TECUMSEH, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say four staff members were injured by two inmates at the Tecumseh prison in southeast Nebraska. 

The melee occurred Saturday when an inmate refused a cell search and appeared to dump homemade alcohol into a toilet. 

Authorities say the staffers used pepper spray on him when he wouldn't let them into the cell, and another inmate punched a staffer. 

The inmates kicked, punched and kneed staffers before being restrained. 

Authorities say the four staffers were taken to a hospital and treated for scrapes and bruises. 

One was diagnosed with a concussion.&nbsp;

TECUMSEH, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say four staff members were injured by two inmates at the Tecumseh prison in southeast Nebraska. The melee occurred Saturday when an inmate refused a cell search and appeared to dump homemade alcohol into a toilet. Authorities say the staffers used pepper spray on him when he wouldn't let them into the cell, and another inmate punched a staffer. The inmates kicked, punched and kneed staffers before being restrained. Authorities say the four staffers were taken to a hospital and treated for scrapes and bruises. One was diagnosed with a concussion.&nbsp;

4 staffers hurt in melee with 2 prisoners

Watch Mayor Michael B. Hancock and executive directors from the City and County of Denver announce a Stay At Home order and other important updates to Denver’s COVID-19 response.

<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FCityandCountyofDenver%2Fvideos%2F824664988040407%2F&show_text=0&width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>Watch Mayor Michael B. Hancock and executive directors from the City and County of Denver announce a Stay At Home order and other important updates to Denver’s COVID-19 response.

VIDEO: Mayor of Denver issues Stay at Home order

"Hands .. washing hands. Reaching out .. don't touch me. I won't touch you!"

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Stay safe out there! “Hands... washing hands..” 🎶 <a href="https://t.co/QaRB1qZshp">pic.twitter.com/QaRB1qZshp</a>&mdash; Neil Diamond (@NeilDiamond) <a href="https://twitter.com/NeilDiamond/status/1241584423927074818?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>"Hands .. washing hands. Reaching out .. don't touch me. I won't touch you!"

Neil Diamond offers up coronavirus update to 'Sweet Caroline'

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - A third person has been accused in connection with the stabbing death of a Lincoln man.

Lincoln police said in a news release Monday that 18-year-old Victor Melendez III faces a charge of aiding and abetting murder. Lancaster County Court records don't list the name of an attorney who could comment for Melendez.

<a href="https://apnews.com/a2c3f2ae111971df40a98c85c06b3466" target="_blank">Three people</a>&nbsp;attacked Edward Varejcka, 36, on March 8, police said. Officers sent to his central Lincoln apartment found Varejcka stabbed and a friend trying to resuscitate him. The officers took over until medics arrived, but the efforts failed to keep him alive.

There were at least three people in the apartment when he was stabbed, and they reported that intruders had entered it and attacked Varejcka. He lived elsewhere in Lincoln, police said.

Investigators have reported that Melendez stood at the apartment door while the stabbing occurred so he could keep watch for police, the news release said.

The two other people in custody are charged with being accessories to a felony: Krysean Reynolds, 19, and Makayla Fell, 20. The court records don't list the names of their attorneys.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1584979150556.png" alt="Victor Melendez III" />
 <figcaption>Victor Melendez III</figcaption>
 </figure>LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - A third person has been accused in connection with the stabbing death of a Lincoln man.Lincoln police said in a news release Monday that 18-year-old Victor Melendez III faces a charge of aiding and abetting murder. Lancaster County Court records don't list the name of an attorney who could comment for Melendez.<a href="https://apnews.com/a2c3f2ae111971df40a98c85c06b3466" target="_blank">Three people</a>&nbsp;attacked Edward Varejcka, 36, on March 8, police said. Officers sent to his central Lincoln apartment found Varejcka stabbed and a friend trying to resuscitate him. The officers took over until medics arrived, but the efforts failed to keep him alive.There were at least three people in the apartment when he was stabbed, and they reported that intruders had entered it and attacked Varejcka. He lived elsewhere in Lincoln, police said.Investigators have reported that Melendez stood at the apartment door while the stabbing occurred so he could keep watch for police, the news release said.The two other people in custody are charged with being accessories to a felony: Krysean Reynolds, 19, and Makayla Fell, 20. The court records don't list the names of their attorneys.

3rd person held in connection with fatal Lincoln stabbing

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota health officials say the number of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus has increased from 14 to 21. Gov. Kristi Noem told reporters during a conference call Sunday that one of the new cases was in Brown County and the other six were in Beadle County. 

She said all seven people apparently contracted the virus by traveling or having contact with someone else who had it. 

She said Beadle County appears to be on the verge of community spread and local leaders should take “serious action” to limit group sizes. She stopped short of issuing any orders, however.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota health officials say the number of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus has increased from 14 to 21. Gov. Kristi Noem told reporters during a conference call Sunday that one of the new cases was in Brown County and the other six were in Beadle County. She said all seven people apparently contracted the virus by traveling or having contact with someone else who had it. She said Beadle County appears to be on the verge of community spread and local leaders should take “serious action” to limit group sizes. She stopped short of issuing any orders, however.

South Dakota up to 21 cases; governor not ordering closures

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — After her sixth-grade son's school in Buffalo, New York, closed amid the coronavirus outbreak, Roxanne Ojeda-Valentin returned to campus with shopping bags to take home textbooks and weeks' worth of assignments prepared by teachers.

A single mother with a full-time job, she now joins millions of parents around the country — and the world — suddenly thrust into the role of their children's primary educators, leaving them scrambling to sift through educational resources and juggle lesson plans with jobs and other responsibilities.

“It’s a really big experiment,” Ojeda-Valentin said as she left the school, her second stop after picking up materials from her fourth-grade daughter's school.

Even in school districts that are providing remote instruction, the burden falls on parents to keep their children on task. In others, parents are left to find educational websites and curricular materials on their own. And while the challenges are daunting for all, they can be nearly impossible to overcome for parents limited by access to technology and their own levels of education.

Across the United States, more than 118,000 public and private schools in 45 states have closed, affecting 53 million students, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/map-coronavirus-and-school-closures.html?intc=main-mpsmvs">tally</a>&nbsp;kept by Education Week. While many closures were initially announced as short-term, parents are wondering if schools will reopen this academic year as the outbreak intensifies.

After Kansas became the first state to announce schools would remain closed for the year, a task force recommended from 30 minutes of work a day for the youngest students to up to three hours daily for students in sixth grade and up. California Gov. Gavin Newsom also has urged the state's more than 6 million schoolchildren and their families to make long-term plans, telling them few, if any, schools would reopen before summer.

Los Angeles father Filiberto Gonzalez's three children have daily contact with their teachers and one to four hours of work they can do on an existing online platform that supplements classes. But he never thought the arrangement would transform from a stopgap measure to permanent situation.

"The news ... was a real shock to a lot of us,” he said.

In Portland, Oregon, Katie Arnold’s 7-year-old son has been spending his days in his mother’s office, keeping busy on an iPad and her laptop while she’s managing accounts for a catering company.

Oregon has shut down schools through April 28 and some districts have put optional activities online, though they are not meant to replace the regular curriculum. While her son's district explores virtual learning, she has been combing the internet and tapping friends for suggestions.

“Scholastic had a bunch of free things and I have a friend who’s a teacher, so I’ve gotten a lot of workbook pages for him to do, just to try to keep him busy,” said Arnold, who also has been using educational websites like ABCmouse.

Arnold is making plans with other parents to teach children in small groups if the closure is extended, and is resigned to the idea that her workdays will be followed by evening school sessions.

Some parents are turning to those with experience homeschooling for guidance, unsure of whether to enforce strict schedules and where to look for academic help. Amid an influx of interest, the National Home School Association dropped its membership fee from $39 to $10 for access to tip sheets and teaching materials, executive director Allen Weston said.

The online site Outschool saw 20,000 new students enroll during a single weekend in March, compared to the 80,000 who have attended class since its 2017 launch, CEO Amir Nathoo said. The company offers live, teacher-led online classes beginning at $5 each, but has also offered free webinars on running online classes through video conferencing.

Child development researcher Jessica Logan and her husband continue to work full-time from home and have been tag-teaming school-related questions from their 8- and 12-year-old children, home from Columbus City Schools in Ohio.

“I see all these people writing out, ‘Here are the six hours we're going to spend each day doing homework,' and was like, ‘Not happening in my house,’” she said. “When am I going to get my work done? I still have my own work to do, so does my husband. Neither of us can take the entire day off to sit with them and do math worksheets or science experiments.”

“All parents are in the same boat,” Logan said. “Your kid is not going to fall behind if they don't do these assignments every day.”

Nevertheless, Vancouver, Washington, teacher Renee Collins has committed to keeping not only her own 10- and 8-year-old children on track academically, but two of her friend’s children and a second-grade neighbor as well.

“We’re going to do Monday, Tuesday and Thursday with the five kids together and the other days I’ll do individually with (her own kids). So we’ll do five days,” she said.

“The one thing that kind of gives a lot of us comfort," said Collins who teaches middle-school math, "is that it’s not just our state. It’s our entire nation. It’s not just going to be the state of Washington that’s behind. It’s not just going to be my children that are going to be behind. It’s going to be everybody.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/10/1571154535694.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — After her sixth-grade son's school in Buffalo, New York, closed amid the coronavirus outbreak, Roxanne Ojeda-Valentin returned to campus with shopping bags to take home textbooks and weeks' worth of assignments prepared by teachers.A single mother with a full-time job, she now joins millions of parents around the country — and the world — suddenly thrust into the role of their children's primary educators, leaving them scrambling to sift through educational resources and juggle lesson plans with jobs and other responsibilities.“It’s a really big experiment,” Ojeda-Valentin said as she left the school, her second stop after picking up materials from her fourth-grade daughter's school.Even in school districts that are providing remote instruction, the burden falls on parents to keep their children on task. In others, parents are left to find educational websites and curricular materials on their own. And while the challenges are daunting for all, they can be nearly impossible to overcome for parents limited by access to technology and their own levels of education.Across the United States, more than 118,000 public and private schools in 45 states have closed, affecting 53 million students, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/map-coronavirus-and-school-closures.html?intc=main-mpsmvs">tally</a>&nbsp;kept by Education Week. While many closures were initially announced as short-term, parents are wondering if schools will reopen this academic year as the outbreak intensifies.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1584481689719.png" alt="On March 17, Governor Laura Kelly announced she was closing school buildings for the rest of the semester." />
 <figcaption>On March 17, Governor Laura Kelly announced she was closing school buildings for the rest of the semester.</figcaption>
 </figure>After Kansas became the first state to announce schools would remain closed for the year, a task force recommended from 30 minutes of work a day for the youngest students to up to three hours daily for students in sixth grade and up. California Gov. Gavin Newsom also has urged the state's more than 6 million schoolchildren and their families to make long-term plans, telling them few, if any, schools would reopen before summer.Los Angeles father Filiberto Gonzalez's three children have daily contact with their teachers and one to four hours of work they can do on an existing online platform that supplements classes. But he never thought the arrangement would transform from a stopgap measure to permanent situation."The news ... was a real shock to a lot of us,” he said.In Portland, Oregon, Katie Arnold’s 7-year-old son has been spending his days in his mother’s office, keeping busy on an iPad and her laptop while she’s managing accounts for a catering company.Oregon has shut down schools through April 28 and some districts have put optional activities online, though they are not meant to replace the regular curriculum. While her son's district explores virtual learning, she has been combing the internet and tapping friends for suggestions.“Scholastic had a bunch of free things and I have a friend who’s a teacher, so I’ve gotten a lot of workbook pages for him to do, just to try to keep him busy,” said Arnold, who also has been using educational websites like ABCmouse.Arnold is making plans with other parents to teach children in small groups if the closure is extended, and is resigned to the idea that her workdays will be followed by evening school sessions.“We'll muster through it,” she said.Some parents are turning to those with experience homeschooling for guidance, unsure of whether to enforce strict schedules and where to look for academic help. Amid an influx of interest, the National Home School Association dropped its membership fee from $39 to $10 for access to tip sheets and teaching materials, executive director Allen Weston said.The online site Outschool saw 20,000 new students enroll during a single weekend in March, compared to the 80,000 who have attended class since its 2017 launch, CEO Amir Nathoo said. The company offers live, teacher-led online classes beginning at $5 each, but has also offered free webinars on running online classes through video conferencing.Child development researcher Jessica Logan and her husband continue to work full-time from home and have been tag-teaming school-related questions from their 8- and 12-year-old children, home from Columbus City Schools in Ohio.“I see all these people writing out, ‘Here are the six hours we're going to spend each day doing homework,' and was like, ‘Not happening in my house,’” she said. “When am I going to get my work done? I still have my own work to do, so does my husband. Neither of us can take the entire day off to sit with them and do math worksheets or science experiments.”“All parents are in the same boat,” Logan said. “Your kid is not going to fall behind if they don't do these assignments every day.”Nevertheless, Vancouver, Washington, teacher Renee Collins has committed to keeping not only her own 10- and 8-year-old children on track academically, but two of her friend’s children and a second-grade neighbor as well.“We’re going to do Monday, Tuesday and Thursday with the five kids together and the other days I’ll do individually with (her own kids). So we’ll do five days,” she said.“The one thing that kind of gives a lot of us comfort," said Collins who teaches middle-school math, "is that it’s not just our state. It’s our entire nation. It’s not just going to be the state of Washington that’s behind. It’s not just going to be my children that are going to be behind. It’s going to be everybody.”———

'A really big experiment': Parents turn teachers amid virus

WASHINGTON — The White House is urging commercial labs to prioritize the testing of hospital patients as they work to clear a backlog of tests for the coronavirus.

<a href="https://www.facebook.com/WhiteHouse/videos/223431462181095/">Click here to watch</a> Sunday's Coronavirus Task force briefing

Vice President Mike Pence says the Department of Health and Human Services will issue formal guidance Monday, but that the federal government is encouraging all labs to “prioritize inpatient testing.”

Pence says the government hopes to have the backlog of existing tests — a milestone the White House hoped to reach on Monday — cleared by the middle of the week.

The White House is encouraging those without symptoms against seeking testing, warning it depletes already scarce supplies of personal protective equipment for healthcare providers.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he’s ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ship mobile hospital centers to the hard-hit states of Washington, California and New York amid the coronavirus pandemic. For New York, that would mean another 1,000 hospital beds.

Trump is also revealing for the first time the number of respirators and other personal protective equipment sent to the hard-hit states by the federal government. It comes as state and local leaders have appealed on the federal government to provide far more, and as Trump has held off on using his fully authorities under the Defense Production Act to marshal the private sector’s capabilities.

Trump says it’s up to states to try to get the materials first. He says: "We're sort of a backup for states."

Trump says he’s also giving governors in those three states in calling up their national guard, keeping it under local control but providing federal funding. @Michael Tackett

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1584917179545.png" alt="Vice President Mike Pence during Sunday's Coronavirus Task Force briefing" />
 <figcaption>Vice President Mike Pence during Sunday's Coronavirus Task Force briefing</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON — The White House is urging commercial labs to prioritize the testing of hospital patients as they work to clear a backlog of tests for the coronavirus.<a href="https://www.facebook.com/WhiteHouse/videos/223431462181095/">Click here to watch</a> Sunday's Coronavirus Task force briefingVice President Mike Pence says the Department of Health and Human Services will issue formal guidance Monday, but that the federal government is encouraging all labs to “prioritize inpatient testing.”Pence says the government hopes to have the backlog of existing tests — a milestone the White House hoped to reach on Monday — cleared by the middle of the week.The White House is encouraging those without symptoms against seeking testing, warning it depletes already scarce supplies of personal protective equipment for healthcare providers.___WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he’s ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ship mobile hospital centers to the hard-hit states of Washington, California and New York amid the coronavirus pandemic. For New York, that would mean another 1,000 hospital beds.Trump is also revealing for the first time the number of respirators and other personal protective equipment sent to the hard-hit states by the federal government. It comes as state and local leaders have appealed on the federal government to provide far more, and as Trump has held off on using his fully authorities under the Defense Production Act to marshal the private sector’s capabilities.Trump says it’s up to states to try to get the materials first. He says: "We're sort of a backup for states."Trump says he’s also giving governors in those three states in calling up their national guard, keeping it under local control but providing federal funding. @Michael Tackett___

White House urges labs to prioritize tests for coronavirus

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top-level negotiations between Congress and the White House churned late into the night over a now nearly $2 trillion economic rescue package, as the coronavirus crisis deepened, the nation shut down and the first U.S. senator tested positive for the disease.

As President Donald Trump took to the podium in the White House briefing room and promised to help Americans who feel afraid and isolated as the pandemic spreads, the Senate voted Sunday against advancing the rescue package. But talks continued on Capitol Hill.

“I think you’ll get there. To me it’s not very complicated: We have to help the worker. We have to save the companies,” Trump said.

Later, the Republican president suggested the remedies may be more harmful than the outbreak, vowing to reassess after the 15-day mark of the shutdown. “WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF,” he tweeted.

Inside the otherwise emptied out Capitol, the draft aid bill was declared insufficient by Democrats, who argued it was tilted toward corporations and did too little to help workers and health care providers. Republicans returned to the negotiating table.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, exiting the Capitol just before midnight, struck an optimistic note: “We’re very close,” he said, adding negotiators would work through the night.

“Our nation cannot afford a game of chicken,” warned Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., his voice rising on the Senate floor Sunday night. His goal is to vote Monday. The Senate will re-convene at noon.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y, sounded an optimistic note.

“This bill is going to affect this country and the lives of Americans, not just for the next few days, but in the next few months and years — so we have to make sure it is good, he said. ‘”There were some serious problems with the bill leader McConnell laid down. Huge amounts of corporate bailout funds without restrictions or without oversight — you wouldn’t even know who is getting the money. Not enough money for hospitals, nurses, PPE, masks, all the health care needs. No money for state and local government, many of whom would go broke. Many other things.”

But Schumer said they were making progress in dealing with those issues. “We’re getting closer and closer. And I’m very hopeful, is how I’d put it, that we can get a bill in the morning.”

With a population on edge and shell-shocked financial markets poised for the new work week, Washington labored under the size and scope of the rescue package that’s more ambitious than any in recent times — larger than the 2008 bank bailout and 2009 recovery act combined.

Democrats say the largely GOP-led effort did not go far enough to provide health care and worker aid and fails to put restraints on a proposed $500 billion “slush fund” for corporations. They voted to block its advance.

Democrats won a concession — to provide four months of expanded unemployment benefits, rather than just three as proposed, according to an official granted anonymity to discuss the private talks. The jobless pay also extends to self-employed and so-called gig workers.

While the congressional leaders worked into the night, alarms were being sounded from coast to coast about the wave of coronavirus cases about to crash onto the nation’s health system.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had dire, urgent news from the pandemic’s U.S. epicenter: “April and May are going to be a lot worse,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

De Blasio, a Democrat, all but begged Washington to help procure ventilators and other medical supplies. He accused the Republican president of “not lifting a finger” to help.

Trump urged Congress to get a deal done and, during the Sunday briefing, responded to criticism that his administration was sluggish to act. He cited his cooperation with the three states hardest hit — New York, Washington and California — and invoked a measure to give governors flexibility in calling up the national guard under their control, while the federal government covers the bill.

But even as Trump stressed federal-local partnerships, some governors, including Republican Greg Abbott of Texas, expressed unhappiness with Washington’s response. The president himself took a swipe hours earlier at Gov. J. B. Pritzker, D-Ill., saying that he and “a very small group of certain other Governors, together with Fake News” should not be “blaming the Federal Government for their own shortcomings.”

This came as Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky announced he tested positive for the coronavirus. Paul, who is a doctor and close ally of the president, said in a tweet he was not showing symptoms and was in quarantine.

Paul was seen at a GOP senators’ lunch on Friday and swimming in the Senate gym pool on Sunday morning, heightening concerns. His office said he left the Senate immediately after learning his diagnosis.

A growing list of lawmakers have cycled in and out of isolation after exposure, and two members of the House have said they tested positive. Five senators were in self-quarantine Sunday evening and could not vote.

In recent days, Trump invoked the Defense Protection Act, a rarely used, decades-old authority that can be used to compel the private sector to manufacture needed medical supplies like masks and ventilators. Officials said Sunday that it would be used voluntarily and businesses would not be compelled to act.

“We are a country not based on nationalizing our business,” said Trump, who has repeatedly railed against socialism overseas and among Democrats.

Two days after he lashed out at a reporter who asked about his message to frightened Americans, Trump said, “For those worried and afraid, please know as long as I am your president, you can feel confident that you have a leader who will always fight for you.”

But minutes later, when he learned that rival Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, was one of those in isolation, he declared, “Romney’s in isolation? Gee, that’s too bad.”

The urgency to act is mounting, as jobless claims skyrocket and the financial markets are set to re-open Monday eager for signs that Washington can soften the blow of the healthcare crisis and what experts say is a looming recession. Stock futures declined sharply as Trump spoke Sunday evening.

Officials late Sunday put the price tag of the ballooning rescue package at nearly $2 trillion. That does not include additional measures being taken by the Federal Reserve to shore up the economy.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who was leading a third day of nonstop talks on Capitol Hill, said the plan was meant to prop up the nation’s weakened economy for the next 10 to 12 weeks.

Central to the package is as much as $350 billion for small businesses to keep making payroll while workers are forced to stay home. There is also a one-time rebate check of about $1,200 per person, or $3,000 for a family of four, as well as the extended unemployment benefits.

Hospitals, Mnuchin said, will get approximately $110 billion for the expected influx of sick patients.

The treasury secretary said a significant part of the package will involve working with the Federal Reserve for up to $4 trillion of liquidity to support the economy with “broad-based lending programs.”

But Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have pushed for add-ons, including food security aid, small business loans and other measures for workers.

They warned the draft plan’s $500 billion for corporations does not put enough restraints on business, saying the ban on corporate stock buy-backs is weak and the limits on executive pay are only for two years.

“We’re not here to create a slush fund for Donald Trump and his family, or a slush fund for the Treasury Department to be able to hand out to their friends,” said Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. “We’re here to help workers, we’re here to help hospitals.”

The president, when pressed by a reporter, dodged a question as to whether his own business would seek federal funds.

With Sunday’s failed vote, McConnell angrily blamed Pelosi, who returned to Washington for a top-level meeting, saying she “poured cold water” over the draft plan. But any measure from the Senate also needs to pass the House.

The details are coming from drafts of both bills circulating among lobbyists but not yet released to the public. They were obtained by The Associated Press.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

WASHINGTON — The Senate has refused to advance the coronavirus rescue package in a procedural vote with Democrats rejecting a draft from Republicans and pushing for more aid for workers.

Negotiations are expected to continue into the evening Sunday.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has urged senators to “signal to the public that we're ready to get this job done.” He wants passage by Monday.

But Democrats have resisted, arguing the nearly $1.4 trillion measure needs to bolster aid and put limits on how businesses can use the emergency dollars.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1584959546607.png" alt="Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on the U.S. Senate floor just before 10:30 p.m. Sunday night-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on the U.S. Senate floor just before 10:30 p.m. Sunday night-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Top-level negotiations between Congress and the White House churned late into the night over a now nearly $2 trillion economic rescue package, as the coronavirus crisis deepened, the nation shut down and the first U.S. senator tested positive for the disease.As President Donald Trump took to the podium in the White House briefing room and promised to help Americans who feel afraid and isolated as the pandemic spreads, the Senate voted Sunday against advancing the rescue package. But talks continued on Capitol Hill.“I think you’ll get there. To me it’s not very complicated: We have to help the worker. We have to save the companies,” Trump said.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF. AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1241935285916782593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Later, the Republican president suggested the remedies may be more harmful than the outbreak, vowing to reassess after the 15-day mark of the shutdown. “WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF,” he tweeted.Inside the otherwise emptied out Capitol, the draft aid bill was declared insufficient by Democrats, who argued it was tilted toward corporations and did too little to help workers and health care providers. Republicans returned to the negotiating table.Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, exiting the Capitol just before midnight, struck an optimistic note: “We’re very close,” he said, adding negotiators would work through the night.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Our nation cannot afford this game of chicken. We cannot afford the cynical partisanship. This is a national emergency. Not a partisan opportunity. Doctors, nurses, small business employees, laid-off Americans, and vulnerable seniors need help right now. <a href="https://t.co/zXPqodt8ZI">pic.twitter.com/zXPqodt8ZI</a>&mdash; Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) <a href="https://twitter.com/senatemajldr/status/1241929925923397634?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“Our nation cannot afford a game of chicken,” warned Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., his voice rising on the Senate floor Sunday night. His goal is to vote Monday. The Senate will re-convene at noon.Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y, sounded an optimistic note.“This bill is going to affect this country and the lives of Americans, not just for the next few days, but in the next few months and years — so we have to make sure it is good, he said. ‘”There were some serious problems with the bill leader McConnell laid down. Huge amounts of corporate bailout funds without restrictions or without oversight — you wouldn’t even know who is getting the money. Not enough money for hospitals, nurses, PPE, masks, all the health care needs. No money for state and local government, many of whom would go broke. Many other things.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">I just spoke in the Senate about how we’re making progress on a bill. The McConnell-GOP bill includes huge bailouts without protections for people and workers and without accountability. It has shortfalls of money for our hospitals &amp; medical workers. This needs to be changed. <a href="https://t.co/7ggVKrwV6l">pic.twitter.com/7ggVKrwV6l</a>&mdash; Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/1241943851708841984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>But Schumer said they were making progress in dealing with those issues. “We’re getting closer and closer. And I’m very hopeful, is how I’d put it, that we can get a bill in the morning.”With a population on edge and shell-shocked financial markets poised for the new work week, Washington labored under the size and scope of the rescue package that’s more ambitious than any in recent times — larger than the 2008 bank bailout and 2009 recovery act combined.Democrats say the largely GOP-led effort did not go far enough to provide health care and worker aid and fails to put restraints on a proposed $500 billion “slush fund” for corporations. They voted to block its advance.Democrats won a concession — to provide four months of expanded unemployment benefits, rather than just three as proposed, according to an official granted anonymity to discuss the private talks. The jobless pay also extends to self-employed and so-called gig workers.While the congressional leaders worked into the night, alarms were being sounded from coast to coast about the wave of coronavirus cases about to crash onto the nation’s health system.New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had dire, urgent news from the pandemic’s U.S. epicenter: “April and May are going to be a lot worse,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”De Blasio, a Democrat, all but begged Washington to help procure ventilators and other medical supplies. He accused the Republican president of “not lifting a finger” to help.Trump urged Congress to get a deal done and, during the Sunday briefing, responded to criticism that his administration was sluggish to act. He cited his cooperation with the three states hardest hit — New York, Washington and California — and invoked a measure to give governors flexibility in calling up the national guard under their control, while the federal government covers the bill.But even as Trump stressed federal-local partnerships, some governors, including Republican Greg Abbott of Texas, expressed unhappiness with Washington’s response. The president himself took a swipe hours earlier at Gov. J. B. Pritzker, D-Ill., saying that he and “a very small group of certain other Governors, together with Fake News” should not be “blaming the Federal Government for their own shortcomings.”This came as Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky announced he tested positive for the coronavirus. Paul, who is a doctor and close ally of the president, said in a tweet he was not showing symptoms and was in quarantine.Paul was seen at a GOP senators’ lunch on Friday and swimming in the Senate gym pool on Sunday morning, heightening concerns. His office said he left the Senate immediately after learning his diagnosis.A growing list of lawmakers have cycled in and out of isolation after exposure, and two members of the House have said they tested positive. Five senators were in self-quarantine Sunday evening and could not vote.In recent days, Trump invoked the Defense Protection Act, a rarely used, decades-old authority that can be used to compel the private sector to manufacture needed medical supplies like masks and ventilators. Officials said Sunday that it would be used voluntarily and businesses would not be compelled to act.“We are a country not based on nationalizing our business,” said Trump, who has repeatedly railed against socialism overseas and among Democrats.Two days after he lashed out at a reporter who asked about his message to frightened Americans, Trump said, “For those worried and afraid, please know as long as I am your president, you can feel confident that you have a leader who will always fight for you.”But minutes later, when he learned that rival Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, was one of those in isolation, he declared, “Romney’s in isolation? Gee, that’s too bad.”Trump said he was not being sarcastic.The urgency to act is mounting, as jobless claims skyrocket and the financial markets are set to re-open Monday eager for signs that Washington can soften the blow of the healthcare crisis and what experts say is a looming recession. Stock futures declined sharply as Trump spoke Sunday evening.Officials late Sunday put the price tag of the ballooning rescue package at nearly $2 trillion. That does not include additional measures being taken by the Federal Reserve to shore up the economy.Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who was leading a third day of nonstop talks on Capitol Hill, said the plan was meant to prop up the nation’s weakened economy for the next 10 to 12 weeks.Central to the package is as much as $350 billion for small businesses to keep making payroll while workers are forced to stay home. There is also a one-time rebate check of about $1,200 per person, or $3,000 for a family of four, as well as the extended unemployment benefits.Hospitals, Mnuchin said, will get approximately $110 billion for the expected influx of sick patients.The treasury secretary said a significant part of the package will involve working with the Federal Reserve for up to $4 trillion of liquidity to support the economy with “broad-based lending programs.”But Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have pushed for add-ons, including food security aid, small business loans and other measures for workers.They warned the draft plan’s $500 billion for corporations does not put enough restraints on business, saying the ban on corporate stock buy-backs is weak and the limits on executive pay are only for two years.“We’re not here to create a slush fund for Donald Trump and his family, or a slush fund for the Treasury Department to be able to hand out to their friends,” said Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. “We’re here to help workers, we’re here to help hospitals.”The president, when pressed by a reporter, dodged a question as to whether his own business would seek federal funds.With Sunday’s failed vote, McConnell angrily blamed Pelosi, who returned to Washington for a top-level meeting, saying she “poured cold water” over the draft plan. But any measure from the Senate also needs to pass the House.The details are coming from drafts of both bills circulating among lobbyists but not yet released to the public. They were obtained by The Associated Press.For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.WASHINGTON — The Senate has refused to advance the coronavirus rescue package in a procedural vote with Democrats rejecting a draft from Republicans and pushing for more aid for workers.Negotiations are expected to continue into the evening Sunday.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has urged senators to “signal to the public that we're ready to get this job done.” He wants passage by Monday.But Democrats have resisted, arguing the nearly $1.4 trillion measure needs to bolster aid and put limits on how businesses can use the emergency dollars.More voting is possible.

Senate refuses to advance coronavirus rescue package

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top-level negotiations between Congress and the White House are teetering on a nearly $1.4 trillion economic rescue package as the coronavirus pandemic deepens. No final decisions have been made. But the emerging package is expected to include

The measure would provide a quick, one-time stipend of about $1,200 per individual, $2,400 for couples, and $3,000 for family of four. The money would cut off at higher income levels.

An estimated $350 billion would be provided for small businesses to keep making payroll. Companies with 500 or fewer employees could tap up to $10 million in forgivable small business loans to keep paychecks flowing.

Workers who are eligible would receive up to 39 weeks of unemployment insurance through the end of 2020 if they are sidelined by the outbreak. The coverage would be retroactive to Jan. 27.

The bill includes an additional $242 billion in additional emergency funds to fight the virus and shore up for safety net programs. That includes money for food stamps, child nutrition, hospitals, the Centers for Disease Control and public health and transportation agencies.

The measure includes $15.6 billion to augment the food stamp program, which helps feed around 40 million Low income people per year. It’s annual budget is around $70 billion.

The initial GOP plan called for $208 billion in loans to airlines and other industries, which would have to be repaid. Leaders are still negotiating the final number and how the money would be provided by the administration.

Negotiators are still hammering out whether there will be money give to the states, whose governors have requested billions to shore up their budgets.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1584913591839.png" alt="Sunday morning,&nbsp;U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hosted a meeting with congressional leadership and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin. "It is time to come together, finalize the results of our bipartisan discussions, and get the CARES Act to the President’s desk.." photo courtesy Sen. McConnell" />
 <figcaption>Sunday morning,&nbsp;U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hosted a meeting with congressional leadership and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin. "It is time to come together, finalize the results of our bipartisan discussions, and get the CARES Act to the President’s desk.." photo courtesy Sen. McConnell</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Top-level negotiations between Congress and the White House are teetering on a nearly $1.4 trillion economic rescue package as the coronavirus pandemic deepens. No final decisions have been made. But the emerging package is expected to includeOne-time checks to AmericansThe measure would provide a quick, one-time stipend of about $1,200 per individual, $2,400 for couples, and $3,000 for family of four. The money would cut off at higher income levels.___Paycheck supportAn estimated $350 billion would be provided for small businesses to keep making payroll. Companies with 500 or fewer employees could tap up to $10 million in forgivable small business loans to keep paychecks flowing.___Unemployment expansionWorkers who are eligible would receive up to 39 weeks of unemployment insurance through the end of 2020 if they are sidelined by the outbreak. The coverage would be retroactive to Jan. 27.___Emergency funding, public healthThe bill includes an additional $242 billion in additional emergency funds to fight the virus and shore up for safety net programs. That includes money for food stamps, child nutrition, hospitals, the Centers for Disease Control and public health and transportation agencies.The measure includes $15.6 billion to augment the food stamp program, which helps feed around 40 million Low income people per year. It’s annual budget is around $70 billion.___Industry aidThe initial GOP plan called for $208 billion in loans to airlines and other industries, which would have to be repaid. Leaders are still negotiating the final number and how the money would be provided by the administration.___State aidNegotiators are still hammering out whether there will be money give to the states, whose governors have requested billions to shore up their budgets.

At a glance: Nearly $1.4 trillion coronavirus rescue package

NEW YORK (AP) — As in-person worship services are canceled or downsized amid the coronavirus outbreak, some churches across the U.S. are bracing for a painful drop in weekly contributions and possible cutbacks in programs and staff.

One church leader, Bishop Paul Egensteiner of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Metropolitan New York Synod, said some of the 190 churches in his region were unlikely to survive because of a two-pronged financial hit. Their offerings are dwindling, and they are losing income from tenants such as preschools which can no longer afford to rent church venues.

“As much as I’d like to help them, everybody's reserves are taking a hit because of the stock market,” Egensteiner said,

At Friendship Baptist Church in Baltimore, a mostly African American congregation of about 1,100, the Rev. Alvin Gwynn Sr. bucked the cancellation trend by holding services last Sunday. But attendance was down by about 50%, and Gwynn said the day’s offering netted about $5,000 compared to a normal intake of about $15,000.

“It cuts into our ministry,” he said. “If this keeps up, we can’t fund all our outreach to help other people.”

There was a brighter outcome at the Church of the Resurrection, a large United Methodist Church congregation that operates out of five locations in the Kansas City area.

Cathy Bien, the church’s communications director, said about 25,700 people logged in to join online worship last Sunday after in-person services were canceled. That compared to normal Sunday participation of 14,000 worshippers -– 8,000 in person and 6,000 online.

“It blew our minds,” Bien said. “They were coming from all over the country -– a lot of Methodists from other churches.”

The huge turnout didn’t translate into a larger than normal offering, although the church is still processing checks that were sent by some of the worshippers, Bien said. She expressed hope that financial support will remain robust as the church stresses the need to bolster food pantries and other community programs in the face of COVID-19.

t Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, giving was down modestly last weekend as the church cancelled in-person worship and made the service available online.

The pastor, Walter Kim, said some of his roughly 1,000 congregants have grown accustomed to online giving in recent years, but many worshippers still give in person at the services - an option not available for now.

“We’ll be asking them to sign up (for online giving) or mail a check,” said Kim. He will be urging congregants to bolster the church’s “mercy fund” for use assisting hard-up members of the community as job losses multiply.

In addition to his pastoral duties Kim is president of the National Association of Evangelicals, which represents more than 45,000 evangelical churches. The NAE will be co-hosting a two-day digital summit next week featuring videos from church leaders advising other pastors nationwide how to respond creatively and effectively to the virus outbreak.

The co-host is the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wheaton.edu/academics/academic-centers/humanitarian-disaster-institute/covid-19/" target="_blank">Humanitarian Disaster Institute</a>&nbsp;at Wheaton College in Illinois, which already has offered resources to churches in response to COVID-19.

“Some changes are going to be required,” Kim said. “The church is a very creative institution. In the end it will find ways of fulfilling its mission.”

In Western Massachusetts, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield has indefinitely cancelled all public Masses, and recently rescinded permission for parishioners to pray individually at their churches.

Funeral Masses were still allowed with a maximum attendance of 25; the diocese said the times of those Masses were not to be shared in the media,

“Lack of access to the churches and Eucharist is particularly difficult for many older parishioners whose entire daily routine is built around getting up, out of the house, and going to Mass,” said the Rev. Mark Stelzer, who has served in the diocese as a parish priest and college chaplain.

The Rev. William Tourigny, pastor of Ste. Rose de Lima Church in Chicopee, Massachusetts, said his parish had a solid financial foundation and expected it could maintain all programs and staff payroll for the time being.

“For smaller faith-based communities with little or no reserved funds, difficult decisions will need to be made,” he said.

Joe Wright, executive director of the Bivocational and Small Church Leadership Network in Nashville said many pastors in the network have been holding regular in-person services, while monitoring the spread of the virus.

“Once the coronavirus rises to the level where it starts hitting smaller groups, then we’ll see even the smaller groups back away and seek ways to gather, probably electronically,” he said.

When that happens, Wright said, financial giving will depend on the church, especially the age of the congregations.

“Some churches with older congregations do not give electronically so the transition to that will be a little bit harder,” he said.

Ron Klassen, executive director of Rural Home Missionary Association, said it’s too early to say how the rural churches he represents are being impacted.

"My sense is that in the past, people rise up and, if anything, the giving might increase,” he said. “People are going to give. They’ll take care of their church and their community.”

In Baltimore, pastor Gwynn worries that tensions might rise past the point that church outreach programs can help.

“With all the uncertainty, I’m afraid this could turn into anarchy,” he said. “Not everybody’s patient. Not everybody’s law abiding.”

He even envisioned the possibility of a stampede toward the goods being doled out after church’s annual food drive.

“My biggest fear right now is what's happening to the minds of our people,” Gwynn said. “How long can we hold them together?’

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1584278183206.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — As in-person worship services are canceled or downsized amid the coronavirus outbreak, some churches across the U.S. are bracing for a painful drop in weekly contributions and possible cutbacks in programs and staff.One church leader, Bishop Paul Egensteiner of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Metropolitan New York Synod, said some of the 190 churches in his region were unlikely to survive because of a two-pronged financial hit. Their offerings are dwindling, and they are losing income from tenants such as preschools which can no longer afford to rent church venues.“As much as I’d like to help them, everybody's reserves are taking a hit because of the stock market,” Egensteiner said,At Friendship Baptist Church in Baltimore, a mostly African American congregation of about 1,100, the Rev. Alvin Gwynn Sr. bucked the cancellation trend by holding services last Sunday. But attendance was down by about 50%, and Gwynn said the day’s offering netted about $5,000 compared to a normal intake of about $15,000.“It cuts into our ministry,” he said. “If this keeps up, we can’t fund all our outreach to help other people.”There was a brighter outcome at the Church of the Resurrection, a large United Methodist Church congregation that operates out of five locations in the Kansas City area.Cathy Bien, the church’s communications director, said about 25,700 people logged in to join online worship last Sunday after in-person services were canceled. That compared to normal Sunday participation of 14,000 worshippers -– 8,000 in person and 6,000 online.“It blew our minds,” Bien said. “They were coming from all over the country -– a lot of Methodists from other churches.”The huge turnout didn’t translate into a larger than normal offering, although the church is still processing checks that were sent by some of the worshippers, Bien said. She expressed hope that financial support will remain robust as the church stresses the need to bolster food pantries and other community programs in the face of COVID-19.t Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, giving was down modestly last weekend as the church cancelled in-person worship and made the service available online.The pastor, Walter Kim, said some of his roughly 1,000 congregants have grown accustomed to online giving in recent years, but many worshippers still give in person at the services - an option not available for now.“We’ll be asking them to sign up (for online giving) or mail a check,” said Kim. He will be urging congregants to bolster the church’s “mercy fund” for use assisting hard-up members of the community as job losses multiply.In addition to his pastoral duties Kim is president of the National Association of Evangelicals, which represents more than 45,000 evangelical churches. The NAE will be co-hosting a two-day digital summit next week featuring videos from church leaders advising other pastors nationwide how to respond creatively and effectively to the virus outbreak.The co-host is the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wheaton.edu/academics/academic-centers/humanitarian-disaster-institute/covid-19/" target="_blank">Humanitarian Disaster Institute</a>&nbsp;at Wheaton College in Illinois, which already has offered resources to churches in response to COVID-19.“Some changes are going to be required,” Kim said. “The church is a very creative institution. In the end it will find ways of fulfilling its mission.”In Western Massachusetts, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield has indefinitely cancelled all public Masses, and recently rescinded permission for parishioners to pray individually at their churches.Funeral Masses were still allowed with a maximum attendance of 25; the diocese said the times of those Masses were not to be shared in the media,“Lack of access to the churches and Eucharist is particularly difficult for many older parishioners whose entire daily routine is built around getting up, out of the house, and going to Mass,” said the Rev. Mark Stelzer, who has served in the diocese as a parish priest and college chaplain.The Rev. William Tourigny, pastor of Ste. Rose de Lima Church in Chicopee, Massachusetts, said his parish had a solid financial foundation and expected it could maintain all programs and staff payroll for the time being.“For smaller faith-based communities with little or no reserved funds, difficult decisions will need to be made,” he said.Joe Wright, executive director of the Bivocational and Small Church Leadership Network in Nashville said many pastors in the network have been holding regular in-person services, while monitoring the spread of the virus.“Once the coronavirus rises to the level where it starts hitting smaller groups, then we’ll see even the smaller groups back away and seek ways to gather, probably electronically,” he said.When that happens, Wright said, financial giving will depend on the church, especially the age of the congregations.“Some churches with older congregations do not give electronically so the transition to that will be a little bit harder,” he said.Ron Klassen, executive director of Rural Home Missionary Association, said it’s too early to say how the rural churches he represents are being impacted."My sense is that in the past, people rise up and, if anything, the giving might increase,” he said. “People are going to give. They’ll take care of their church and their community.”In Baltimore, pastor Gwynn worries that tensions might rise past the point that church outreach programs can help.“With all the uncertainty, I’m afraid this could turn into anarchy,” he said. “Not everybody’s patient. Not everybody’s law abiding.”He even envisioned the possibility of a stampede toward the goods being doled out after church’s annual food drive.“My biggest fear right now is what's happening to the minds of our people,” Gwynn said. “How long can we hold them together?’___

As offerings dwindle, some churches fear for their future

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Police in Lincoln are investigating after two violins and a bow worth nearly $25,000 together were stolen from a local music shop.

The instruments were stolen from Capital City Strings sometime between Christmas and Wednesday, the Lincoln Journal Star&nbsp;<a href="https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/violins-and-bow-worth-stolen-from-lincoln-shop/article_6c53e32c-87f8-5ef3-baf4-617ae6a4a186.html" target="_blank">reported</a>.

The more valuable of the two instruments is an $18,000 brown 2001 violin crafted by Marilyn Wallin, an award-winning violin maker who lives and works in Lincoln. Wallin reported she'd last played that violin in late February.

It was discovered missing from the shop Wednesday.

The second violin, which was last seen around Christmas, is a 1919 Neff Philadelphia violin, valued at $3,000. The vintage bow from German maker Nurenberg is valued at $3,500.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Police in Lincoln are investigating after two violins and a bow worth nearly $25,000 together were stolen from a local music shop.The instruments were stolen from Capital City Strings sometime between Christmas and Wednesday, the Lincoln Journal Star&nbsp;<a href="https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/violins-and-bow-worth-stolen-from-lincoln-shop/article_6c53e32c-87f8-5ef3-baf4-617ae6a4a186.html" target="_blank">reported</a>.The more valuable of the two instruments is an $18,000 brown 2001 violin crafted by Marilyn Wallin, an award-winning violin maker who lives and works in Lincoln. Wallin reported she'd last played that violin in late February.It was discovered missing from the shop Wednesday.The second violin, which was last seen around Christmas, is a 1919 Neff Philadelphia violin, valued at $3,000. The vintage bow from German maker Nurenberg is valued at $3,500.

Violins, bow worth nearly $25K stolen from Lincoln shop

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - An Omaha hospital system concerned about protecting medical staff who treat those infected with a highly contagious new coronavirus has turned to a local community college for help.

The Metropolitan Community College's prototype design lab is now producing plastic face shields for Nebraska Medicine amid a supply shortage of personal protective equipment for health care workers. Volunteers from the lab and other areas of the college are helping by assembling the masks from supplies lab coordinator Ken Heinze has collected from Omaha-area stores.

Heinze said he has collected enough material to assemble 1,000 face shield masks, which can be used by health care workers on the front lines of the pandemic.

Heinze said he's overseeing the production while also following officials' call to keep gatherings to 10 people or fewer.

"We'll put people around the building if we have to," he said.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - An Omaha hospital system concerned about protecting medical staff who treat those infected with a highly contagious new coronavirus has turned to a local community college for help.The Metropolitan Community College's prototype design lab is now producing plastic face shields for Nebraska Medicine amid a supply shortage of personal protective equipment for health care workers. Volunteers from the lab and other areas of the college are helping by assembling the masks from supplies lab coordinator Ken Heinze has collected from Omaha-area stores.Heinze said he has collected enough material to assemble 1,000 face shield masks, which can be used by health care workers on the front lines of the pandemic.Heinze said he's overseeing the production while also following officials' call to keep gatherings to 10 people or fewer."We'll put people around the building if we have to," he said.

Community college builds face shields for Omaha hospital

In times of crisis, safety and freedom may seem like they’re at odds 
with each other. A society that respects individual liberty can’t 
implement the same kinds of drastic laws and policies that a more 
authoritarian one can.

This puts more of an onus on citizens of a democracy to make 
responsible choices. As we face a virus that we can easily pass on 
without realizing it, that may not cause any symptoms in those who are 
young and healthy but is potentially deadly to the elderly and those 
with preexisting conditions, we need to keep in mind that our 
independent media and civil society can be assets in this fight, as long
 as we balance our personal freedoms with care and compassion for each 
other.

As I write this column,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html" target="_blank">7,038 people have tested positive for&nbsp;COVID-19 in the United States</a>.
 The highly contagious nature of the virus has led Ohio to postpone its 
presidential primary, Washington and Maryland to shut down all 
restaurants and bars (except for delivery and takeout) and California to
 call for all people 65 and older to shelter inside their homes. More 
than 30 states have closed their schools. On Sunday, the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention recommended that no gatherings of 50 
people or more be held in the U.S. for the next eight weeks. On Monday, 
it amended that&nbsp;warning to apply to gatherings of more than 10 people. 
I’m&nbsp;certain that by the time you read this,&nbsp;there will be more cases of 
COVID-19, as well as more shutdowns, both voluntary and mandated by 
state and local officials.

All of this was unimaginable last week. Just last month, the 
coronavirus seemed like a rather distant problem,&nbsp;even though the 
first&nbsp;confirmed case in the U.S. occurred in late January. We had 
several weeks to observe China’s handling of&nbsp;COVID-19&nbsp;and at first,&nbsp;a 
lot&nbsp;of our conversations had a tone of reluctant admiration for 
how&nbsp;swiftly an authoritarian government could&nbsp;act in the face of an 
outbreak. In a matter of days, the Chinese government had quarantined 
entire cities, suspended travel, closed schools and businesses and built
 two new specialized hospitals. What democracy could match&nbsp;that?

It didn’t take long for&nbsp;the truth to come to light. Not that the 
Chinese government had been censoring information and violating civil 
liberties — that was sort of a given — but that censoring information 
and violating civil liberties actually made the outbreak worse. China’s 
suppression of news about the outbreak prevented health care 
practitioners and individuals from being able to take appropriate 
precautions and hindered officials from being able to coordinate a 
response. As this <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/03/809965742/personal-essay-from-wuhan-living-in-hell" target="_blank">personal essay</a>
 from an anonymous resident of Wuhan put it, “Before this coronavirus, I
 always thought it was OK to sacrifice some level of democracy and 
freedom for better living conditions. But now I have changed my 
attitude. Without democracy and freedom, the truth of the outbreak in 
Wuhan would never be known.”

Of course, now that it’s our turn to deal with the virus, it’s hard 
to argue that we’re doing much better. For weeks, the Trump 
administration downplayed the severity of the situation, contradicting 
public health experts and news media reports and delaying containment 
and mitigation efforts. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/what-went-wrong-with-the-coronavirus-tests/2020/03/07/915f5dea-5d82-11ea-b29b-9db42f7803a7_story.html" target="_blank">According to The Washington Post</a>,
 early problems with manufacturing coronavirus tests, “along with an 
initial decision to test only a narrow set of people and delays in 
expanding testing to other labs, gave the virus a head start to spread 
undetected — and helped perpetuate a false sense of security that leaves
 the United States dangerously behind.” Officials in China are <a href="https://qz.com/1813181/china-is-taking-pleasure-in-us-mishandling-of-coronavirus/" target="_blank">reportedly watching our mishandling of the outbreak</a>
 with a “mix of shock and pleasure. They find it hard to believe that 
the world’s top superpower might be bungling its response to the virus, 
even after having had weeks to prepare for its possible arrival.”

&nbsp;As the <a href="https://www.lawfareblog.com/lessons-america-how-south-korean-authorities-used-law-fight-coronavirus" target="_blank">national security law blog Lawfare has pointed out</a>,
 many observers&nbsp;are using the coronavirus as a proxy war for democracies
 versus authoritarian systems. This is,&nbsp;of course, an 
oversimplification, but it does highlight an important truth — civil 
liberties do have an impact on how governments deal with crises. Our 
freedoms of press and speech ensure the free flow of information, but 
they also allow misinformation to spread. And while South Korea, a 
fellow democracy but one with less regard for civil liberties,&nbsp;was able 
to curtail its COVID-19 outbreak by forcibly shutting down&nbsp;a series of 
churches where the virus initially spread, it’s hard to imagine an 
American government official doing the same. Such an action, “might 
register to many Americans as an egregious violation of basic First 
Amendment instincts regarding the freedom of religion, right to assemble
 and separation of church and state.”

Our state, city and federal officials do have the power to place people in isolation or quarantine, but that power is <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/3/11/21166621/coronavirus-quarantines-legal-constitution-new-rochelle" target="_blank">tempered by the Constitution</a>
 (the government cannot confine people arbitrarily and without adequate 
explanation) and by the norms of our society (the impact on liberty 
means that these are considered measures of last resort). Officials in 
the U.S. are more likely to recommend that people voluntarily practice 
social distancing. And even when they do make some aspects of this 
behavior compulsory, these policies aren’t nearly as draconian as they 
would be in an authoritarian system. When&nbsp;Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine
 ordered bars, restaurants and recreation centers closed,&nbsp;he added, “we 
hope that Ohioans will follow this advice. Just as with every other law 
or rule, you can’t enforce it every time.” Compare this to language a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/21/world/asia/china-coronavirus-wuhan.html" target="_blank">Chinese party committee used to discourage citizens from hiding infections</a>:
 “Whoever deliberately delays or conceals reporting for the sake of 
their own interests will be forever nailed to history’s pillar of 
shame.”

Our democratic approach means that we run the risk of our citizens not taking the warnings seriously. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
 observed on Monday that, “There are still too many Americans going out 
to restaurants, bars and other public areas as if this is business as 
usual.” In a way, this is the cost of our freedoms. We’ve been advised, 
whether we are healthy or ill, to practice <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/smarter-living/coronavirus-social-distancing.html?action=click&amp;pgtype=Article&amp;state=default&amp;module=styln-coronavirus&amp;variant=show&amp;region=BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT&amp;context=storyline_guide" target="_blank">social distancing</a>,
 by minimizing contact with other people, limiting nonessential travel, 
working from home and avoiding gatherings. But for most of us, this 
isn’t a mandate. Instead, it’s a choice we make — every time we cancel 
plans, stay in our homes and forego human contact for another day. These
 decisions might not make much of a difference to your personal health 
and safety, but can have an outsized impact on the health and safety of 
others. As the director of the National Institutes of Health, Francis Collins,
 has said, “I think we as a nation have to get into a place of not just 
thinking about ourselves, but thinking about everybody else around us, 
and particularly the most vulnerable people — those who are older and 
those people with chronic diseases. Young people may have a relatively 
low risk of serious illness, kids seem to have a very low risk, but if 
you want to avoid what could be the deaths of hundreds of thousands of 
people, then it is incumbent on all of us to severely limit our social 
interactions. We need to ask the question about every interaction we 
have and whether it is necessary or not.”

It can be quite daunting to realize that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/" target="_blank">flattening the curve</a>
 — slowing the rate of new infections in order to buy researchers more 
time to develop vaccines and give hospitals some respite — is a 
responsibility that falls on all of us as individuals. But the thing 
about democracies is that they’re fundamentally optimistic about human 
nature. We give people civil liberties, knowing full well that some will
 abuse those rights, because we expect that, on the whole, most will use
 them wisely. We protect heinous speech, false information and&nbsp;pointless
 assembly from government crackdowns because we don’t want to risk 
infringing on valuable speech, information and assembly — and with that 
there is&nbsp;an&nbsp;inherent&nbsp;assumption that it’s worth it, that the good 
outweighs the bad.

There is no requirement that you exercise your freedoms responsibly, 
but the fact that you have them reflects the underlying belief that you 
will.

Lata Nott is chief content officer of the Freedom Forum.&nbsp;Contact her via email at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:lnott@freedomforum.org" target="_blank">lnott@freedomforum.org</a>, or follow her on Twitter at&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/latanott" target="_blank">@LataNott</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/1/1579206978168.png" alt="Lata Nott is chief content officer of the Freedom Forum." />
 <figcaption>Lata Nott is chief content officer of the Freedom Forum.</figcaption>
 </figure>In times of crisis, safety and freedom may seem like they’re at odds 
with each other. A society that respects individual liberty can’t 
implement the same kinds of drastic laws and policies that a more 
authoritarian one can.This puts more of an onus on citizens of a democracy to make 
responsible choices. As we face a virus that we can easily pass on 
without realizing it, that may not cause any symptoms in those who are 
young and healthy but is potentially deadly to the elderly and those 
with preexisting conditions, we need to keep in mind that our 
independent media and civil society can be assets in this fight, as long
 as we balance our personal freedoms with care and compassion for each 
other.As I write this column,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html" target="_blank">7,038 people have tested positive for&nbsp;COVID-19 in the United States</a>.
 The highly contagious nature of the virus has led Ohio to postpone its 
presidential primary, Washington and Maryland to shut down all 
restaurants and bars (except for delivery and takeout) and California to
 call for all people 65 and older to shelter inside their homes. More 
than 30 states have closed their schools. On Sunday, the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention recommended that no gatherings of 50 
people or more be held in the U.S. for the next eight weeks. On Monday, 
it amended that&nbsp;warning to apply to gatherings of more than 10 people. 
I’m&nbsp;certain that by the time you read this,&nbsp;there will be more cases of 
COVID-19, as well as more shutdowns, both voluntary and mandated by 
state and local officials.All of this was unimaginable last week. Just last month, the 
coronavirus seemed like a rather distant problem,&nbsp;even though the 
first&nbsp;confirmed case in the U.S. occurred in late January. We had 
several weeks to observe China’s handling of&nbsp;COVID-19&nbsp;and at first,&nbsp;a 
lot&nbsp;of our conversations had a tone of reluctant admiration for 
how&nbsp;swiftly an authoritarian government could&nbsp;act in the face of an 
outbreak. In a matter of days, the Chinese government had quarantined 
entire cities, suspended travel, closed schools and businesses and built
 two new specialized hospitals. What democracy could match&nbsp;that?It didn’t take long for&nbsp;the truth to come to light. Not that the 
Chinese government had been censoring information and violating civil 
liberties — that was sort of a given — but that censoring information 
and violating civil liberties actually made the outbreak worse. China’s 
suppression of news about the outbreak prevented health care 
practitioners and individuals from being able to take appropriate 
precautions and hindered officials from being able to coordinate a 
response. As this <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/03/809965742/personal-essay-from-wuhan-living-in-hell" target="_blank">personal essay</a>
 from an anonymous resident of Wuhan put it, “Before this coronavirus, I
 always thought it was OK to sacrifice some level of democracy and 
freedom for better living conditions. But now I have changed my 
attitude. Without democracy and freedom, the truth of the outbreak in 
Wuhan would never be known.”Of course, now that it’s our turn to deal with the virus, it’s hard 
to argue that we’re doing much better. For weeks, the Trump 
administration downplayed the severity of the situation, contradicting 
public health experts and news media reports and delaying containment 
and mitigation efforts. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/what-went-wrong-with-the-coronavirus-tests/2020/03/07/915f5dea-5d82-11ea-b29b-9db42f7803a7_story.html" target="_blank">According to The Washington Post</a>,
 early problems with manufacturing coronavirus tests, “along with an 
initial decision to test only a narrow set of people and delays in 
expanding testing to other labs, gave the virus a head start to spread 
undetected — and helped perpetuate a false sense of security that leaves
 the United States dangerously behind.” Officials in China are <a href="https://qz.com/1813181/china-is-taking-pleasure-in-us-mishandling-of-coronavirus/" target="_blank">reportedly watching our mishandling of the outbreak</a>
 with a “mix of shock and pleasure. They find it hard to believe that 
the world’s top superpower might be bungling its response to the virus, 
even after having had weeks to prepare for its possible arrival.”&nbsp;As the <a href="https://www.lawfareblog.com/lessons-america-how-south-korean-authorities-used-law-fight-coronavirus" target="_blank">national security law blog Lawfare has pointed out</a>,
 many observers&nbsp;are using the coronavirus as a proxy war for democracies
 versus authoritarian systems. This is,&nbsp;of course, an 
oversimplification, but it does highlight an important truth — civil 
liberties do have an impact on how governments deal with crises. Our 
freedoms of press and speech ensure the free flow of information, but 
they also allow misinformation to spread. And while South Korea, a 
fellow democracy but one with less regard for civil liberties,&nbsp;was able 
to curtail its COVID-19 outbreak by forcibly shutting down&nbsp;a series of 
churches where the virus initially spread, it’s hard to imagine an 
American government official doing the same. Such an action, “might 
register to many Americans as an egregious violation of basic First 
Amendment instincts regarding the freedom of religion, right to assemble
 and separation of church and state.”Our state, city and federal officials do have the power to place people in isolation or quarantine, but that power is <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/3/11/21166621/coronavirus-quarantines-legal-constitution-new-rochelle" target="_blank">tempered by the Constitution</a>
 (the government cannot confine people arbitrarily and without adequate 
explanation) and by the norms of our society (the impact on liberty 
means that these are considered measures of last resort). Officials in 
the U.S. are more likely to recommend that people voluntarily practice 
social distancing. And even when they do make some aspects of this 
behavior compulsory, these policies aren’t nearly as draconian as they 
would be in an authoritarian system. When&nbsp;Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine
 ordered bars, restaurants and recreation centers closed,&nbsp;he added, “we 
hope that Ohioans will follow this advice. Just as with every other law 
or rule, you can’t enforce it every time.” Compare this to language a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/21/world/asia/china-coronavirus-wuhan.html" target="_blank">Chinese party committee used to discourage citizens from hiding infections</a>:
 “Whoever deliberately delays or conceals reporting for the sake of 
their own interests will be forever nailed to history’s pillar of 
shame.”Our democratic approach means that we run the risk of our citizens not taking the warnings seriously. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
 observed on Monday that, “There are still too many Americans going out 
to restaurants, bars and other public areas as if this is business as 
usual.” In a way, this is the cost of our freedoms. We’ve been advised, 
whether we are healthy or ill, to practice <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/smarter-living/coronavirus-social-distancing.html?action=click&amp;pgtype=Article&amp;state=default&amp;module=styln-coronavirus&amp;variant=show&amp;region=BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT&amp;context=storyline_guide" target="_blank">social distancing</a>,
 by minimizing contact with other people, limiting nonessential travel, 
working from home and avoiding gatherings. But for most of us, this 
isn’t a mandate. Instead, it’s a choice we make — every time we cancel 
plans, stay in our homes and forego human contact for another day. These
 decisions might not make much of a difference to your personal health 
and safety, but can have an outsized impact on the health and safety of 
others. As the director of the National Institutes of Health, Francis Collins,
 has said, “I think we as a nation have to get into a place of not just 
thinking about ourselves, but thinking about everybody else around us, 
and particularly the most vulnerable people — those who are older and 
those people with chronic diseases. Young people may have a relatively 
low risk of serious illness, kids seem to have a very low risk, but if 
you want to avoid what could be the deaths of hundreds of thousands of 
people, then it is incumbent on all of us to severely limit our social 
interactions. We need to ask the question about every interaction we 
have and whether it is necessary or not.”It can be quite daunting to realize that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/" target="_blank">flattening the curve</a>
 — slowing the rate of new infections in order to buy researchers more 
time to develop vaccines and give hospitals some respite — is a 
responsibility that falls on all of us as individuals. But the thing 
about democracies is that they’re fundamentally optimistic about human 
nature. We give people civil liberties, knowing full well that some will
 abuse those rights, because we expect that, on the whole, most will use
 them wisely. We protect heinous speech, false information and&nbsp;pointless
 assembly from government crackdowns because we don’t want to risk 
infringing on valuable speech, information and assembly — and with that 
there is&nbsp;an&nbsp;inherent&nbsp;assumption that it’s worth it, that the good 
outweighs the bad.There is no requirement that you exercise your freedoms responsibly, 
but the fact that you have them reflects the underlying belief that you 
will.Lata Nott is chief content officer of the Freedom Forum.&nbsp;Contact her via email at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:lnott@freedomforum.org" target="_blank">lnott@freedomforum.org</a>, or follow her on Twitter at&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/latanott" target="_blank">@LataNott</a>.

FIRST FIVE: In crisis times, balancing safety and freedom

RAPID CITY, S.D. (Rapid City Journal) — Family members of two cousins found dead on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation say they’re saddened, yet relieved to how what happened to the men more than two months after they went missing near Manderson.

 Robert "RJ" Kills Enemy Jr. and Vincent "Stevie" Little Dog were last seen  Dec. 27. Their bodies were found last Friday and on Monday.

 Kills Enemy's mother and Little Dog's aunt, Willene Kills Enemy, says it's a sad time for the family, but there is relief in knowing they have been found. 

The Rapid City Journal reports the Oglala Lakota County Sheriff’s Office, tribal agencies, and many volunteers searched for the cousins. 

Authorities have not said how the men may have died.&nbsp;

RAPID CITY, S.D. (Rapid City Journal) — Family members of two cousins found dead on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation say they’re saddened, yet relieved to how what happened to the men more than two months after they went missing near Manderson. Robert "RJ" Kills Enemy Jr. and Vincent "Stevie" Little Dog were last seen Dec. 27. Their bodies were found last Friday and on Monday. Kills Enemy's mother and Little Dog's aunt, Willene Kills Enemy, says it's a sad time for the family, but there is relief in knowing they have been found. The Rapid City Journal reports the Oglala Lakota County Sheriff’s Office, tribal agencies, and many volunteers searched for the cousins. Authorities have not said how the men may have died.&nbsp;

Family sad, but relieved to have answers to missing cousins

WASHINGTON (AP) — First, some of the coronavirus tests didn’t work. Then there weren’t enough to go around. Now, just as the federal government tries to ramp up nationwide screening, laboratory workers are warning of a new roadblock: dire shortages of testing supplies.

The shortages are the latest stumble in a botched effort to track the spread of coronavirus that has left the U.S. weeks behind many other developed countries. Dwindling supplies include both chemical components and basic swabs needed to collect patient samples.

There are “acute, serious shortages across the board” for supplies needed to do the tests, said Eric Blank, of the Association of Public Health Laboratories, which represents state and local health labs.

Blank said government labs in the U.S. are competing for supplies with larger commercial labs and governments around the world. In conference calls this week with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some lab staff warned that they may have to shut down testing within days due to lack of components, Blank said.

Wide scale testing is a critical part of tracking and containing infectious diseases like COVID-19. But the U.S. effort has been plagued by a series of missteps, including accuracy problems with tests the CDC sent to other labs and bureaucratic hurdles that slowed the entrance of large, private sector labs.

With the virus spreading, officials in the U.S. have shifted focus from tracking the virus to extraordinary measures to blunt its damage. On Thursday California’s governor told its 40 million residents to stay home indefinitely and venture outside only for essential jobs.

But public health experts stress that policymakers are “flying blind” in deciding how to manage the pandemic.

“The only way to get through it without testing is to keep the entire country quarantined for the next 18 months” said Dr. Ashish Jha, a Harvard University global health professor. “That obviously is untenable.”

Jha and his colleagues say the U.S. should be screening 100,000 to 150,000 people per day. The current rate is roughly 20,000 per day, he estimates, though it is accelerating as larger commercial companies ramp up testing.

The director of Missouri’s state lab said Friday that his facility is facing shortages of swabs, liquids to store patient samples and kits to develop the results. Many labs are having similar problems, said Bill Whitmar.

“Quite frankly, 95% to 98% of the talk between lab directors has been about the shortage of supplies,” Whitmar said.

At this point only 500 swabs are available. And the lab only has supplies to last through Tuesday, he reported.

The Jefferson City lab does only a fraction of the coronavirus testing performed in Missouri, with commercial labs now doing the largest share. But Whitmar’s lab is where tests are run on the people most likely to be infected in that state.

The shortages have become a central concern in increasingly urgent communications among governors and federal officials.

“Most of my phone calls today have been about swabs,” Gov. Gina Raimondo said during a Tuesday news conference. “That’s our big issue at the moment.”

The Trump administration’s top health official suggested Friday that the “anecdotal” reports of shortages are caused by confusion about how to find alternative supplies.

“Usually it’s that the lab people do not understand that there are alternative supplies in the marketplace that they are perfectly free to use,” Azar told reporters in a briefing at the White House. He said the federal government is purchasing and shipping swabs to states.

Whitmar, the Missouri lab director, said many suppliers just don’t have the products in stock.

“An order is not a swab in hand,” he said.

The coronavirus test uses a chemical chain reaction to detect tiny traces of the virus’ genetic material and reproduce it many times. State and local health labs follow the technique first developed by the CDC, which calls for a specific genetic kit made by German diagnostic firm Qiagen. Labs around the globe are reporting shortage of those kits.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1584219029698.png" alt="photo Missouri Dept. of Health" />
 <figcaption>photo Missouri Dept. of Health</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — First, some of the coronavirus tests didn’t work. Then there weren’t enough to go around. Now, just as the federal government tries to ramp up nationwide screening, laboratory workers are warning of a new roadblock: dire shortages of testing supplies.The shortages are the latest stumble in a botched effort to track the spread of coronavirus that has left the U.S. weeks behind many other developed countries. Dwindling supplies include both chemical components and basic swabs needed to collect patient samples.There are “acute, serious shortages across the board” for supplies needed to do the tests, said Eric Blank, of the Association of Public Health Laboratories, which represents state and local health labs.Blank said government labs in the U.S. are competing for supplies with larger commercial labs and governments around the world. In conference calls this week with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some lab staff warned that they may have to shut down testing within days due to lack of components, Blank said.Wide scale testing is a critical part of tracking and containing infectious diseases like COVID-19. But the U.S. effort has been plagued by a series of missteps, including accuracy problems with tests the CDC sent to other labs and bureaucratic hurdles that slowed the entrance of large, private sector labs.With the virus spreading, officials in the U.S. have shifted focus from tracking the virus to extraordinary measures to blunt its damage. On Thursday California’s governor told its 40 million residents to stay home indefinitely and venture outside only for essential jobs.But public health experts stress that policymakers are “flying blind” in deciding how to manage the pandemic.“The only way to get through it without testing is to keep the entire country quarantined for the next 18 months” said Dr. Ashish Jha, a Harvard University global health professor. “That obviously is untenable.”Jha and his colleagues say the U.S. should be screening 100,000 to 150,000 people per day. The current rate is roughly 20,000 per day, he estimates, though it is accelerating as larger commercial companies ramp up testing.The director of Missouri’s state lab said Friday that his facility is facing shortages of swabs, liquids to store patient samples and kits to develop the results. Many labs are having similar problems, said Bill Whitmar.“Quite frankly, 95% to 98% of the talk between lab directors has been about the shortage of supplies,” Whitmar said.At this point only 500 swabs are available. And the lab only has supplies to last through Tuesday, he reported.The Jefferson City lab does only a fraction of the coronavirus testing performed in Missouri, with commercial labs now doing the largest share. But Whitmar’s lab is where tests are run on the people most likely to be infected in that state.The shortages have become a central concern in increasingly urgent communications among governors and federal officials.“Most of my phone calls today have been about swabs,” Gov. Gina Raimondo said during a Tuesday news conference. “That’s our big issue at the moment.”The Trump administration’s top health official suggested Friday that the “anecdotal” reports of shortages are caused by confusion about how to find alternative supplies.“Usually it’s that the lab people do not understand that there are alternative supplies in the marketplace that they are perfectly free to use,” Azar told reporters in a briefing at the White House. He said the federal government is purchasing and shipping swabs to states.Whitmar, the Missouri lab director, said many suppliers just don’t have the products in stock.“An order is not a swab in hand,” he said.The coronavirus test uses a chemical chain reaction to detect tiny traces of the virus’ genetic material and reproduce it many times. State and local health labs follow the technique first developed by the CDC, which calls for a specific genetic kit made by German diagnostic firm Qiagen. Labs around the globe are reporting shortage of those kits.Qiagen said this week it is trying to boost production from normal levels, which are capable of testing 1.5 million patients per month, to amounts that would allow for testing more than 10 million patients by the end of June.The World Health Organization has instructed countries to “test, test, test” to track and isolate those carrying the virus. But the evolving message from U.S. decision-makers acknowledges that many suspected cases will likely go untested.The White House has increasingly emphasized that testing should prioritize the elderly and health care workers who have symptoms of the virus. While most cases of COVID-19 are mild and tens of thousands of people have recovered, older people and those with underlying health problems are at higher risk for more serious problems, such as pneumonia.“We don’t want everyone to go out and get a test because there’s no reason for it,” President Donald Trump told reporters in a briefing Friday. (Two weeks ago, Trump declared “anybody who wants a test can get a test.” But his deputies later walked back that statement.)The CDC tells people to seek testing if they have certain symptoms of the flu-like illness caused by the coronavirus – fever, cough and trouble breathing – and if they have traveled recently to an outbreak area or have been in close contact with someone who is infected. They should first be tested for the flu and other routine infections.While doctors are supposed to decide who ultimately gets tested, many state labs have adjusted their guidelines depending on testing availability.The Trump administration is expected to soon announce the rollout of nearly 50 community-based testing centers around the country, including drive-thru sites.Some experts worry the introduction of convenient, mass screening will divert supplies from people with severe symptoms to those who face lower risks.“It’s taking supplies that are already in very short supply away from the testing laboratories that are doing necessary testing,” said Blank, of the public health labs association.___