U.S. Tops 1,000 Cases In Grim Milestone, But Experts Say Real Infection Count Is Much Higher Due To Spotty Testing

The New York Times: ‘It’s Just Everywhere Already’: How Delays In Testing Set Back The U.S. Coronavirus Response
Even now, after weeks of mounting frustration toward federal agencies over flawed test kits and burdensome rules, states with growing cases such as New York and California are struggling to test widely for the coronavirus. The continued delays have made it impossible for officials to get a true picture of the scale of the growing outbreak, which has now spread to at least 36 states and Washington, D.C. Dr. Robert R. Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview on Friday that acting quickly was critical for combating an outbreak. “Time matters,” he said. He insisted that despite the rocky start, there was still time to beat back the coronavirus in the United States. “It’s going to take rigorous, aggressive public health — what I like to say, block and tackle, block and tackle, block and tackle, block and tackle,” he said. “That means if you find a new case, you isolate it.” (Fink and Baker, 3/10)

The Hill: Coronavirus Cases In US Top 1,000 
The number of known cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. has topped 1,000 as of Tuesday night, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University. The first case was confirmed in Washington in January, but the outbreak has since spread across the state as well as the country, hitting mainly California and New York but also impacting states such as Massachusetts and South Dakota. (Axelrod, 3/10)

Los Angeles Times: True Number Of U.S. Coronavirus Cases Is Far Above Official Tally, Scientists Say
An analysis of the novel coronavirus’ spread inside the United States suggests that thousands of Americans are already infected, dimming the prospects for stomping out the outbreak in its earliest stages. Researchers estimate that by March 1, the virus had already infected about 1,000 to 10,000 people who have not yet been accounted for. At the start of this month, about 80 U.S. cases had been confirmed and officials were still expressing confidence they could contain the new virus. (Healy, 3/10)

Politico: U.S. Tops Grim Coronavirus Milestone: 1,000 Cases
Hopkins compiled the numbers using data from local and national health departments including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has lagged the Hopkins count, and from local news reports of confirmed cases. The count has risen in part because hospitals, labs and other public health facilities finally now have access to more testing kits after weeks of confusion and delay. Public health experts believe the ongoing testing problems mean that unknown numbers of cases have gone undetected. At least 28 people have died from the disease in the United States, according to the Hopkins database, though public health officials expect that toll to rise. (Choi, 3/10)

USA Today: Coronavirus: Former FDA Chief Warns Of Sharp Increase In US Cases
Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb warned there will likely be a dramatic acceleration of U.S. coronavirus cases the next two weeks as more testing detects new infections. Gottlieb said the federal government should have coordinated with both academic and private industry labs to begin testing sooner for the respiratory virus rather than rely solely on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s test kits. “The mistake we made is we took a very linear approach rather than an all-of-the-above approach,” Gottlieb said during an editorial board meeting Monday with USA TODAY. (Alltucker and O'Donnell, 3/10)

The New York Times: Governors Seeking Coronavirus Help Can’t Keep Trump At Arm’s Length
Vice President Mike Pence, fresh from a conference call with nearly all of the nation’s governors, spoke this week about how much those governors appreciated President Trump’s leadership in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. “The president’s leadership has made the difference here,” Mr. Pence said at a White House news conference on Monday. “I heard it again today from 47 governors.” On the whole, the feelings of America’s governors, whose health departments are on the front line of the escalating health crisis, are complicated when it comes to Mr. Trump and his federal response to the outbreak. (Fausset and Bosman, 3/11)

The Associated Press: US States Race To Contain Coronavirus As Cases Near 1,000
As coronavirus cases crop up across the United States, some governors and other leaders are scrambling to slow its spread, banning large public gatherings, enforcing quarantines and calling National Guard troops. With new deaths reported and the number of confirmed U.S. cases closing in on 1,000, lawmakers and health officials set up containment zones and quarantine areas and sought to limit contact with those who might be infected. (Villanueve and Rodriguez, 3/11)

Stat: U.S. Cities Are Braced For The Coronavirus. Seattle Is Already In The Thick Of It
As much of the United States prepares to see large clusters of Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus that’s circling the globe, this city and the surrounding area are already in the thick of it. As of Tuesday afternoon, 190 people had tested positive for the coronavirus in King County, which includes Seattle, and 22 had died, including the first fatal case in the country. State and local health officials here have already issued emergency declarations, set up quarantine sites, and asked the public to avoid large, nonessential gatherings. (Buch, 3/10)

The New York Times: U.S. Coronavirus Cases Surpass 1,000: Full Map
As America scrambled to understand the scope of an escalating public health crisis, the number of known coronavirus cases surpassed 1,000 on Tuesday, signaling that the virus was spreading widely in communities on both coasts and in the center of the country. (3/10)