2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United States

2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United States

Map of states and territories in the U.S. with number of confirmed cases (as of March 17)   No cases reported   Confirmed <20   Confirmed 20–49   Confirmed 50–99   Confirmed 100–199   Confirmed 200–1,000   Confirmed >1,000
(clockwise from top) A mobile testing center in New Rochelle, New York An empty supermarket shelf for water bottles, due to panic buying A microbiologist extracting the coronavirus in a Pennsylvania lab
Disease	COVID-19
Virus strain	SARS-CoV-2
Location	United States
First case	United States Everett, Washington
Arrival date	January 15, 2020 (2 months and 3 days ago)
Origin	Wuhan, Hubei, China
Confirmed cases	6,496 (JHU) 4,226 (CDC confirmed)
Recovered	17 (JHU)
Deaths	114 (JHU) 75 (CDC confirmed)

The first case in the United States of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was confirmed on January 20, 2020, in a 35-year-old man who had returned from Wuhan, China, on January 15. The White House Coronavirus Task Force was established on January 29. Two days later, the administration of President Donald Trump declared a public health emergency and announced restrictions on travelers arriving from China. By March 12, diagnosed cases of the novel COVID-19 in the U.S. exceeded 1,000. The number of active cases exceeded 2,000 by March 14, 3,000 by March 15, and 4,000 by March 16. Of the 114 deaths in the country, 55 occurred in the state of Washington, with 29 of those at a nursing home. Cases have been confirmed in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. As of March 17, only the territories of American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands had no confirmed cases. Deaths from the pandemic have occurred in 18 states. President Trump declared the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic a national emergency on March 13.

The government first began testing persons for the virus infection in February, but soon after, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that the test kits were defective and gave inaccurate readings, thus rendering them useless. This was followed by the government announcing a series of measures intended to speed up testing. As of March 14, all 50 states were able to perform tests, with a doctor's approval, either from the CDC or from commercial labs in a state, but the number of available test kits remained very limited, which means that the true number of people currently infected with the virus is impossible to estimate with any reasonable accuracy. The CDC has suggested that doctors use their own judgment along with certain guidelines before authorizing a test.

The CDC has advised against non-essential travel to China, Iran, the 26 European countries that comprise the Schengen Area, and the United Kingdom and Ireland. The United States is also denying entry to foreign nationals who have traveled through any of these regions within the past 14 days. Americans returning home after traveling in China's Hubei Province have been required to submit to a 14-day quarantine. Any U.S. citizen returning to the United States who has been in the rest of mainland China within the previous 14 days may be required to undergo a health screening and possible self-quarantine.

Responses to the outbreak have included prohibitions and cancellation of large-scale gatherings, including the closure of schools and other educational institutions, the cancellation of trade shows, conventions, music festivals, and the cancellation and suspension of sporting events and leagues—measures which intensified on March 11 after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak to be a pandemic. The CDC warned that widespread transmission may force large numbers of people to seek hospitalization and other healthcare, which may overload healthcare systems, and the U.S. government has advised against any gathering of more than 10 people.

COVID-19 cases in the United States  ()      Deaths        Active cases
Date			# of cases
2020-01-21		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	1(+1)	(n.a.)
⋮		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	1(=)	(=)
2020-01-24		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	2(+1)	(+100%)
2020-01-25		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	3(+1)	(+50%)
2020-01-26		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	5(+2)	(+67%)
⋮		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	5(=)	(=)
2020-01-30		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	6(+1)	(+20%)
2020-01-31		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	7(+1)	(+17%)
2020-02-01		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	8(+1)	(+14%)
2020-02-02		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	11(+3)	(+38%)
⋮		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	11(=)	(=)
2020-02-05		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	12(+1)	(+9%)
⋮		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	12(=)	(=)
2020-02-20		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	14(+2)	(+17%)
⋮		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	14(=)	(=)
2020-02-26		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	15(+1)	(+7%)
2020-02-27		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	15(=)	(=)
2020-02-28		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	19(+4)	(+27%)
2020-02-29		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	24(+5)	(+26%)
2020-03-01		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	42(+18)	(+75%)
2020-03-02		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	57(+15)	(+36%)
2020-03-03		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	85(+28)	(+49%)
2020-03-04		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	111(+26)	(+31%)
2020-03-05		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	175(+64)	(+58%)
2020-03-06		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	252(+77)	(+44%)
2020-03-07		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	353(+101)	(+40%)
2020-03-08		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	497(+144)	(+41%)
2020-03-09		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	645(+148)	(+30%)
2020-03-10		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	936(+291)	(+45%)
2020-03-11		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	1,205(+269)	(+29%)
2020-03-12		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	1,598(+393)	(+33%)
2020-03-13		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	2,163(+565)	(+35%)
2020-03-14		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	2,825(+662)	(+31%)
2020-03-15		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	3,497(+672)	(+24%)
2020-03-16		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	4,372(+875)	(+25%)
2020-03-17		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	5,637(+1265)	(+29%)
Cases: The number of non-repatriated cases reported by states Sources: Official reports from state health officials

Timeline

Main article: Timeline of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United States

Government response

Federal

Play media

'President Trump and Members of the Coronavirus Task Force Hold a News Conference' – video from White House, February 26, 2020

The White House Coronavirus Task Force to coordinate and oversee efforts to "monitor, prevent, contain, and mitigate the spread" of COVID-2019 in the United States was established in January 2020.

As the COVID-19 pandemic began, according to Laurie Garrett, the federal government faced the crisis with a diminished capacity to respond, as she states there were various positions unfilled for planning and responding to any future pandemics. The Washington Post stated that this was partly because during the months after Trump took office in 2017, there were delays in appointing permanent directors at the CDC or the U.S. Agency for International Development, with unfilled posts also at the Department of Health and Human Services.

In February 2020, the CDC was notifying the press that it was expecting the infections to spread, and urged local governments, businesses, and schools to develop plans for the outbreak. Among the suggested preparations were canceling mass gatherings, switching to teleworking, and planning for continued business operations in the face of increased absenteeism or disrupted supply chains.

Preparedness

Alex Azar signing a public health emergency declaration

The Associated Press reported in March 2020 that the Trump administration had "dissolved" the National Security Council directorate for global health security and biodefense in May 2018. Tim Morrison, a presidential advisor to Trump in 2019, responded to deny press reports that the staff had been dissolved; he stated that, while National Security Staff had been reduced after it quadrupled during the previous administration, biodefense staff – and the important mission it represents – remained unaffected.

In January 2019, a U.S. Senate Committee had warned that the U.S. and the world was vulnerable to a flu pandemic or large-scale outbreak of a contagious disease, which could severely affect the world economy. Lisa Monaco, a former Homeland Security Advisor, considers a pandemic disease like the coronavirus, a threat to national security and among the top threats facing the country. She had previously stated that because deadly diseases are only one flight away, "the U.S. government must start taking preparedness seriously."

CDC officials warned that widespread transmission may force large numbers of people to seek hospitalization and other healthcare, which may overload healthcare systems. One expert projected there could be as many as 96 million cases with 480,000 deaths and 4.8 million hospitalizations. The U.S. has a total of 924,107 staffed beds in all its hospitals, with 94,837 ICU beds.

Many, including Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, stressed that local governments would need assistance from the federal government if there were school and business closures.

Medical supplies

Play media

President Trump visits the Centers for Disease Control on March 6, 2020

In February, the government began making protective gear against infection by invoking a federal defense law to boost production of masks, gloves, gowns and other items needed to protect medical personnel from exposure.

Testing

The purposes of testing are to tell whether an person has a coronavirus infection, and to let health professionals know both how bad the epidemic is and where it is worst. The government began testing by the CDC, but soon after the CDC found that the test kits were defective and gave inaccurate readings, thus rendering them useless.

On March 4, FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn, estimated that close to a million tests would soon be able to be performed with the new test kits, while Vice President Mike Pence estimated it could be as many as 1.5 million. But Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut noted that as of March 8, his state had not yet received the new test kits. Likewise, Massachusetts representative Stephen Lynch said his state had not yet received them. By March 11, "just over 5,000 people have been tested in the United States since January 20, when the first positive case was detected."

As of March 12, all 50 states were able to perform tests, with a doctor's approval, either from the CDC or from commercial labs in a state. This was followed by the government announcing a series of measures intended to speed up testing, including appointment of Admiral Brett Giroir, of the U.S. Public Health Service, to oversee testing, funding for two companies developing rapid tests and a hotline for labs to call to get help finding needed supplies. The FDA also gave emergency authorization for New York to obtain an automated coronavirus test unit that will speed up screening to provide results in 3.5 hours.

The CDC has suggested that doctors use their own judgment along with certain guidelines before authorizing a test, since the symptoms of coronavirus closely resemble those from the flu and common cold, and persons who are only mildly ill are encouraged to stay home. Among the factors that doctors would consider before authorizing a test for someone with symptoms are the following:

• Has the patient recently traveled in an affected area?
• Has the patient been in close contact with someone with COVID-19 or with patients with pneumonia of unknown cause?
• Does the patient reside in an area where there has been community spread of COVID-19?

The preference and ability for testing varies with different countries. In S. Korea, for example, as of March 13, they had available drive-through testing centers which could get results the next day. The country also had a daily testing capacity of 15,000 with testing paid for by the government.

Critics say that the US government has botched the approval and distribution of test kits, losing crucial time during the early weeks of the outbreak, with the result that the true number of cases in the United States was impossible to estimate with any reasonable accuracy.

In a press conference on Friday, March 13, the Trump administration stated that there will be tests conducted in retail store parking lots across the country, with participating franchises including Walmart, Target, CVS, and Walgreens, and that the results would be sent to labs to complete testing in partnership with local health departments and diagnostic labs. President Trump said: "We therefore expect up to a half a million additional tests will be available early next week. We’ll be announcing locations probably on Sunday night. [...] The FDA’s goal is to hopefully authorize their application within 24 hours [...] which will bring, additionally, 1.4 million tests on board next week and 5 million within a month." On March 13, drive-through testing in the U.S. began in New Rochelle, Westchester County, as New Rochelle was the U.S. town with the most cases at that time.

Trump administration statements

On February 11, Trump predicted at a rally that "by April ... when it gets a little warmer it miraculously goes away", and at a White House event said "The heat generally speaking kills this kind of virus."

On February 24, Trump tweeted "The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA.".

On February 25, Trump said, "I think that whole situation will start working out. We’re very close to a vaccine." The White House later clarified that the statement about the vaccine refers to the Ebola virus, not COVID-19.

On February 26, with no deaths yet reported, Trump said that the risk to Americans was still very low, and appointed Vice-President Mike Pence to take charge of the nation's response to the virus.

He also criticized media outlets for making the coronavirus epidemic look as bad as possible, which was panicking financial markets. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi disputed his assertions, and expressed concern over his selection of Mike Pence. Pence requested that to insure the public receives consistent public statements about the epidemic, they first be approved by his office, although some officials claimed that step could slow down the process of spreading information.

At a campaign rally in South Carolina on February 28, Trump said "The Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus... this is their new hoax," and criticized the press as "in hysteria mode."

On March 9, after more than 20 deaths, with confirmed cases in over 25 states, and new cases being reported all over the country on a daily basis, Trump tweeted, "The Fake News Media and their partner, the Democrat Party, is doing everything within its semi-considerable power (it used to be greater!) to inflame the CoronaVirus situation, far beyond what the facts would warrant. Surgeon General, 'The risk is low to the average American.'"]

On March 17 Trump stated, "I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic."

Oval Office address

Play media

President Trump addressing the nation on March 11, 2020.

In an address to the nation on March 11, 2020, hours after world health officials declared the coronavirus a pandemic, President Trump suspended all travel from mainland Europe to the United States for the next 30 days. The measure would not apply to trade items, and had originally excluded Great Britain and Ireland, although they were subsequently included. He requested a number of other policy changes:

• He would ask Congress to provide financial relief and paid sick leave for workers who were quarantined or had to care for others.
• He would instruct the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide loans to businesses affected by the pandemic, and would ask Congress for an additional $50 billion to help hard-hit businesses.
• He would request that tax payments be deferred beyond April 15 without penalty for those affected, which he said could add $200 billion in temporary liquidity to the economy.
• He would ask Congress to provide payroll tax relief to those affected.

Later, the Department of Homeland Security explained that the ban applies to the countries belonging to the 26-member Schengen passport-free zone. These are: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Britain and Ireland are also included in the ban.

In a subsequent joint statement, senators Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi criticized the president for not addressing the lack of testing kits, and said they would request that all testing be free of cost. They would also ask that paid emergency leave and food assistance be provided to affected employees.

Stock index futures declined sharply during Trump's address, and the Dow Jones declined 10% the following day — the largest daily decline since Black Monday in 1987 — despite the Federal Reserve also announcing it would inject $1.5 trillion into money markets.

Congressional funding

President Trump, with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar, signs the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act into law on March 6, 2020

On February 24, 2020, the Trump administration asked Congress for $2.5 billion in emergency funding to combat the outbreak. Shortly after his request, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer unveiled a plan providing "$8.5 billion in emergency funding". By March 4, Congress had reached a bipartisan agreement for $8.3 billion in funding to fight the coronavirus via the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act. The deal includes "more than $3 billion for the research and development of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, as well as $2.2 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including $950 million to support state and local health agencies." President Trump signed the bill into law on March 6.

In a vote that concluded at 12:30 am on Saturday March 14, 2020, the House passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act in a 363–40–1 vote after President Trump had tweeted in support of it. The bill provides for free coronavirus testing, "paid emergency leave and other resources intended to help stem the crisis and stabilize financial markets." The bill was sent to the Senate on March 16 after undergoing technical corrections.

Additionally, a third stimulus package is being considered by Congress and the White House which could cost $1 trillion, $200 billion or more of which would be given to non-millionaire Americans to help cover short-term costs; a similar measure was previously suggested by both Democrats and Republicans as a form of basic income. Separately, Democratic senators have prepared a package that would cost $750 billion or more.

Travel and entry restrictions

Further information: Travel restrictions related to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

The CDC has active level 3 travel advisories for China, most of Europe, Iran, and South Korea, recommending against non-essential travel to these regions. As of March 11, the CDC has issued a level 2 advisory that applies worldwide, recommending against any non-essential travel by older adults or anyone with a serious chronic condition.

Data obtained by CNN from the US Department of Homeland Security indicated that 241 foreign persons had been denied entry to the United States between February 2 and March 3, including 14 at airports and 227 at land-based ports of entry. An additional 106 foreign persons had been denied entry at preclearance facilities outside the United States. Public Safety Canada reported that 70 Canadian citizens and 47 permanent residents, all non-U.S. persons, were denied entry into the United States through March 2.

China

Americans returning from Hubei province are required to undergo health screenings and submit to a mandatory quarantine and monitoring for up to 14 days. On February 16, 14 evacuees from the luxury cruise ship the Diamond Princess were flown on State Department-chartered planes from Japan to the United States. The CDC "did not want 14 people who had tested positive for the new coronavirus to be flown back to the US, among hundreds of other uninfected people—but the CDC experts were overruled by officials at the US State Department."

Iran

As of March 2, foreign nationals who have traveled to Iran within the last 14 days are denied permission to travel to the United States. US citizens and permanent residents returning to the United States who have traveled to Iran within the previous 14 days must enter through an approved airport.

Europe

On March 11, 2020, a presidential proclamation was issued to suspend incoming travel by foreign nationals who have been to a country within the European Union's Schengen area (an area of 26 European states with no border control for those travelling within them) excluding other countries such as the United Kingdom and Ireland, in the last 14 days, for 30 days beginning at 23:59 ET on March 13. The ban does not apply to legal permanent residents and most immediate family members of U.S. citizens. Cargo and trading goods are not affected.

On March 14, Vice President Mike Pence announced that the travel ban will be expanded to include the UK and Ireland beginning at midnight ET on March 16.

Americans returning from abroad can reenter the United States, but delays of six to eight hours at several airports are reported on March 15. Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker wrote that "The federal government needs to get their s@#t together. NOW", and stated that the long lines at O'Hare International Airport were "unacceptable". Pritzker later stated that a White House staffer telephoned at 11:00 p.m. and yelled about Pritzker's previous comment.

State, territorial and local response

Main article: U.S. state and local government response to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic

Economic impact

Domestic travel

External video

CNBC interview with Southwest CEO Gary Kelly on March 5, YouTube video

KOMO: Coronavirus Impact on Air Travel, YouTube video

As the outbreak intensified, demand for domestic air travel declined steeply. By March 4, U.S. airlines, including United Airlines and JetBlue Airways, began to reduce their domestic flight schedules, offering voluntary unpaid leave to personnel, and freezing hiring. In an interview with CNBC on March 5, Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly reported "a very noticeable, precipitous decline in bookings" since the outbreak began, remarking that the outbreak's impact on domestic air travel had "a 9/11-like feel" reminiscent of an economic recession. On March 10, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines also announced cuts to their domestic flight schedules, while United Airlines reported that it expects to take a loss in the first quarter of 2020 rather than profits that the carrier previously expected. Furthermore, United Airlines announced $2.5 billion in reductions to capital spending, while Delta Air Lines reported that it planned to defer $500 million in capital spending as well as retire portions of its fleet ahead of schedule. Globally, the International Air Transport Association estimated that the global outbreak could reduce airline revenues by between $63 billion and $113 billion, including nearly $21 billion in the US and Canada.

On March 8, Amtrak suspended its three daily non-stop high-speed Acela Express trains between Washington, D.C., and New York City beginning on March 10 and continuing until May 26, citing "reduced demand for our service." The same day, Amtrak announced that on March 4, one of its passengers on train 303 (Chicago to St. Louis) had tested positive, the first such case on the U.S. rail system. Amtrak took the train out of service, disinfected the St. Louis and Chicago stations, and notified the other passengers on that train. On March 13, Amtrak announced that effective March 16 through March 29, trains along the Northeast Corridor will operate on a reduced schedule. In addition, effective March 16 through March 29 the Keystone Service will operate on a Saturday schedule between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, with no service to stations in Montgomery and Chester counties. The Hartford Line and Valley Flyer will also operate on a Saturday schedule starting March 16. In New York, effective March 15 the Maple Leaf will only operate between New York City and Niagara Falls while the Adirondack will only operate between New York City and Albany. The Winter Park Express train in Colorado was cancelled for the rest of the season.

The lobbying group for the airline industry, Airlines for America (A4A), on March 16 called for a $50 billion subsidy, including $4 billion for cargo services. CNBC reports that airlines are preparing for a ban on domestic flights after President Trump said on March 14 that he is considering travel curbs and acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said all options remained on the table when asked about a possible ban, the first since September 11, 2001. United Airlines said they expected a drop of $1.5 billion in March revenue, American Airlines said they expected to decrease domestic capacity by 20% in April and 30% in May, and Delta Air Lines told employees it would cut capacity by 40%.

School closures

As of March 13, 22,000 public schools had closed nationwide, affecting over 15 million students. There were 14 states which have closed or were planning to close their K-12 schools for a number of weeks. A large number of higher educational institutions canceled classes and closed dormitories in response to the outbreak, including Harvard University, Cornell University, and the University of South Carolina. Virtually all colleges and universities have extended remote classes until the end of the spring semester and several have proactively cancelled graduation ceremonies.

Financial market impacts

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell announces a 50 basis point (0.5% percentage point) interest rate cut on March 3, 2020 in light of "evolving risks to economic activity" from the coronavirus

On February 27, 2020, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped 1,191 points, the largest single-day point drop in the index's history at the time; some attributed the drop to anxiety about the epidemic. The same day, the S&P 500 logged a 4.4% decline. Since then, the record has been beaten four more times during the outbreak on March 9 (-2,013 points), March 11 (-1,465 points), March 12 (-2,353 points), and finally setting the current record for most points lost in a single day by losing 2,997 points on March 16. On March 13, the stock market rebounded for the single largest one-day point gain in the market's history by gaining 1,985 points after Trump declared a state of national emergency to free up resources to combat the virus. The six business days it took for the S&P 500 Index to drop 10% (from February 20 to 27) "marked the quickest 10% decline from an all-time high in the index's history." From January 21 to March 1, the DJIA dropped more than 3,500 points, equating to roughly a 13% decrease.

On March 9, 2020, President Donald Trump announced that he would be inviting Wall Street executives to the White House to discuss the economic impact of the virus.

Corporate revenue and earnings

In February 2020, American companies, including Apple Inc. and Microsoft, began lowering expectations for revenue because of supply chain disruptions in China caused by the virus. In a February 27 note to clients, Goldman Sachs stated that it expects no earnings growth for U.S. companies in 2020 as a result of the virus, at a time when the consensus forecast of Wall Street expected "earnings to climb 7%."

Recession predictions

The pandemic, along with the resultant stock market crash, has led to increased discussion of a recession in the United States. Experts differ on whether a recession will actually take place, with some saying it's not inevitable while others say the country may already be in a recession. Of the economists surveyed in March by the University of Chicago at multiple U.S. universities, 51% agreed or strongly agreed that there would be a "major" recession caused by the coronavirus, while 31% were uncertain or disagreed.

Experts also differ on the scope of a potential recession, but they say odds of a V-shaped recession appear low. Some are calling for a U-shaped or L-shaped recession, suggesting a long recession with a difficult recovery.

At least one financial expert has questioned the ability of the United States to combat the recession, due to the nature of the recession and a lack of tools necessary.

Economic analysts revised their forecasts going into March, predicting the economy would contract by as much as 8% during the second quarter of 2020. Some analysts estimated a recession had already begun.

Monetary policy responses

On March 3, 2020, the Federal Reserve lowered target interest rates from 1.75% to 1.25%, the largest emergency rate cut since the 2008 global financial crisis, in an attempt to counteract the outbreak's effect on the American economy. "The coronavirus poses evolving risks to economic activity," the Federal Reserve said in a statement. "In light of these risks and in support of achieving its maximum employment and price stability goals, the Federal Open Market Committee decided today to lower the target range for the federal funds rate." On March 15, the Fed cut their target interest rate again to a range of 0% to 0.25%. The Fed also announced a $700 billion quantitative easing program similar to the one initiated during the financial crisis of 2007–08. Despite the moves, stock index futures plunged, triggering trading limits to prevent panic selling. The Dow lost nearly 13% the next day, the third-largest one-day decline in the 124-year history of the index. That day, the VIX — informally known as the market “fear index” — closed at the highest level since its inception in 1990.

On March 17, the Federal Reserve announced a program to buy as much as $1 trillion in corporate commercial paper to ensure credit continued flowing in the economy. The measure was backed by $10 billion in Treasury funds.

Fiscal policy responses

By March 17, the federal government neared an economic stimulus proposal totaling about $1 trillion, including direct cash payments to Americans.

Proposed economic policies

Writing in The New York Times, economist Ian Golden recommended: "Banks, supported by governments, should provide discounted loans and increase their tolerance of late repayments by businesses that risk bankruptcy because of the absence of supplies or customers, or because of late payments by creditors." He also recommended that: "government should help employers to guarantee a basic income and to ensure that workers who are not currently entitled to sick pay — a quarter of the U.S. work force — are covered for the period in which they are unable to work.

Economist and former CEA Chair Greg Mankiw recommended that: "Mitigating the health crisis is the first priority. Give Dr. Fauci anything he asks for. Fiscal policymakers should focus not on aggregate demand but on social insurance...sending every American a $1,000 check would be a good start. Helping people over their current economic difficulties may keep more people at home, reducing the spread of the virus. In other words, there are efficiency as well as equity arguments for social insurance. Monetary policy should focus on maintaining liquidity. The Fed's role in setting interest rates is less important than its role as the lender of last resort. If the Fed thinks that its hands are excessively tied in this regard by Dodd-Frank rules, Congress should untie them quickly." Mankiw also argued that: "A payroll tax cut makes little sense in this circumstance, because it does nothing for those who can't work. There are times to worry about the growing government debt. This is not one of them."

Some have objected to any intervention by the government. One financial analyst asserts any intervention by the government would have the effect on enshrining moral hazard as a defining market principle, and change the role of the Federal Reserve into something beyond its current role as the country's central bank.

Private-sector reactions

Event cancellations

See also: List of major events affected by the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

On March 4, Starbucks announced that it will not fill reusable cups at its US and Canadian stores during the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

As "social distancing" entered the public lexicon, emergency management leaders encouraged the cancellation of large gatherings to slow the rate of infection. Technology conferences such as Apple Inc.'s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), E3 2020, Facebook F8, Google I/O and Cloud Next, and Microsoft's MVP Summit have been either cancelled or have replaced in-person events with internet streaming events.

On February 21, Verizon pulled out of an RSA conference, joining the ranks of AT&T Cybersecurity and IBM. On February 29, the American Physical Society cancelled its annual March Meeting, scheduled for March 2 to 6 in Denver, Colorado, even though many of the more than 11,000 physicist participants had already arrived and participated in the day's pre-conference events. On March 6, the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) conference and festival scheduled to run from March 13 to 22 in Austin, Texas, were cancelled following after the city government declared a "local disaster" and ordered conferences to shut down for the first time in 34 years. The cancellation is not covered by insurance. In 2019, 73,716 people attended the conferences and festivals, directly spending $200 million and ultimately boosting the local economy by $356 million, or 4 percent of the annual revenue of the region's hospitality and tourism economic sectors.

After the cancellations of the Ultra Music Festival in Miami and SXSW in Austin, speculation began to grow about the Coachella festival set to begin on April 10 in the desert near Palm Springs, California. The annual festival, which has attracted some 125,000 people over two consecutive weekends, is insured only in the event of a force majeure cancellation such as one ordered by local or state government officials. Estimates on an insurance payout range from $150 million to $200 million. On March 10, event organizers announced the festival had been postponed to October.

FIRST Robotics suspended the remainder of the 2020 competition season, and cancelled the two Championship events in Houston and Detroit.

Retail

A number of retailers, particularly grocery stores, reduced their opening hours to allow additional time to restock and deep-clean their stores. Walmart announced March 14 that locations normally open 24 hours would instead operate from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Some grocery store chains, including Stop & Shop and Dollar General, devoted a portion of their operating hours to only serve senior citizens over the age of 60.

Following an increase in panic buying, many supermarkets and retailers placed limits on certain products such as toilet paper, hand sanitizer, over-the-counter medication, cleaning supplies, and other high-demand products. On March 15, President Donald Trump, along with the Food Marketing Institute, announced that the grocery supply chain was not strained but urged consumers to avoid panic buying.

Several restaurant chains altered their operating procedures to prevent the spread of the virus, including removing seating, restricting the use of condiments, and switching to mobile payment systems. Many restaurants opted to close their dining rooms and instead switch to solely take-out food service to comply with social distancing recommendations.

Amazon announced on March 16 it would hire 100,000 new warehouse and delivery workers and raise wages $2 per hour through April in response to increased demand for its services because of the coronavirus pandemic. They also reported shortages of certain household staples.

Media

Publishing

The scale of the coronavirus outbreak has prompted several major publishers to temporarily disable their paywalls on related articles, including Bloomberg News, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Seattle Times.

Several alt weekly newspapers in affected metropolitan areas, including The Stranger in Seattle and Austin Chronicle, have announced layoffs and funding drives due to lost revenue. Public events and venues accounted for a majority of revenue for alt-weekly newspapers, which was disrupted by the cancellation of large public gatherings.

Film

Most U.S. cinema chains, where allowed to continue operating, reduced the seating capacity of each show time by half to minimize the risk of spreading the virus between patrons. Audience limits, as well as mandatory and voluntary closure of cinemas in some areas, led to a total North American box office gross of $55.3 million over the weekend of March 14—the lowest since October 1998. Only Pixar's Onward grossed more than $10 million (at $10.5 million, it was the worst second-weekend performance of any Pixar film to date). On March 16, AMC Theatres, Regal Cinemas, Alamo Drafthouse, and Landmark Theatres all temporarily closed their locations nationwide.

A large number of Hollywood films have suspended production, and studios have delayed the release of multiple upcoming films. Universal Pictures announced that it would break the theatrical windows (most major chains require films to be exclusive to cinemas for 74 days) and allow digital rentals on several Universal films still in theaters, as well as a simultaneous release of Trolls World Tour.

Television

In March 2020, a number of studio-based television programs with studio audiences, including all of Disney-ABC Domestic Television's New York-based talk shows (such as Live with Kelly and Ryan, The View, and Strahan, Sara and Keke), Dr. Phil, CBS daytime talk show The Talk, the game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, and various late-night talk shows, announced that they would temporarily perform tapings without a studio audience.

The Democratic National Committee similarly announced that it would not allow an audience or outside press at an upcoming democratic candidates' debate on March 15 in Phoenix, Arizona. On March 12, the DNC announced that to reduce unneeded travel, it would move the debate to CNN's Washington, D.C. studios. Jorge Ramos of co-presenter Univision also announced that he would not participate as a moderator as a precautionary measure, as he had recently been in contact with someone that had tested positive for coronavirus.

Warner Bros. Television initially stated that it would still allow audiences for its tapings (such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show, NBC's music competition The Voice, and the season finale of The Bachelor), but would require audience members to certify their condition, including that they have not traveled to or through CDC level 3-designated countries within the past three weeks.

A large number of U.S. television series have since suspended or delayed production, including various talk shows (which would mostly go on hiatus through at least March 30, a period which included already-scheduled hiatus weeks for CBS and NBC's late-night shows), and various other scripted, reality, and game show programs.

On March 11, the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City was closed for disinfection after two employees were tested positive for coronavirus, requiring CBS News programs and WCBS-TV newscasts to be produced from other locations. The facility began to re-open on March 13 to produce that weekend's programs, but CBS advised employees to take precautions (including keeping visits as short as possible).

Sports

Main article: Impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on sports

Major professional sports leagues

The NBA was the first major sports league to suspend operations, including clearing out this March 11, 2020 game between the New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings

Four of North America's major professional sports leagues—the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Baseball (MLB), and Major League Soccer (MLS)—jointly announced on March 9 that they would all restrict media access to player facilities (such as locker rooms) to control possible exposure.

On March 11, the NBA's Golden State Warriors, and the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets and San Jose Sharks had announced plans to play home games behind closed doors to comply with bans on large gatherings. However, that night, the Utah Jazz disclosed shortly before tip-off of their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, that their center Rudy Gobert had tested positive for coronavirus. This caused the game to be postponed and both teams to be quarantined inside Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City for several hours afterward. Minutes after team officials suspended the Jazz–Thunder game, the NBA subsequently announced that it would indefinitely suspend all play of the current season and NBA G League following the completion of the night's remaining games, to evaluate the situation, with the league stating on March 12 that this suspension would last at least 30 days. On March 12, hours after the disclosure of Gobert's diagnosis, his Utah Jazz teammate, shooting guard Donovan Mitchell was revealed to have also tested positive for the virus.

Almost all professional sports leagues in the United States suspended play the next day, including Major League Soccer (at least 30 days), the NHL (indefinitely), Major League Baseball (remainder of spring training cancelled, Opening Day delayed by at least two weeks), as well as the American Hockey League (AHL), ECHL, Major League Rugby (MLR), United Soccer League (USL), National Independent Soccer Association (NISA), and National Lacrosse League (NLL). The XFL preemptively terminated its season, with the ECHL also doing so on March 14.

Collegiate sports

Several colleges announced on March 10 that attendance at university athletic events would be temporarily limited to essential personnel such as media, players, coaches, and recruits. These schools included the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins, both located in Los Angeles, and the Fordham Rams, located in New York City. Others, such as the Washington Huskies, allowed fans who had already purchased tickets to attend events but halted additional sales. The Ivy League went further and cancelled all spring-semester sports, while leaving continued participation in winter playoff sports up to individual universities; Harvard's men's hockey team forfeited the ECAC playoffs, while Cornell elected to continue behind closed doors.

The 2020 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament was scheduled to begin on March 17, 2020 with the "First Four" play-in games in Dayton, Ohio, and conclude with the "Final Four" games, originally scheduled for Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, in early-April. The Ivy League cancelled its men's and women's conference basketball tournaments, and awarded the conference championship (and an automatic qualification for the NCAA tournament) based on regular-season records. The Mid-American Conference (MAC) and Big West went on with their tournaments, but announced that they would be closed to outside spectators.

On March 11, the NCAA announced that no outside spectators (beyond staff and "limited family attendance") would be admitted to any event in its winter-semester championships and tournaments, which included not only the men's and women's Division I basketball tournaments, but other events such as its wrestling championship, and hockey among others. The NCAA-run National Invitation Tournament (a secondary post-season tournament for teams who did not qualify for the NCAA tournament) was also subject to this measure, while the tertiary College Basketball Invitational was cancelled by its organizer. Following the NCAA announcement, several major conferences announced that the remainder of their tournaments would be closed to spectators beginning March 12.

However, on March 12, all Division I conferences successively scrapped their tournaments. The Big East went on with a single game in its tournament, between the St. John's Red Storm and Creighton Bluejays, but called off the game and the tournament at halftime. The NCAA subsequently announced that the basketball tournaments, as well as all other NCAA tournaments and championships for the remainder of the academic year, would be cancelled. This marked the first time that the men's basketball tournament would not be conducted in its 81-year history.

Other leagues and sports

On March 7, 2020, the Riverside County Public Health Department declared a public health emergency after a patient tested positive for COVID-19 in the area. In response to the declaration, organizers announced the postponement of the 2020 Indian Wells Masters tennis tournaments, citing the event's high attendance (which had seen around 450,000 in 2018 and 2019) as creating a health risk. The ATP Tour and WTA Tour have both suspended competition until late-April, which has also led to the cancellation of the Miami Open.

After the four major sports leagues suspended operations, professional wrestling promotion WWE moved all of its weekly television programs (beginning with SmackDown on March 13) to the WWE Performance Center training facility in Orlando, Florida, with no studio audience. WWE's flagship event WrestleMania was scheduled to take place at Tampa, Florida's Raymond James Stadium on April 5. On March 16, WWE announced that it too would also be broadcast from the Performance Center. Another wrestling promotion, All Elite Wrestling (AEW), similarly rescheduled two upcoming broadcasts of its weekly series Dynamite in Rochester, New York and Newark, New Jersey to dates in July. The Rochester broadcast was moved to Jacksonville, Florida with restricted attendance.

On March 12, NASCAR initially announced that it would hold its next two race weekends in its three national series (Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Truck Series), at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, behind closed doors. However, on March 13, NASCAR announced that it had postponed both weekends. On March 16, NASCAR postponed all race events until May 3, with the intention to hold all of this season's races. The IndyCar Series similarly announced the cancellation of all races through the end of April. This marks the first time since the 1957 season that the "Month of May" (the lead-up to the Indianapolis 500) will start the season.

The junior United States Hockey League suspended their 2019–20 season on March 12.

The PGA Tour played the first round of the 2020 Players Championship on March 12, and stated that subsequent rounds and tournaments would be held without spectators. However, the PGA Tour later announced that, "based on the rapidly changing situation", the rest of the tournament had been cancelled, as well as the next three events on the schedule (the Valspar Championship, WGC Match Play, and Valero Texas Open). The LPGA Tour has also postponed the Volvik Founders Cup, Kia Classic, and ANA Inspiration (the first Women's major of the golf season). On March 13, Augusta National Golf Club announced that it would postpone the Masters Tournament—the first men's major of the golf season. The tournament was to begin April 9.

Spread to other countries and territories

North America

On March 6, an Ontario resident who had traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada, tested positive for COVID-19. On March 8, another Ontario resident who had traveled to Colorado tested positive. Another person tested positive after returning to Toronto from Washington, D.C. Also on March 8, a woman from Seattle tested positive in British Columbia. On March 9 an Ontario doctor who had traveled to Hawaii, tested positive for COVID-19.

Mexican businessman José Kuri was reported in critical condition with coronavirus after a trip to Vail, Colorado, although early reports of his death were false.

Central and South America

On March 6, a 49-year-old woman, a U.S. citizen, tested positive in San José, Costa Rica, after traveling from the U.S. On March 11, a woman who had died tested positive in Georgetown, Guyana, after traveling from New York City.

Europe and Asia

On March 7, a middle-aged person tested positive in Örebro, Sweden, one week after traveling from the U.S., where he had been exposed to a confirmed case. On March 10, a person tested positive in Beijing, China, after traveling from the U.S. On March 13, a man from the U.S. working in Taiwan has been confirmed as the nation's 50th individual to contract Wuhan coronavirus after he met with two American couples on February 24. Some of their relatives were then diagnosed with COVID-19 in the U.S. The same day a 44-year-old male tested positive in Brașov, Romania, after traveling from the U.S.

Oceania

On March 17, two men from Wellington, New Zealand, a father and son, were confirmed to have COVID-19. They had flown from Los Angeles to Auckland and then from Auckland to Wellington. The son, in his thirties, developed symptoms on the flight to Auckland, and passengers in adjacent seats were contacted by New Zealand health authorities.

Public response

Opinion polling showed a significant partisan divide regarding the outbreak. A mid-March poll conducted by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal found that 60% of Democrats were concerned someone in their family might contract the virus, while 40% of Republicans expressed concern. Nearly 80% of Democrats believed the worst was yet to come, whereas 40% of Republicans thought so. Fifty-six percent of Democrats believed their lives would change in a major way due to the outbreak, compared to 26% for Republicans. A mid-March poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 83% of Democrats had taken precautions against the virus, compared to 53% of Republicans. The poll found that President Trump was the least-trusted source of information about the outbreak, at 46% overall, although 88% of Republicans expressed trust in the president, second only to their trust in the CDC.

During the initial weeks of the outbreak, some prominent conservative media personalities downplayed the danger of the situation, characterizing the coverage of the virus at the time as a "scam" or "hyped" in order to destroy the president. In a speech on February 28, Trump echoed some of these voices by calling criticism of his administration’s response to the virus a "hoax" and claiming Democrats were "politicizing the coronavirus." The higher concern among Democrats than Republicans about the pandemic can also be due to the concentration of U.S. cases in heavily Democratic urban areas with greater exposure to international travel, suggesting that Democrats are more likely to be directly affected by the virus or know someone who is.

Additional information on cases

Number of tests done per day in the United States

‡ Data during this period are pending.

The following numbers are based on CDC data. However, CDC data is incomplete. In most U.S. locations, testing to date had only been performed on symptomatic people with a history of travel to Wuhan or with close contact to such people. Even some health care personnel, showing all the symptoms of COVID-19 but without the travel history, were denied testing. CDC testing protocols did not include non-travelling patients with no known contact with China until February 28.

The original CDC-developed tests were sent out on February 5. They turned out to be faulty. On February 29, the FDA announced that labs would be allowed to do their own in-house testing immediately, independently of CDC testing, as long as they complete an emergency use authorization (EUA) within 15 days. In Washington, state regulators at one point told health care workers to stop testing previously collected samples from an existing non-COVID19 flu study.

As of March 16, the CDC reported that 25,162 specimens had been tested for COVID-19, 4,255 of which were tested by CDC labs, and 20,907 tested by U.S. public health labs.

Current number of non-repatriated cases by state

[show all] 2020 coronavirus pandemic by United States state
U.S. State or Territory		Cases	Recov.	Deaths	Remaining	Ref.
54 / 56		5,178	17	98	4,900
	Alabama	39	0	0	39
	Alaska	3	0	0	3
	American Samoa	0	0	0	0
	Arizona	13	1	0	12
	Arkansas	22	0	0	22
	California	472	6	12	454
	Colorado	183	0	2	181
	Connecticut	68	0	0	68
	Delaware	8	0	0	8
	District of Columbia	22	0	0	22
	Florida	195	0	6	189
	Georgia	146	0	1	145
	Guam	3	0	0	3
	Hawaii	4	0	0	4
	Idaho	5	0	0	5
	Illinois	166	2	1	163
	Indiana	30	0	2	28
	Iowa	29	0	0	29
	Kansas	16	0	1	15
	Kentucky	25	1	1	23
	Louisiana	197	0	4	192
	Maine	3	0	0	3
	Maryland	57	3	0	54
	Massachusetts	218	1	0	217
	Michigan	65	0	0	65
	Minnesota	60	0	0	60
	Mississippi	21	0	0	21
	Missouri	15	0	0	15
	Montana	4	0	0	4
	Nebraska	14	0	0	14
	Nevada	19	0	0	19
	New Hampshire	7	0	0	7
	New Jersey	267	1	3	263
	New Mexico	10	0	0	10
	New York	1,374	0	12	1,362
	North Carolina	40	0	0	40
	North Dakota	1	0	0	1
	N. Mariana Islands	0	0	0	0
	Ohio	67	0	0	67
	Oklahoma	17	0	0	17
	Oregon	47	0	1	47
	Pennsylvania	96	0	0	96
	Puerto Rico	3	0	0	3
	Rhode Island	21	0	0	21
	South Carolina	47	0	1	46
	South Dakota	10	0	1	9
	Tennessee	73	0	0	73
	Texas	64	0	1	63
	U.S. Virgin Islands	1	0	0	1
	Utah	41	0	0	41
	Vermont	17	0	0	17
	Virginia	67	0	2	65
	Washington	1,012	1	54	959
	West Virginia	1	0	0	1
	Wisconsin	72	1	0	71
	Wyoming	11	0	0	11
As of 18 March 2020 (UTC) · History of cases: United States

The CDC publishes official numbers every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, reporting several categories of cases: individual travelers, people who contracted the disease from other people within the U.S., and repatriated citizens who returned to the U.S. from crisis locations, such as Wuhan, where the disease originated, and the cruise ship Diamond Princess.

CDC reported US totals

Cases in the United States per the CDC
As of March 13, 2020

Cases in the United States reported to CDC
Travel-related	205
Person-to-person spread	214
Under investigation	3068
Total cases	3487
Cases among persons repatriated to the United States
Wuhan, China	3
Diamond Princess cruise ship	46
Total repatriated cases	49
Deaths
Total deaths from all US cases	41
This table reflects CDC-published totals, and may not include cases announced in the past 24 hours.

State number of non-repatriated cases by date

This table shows each day's number of newly discovered non-repatriated cases by state. Links to the sources for each day are in the "Daily Sources" row at the bottom. For dates before March 9, the sources are a mix of news reports and official state reports. After March 9, the sources are each state's department of health. Along the bottom of the table, the "Government Sources" row holds links to each state's department of health pages on the coronavirus outbreak.

Non-repatriated COVID-19 cases and deaths in the US by state

Non-repatriated COVID-19 cases in the US by state () Date West Midwest South Northeast Territories Confirmed Deaths Recovered AK AZ CA CO HI ID MT NM NV OR UT WA WY IA IL IN KS MI MN MO ND NE OH OK SD WI AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC SC TN TX VA WV CT DC DE MA MD ME NH NJ NY PA RI VT GU PR VI New Cml New Cml New Cml Jan 21 1 1 1 Jan 24 1 1 2 Jan 25 1 1 3 Jan 26 1 1 2 5 Jan 30 1 1 6 Jan 31 1 1 7 Feb 1 1 1 8 Feb 2 3 3 11 Feb 5 1 1 12 Feb 20 2 2 14 Feb 26 1 1 15 Feb 28 1 1 2 4 19 Feb 29 1 3 1 5 24 1 1 Mar 1 5 1 7 2 1 2 18 42 1 2 Mar 2 5 1 5 1 2 1 15 57 4 6 Mar 3 1 12 10 1 1 1 1 1 28 85 3 9 Mar 4 4 11 1 1 9 26 111 2 11 Mar 5 8 2 1 31 1 1 4 1 3 1 11 64 175 1 12 Mar 6 1 11 6 1 1 1 10 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 3 5 2 22 2 1 77 252 5 17 Mar 7 2 8 4 22 1 1 1 2 4 2 1 1 5 45 2 101 353 2 19 Mar 8 26 1 2 7 34 3 1 2 1 2 4 4 3 4 2 4 1 1 1 15 2 2 2 17 2 1 144 497 2 21 Mar 9 19 4 26 5 4 2 3 1 2 6 2 1 5 1 1 1 3 1 3 13 5 36 4 148 645 5 26 Mar 10 1 24 5 1 1 1 105 5 8 4 2 1 2 1 1 5 1 9 5 2 2 2 3 4 4 51 1 1 4 31 2 2 291 936 5 31 Mar 11 3 20 17 1 4 4 2 99 1 1 6 2 2 1 3 3 1 3 9 10 1 1 1 2 4 1 5 1 3 3 8 43 4 269 1205 7 38 Mar 12 1 21 15 2 5 1 91 2 7 4 10 4 1 5 1 1 2 5 18 11 3 6 7 2 9 2 8 3 3 13 3 1 1 6 112 6 1 393 1598 4 42 Mar 13 49 28 1 3 4 6 6 4 111 1 1 14 3 1 13 5 2 4 8 1 1 11 6 6 33 3 17 5 1 8 16 13 5 15 5 2 1 21 93 19 15 3 1 565 2163 7 49 Mar 14 3 39 24 2 4 2 3 8 6 15 74 1 1 18 4 2 8 7 1 3 13 8 6 39 24 2 41 8 6 6 12 11 9 6 2 15 9 19 192 6 2 1 662 2825 7 56 Mar 15 49 30 3 1 4 3 4 127 29 5 1 20 14 1 11 6 6 10 4 33 33 4 26 4 9 9 7 5 4 6 1 1 26 5 6 29 116 16 3 1 672 3497 6 62 Mar 16 2 6 57 29 3 4 26 8 11 135 7 4 12 6 2 1 19 2 13 2 1 14 7 6 11 22 2 33 2 1 5 13 1 6 15 5 1 33 6 14 4 80 221 13 1 8 1 875 4372 13 75 Mar 17 2 80 23 3 2 2 18 12 108 5 1 55 5 11 6 8 2 3 17 7 1 25 7 32 25 4 60 9 7 14 21 7 16 1 27 8 8 21 20 15 9 89 424 20 5 1245 5617 15 90 Mar 18 5617 90 Total 3 20 448 183 10 8 9 23 45 65 51 1012 15 23 160 30 16 65 60 15 3 21 67 19 11 72 36 22 192 146 26 196 21 40 47 73 64 67 1 68 30 16 218 57 32 26 267 1374 96 21 17 3 5 2 5617 90 State Sources AK AZ CA CO HI ID MT NM NV OR UT WA WY IA IL IN KS MI MN MO ND NE OH OK SD WI AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC SC TN TX VA WV CT DC DE MA MD ME NH NJ NY PA RI VT GU PR VI West Midwest South Northeast Territories Daily Sources               Jan 21 Jan 24 Jan 25 Jan 26 Jan 30 Jan 31 Feb 1 Feb 2 Feb 5 Feb 20 Feb 26 Feb 28 Feb 29 Mar 1 Mar 2 Mar 3 Mar 4 Mar 5 Mar 6 Mar 7 Mar 8 Mar 9 Mar 10 Mar 11 Mar 12 DE FL KS LA MD MN NE NM NC PA TX VT VA OK CA CO ME NH NJ OH TN NY CT MI ? IA MO WA WI KS AK Mar 13 AK AL AR CA CT COFL GA KY IA ID IL LA ME MD MS MA MI MO MN MT NE NJ NH NY NM OH OR PA RI SC SD TN TX WI UT VA WA Mar 14 AZ CA CO DC DE FL GA KS KY IAID IL IN LA MA MI MD MN MT NC NM NV NY OH OR PR TN TX VA VT VI WA WY NE Mar 15 UT AR GA IN LA MD MS NC OH OK TX VA FL NH NJ CO NY IL AL DE KY MA SC GU PR CT FL NM WA OR WI HI Mar 16 AK AL AR AZ CO CT DC FL GA HI IA IL IN KS KY LA MA. MD ME MI MN MS MO NC NH NJ NM NV. OH OK PA RI SC SD VT UT VI WA WI WY

Controversies

On March 15, Die Welt reported that Donald Trump had unsuccessfully attempted to buy the German firm CureVac in an attempt to secure exclusive rights to a coronavirus vaccine. The move was widely criticized by German government officials. On 16 March, CureVac reported that it had not received an offer from Mr. Trump for the rights to its coronavirus vaccine.

Internet hoax

During mid-March 2020, the Stafford Act was the subject of a widespread hoax text message stating that the President would declare a nationwide mandatory quarantine.

See also

• 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic by country and territory
• Veracity of statements by Donald Trump#Coronavirus pandemic

Further reading

Maps and data

• Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases and historical data by Johns Hopkins University
• CoronaMapper – Map with various updated statistics

External links

• CDC: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  • CDC: Map of US cases
  • CDC: Newsroom on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
  • CDC: State & Territorial Health Department directory
• California CDPH Office of Public Affairs, news releases by California Department of Public Health (CDPH)
• The New York Times: Tracking Every Coronavirus Case in the U.S.: Full Map
• COVID-19 Self Triage Tool from University of Southern California