Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Military Veteran Rios Challenging Costa for Congress in 2026

23 hours ago

OpenAI to Release Web Browser in Challenge to Google Chrome

23 hours ago

Fuel Shortage Threatens to Turn Gaza’s Biggest Hospital Into Graveyard, Doctors Say

23 hours ago

Why Measure C Is Not Measured

23 hours ago

California Highway Patrol Makes 1,311 DUI Arrests During Independence Day Weekend

23 hours ago

Death Toll Reaches at Least 119 in Texas Floods, With 173 Missing

24 hours ago

Nathan Magsig: Why Our Second Amendment Resolution Matters to the People of the Central Valley

24 hours ago

Horse Racing May Be Out at Fresno Fair, but New Events Promise to Pack Grandstands

1 day ago

Wall Street Shakes off Tariff Concerns, Nvidia Leaps to $4 Trillion

1 day ago

Who Will Dyer Support as His Successor? We Asked Him.

1 day ago
Governors Raise Alarm as Coronavirus Taxes Health Systems
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
March 20, 2020

Share

BATON ROUGE, La. — In a day of dizzying developments, governors across the U.S. sounded a perilous alarm about the rapid spread of the new coronavirus and warned of dire consequences for their health care systems.

“Our trajectory is basically the same as what they had in Italy. And if there’s anything I said today that ought to get people’s attention, it is that. If we are not going to look like Italy in 10 days or two weeks, it will only be because of these mitigation measures.” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards
The governor of California issued a statewide stay-at-home order, Pennsylvania’s governor ordered more than 150 types of businesses to close, the governor of Texas closed schools for more than 5 million students and the Louisiana governor delivered a grim assessment of his state to President Donald Trump.
U.S. governors told the president Thursday that their states are in immediate need of federal help as they expand measures to contain the new coronavirus. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said his state’s health system could be overwhelmed in a week.
“Our trajectory is basically the same as what they had in Italy. And if there’s anything I said today that ought to get people’s attention, it is that,” the Democratic governor said. “If we are not going to look like Italy in 10 days or two weeks, it will only be because of these mitigation measures.”
In a conference call with other governors, Edwards warned Trump of the “worst-case scenario” modeling. But he also told reporters that Louisiana was on track for that “sobering” reality if the state’s residents don’t actively work to decrease contact with others — staying home more and distancing themselves from people.

Newsom Said Infection Rates Are Doubling Every Four Days in Some Parts of the State

Louisiana had nearly 400 positive tests for COVID-19 Thursday, up from 280 a day earlier, Edwards said. Ten people have died.
Sobering projections for infections and hospitalizations prompted governors across the country to take their toughest actions to date to try to control the outbreak.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said infection rates are doubling every four days in some parts of the state and issued the dire prediction that 56% of the state’s population — equal to 22.4 million people — could contract the virus over the next eight weeks.
His order late Thursday restricted non-essential movement for all residents.
“This is a moment we need to make tough decisions,” Newsom said. “We need to recognize reality.”
Earlier in the day, he asked congressional leaders for $1 billion in initial federal funding to help the nation’s most populous state fight the virus. He also asked for the federal government to deploy the USNS Mercy Hospital Ship to the port of Los Angeles to help the state “decompress” its health care system, predicting that California would be thousands of hospital beds short of meeting the demand.
In their teleconference with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, governors pressed for more supplies — masks and other protective equipment for medical professionals, test kits and life-saving supplies such as ventilators.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said she wanted better coordination between the federal government and the states regarding the supply chain for essential medical equipment.
“Where is it, who is making it and where is it getting deployed?” said Grisham’s spokesman, Tripp Stelnicki. “There really needs to be more clear communication.”

Photo of Gov. Larry Hogan
Maryland Gov. Larrry Hogan Hogan gives an update on the coronavirus pandemic Thursday, March 19, 2020 at the State House in Annapolis. He said the state Department of Transportation will restrict access to BWI-Thurgood Marshall terminal to ticketed passengers and necessary personnel. (Amy Davis/The Baltimore Sun via AP) )

Governors Also Asked for Additional Oversight of Their National Guard Units

The White House disputed governors’ claims that they could not get equipment but offered help to states that were struggling to acquire materials such as test swabs and processing agents.

“We need all levels of government working together to get through this crisis.” — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, chairman of the National Governors Association
Governors also asked for additional oversight of their National Guard units, mostly to have more leeway to deploy them for humanitarian purposes. They want Guard units to help run mobile screening facilities, disinfect public spaces and distribute medical supplies such as gloves, gowns and face shields.
“We need all levels of government working together to get through this crisis,” said Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, chairman of the National Governors Association.
Urgent developments accelerated throughout the day, as more governors made sweeping recommendations for residents to avoid public spaces or greatly limit their exposure to others.
In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf tightened his directives to businesses to shut down, issuing a dire warning and saying that all “non-life-sustaining” businesses in the state must close their physical locations by 8 p.m. to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Enforcement actions against businesses that do not close their physical locations will begin Saturday, Wolf said in a statement.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued an executive order calling on all nonessential state employees to stay home.

Maryland Has Waived State Requirements so Driver’s Licenses Won’t Expire

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ordered health care providers to postpone elective surgeries and other medical procedures so they can focus on responding to the anticipated surge of coronavirus cases.
“The greatest risk we face during the COVID-19 pandemic is overwhelming our health care systems and limiting their ability to respond to emerging cases,” Walz said in a statement.
Hogan said governors also are requesting a delay or greater flexibility for completing the 2020 census and the transition to Real ID.
Maryland has waived state requirements so driver’s licenses won’t expire during the state of emergency to prevent crowds at Motor Vehicle Administration offices, he said. However, federal law requires Real ID compliance by Oct. 1. Hogan said governors don’t want people coming to MVAs with the documents they need to present in person to be in compliance.
“Other governors all agreed and said, ‘Yes, that’s a big problem for all of us.’ So, we’re just asking to push the pause button on all these things that require interaction with people where they would spread the disease,” Hogan said.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

US Lawmakers Renew Concerns About GenScript’s Ties to China

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Man Sentenced to 13 Years in Fiery DUI Crash That Killed One, Injured Several

DON'T MISS

‘Hollywood-Level Scares’ at Immersive Horror Attraction Coming to Fresno This Halloween

DON'T MISS

Hiker Rescued by Helicopter After Injury on Pacific Crest Trail in Kern County

DON'T MISS

US Military Delivering Some Weapons to Ukraine After Pause

DON'T MISS

Qantas Confirms Personal Data of Over a Million Customers Leaked in Breach

DON'T MISS

US Sanctions UN Expert Critical of Israel’s War in Gaza

DON'T MISS

Madera County Structure Fire Spreads to Vegetation in Coarsegold Area, Evacuations Ordered

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Guadalupe Gilberto Moreno

DON'T MISS

Blackstone Businesses Demand Fresno Homeless Orgs Stop Drop-Offs on Private Property

UP NEXT

Madera County Structure Fire Spreads to Vegetation in Coarsegold Area, Evacuations Ordered

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Guadalupe Gilberto Moreno

UP NEXT

Madera Driver ‘Extremely Intoxicated’ in Crash, Arrested for DUI

UP NEXT

Fresno Breaks Ground on ‘Long Overdue’ 911 Center

UP NEXT

Motorcyclist Down After Losing Control at Fresno Intersection

UP NEXT

Why Measure C Is Not Measured

UP NEXT

Horse Racing May Be Out at Fresno Fair, but New Events Promise to Pack Grandstands

UP NEXT

Who Will Dyer Support as His Successor? We Asked Him.

UP NEXT

Tulare County Task Force Uncovers Chop Shop During Stolen Vehicle Investigation

UP NEXT

Fresno Woman Sentenced to Prison for DUI Crash That Killed One, Injured Three

Tiger-Striped Trixie Is a Pro When It Comes to Taking Cozy Naps

40 minutes ago

Democrats Release Texts, Emails to Boost Claims Trump Nominee Urged Defiance of Courts

48 minutes ago

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 16-Year-Old Girl

52 minutes ago

Ford Recalls More Than 850,000 Vehicles in US Over Fuel Pump Defect

1 hour ago

Walmart Recalls Ozark Trail Bottles After Three Reported Injuries, US Agency Says

1 hour ago

FEMA Is Holding Up $2.4 Billion in Grants to Fight Terrorism, States Say

1 hour ago

US Coffee, Orange Juice Prices Could Surge if Trump’s Brazil Tariffs Stick

1 hour ago

Trump’s Tariffs: What’s in Effect and What Could Be in Store?

2 hours ago

Israeli Strike Kills Children Near Gaza Clinic With No Immediate Truce in Sight

2 hours ago

Judge Blocks Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Order Despite Supreme Court Ruling

2 hours ago

Froot Loops Maker WK Kellogg Agrees to $3.1 Billion Deal From Italy’s Ferrero

WK Kellogg on Thursday agreed to be bought by the owner of Ferrero Rocher in a deal worth around $3.1 billion, uniting two of the world̵...

20 minutes ago

Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, owned by Kellogg Company, is seen for sale in a store in Queens, New York City, U.S., February 7, 2022. (Reuters File)
20 minutes ago

Froot Loops Maker WK Kellogg Agrees to $3.1 Billion Deal From Italy’s Ferrero

28 minutes ago

China Signals Willingness to Sell Fighter Jets as Iran Eyes J-10 Aircraft

Tulare County deputies arrested Sotero Flores, 47, of Ivanhoe, in connection with a shooting in Ivanhoe that injured a man, while a second suspect, Rigoberto Lopez, 32, of Ivanhoe, remains at large. (Tulare County SO)
37 minutes ago

Tulare County Man Arrested in Ivanhoe Shooting, Second Suspect Still at Large

40 minutes ago

Tiger-Striped Trixie Is a Pro When It Comes to Taking Cozy Naps

Attorney Emil Bove looks on as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump appears remotely for a sentencing hearing in front of New York State Judge Juan Merchan in the criminal case in which he was convicted in 2024 on charges involving hush money paid to a porn star, at New York Criminal Court in Manhattan in New York City, U.S., on January 10, 2025.
48 minutes ago

Democrats Release Texts, Emails to Boost Claims Trump Nominee Urged Defiance of Courts

Fresno police are searching for 16-year-old Giselle Botello Guzman, who was last seen June 15 and may be traveling between Fresno, Hanford, and Lemoore with a teenage male. (Fresno PD)
52 minutes ago

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 16-Year-Old Girl

A Ford logo is seen on the Ford Motor World headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, U.S., March 12, 2025. (Reuters/Rebecca Cook)
1 hour ago

Ford Recalls More Than 850,000 Vehicles in US Over Fuel Pump Defect

Shopping carts are lined up inside a Walmart store in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, January 28, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio/File photo
1 hour ago

Walmart Recalls Ozark Trail Bottles After Three Reported Injuries, US Agency Says

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend