$24.1 million

Feb. 2020

$15.8 million

$3.2 million

January 2020

$30 million in sales

$25 million

$15 million

$5 million

$20 million

$10 million

0

(^201020202010202020102020)
SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau
DIAN ZHANG, JIM SERGENT AND JANET LOEHRKE/USA TODAY
Personal protective equipment sold to China in January and February of each year:
$1.8 million $271,
$13.4 million
Ventilators Surgical masks Surgical garments
$17.6 million
$13.7 million
$27.3 million
USA TODAY INVESTIGATION

US masks sold to China

even as crisis hit home

Exports shot up in January, February amid looming shortages

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The total is double the previous

week’s claims tally of 3.3 million, which

was revised up by a modest 24,000. A

stunning 10 million workers have sought

unemployment benefits in just two

weeks, exceeding the nearly 9 million

who lost jobs from 2008 to 2010 amid

the Great Recession.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg

estimated that 3.5 million Americans

filed initial claims last week. The appli-

6.6 million file for unemployment

Record jump points to a labor market ‘in a historic free fall’

Paul David
USA TODAY

For the second straight week, mil-
lions of new layoffs underscored the
staggering toll the coronavirus pandem-
ic is taking on America’s workers.
A record 6.65 million Americans filed
first-time jobless claims last week, the
Labor Department said Thursday, in a
sign the sudden shutdown of a vast
swath of U.S. commerce may be just
starting to wreak havoc on the economy.

SPECIAL REPORT

FOURTH IN A 10-PART SERIES

HIDDEN COMMON GROUND:

CORONAVIRUS

Americans

expect

extended

upheaval

Poll: More are willing

to accept drastic steps

Editor’s note: For 37 years,
USA TODAY has been home to
America’s conversation. That role
is even more important now, with
deep divisions standing in the way
of thoughtful debate. Leading up
to the 2020 election, we’ll spotlight
areas of agreement and offer
solutions to help us come together.

Joel Shan
USA TODAY

Most Americans say saving lives by
preventing the spread of COVID-
should be the top priority for the U.S.
government as the global coronavirus
pandemic strains the nation’s health
care system and social distancing
measures ravage the economy, accord-
ing to a new poll.
The Public Agenda/USA TODAY/Ip-
sos poll poll released Friday found the
nation is becoming more accepting of
drastic interventions to stop the virus’
spread, compared with a poll taken
March 10 and 11 that found Americans
were more concerned about their fi-
nances. The increased support for re-
strictions comes as Americans believe
coronavirus effects will be felt for the
foreseeable future, the survey found.
New York resident Sue Clinton –
who said she misses hugs from her
grandchildren but knows it’s for the
common good – was among the rough-
ly 1,000 respondents.
Clinton said she’s worried about the
economy but is more concerned with
the safety of several family members
who have underlying health condi-
tions, which make them especially
vulnerable to the virus.
“We’re just going to have to figure
something out for the economy,” she
said.

See POLL, Page 5A

Inside

We need you to act now to save lives,
Melinda Gates writes. Page 6A

SOURCE Department of Labor

JAVIER ZARRACINA/USA TODAY

Between March 16 and March 18

almost 500 Americans filed

for unemploment every minute :

Average claims per minute

in the year before March 14:

21

See ECONOMY, Page 3A

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• anything from finding a job or
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U.S. Census Bureau.

USA TODAY’s analysis of the trade

numbers comes as medical profession-

als on the front lines of the nationwide

crisis say they are being forced to reuse

or go without personal protective

equipment like surgical masks and face

shields to account for a shortage. Some

states also are scrambling to find venti-

lators to prepare for a crush of patients

expected to need them.

The White House and congressional

intelligence agencies were briefed on

the scope and threat of the coronavirus

in January and February, but President

Donald Trump has not stopped exports

of key medical equipment – a move tak-

en by at least 54 other countries so far.

The data show how U.S. manufac-

turers stepped up production and

cleared out inventory to supply protec-

tive medical equipment to China for

weeks, even as the threat of the coro-

navirus became clear. The CDC report-

ed its first case in the United States on

Dian Zhang, Erin Mans

and Dinah Voyles Pulve

USA TODAY

U.S. exports of surgical masks, ven-

tilators and other personal protective

gear to China skyrocketed in January

and February, when the coronavirus

was exploding in the country where it

began and as U.S. intelligence agencies

warned it would soon spread.

American companies sold more than

$1 7.5 million worth of face masks, more

than $13.6 million in surgical garments

and more than $27.2 million in ventila-

tors to China during the first two

months of the year, far exceeding that

of any other similar period in the past

decade, according to the most recent

foreign trade data available from the

“This is going to have to be

looked at to figure out how

we allowed a U.S. company

... to feed the globe but not

their home country.”

Jared Moskowitz

Florida’s emergency management director

See EXPORTS, Page 4A