NEWS USA TODAY ❚ FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2020❚ 3D
The world marked a grim milestone on Thursday,
registering more than 1 million confirmed cases of the
coronavirus that has swept the globe in less than five
months.
But in reality that mark — 1,002,159 around 4 p.m.
EDT — was crossed much earlier.
That’s because official cases are only those identi-
fied through testing. Cases not tested would include
asymptomatic individuals, people who may have
died of complications of the virus without anyone
knowing it, and those whose symptoms were not se-
rious enough to qualify for testing.
“The million (cases) is clearly way under what the
actual number will be,” said Dr. Steven Corwin, presi-
dent and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
He said the U.S. figures are especially under-re-
ported “because of the lag that we had getting testing
underway and the ability to only test the sickest of
patients to begin with.”
— Doug StanglinFauci threatened, gets security detailDr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Insti-
tute of Allergy and Infections Diseases, has been the
target of online threats and has been issued an armed
security detail, multiple media sources reported
Thursday. Fauci, 79, declined to discuss his security
at a recent news conference of the White House coro-
navirus task force. Details were vague, but the New
York Times reported that Fauci was targeted by “con-
spiracy theorists.”
CNN, citing law enforcement officials, said the De-
partment of Health and Human Services inspector
general sought assistance from the U.S. Marshals
Service, which then deputized HHS officers to act as
personal security.Trump: Some governors are ‘complainers’President Donald Trump insisted Thursday his
team is delivering medical supplies to states nation-
wide and that some governors are “complainers” who
will never be pleased. “Some have insatiable appe-
tites & are never satisfied (politics?)” Trump tweeted.
“Remember, we are a backup for them.”
He did not specify who he was referring to, but a
group of Democratic governors – including Gretchen
Whitmer of Michigan, Andrew Cuomo of New York,
J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Jay Inslee of Washington –
have criticized the slow pace of federal assistance.- David Jackson
FBI seizes ‘hoarded’ mask, PPE equipmentPersonal protective equipment, including almost
200,000 N95 respirator masks, were seized by the
FBI’s Hoarding and Price Gouging Task Force and will
be distributed to health care workers battling the
pandemic in New York and New Jersey, federal offi-
cials said. The FBI did not reveal any names of the
“hoarders” and said it would pay fair market value for
the merchandise. The supplies include 598,000
medical-grade gloves and 130,000 surgical masks,
other equipment and sanitizer, the Justice Depart-
ment said in a statement.
“If you are amassing critical medical equipment
for the purpose of selling it at exorbitant prices, you
can expect a knock at your door,” Attorney General
William Barr said.NY could run out of ventilators within daysDemand for ventilators in New York hospitals
could outstrip supply in less than a week, Gov. An-
drew Cuomo warned Thursday. “At current burn rate,
we have about six days of ventilators in our stock-
pile,” he said. He added some “good news” – the num-
ber of patients discharged from New York hospitals
rose sharply Wednesday, although it remained short
of patients being admitted.
There were 7,434 coronavirus patients discharged
from hospitals in the state, up 21% from Tuesday. Cu-
omo said there were 13,383 people currently hospital-
ized, an increase of 1,157 (9.5%) from a day earlier.93% of world population facing travel limitsAn overwhelming majority of the world’s popula-
tion lives in a country with travel restrictions as the
coronavirus pandemic unfolds. Pew Research shows
that 93% of the world’s population – that’s 7.2 billion
people – lives somewhere that has a restriction on
people arriving from elsewhere who aren’t citizens or
residents. And about 3 billion people (39%) reside
where countries have shuttered borders completely
to noncitizens and nonresidents.
In the U.S., all foreign nationals from China, Iran
and certain European countries are barred. The U.S.-
Canada border is closed for nonessential travel.- David Oliver
National Guard helping in every stateMore than 17,250 National Guard troops have been
deployed in all 50 states and territories to help battle
the coronavirus crisis. Assignments vary from disin-
fecting nursing homes in Georgia to removing the
bodies of victims in New York City.
National Guard Bureau spokesperson April Cun-
ningham said there is no plan to use them to impose
quarantine, enforce shelter in place operation, “or
any kind of large-scale lock-down capacity.”- Doug Stanglin
Contributing: The Associated Press
CORONAVIRUS NEWS BRIEFING
World marks
grim milestone:
1 million cases
President Donald Trump said “it doesn’t seem fair”
people at a certain income level can’t get Medicaid, but
he doesn’t plan to open a “special enrollment period”
that would help people who lost jobs because of the
coronavirus sign up for their health insurance under
the Affordable Care Act.
What should a person suddenly jobless and without
health care benefits do? And how can the administra-
tion prevent another health crisis within the pandem-
ic?
Here are answers to other questions about individ-
ual health coverage amid the COVID-19 crisis:
I’m suddenly unemployed. Why can’t
I sign up for health insurance?
You might be able to – it depends on where you live,
your circumstances and whether Trump changes his
mind about those special enrollment periods.
These sign-up periods were reserved for people
who had major life changes, such as marriage or the
birth of a child. But COVID-19 is life-changing for most
of us, especially those out of work or ill.
In several states, you may be eligible to sign up for
an ACA plan, but you must have lost employer-provid-
ed insurance. In many states, you will be able to sign
up for Medicaid. If you live in these places and had in-
surance, you can sign up for a plan that is probably
subsidized: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Mary-
land, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York,
Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington state, as well
as the District of Columbia.
Limitations abound.
“I understand the reality of why they shouldn’t have
an open enrollment that could affect the market in the
future, but my heart still wants to help everyone,” said
Ronnell Nolan, CEO of Health Agents for American, an
insurance broker trade group.
How would a special enrollment period help?
Consumers in those 11 states and the District of Co-lumbia can visit their respective insurance exchange
for details on how to sign up for coverage.
“In the past, the only time people could sign up for
an ACA plan was either during open enrollment or
when a qualifying event occurs,” said Les Masterson,
Insure.com’s managing editor. “During the COVID-19
pandemic, certain states are allowing any resident to
sign up for an ACA plan, regardless of whether or not
they previously had insurance.”
Even some states that use the federal marketplace
asked the Trump administration to provide an open
enrollment period.
In a letter March 25 to Health and Human Services
Secretary Alex Azar, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey urged
a special enrollment period to ease circumstances for
consumers. Ducey, a Republican, cited the “substan-
tial paperwork burden” for consumers who have
been laid off and have a limited time to sign up for
insurance under the ACA’s “qualifying event.”
The special enrollment period in eligible states
will allow consumers to sign up for ACA plans with-
out providing such documents. These periods are
open for a limited time. In Vermont, for example, con-
sumers must sign up for coverage by April 17.Can I get Medicaid coverage?Unlike Affordable Care Act plans, eligible consum-
ers can sign up for Medicaid year-round.
A total of 36 states and Washington, D.C., expand-
ed Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
Most adults in those states who earn up to 138% of
the federal poverty level – $17,236 per individual or
$35,535 for a family of four – can sign up for coverage
year-round.
Consumers in 14 states that chose not to expand
coverage have more limited options under this pro-
gram for low-income families. COVID-19 cases rap-
idly increased in Florida, which does not offer ex-
panded Medicaid coverage. Texas, where the gover-
nor and Legislature rejected expansion, has the high-
est uninsured rate in the nation.
Simply being out of work is not the only require-
ment for Medicaid. Having trusts or other invest-
ments that earn income may make you ineligible.USA TODAY ANSWERS
FANGXIANUO/GETTY IMAGES
Trump says he won’t
open up Obamacare
What do people who lost their jobs do to get some health insurance?
Jayne O’Donnell and Ken Alltucker
USA TODAY
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – It’s seven days in and the wavy
locks are all still firmly in place. All is still OK in the
world. But give it another two weeks and it will have
been 49 days since the Mayor With the Good Hair has
seen the skilled scissors of a professional. Things may
not look quite so good then. And the wait to meet those
scissors could be even longer.
Evansville, Indiana, Mayor Lloyd Winnecke is will-
ing to sacrifice his perfectly coiffed ’do for the sake of
public health, and he insists you do the same — not
just for your own health, but for the whole city.
He’s the hair hero Evansville needs right now. He’s a
woolly guardian. A hirsute knight. An unkempt cru-
sader.
“I want to prove that every person can have a role in
protecting the public health,” Winnecke said. “I’m not
going to seek anyone to get my haircut during this
time, which may sound a little silly, but I think it makes
a statement.”
Falling in line with the emergency order issued by
Gov. Eric Holcomb, the city of Evansville shut down all
non-essential operations, including hair salons and
barbershops.
Winnecke has been going to the same woman for
his haircuts for more than 25 years. He had an appoint-
ment scheduled, but the business of the city supersed-
ed that appointment, and he didn’t get a chance to re-
schedule before the order was issued.
Things have been a little hectic around the mayor’s
office. His last cut was Feb. 18.
“In this role, sometimes things happen so quickly, a
haircut or doctor’s appointment has to be sacrificed
because something comes up unexpectedly,” Win-
necke said. “So last week, I missed my haircut, and all
of a sudden hair salons and barbershops are closed,
and understandably so.”
Instead of calling in a mayoral favor or ignoring the
order, Winnecke has vowed to let his hair grow until
the ban is lifted. Right now that date is April 7, but he
suspects it will be longer.
“By putting off getting your hair done or cut, you
can definitely be making a bold statement about pro-
tecting public health,” he said.
How bold a statement Winnecke’s hair will make
is yet to be seen. He said he’s never purposely grown
out his hair — well outside of college anyway.
Winnecke said his wife, Carol McClintock, has jok-
ingly (he hopes) threatened to cut his hair in the past
when it got a bit too long.
“So I want to make sure I’m not the first to fall
asleep at night,” he joked. “And make sure we don’t
have any sharp objects in our bedroom.”IN THIS TOGETHER
Evansville, Ind.,
mayor ready to be
(no) Haircut Hero
Evansville, Ind., Mayor Lloyd Winnecke will be
forgoing haircuts. DENNY SIMMONS/USA TODAY NETWORKAbbey Doyle Courier & Press | USA TODAY NETWORK