Coronavirus In The States: N.Y. Governor Warns Spread Is Inevitable; Texas Mayor Tries To Contain Quarantined Patients; Where Are Cases Confirmed?

The Associated Press: More Testing Sheds Light On How Virus Is Spreading In US
An increase in testing for the coronavirus began shedding light Monday on how the illness has spread in the United States, including in Washington state, where four people died at a nursing home and some schools were closed for disinfection. New diagnoses in several states pushed the tally of COVID-19 cases past 100, and New Hampshire reported its first case, raising the total of affected states to 11. Seattle officials announced four more deaths, bringing the total in the U.S. to six. (Johnson, 3/2)

NPR: Which U.S. States Have Confirmed Coronavirus Cases?
U.S. health officials have identified and tested 43 cases of COVID-19 as of March 2. In addition, 48 cases were found among people who flew back to the U.S. on flights chartered by the U.S. State Department, including those who were aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Renken, 3/2)

ABC News: As Coronavirus Spreads In The US, Employers Gear Up For Massive Work-From-Home Experiment 
As the U.S. braces for possible wider spread of the novel coronavirus, health officials are warning business leaders to make preparations for managing a workforce that can't come into the workplace. "We’re trying to figure out how to keep the business going when people can't get to the office," Peter Cappelli, a professor of management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and the director of Wharton's Center for Human Resources, told ABC News. (Thorbecke, 3/3)

The New York Times: Coronavirus In N.Y.: Outbreak Will Spread In City, Officials Warn
New York officials warned on Monday that the coronavirus was likely to spread in New York City, a day after confirming that a Manhattan woman had contracted the virus while traveling in Iran and was now isolated in her home. “Community spread is going to be real,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said at a news conference, alongside Mayor Bill de Blasio. “That is inevitable.” The patient, the city’s first confirmed case, is not in serious condition, the governor added. (McKinley and Goldstein, 3/2)

The Hill: New York Insurers Ordered To Waive Costs Associated With Coronavirus Testing 
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced Monday evening that he would direct state health insurers to waive fees related to coronavirus testing in the state amid fears of an outbreak in the U.S. In a series of tweets, Cuomo wrote that cost should not be a barrier for New Yorkers receiving screenings for the novel form of coronavirus behind an outbreak that began in China and has since killed more than 3,000 people worldwide, infecting tens of thousands more. (Bowden, 3/2)

Reuters: Texas Mayor Declares Emergency In Bid To Keep Cruise Passengers In Quarantine
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg on Monday declared a health emergency for his city in a bid to force those in a federal coronavirus quarantine at a nearby air force base to remain locked down until more testing is done. (3/2)

Politico: Texas Governor Slams CDC For Releasing San Antonio Coronavirus Patient
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday criticized a CDC decision to release a San Antonio patient who later tested positive for the coronavirus, highlighting growing tensions between federal and local officials as new cases of the respiratory disease are reported. The patient, who had been in Wuhan, China, was treated and tested negative twice before being discharged from the Texas Center for Infectious Disease, according to a Facebook post from San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg. (Rayasam, 3/2)

Houston Chronicle: CDC: Coronavirus Patient Released In San Antonio Later Turned Up Positive For Infection 
An evacuee from Wuhan, China, believed to have recovered from the coronavirus was released from a San Antonio medical facility Saturday and went to a local hotel before officials learned she had again tested positive for the virus, possibly exposing up to a dozen people in the meantime. On Sunday, health officials said they are tracing the woman’s contacts with people and notifying them of their potential risk of infection, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement issued to the San Antonio Express-News. (Christenson, 3/2)

San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Coronavirus Cases Quadruple In Four Days As Testing Ramps Up 
The number of new coronavirus cases in the Bay Area has more than quadrupled over the past four days since local laboratories started testing more people for illness, and public health officials expect the numbers to keep climbing dramatically over the coming days and weeks. There were only three local cases of COVID-19 — the illness caused by the new virus — between Jan. 31, when the first Bay Area resident tested positive, and Thursday, when local labs began testing. In the four days since, 11 more people have tested positive — seven in Santa Clara County alone. (Allday, 3/2)

San Francisco Chronicle: ‘Not A Matter Of If, But When:’ SF Officials Plan For Local Spread Of Coronavirus 
San Francisco officials said Monday that the city was moving to further bolster its ability to respond to what increasingly appears to be an imminent local diagnosis of coronavirus.Mayor London Breed, along with health and emergency management officials, said that amid a widening outbreak of the respiratory infection across the globe and a still-rising death toll, San Francisco was now able to test for coronavirus locally, drastically cutting down the time it takes to confirm a potential diagnosis. (Fracassa, 3/2)

San Francisco Chronicle: ‘Uneasy And Frustrated’: California Health Workers Worry As Coronavirus Spreads
A third Northern California health care worker tested positive for the new coronavirus Monday, exacerbating concerns among already-worried nurses and staffers that hospitals need to better protect workers on the front lines of the growing public health crisis. All three health care workers, who are self-quarantining at home, are employees at NorthBay VacaValley Hospital in Vacaville, which initially treated the first known case of community spread in the United States — a Solano County woman who had neither traveled to countries where the virus is spreading, nor been in contact with a known coronavirus patient. (Ho, 3/2)

The Hill: Two Test Positive For Coronavirus In Georgia 
Two people have tested positive in Georgia for a novel form of coronavirus behind a global outbreak, the state's Department of Health said Monday. At a press conference reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Gov. Brian Kemp (R) and state officials said that two state residents tested positive for the virus after returning from a trip to Italy, which is experiencing a significant outbreak. “I want to reassure you that they’re at home, in home isolation with other household members, with minimal symptoms so they’re not hospitalized,” said Dr. Kathleen Toomey, head of the Department of Health. (Bowden, 3/2)

The New York Times: A School Administrator Contracted Coronavirus On A Class Trip. A Week Later, Parents Found Out.
Students and teachers at the private St. Raphael Academy in Rhode Island had recently returned from a study trip to Italy and two other countries last week when a travel advisory was issued warning of a coronavirus outbreak there. Few were worried, until reports began circling that a school administrator who had gone on the trip was sick, possibly with the flu or pneumonia. (Barry, 3/2)

Georgia Health News: Two In Fulton County Test Positive For Coronavirus 
The new coronavirus has hit Georgia. Gov. Brian Kemp said Monday night that two individuals in the state are confirmed as having the virus, known as COVID-19. The two are in the same household, and one had traveled recently to Milan, Italy, where there is a significant outbreak of the disease. “Georgians should remain calm,’’ Kemp said in a late-evening news conference. (Miller, 3/2)

The Associated Press: Authorities Confirm New Hampshire's 1st Case Of Coronavirus
A hospital employee who recently traveled to Italy is the first person in New Hampshire to test positive for the new coronavirus, state officials said Monday. The male patient is experiencing mild symptoms and remains at home in Grafton County while health officials investigate, according to Dr. Benjamin Chan, the state epidemiologist. Hospital officials confirmed the patient is an employee of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, which has set up an incident command center. (3/2)

Houston Chronicle: Houston-Area Retailers Struggle To Keep Face Masks In Stock Amid Coronavirus 'Pandemonium'
Retailers across the Houston area are struggling to keep up with a sudden spike in demand for face masks amid fears of the coronavirus. Face masks are flying off the shelves at local home improvement stores, pharmacies and medical supply shops, causing shortages at some locations, price gouging by unscrupulous resellers and forcing at least one major retailer to put a cap on customer purchases. (Takahashi, 3/2)

Atlanta Journal -Constitution: Coronavirus Convinces Some Metro Atlantans To Shop And Prepare
Shoppers — some sheepish and some emphatic — have packed at least some local stores in recent days for items to deal with a possible pandemic. Hot sellers included cases of water, hand sanitizer, disinfecting alcohol and cleaning wipes, facial tissues and paper towels, leaving some store shelves temporarily depleted, though more supplies are on the way, said workers at two local Costcos and a local Walmart. (Kempner, 3/2)

The Washington Post: Long Lines And Grocery Stores Emptied As Customers Prepare For The Worst With Coronavirus
The panic began slowly, with shoppers looking for face masks and hand sanitizer. But it hit a fever pitch over the weekend as crowds descended on supermarkets and big-box stores, snapping up cleaning supplies, toilet paper and nonperishable foods to prepare for the coronavirus. “It has gotten crazier by the day,” said a Target employee who fulfills online orders at a store in Richmond, Va. “A lot of it is obviously panic-buying, people stocking up on eight gallons of water or 20 kinds of soups. Items are selling out immediately, as soon as they go up on shelves.” (Telford and Bhattarai, 3/2)