March 25 coronavirus news

Catholic Health Services, which is comprised of six acute care hospitals on Long Island, New York, tells CNN they are now in need of isolation gowns, procedural masks with and without face shields, and N95 respirators of all sizes.

Just last week when asked about the personal protective equipment supply, CHS' chief medical officer told CNN: “We are backed up and supply is stocked.”

On Wednesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said New York state has “enough PPE” for all hospitals statewide for about the next two weeks, but some hospitals are now experiencing shortages.   

The state has not secured supply for hospitals to utilize three weeks from now and beyond, "but we're still shopping," he said.

Italy has recorded 683 deaths in the past day, with a total number of 7,503 fatalities from coronavirus, according to the civil protection agency.

In total, Italy has reported at least 74,386 cases of coronavirus.

A draft of the Senate’s stimulus bill makes it clear that some of the efforts to combat coronavirus are intended to help prevent future outbreaks and ensure the government is more prepared for the next pandemic.

According to a draft obtained by CNN, the Centers for Disease Control will get an additional $4.3 billion through fiscal year 2024 “to proven, prepare for and respond to coronavirus” That money includes at least $1.5 billion for grants for states and localities to “carry out surveillance, epidemiology, laboratory capacity, infection control, mitigation, communications and other preparedness.”

The Senate bill also requires the government create a device shortage list, ordering the Strategic National Stockpile to require certain types of medical supplies. The bill asks the National Academies to issue a report on America’s medical product supply chain security.

The legislation includes a provision creating a new Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery, according to a draft of the bill obtained by CNN. 

The position, which is within the Treasury Department and Senate confirmable, is tasked with auditing and investigating the loans, loan guarantees and other investments made by the Treasury Secretary under the programs in the stimulus bill. The office is being given a $25 million budget.

The inspector general is designated to keep track of the loans issued, the justification given by the Treasury Secretary for making them, how much of the loans are outstanding and any losses or gains the government has incurred. The legislation instructs the inspector general to provide quarterly reports to Congress summarizing its activities and an up-to-date accounting of the loans and other transactions.

An additional 407 cases of coronavirus and 19 deaths have been reported in Louisiana.

There are at least 1,795 coronavirus cases and 65 deaths in the state.

Orleans Parish, which includes the city of New Orleans, has at least 827 coronavirus cases and 37 deaths.

Spain's deputy prime minister, Carmen Calvo, has tested positive for Covid-19, the prime minister's office said in a statement.

She had tested negative in previous tests, the statement said, but doctors didn't think those provided conclusive data.

Calvo is receiving medical treatment and progressing favorably, the statement said. She's in quarantine at a hospital.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has four deputy prime ministers. Calvo is the second in command to Sanchez and considered the most powerful of the deputy prime ministers.

The stimulus bill includes limits on raises and compensation for high-paid employees at businesses receiving assistance from the federal government, including potential cuts in pay to those making more than $3 million, according to a draft bill text obtained by CNN.

The legislation includes a prohibition on anyone making more than $425,000 at businesses getting government help from receiving an increase in total compensation from 2019. It also limits severance pay to more than “twice the maximum total compensation received by the officer or employee from the eligible business in calendar year 2019.”

In addition, for those making more than $3 million at businesses receiving funds, the bill states they will only receive 50% of the compensation they received in 2019 above $3 million. That means that someone who received $5 million in compensation in 2019 would only be allowed to make $4 million this year. 

The bill defines total compensation as “salary, bonuses, awards of stock and other financial benefits.”

Similar compensation limitations were included in the section of the legislation specifically dealing with funds being provided to the airline industry.

All travelers returning to Canada will have to enter a 14-day mandatory quarantine as of midnight Wednesday as the country deals with a significant spike in coronavirus cases and hundreds of thousands of people return home to Canada by both air and land border crossings.

Canadian officials did not provide much detail as to how they would enforce this order. Canadian public health officials have been recommending the quarantine for travelers for several days.

Canada also announced it was nearly doubling its financial support to workers during the Covid-19 crisis with at least $36 billion being distributed directly to workers affected by the pandemic. This will mean that a family of four could collect as much as $3,100 per month for at least four months through a combination of a wage subsidy and a child benefit.

Fourteen million US jobs could be lost by this summer as businesses shutter in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Economic Policy Institute predicts in a new report.

That's more than 10% of all private sector jobs lost, the group writes. Retail, leisure and hospitality are expected to take the biggest hits.

These sectors "are likely to be disproportionately affected by the social distancing measures that are needed to slow this pandemic," said Julia Wolfe and David Cooper, Senior Economic Analysts at the EPI. "States like Nevada, Montana and Hawaii are projected to lose the highest percentage of their employment because a large amount of their workforce is employed in leisure, hospitality and retail sectors."

The EPI also estimates the US will need "at least $2.1 trillion in federal stimulus through 2020 to restore the country to reasonable economic health."

Even with $2 trillion, the group added that "many people will still need to remain out of work, potentially for months, in order to stop the virus's spread."