Life Takes Drastic Turns From Shop Owners In Small Kentucky Town To Commuters In New York City

The Washington Post: A Small Town Takes A Big Hit After Coronavirus Is Confirmed In Its Midst
On a typical weekday, the restaurants that are just a quick walk from the white-columned county courthouse at the center of town would be serving a lively lunch crowd. But the booths are empty this week, the bar stools vacant. The culprit is the novel coronavirus — a single case on Friday, followed quickly by four more. Almost overnight, they wiped out business here and made Harrison County an unlikely epicenter for the outbreak in Kentucky. “This virus came to town and scared everyone,” lamented Josh Jenkins, who owns JJ’s on Main Street. On Sunday, he told most of his 20-person staff to stay home for lack of customers. He has no idea when he’ll call them back to work. (Williams, 3/12)

CNN: These States Have Been Hit The Hardest By Coronavirus. Here's What They're Doing To Fight The Spread 
While the US struggles to play "catch up" in the fight against coronavirus, states with the most cases and deaths are making their own rules to try to stop the disease. From emergency declarations to banning large crowds, here's what some of the hardest-hit states are doing. (Yan, 3/13)

WBUR: What Governors Are Doing To Tackle Spreading Coronavirus
Governors around the U.S. are taking a variety of steps to try to contain the spread of coronavirus and protect the public. More than 30 state leaders, as well as officials from Washington, D.C., have declared states of emergency, clearing the path to respond to the dangers posed by the COVID-19 pandemic as experts warn the number of cases will increase in future weeks. (Romo, 3/12)

San Francisco Chronicle: Gov. Gavin Newsom Ramps Up California’s Response To The Coronavirus 
California ramped up its efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus this week, urging the cancellation of large gatherings, suspending most prison visits and waiving requirements that government meetings be held in public. It was a significant escalation of the state response to a crisis in which Gov. Gavin Newsom had been largely deferential to local public health officials. But the state stopped short of taking more extreme measures, including closing schools or shutting the Capitol to visitors. (Koseff, 3/12)

The Hill: Ohio Health Official Estimates 100,000 People In State Have Coronavirus 
A top health official in Ohio estimated on Thursday that more than 100,000 people in the state have coronavirus, a shockingly high number that underscores the limited testing so far. Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton said at a press conference alongside Gov. Mike DeWine (R) that given that the virus is spreading in the community in Ohio, she estimates at least 1 percent of the population in the state has the virus. (Sullivan, 3/12)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio Public And Private Schools Closed 3 Weeks Beginning Tuesday
Ohio’s schools will close for at least three weeks, starting at the end of classes Monday, as state health officials work to limit the spread of coronavirus. Gov. Mike DeWine announced Thursday that public and private, kindergarten through 12th-grade schools will close from Tuesday through April 3. It’s not yet clear how the closure will affect state testing. DeWine said the closures do not include preschools and child care centers. (Borchardt and Balmert, 3/12)

The Hill: Alaska Confirms First Presumptive Case Of Coronavirus 
Alaska has confirmed its first presumptive case of the the novel coronavirus, Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) announced Thursday. The case is presumptive, meaning the patient has tested positive in state-administered tests but has yet to be confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The patient is a foreign national who was traveling through the state, Dunleavy said. He is not known to have had significant contact with others in the state. (Moreno, 3/12)

Los Angeles Times: Newsom Order Allows California To Take Over Hotels For Coronavirus Patients
California Gov. Gavin Newsom released a sweeping executive order on Thursday that allows the state to commandeer hotels and medical facilities to treat coronavirus patients and permits government officials to hold teleconferences in private without violating open meeting laws. Newsom issued the order hours after he called for the cancellation of gatherings of 250 or more people through the end of March, marking the first time he has applied so-called social distancing practices to the entire state of California. (Luna, 3/12)

Los Angeles Times: To Protect Renters From Coronavirus, L.A. Pushes Eviction Ban
With cases of the novel coronavirus multiplying rapidly and the financial implications of the outbreak becoming increasingly clear for low-income workers, the city of Los Angeles will consider a temporary ban on evictions next week amid calls for a similar moratorium that would apply across California. (Dillon, 3/12)

San Francisco Chronicle: New State Bill Aims To Soften Closures Of Homes For Mentally Ill, Homeless And Drug Addicted 
As San Francisco and the rest of California rapidly lose their board-and-care homes, a new state bill aims to lessen the blow of closing these long-term facilities for the homeless, mentally ill and drug-addicted. The bill, written by Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, and sponsored by Mayor London Breed, outlines a protocol that adult residential facilities must follow when they decide to shut their doors. The hope is that the new requirements will increase transparency and give residents ample notice that they are going to have to move. (Thadani, 3/12)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus: Los Angeles Restaurants And Chefs Scramble To Adjust
No drink refills or cash payment, more spacing between diners, thermometers at the front door: To contend with the rapid spread of novel coronavirus, restaurant owners and chefs in Los Angeles are adopting strict measures to prevent the spread of germs — and to keep business running as normally as possible. “We are taking things seriously” at Alimento in Silver Lake and Cosa Buona in Echo Park, owner Zach Pollack said in an Instagram post. (Snyder and Peterson, 3/12)

The New York Times: Coronavirus In N.Y.: Riders Ditch The Subway As Fear Spreads
Cyclists have flooded bike lanes and bridges to avoid taking the New York City subway. One man in his 50s has started walking two hours from Brooklyn to Manhattan for work each day to avoid taking the train. A recent college graduate who lives in Manhattan is considering moving in with her parents so she can use their car to drive to work in the Bronx. (Goldbaum, 3/13)

Politico: City In State Of Emergency As Coronavirus Outlook Becomes More Dire
Mayor Bill de Blasio officially declared a state of emergency in New York City Thursday in response to the coronavirus pandemic, adopting a more ominous tone than usual as he warned it would be months before life would return to normal. “We are getting into a situation where the only analogy is war,” de Blasio told reporters during Thursday's news briefing. (Durkin and Eisenberg, 3/12)

WBUR: State: Massachusetts Has Tested More Than 200 People For Coronavirus
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health says more than 200 people have been tested for coronavirus so far, and currently has the capacity to test up to 5,000. Despite the state of emergency in Massachusetts because of the coronavirus, testing for the virus is not widespread. Some experts say this could worsen the spread of the virus. (Becker, 3/12)

The New York Times: No Virus Cases, But Austin Is Reeling ‘As If A Tornado Came Through’
This city, the state capital of Texas, has been pummeled by the coronavirus outbreak, though it has yet to see a single confirmed case. Financial losses from the sudden cancellation of South by Southwest, the pop culture mega event that helped establish Austin’s funky hipster identity, are anticipated to be enormous. “Just to put it in perspective — if I was a big-box store, this is shutting down Christmas,” said Chris Warndahl, the general manager of Miller Pro AVL, an event lighting, sound and video company in Austin that may have to let go some employees after losing about 35 percent of its annual income. (Montgomery and Ferndandez, 3/13)

Houston Chronicle: In Rural Texas, Precautions Are Their Best Protection From Coronavirus
For the Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital in West Texas, the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup means an emergency room filled with people seeking treatment for snakebites, cuts and bruises. This year, however, the 86-bed hospital has to contend with the possibility that someone among the more than 20,000 people who attend the annual event to catch rattlesnakes and enjoy the carnival could carry the coronavirus. (Wu, 3/11)

The Washington Post: Metro Plan Limit Coronavirus Spread Includes Service Cuts If Too Many Employees Get Sick
Metro officials said Thursday they want to maintain full subway and bus service as long as possible but are preparing for the possibility that they would need to scale back service if too many employees call in sick because of the novel coronavirus. (Shaver, 3/12)

The Washington Post: Anxiety Over Coronavirus In D.C., Maryland, Virginia
Becky Reina, a mother of two children who lives in Northwest Washington, was not about to wait for any more anxiety-inducing announcements about the novel coronavirus. When they came into her bedroom early Thursday, as they do every morning, Reina told Abigail, 6, and Thomas, 8, they would not be going to Cleveland Elementary School that day — or any day in the near future. Instead, her kids spent the morning eating chocolate chip pancakes, gardening, working on homework packets and “trying to hang out without killing each other,” said Reina, who lives in the LeDroit Park neighborhood. (Schwartzman, 3/12)

The Baltimore Sun: Before Coronavirus Gets To Campus, Maryland Colleges Restrict Access To Slow Disease’s Spread
In a cascade of announcements Tuesday evening and into Wednesday, Maryland colleges and universities said they would be sending students home and turning to online learning for at least two weeks in the face of a coronavirus pandemic. There’s been no confirmed cases on a college campus in the state. Young people who get COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, aren’t usually horribly sick. So why is nearly every public and private institution temporarily canceling face-to-face classes after spring break? (Bowie and Cohn, 3/12)

The New York Times: Everybody Ready For The Big Migration To Online College? Actually, No
Nobody planned for an abrupt mass migration of traditional college courses to the internet.But because of coronavirus, that’s where we are. Hundreds of thousands of students have been told to clear out their belongings and head home, many through the end of the semester. In nearly every case, colleges have said that instruction will continue online. (Carey, 3/13)

The Baltimore Sun: ‘It Is Uncharted Territory’: Two-Week Closure Forces Schools To Find Ways To Maintain Instruction And Services 
Maryland’s top education official has ordered all public schools to close for two weeks beginning Monday in an unprecedented move that leaves administrators rushing to prepare plans to feed students, rethink testing and worry about hourly workers who might not be paid. The action, announced at Gov. Larry Hogan’s press conference on Thursday evening, drew praise from teachers and parents who said there is broad anxiety in the community about the spread of COVID-19. (Bowie, 3/13)

The Baltimore Sun: Top Maryland Finance Official Warns Coronavirus Could Cause ‘Prolonged, Full-Blown Recession’ 
Maryland’s Board of Revenue Estimates declined Thursday to make updated projections about how much in taxes the state will collect due to economic uncertainty caused by the spread of coronavirus. The three-member panel of Comptroller Peter Franchot, State Treasurer Nancy Kopp and Maryland budget secretary David Brinkley voted unanimously to maintain the projections about the state’s budget made in December. Franchot said the projections “are meant to serve as a placeholder as we await to learn the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic will have on our country and our state.” (Broadwater, 3/12)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: DeKalb Schools: Coronavirus Fears Shift Schools To Online Learning
The DeKalb County School District is closing schools Monday “until further notice,” citing concerns with the continued spread of COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus. The district said in a statement is it taking the advice of Gov. Brian Kemp, who said earlier today that schools should consider closing for two weeks to help combat the illness’ spread. (Walker, 3/12)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Kemp Orders Most State Staffers To Telework Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
Gov. Brian Kemp ordered thousands of state employees to work from home as officials scrambled to address the spread of coronavirus, which has sickened dozens in the state and claimed its first victim in Georgia. The governor also issued a “call to action” to schools and day care centers that he said gave them clearance to shut down if local administrators agree it’s necessary, though he cautioned he was not mandating any closures. (Bluestein, 3/12)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Atlanta Food Delivery Companies Implement New Rules For Coronavirus
Food service delivery companies are among the latest business sectors to address the effect of the coronavirus outbreak. National online and mobile food-ordering and delivery services that operate in Atlanta, including Postmates, UberEats and DoorDash, have implemented numerous strategies to protect the health and safety of the communities in which they operate. (Figueras, 3/12)

CNN: Seattle Coronavirus Survivor Elizabeth Schneider On What It's Like To Have The Virus 
A Seattle woman who says she had the coronavirus and is recovering has one "big takeaway" to share: Don't panic. Elizabeth Schneider, 37, believes she contracted the virus at a house party because a few days later, several friends who were at the party became ill at the same time she did. Three days after the February 22 party, Schneider says, she was at work when she started feeling unwell. She was "feeling tired, body aches, getting a headache, feeling a little bit feverish," so she decided to go home, Schneider told CNN's Erin Burnett. (Waldrop, 3/13)

WBUR: Boston Startup Rolls Out Online Tool To Screen For Coronavirus
If you're one of the many people wondering if that sniffle or cough could be the coronavirus, there's now a website for that. Boston startup Buoy Health hopes to help people screen themselves for coronavirus, amid growing concerns about the disease that has already upended daily life for many people. (Enwemeka, 3/13)

Boston Globe: Is It Time To Close R.I. Schools? One Principal Says Yes. 
Colleges and universities in Rhode Island are already closing and sending their students home, but the state Department of Education, which oversees K-12 public schools, has not mandated any closures. However, on Thursday, Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green sent a letter to all school districts advising them to prepare for school closures. (Milkovits, 3/12)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: U.S. At 'inflection Point' For Coronavirus; Louisiana Registers 19 Cases
Louisiana joined the federal government and a host of other states Thursday in taking dramatic steps to mitigate the coronavirus pandemic and avoid overwhelming regional health care systems, with the state restricting visitors to health care facilities, prisons and nursing homes as the number of confirmed cases rose to 19. State officials discovered six new cases of coronavirus Thursday, all in the greater New Orleans area. Among the “presumptive positive” cases, 15 are residents of Orleans Parish, two live in Jefferson Parish, one is in Lafourche Parish and one is in Caddo Parish. (Karlin and Simerman, 3/12)

Detroit Free Press: Michigan Coronavirus Outbreak: Case Count Rises. Testing A Problem
Lives were disrupted with closures and cancellations across the state Thursday as the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 jumped to 12. Attention turned to testing, and why more people in Michigan and around the country haven't been tested for the novel coronavirus. There simply aren't enough tests yet, doctors say. And although the situation is likely to get better soon — commercial labs are ramping up production — there still aren't enough to test every person who wants to be tested. (Shamus and Lawrence, 3/13)

Detroit Free Press: Duggan Adds Infectious Disease Expert To Coronavirus Response Team
For once, no news was good news in City Hall. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said the city still does not have a case of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, even though he expects that to change at some point. (Elrick, 3/13)

Detroit Free Press: 12 Mich. Prisons Closed To Visitors Over Flu, Coronavirus Worries
Twelve Michigan prisons are now wholly or partially off-limits to visitors, mostly because of flu outbreaks, but in two cases over concerns about exposing vulnerable prisoners to the coronavirus. (Egan, 3/12)

Indianapolis Star: Coronavirus In Indiana: Holcomb, Hogsett Announce Unprecedented Steps
State and local officials Thursday announced a series of unprecedented moves designed to staunch the spread of the coronavirus, from closing all Marion County schools for a minimum of three weeks to advising against gatherings larger than 250 people. Gov. Eric Holcomb issued a series of what his office termed strongly worded recommendations for steps the state and local municipalities should take. State employees also will be given guidance about remote work options, he said in a statement. (Rudavsky, 3/12)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Clark County Cancels Large Events As Coronavirus Fears Grow  
Clark County announced Thursday it was canceling events of 250 people or more at its parks and recreation facilities over coronavirus outbreak concerns. The move affects the Tacos and Tamales at Desert Breeze Park on March 28 and Jazz in the Park at the county Government Center Amphitheater in May and June, officials said. The decision will remain in effect until further notice. (Apgar and Johnson, 3/12)