The Washigtnon Post - 03.04.2020

(Joyce) #1

ABCDE


Prices may vary in areas outside metropolitan Washington. su V1 V2 V3 V


Windy, partly sunny 61/47 • Tomorrow: Partly sunny 62/47 B8 Democracy Dies in Darkness friday, april 3 , 2020. $

transit funding The coronavirus pandemic


may lead Metro to revise its newly approved


budget for the next fiscal year. b


weeKend
a community
of readers
you can access book
clubs, audiobooks and
story time at home.

In the News


tHe world
a pakistani court
tossed 4 convictions in
journalist’s murder. a

oBituaries
ellis marsalis,
the patriarch of a jazz
d ynasty, was 85. b

CONTENT © 2020
The Washington Post
Year 143, No. 120

Business news.........................a
comics ........................................ c
lotteries....................................B
oBituaries..................................B
opinion pages..........................a
sports ........................................ c
teleVision .................................. c
weatHer ..................................... B
world news.............................a

1


stYle
get ready for the
first Zoom movie
critic ann Hornaday
ponders the potential
of the platform. c

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
Free download pdf