERS/THE WASHINGTON POST

Over 2 mllion

of last week’s

claims are still

being processed.

The rest are now

counted as part

of the existing

claims.

job growth since

election is erased

Far deeper losses to

come, analysts predict