“This Is A War”: 2,000 National Guardsmen Mobilized To Help Battle Coronavirus: Live Updates
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Thu, 03/19/2020
Summary:
Mnuchin says wants to get checks in Americans’ hands within 3 weeks
BoE cuts rates, launches QE after ’emergency’ meeting
Confirmed cases in the US climbs ~50% as testing ramps up
Connecticut reports 2nd death as US death toll hits 137
NY reports ~600 new cases, bringing total to 2,959; death toll hits 21
Cuomo signs NY unemployment-benefit expansion benefit package, warns of ‘astronomical jump’ in cases
China reports zero new cases in Wuhan for first time in months.
Treasury weighing 50- and 25-year bonds to finance stimulus package
South Africa case total passes 150
India halts incoming international flights for a week
Hong Kong doctors find virus inside 2nd dog
Spain total cases climb 28% overnight
Italian death toll expected to pass China’s on Thursday
Pentagon says 2,000 nat’l guardsman deployed around the country
NY implements 90-day delay on mortgage payments due to hardship
FedEx says drop in deliveries in China was smaller than expected
Trump and Xi reportedly agree to deepen medical research ties
UK gov’t denies plans for London lockdown
Amazon closes warehouse for ‘deep clean’ after worker tests positive
Germany death toll climbs to 43
Treatment trial in Wuhan yields disappointing results
Germany’s Bafin bans short selling
Russia reports first death
SPR to buy 30 million barrels immediately, will eventually buy 70 million
Wuhan police erase record of ‘admonition’ delivered to Dr. Li Wenliang
German gov plans to suspend debt brake on Monday
Netherlands reports another jump in cases after unveiling stimulus package outline
Switzerland warns situation rapidly deteriorating along the Italian border
Tiffany closes all US stores
* * *
Update (1100ET): New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reported yet another round of new case data on Thursday as he held his daily press briefing following an earlier interview on “the TODAY Show”.
As NY emerges as the countrywide leader in testing, Cuomo announced that the state tested ~7,500 people on Wednesday night alone. The state confirmed 1,769 new cases last night, bringing the total to 4,152. 21 New Yorkers have died so far, along with 7 additional deaths in Conn (2) and NJ (5), bringing the tri-state area death toll to 28.
He also instituted a 90-day relief period allowing New Yorkers to delay mortgage payments during the period, but only due to financial hardship (not just because they feel like it). The state has already postponed any foreclosures, banned negative credit reporting and waiving overdraft, debit card and credit card fees.
Remember: We know that as more people are tested we will find more cases.
Last night we tested over 7,500 New Yorkers and found 1,769 new positive cases.
We will keep increasing testing to help #StopTheSpread. pic.twitter.com/Ai6NTzVnFZ
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 19, 2020
Watch his press conference below:
Updating New Yorkers on our #Coronavirus response. WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/DfpF1VYCTu
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 19, 2020
Cuomo also said he has no plans for a ‘shelter in place’ order.
After ordering businesses earlier this week to let at least half of their employees stay home on any given workday, Cuomo said the state would now require 75% of “non-essential” workers to stay home.
Germany’s latest batch of new cases raised its national total to 13,944, up from 12,307, and an additional 14 deaths, bringing the total to 43.
The Pentagon just confirmed that 2,000 national guard soldiers are deployed across the country as more governors have called up the national guard to assist with the virus response effort. According to the Military Times, governors across 23 states have mobilized components of the Army and Air National Guard to assist in their state’s response to the pandemic.
The states where guardsmen have been mobilized include California…
Gov. @GavinNewsom Places National Guard Personnel on Alert to Support COVID-19 Community Readiness pic.twitter.com/YjiyiFhZxC
— CaliforniaGuard (@CalGuard) March 18, 2020
…Illinois…
Governor JB Pritzker has activated about 60 Illinois National Guard service members to assist with COVID-19 response. These include 43 Airmen from the Peoria-based 182nd Airlift Wing's Medical Group and 17 planners and liaison officers from both Army and Air National Guard units.
— IL National Guard (@IL_Natl_Guard) March 17, 2020
…and Maryland, among other states.
At the direction of Major General Timothy Gowen, as of Monday, 1,000 @MDNG soldiers and airmen are fully activated and another 1,200 guardsmen are currently in a state of enhanced readiness.
— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) March 16, 2020
Additionally, the Navy is dispatching two hospital ships, plus millions of pieces of vital medical equipment.
Meanwhile, President Trump and the White House task force are preparing for today’s briefing, where President Trump is expected to unveil measures to get experimental treatments into the hands of patients, despite some resistance from the FDA.
* * *
Update: In keeping with the coordinated central bank response via Europe, the BoE held an emergency meeting on Thursday and has announced some unprecedented stimulus measures, including launching a £645 billion bond-buying program of government and corporate bonds “as soon as operationally possible.”
Meanwhile, the cut the target from a record low of 0.25% to a new record low of 0.1%
* * *
Update (0930ET): Just before the US open, health officials in the Netherlands reported a jump in cases to 2,460.
The Dutch government has announced a rescue package designed to shield companies from the impact of the coronavirus that Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra said is unlimited but will likely cost tens of billions of euros. The government is working on eight measures, including a fund that makes it easier for firms to request compensation for lost revenues and helps them pay wages, Hoekstra said Tuesday at a news conference.
Swiss authorities warned Thursday that the situation in the southern canton of Ticino is rapidly unraveling as the government scrambles to secure more hospital beds. Ticino is situated along the Swiss border with Italy, and is the worst-hit region of the small Alpine nation.
Meanwhile, Tiffany said it would temporarily close all stores in the US.
* * *
(0920ET): With oil price benchmarks around the world sliding below $30 a barrel, the US, the strategic petroleum reserve will immediately buy 30 million barrels of oil, and eventually buy as much as 70 million.
In China, police in Wuhan on Thursday officially revoked the government admonition issued to Dr. Li Wenliang, the martyred doctor who was censored for trying to warn the government and the people about the outbreak.
* * *
Update (0835ET): It’s shaping up to be another busy day on Thursday as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said his goal is to get checks into the hands of Americans within three weeks, up from two yesterday.
Some updates from Europe: the Swiss press is reporting that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country climbed to 3,888.
Back in New York State, Cuomo reported another ~600 case jump to 2959 cases. The death toll in the state has climbed to 21, with at least 11 of those in NYC, as Gov. Cuomo warns that
After signing a paid sick leave law to guarantee pay for those under mandatory or precautionary quarantine into law, Cuomo appeared on “the Today Show” to discuss his response to the crisis, which has won him accolades from practically everyone, including President Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and other conservatives like Candace Owens.
We are seeing the enemy on the horizon and they are approaching very quickly.
What we do between now and then matters gravely.
Do everything you can. Do everything you can to flatten the curve.
It's up to all of us. pic.twitter.com/puhB4g99sC
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 18, 2020
The NY governor repeated his claim that the ‘hysteria’ surrounding the outbreak is more damaging and dangerous than the virus itself during a Thursday appearance on the “Today Show.”
It’s a claim he’s made several times during press briefings and television appearances.
“We know what we have to do on the virus. It’s going to be hard, it’s going to be disruptive but we know what we have to do there. The fear and the panic can actually get out of control more than the virus can,” he said in an interview on “TODAY” with Savannah Guthrie.
While he warned against increasing fear and panic, Cuomo said, “This is a war, Savannah. We have to treat it like a war.”
Cuomo appeared on the show one day after NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio. When asked about his spat with de Blasio over the ‘shelter in place’ order, Cuomo again rejected the idea, saying it would be unnecessary thanks to NY’s proactive efforts to quarantine clusters like New Rochelle.
“States don’t fight wars…they need the federal government…equipment, equipment, equipment is going to be key…the federal government has recognized and is acting that responsibility…” Cuomo said, referring to the Defense Production Act invocation and the Army’s plan to send 2 Navy Hospital ships and millions of pieces of medical equipment across the US. Even Nancy Pelosi called on Trump to use his powers this morning.
New Yorkers should prepare to see an “astronomical” jump in cases as testing ramps up, Cuomo said. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing: the more cases exposed, the more quickly the government can act to stop the spread.
Meanwhile, in Spain, the country’s health minister declared that the government of PM Pedro Sanchez will pass a €210 billion stimulus package to help alleviate the crisis as the total number of cases in Spain has climbed 28% to 17,147. 169 new deaths were reported, raising the country’s death toll to 767, as we noted earlier.
At the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin and his staff are reportedly considering issuing a 50-year bond and 25-year bond to finance the $1.3 trillion stimulus, despite telling Congress during testimony earlier this year that demand for the 50-year bond was tepid.
As the number of cases explodes in India, PM Modi has halted arrivals of international flights for at least a week beginning on Sunday.
And as the virus spreads in Africa, South Africa said its total cases confirmed climbed to 158 on Thursday after reporting its first case of human-to-human transmission within the country.
In Hong Kong, researchers have apparently found samples of the novel coronavirus inside another dog, the second time the pet of a Covid-19 patient was also found to be carrying the virus.
However, pet owners needn’t worry – at least not yet. As CNBC’s Eunice Yoon reports, there’s no evidence that these dogs can be the source of the virus for humans.
https://twitter.com/onlyyoontv/status/1240621740943798277?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1240621740943798277&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fgeopolitical%2Fcovid-19-deaths-italy-track-surpass-china-more-countries-close-borders-confirmed-cases
As more countries ramp up stimulus spending to calm shaky markets and nervous people, the German government is planning to eliminate the debt brake on Monday.
* * *
Following a barrage of easing measures by global central banks overnight, and more talk of German fiscal stimulus Thursday morning, stock futures have sunk back into the red as promising gains from overnight fizzled.
It seems the world is finally waking up to some disappointing realities: In many places around the US, and around the world, millions of people simply aren’t heeding advisories – and, in some cases, emergency declarations – pertaining to avoiding.
In California, the backlash against Elon Musk and Tesla has intensified as the billionaire openly beckoned employees of his Fremont, Calif. factory back to work despite a ‘shelter in place’ order requiring everyone to stay home to avoid the virus. Now that testing is finally ramping up around the country, with New York State taking the lead with its aggressive drive-thru push, the total number of cases confirmed in the US climbed to 9,415 (according to Johns Hopkins data), an increase of roughly 50% overnight.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that President Trump’s decision to stop travel from China, although prescient, was clearly not enough to stop the virus’s spread in the US. Officials squandered the entire month of February, and the Trump Administration is finally beginning to realize just how far it has fallen behind.
The Rest…HERE
