Coronavirus US live: Trump rants at Pelosi and other politicians as deaths climb past 2,500

Maryland had already closed non-essential businesses to help mitigate the spread of coronavirus, but this “stay at home” order escalates restrictions on state residents.

“We are no longer asking or suggesting that Marylanders stay home,” said Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. “We are directing them to do so.”

Hogan warned that violating the order, which directs residents to only leave their homes for essential activities, could result in fines or imprisonment.

Maryland’s “stay at home” order goes into effect at 8 pm tonight, and it orders residents not to leave their homes except for essential activities.

Hogan argued the federal government should prioritize combatting the virus in the DC region because “a major outbreak among our critical federal workforce could be crippling to the response.”

“This is a rapidly escalating situation,” Hogan warned of the number of coronavirus cases in the region.

The Guardian’s Sam Levine reports:

Trump admitted Monday that efforts to make it easier to vote amid the covid-19 pandemic would hurt Republicans.

Trump was referring to Democratic efforts to include provisions in the $2.2 tn stimulus bill to require each state to establish universal vote by mail, early voting, among other measures.

“The things they had in there were crazy. They had things, levels of voting that if you’d ever agreed to it, you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again,” Trump said during an appearance on Fox and Friends.

“They had things in there about election days and what you do and all sorts of clawbacks. They had things that were just totally crazy and had nothing to do with workers that lost their jobs and companies that we have to save.”

Trump’s comments underscore widespread GOP-opposition to measures that make it easier to vote. House Democrats pushed the provisions as states around the country have struggled to balance restrictions on social gatherings with public health risks.

Around the country, poll workers have dropped out on election day over concerns of contracting the virus. The provisions ultimately weren’t included in the bill, but Democrats helped secure $400 million to help states fund elections. While that’s a fraction of the up to $2 billion the Brennan Center for Justice estimates state election officials need, advocacy groups have said they will continue to push for more money.

The Navy hospital ship Comfort has arrived in New York harbor, where it will help treat non-coronavirus patients to allow the city’s overrun hospitals to focus on combatting the pandemic.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he was in New York City to receive a briefing about the hospital ship, which has 1,000 beds, upon its arrival.

At least one Republian lawmaker is now suggesting Richard Burr should lose his chairmanship of the Senate intelligence committee because of his suspicious stock trades.

Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida, a close Trump ally, said Republicans “need to do a better job cleaning our own house” after CNN reported the Justice Department is investigating the trades.

Burr has called on the Senate ethics committee to investigate the trades, but the panel works slowly and is often reluctant to dole out any kind of punishment.

The Justice Department is now reportedly investigating some lawmakers’ stock trades in the weeks before coronavirus wreaked havoc on US markets.

ProPublica reported earlier this month that Republican senator Richard Burr dumped up to $1.7 million in stock last month, while he was receiving briefings on coronavirus. The transactions raised concerns that lawmakers were trying to profit off the pandemic.

The Justice Department has reached out to Burr about the trades, according to CNN:

The inquiry, which is still in its early stages and being done in coordination with the Securities and Exchange Commission, has so far included outreach from the FBI to at least one lawmaker, Sen. Richard Burr, seeking information about the trades, according to one of the sources. …

There’s no indication that any of the sales, including Burr’s, broke any laws or ran afoul of Senate rules. But the sales have come under fire after senators received closed-door briefings about the virus over the past several weeks — before the market began trending downward. It is routine for the FBI and SEC to review stock trades when there is public question about their propriety.

Burr has claimed he relied on public reports to guide his stock trades and asked the Senate ethics committee to investigate the matter.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan warned the Washington metropolitan area could be in the “next wave of hotspots.”

The governor told Fox News that coronavirus cases in the region have more than quadrupled over the past week.

“We look a lot where New York was just a couple weeks ago,” the Maryland Republican said.

Maryland has already seen more than 1,200 coronavirus cases and at least 15 deaths linked to the virus.

Hogan is holding a press conference in about a half an hour to give further updates on the state’s response to the pandemic.

Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin voiced support for providing hazard pay to medical professionals, an idea that Trump also entertained during his “Fox and Friends” interview this morning.

“I think I agree with the president, I think that makes a lot of sense,” Mnuchin said of the proposal. “When we get to the next bill in Congress, that’s definitely something we will put in the next bill.”

During his Fox interview this morning, Trump took a question from a nurse named Wendy, who noted she does not qualify for the coronavirus stimulus bill.

Asked whether he had considered hazard pay, Trump said his administration is “looking at that” and urging hospitals to think about bonuses.

The Navy hospital ship Comfort is arriving in New York, where it will help treat non-coronavirus patients as the city’s hopsitals grapple with the pandemic.

Both the Comfort and the Mercy, which is now docked in Los Angeles, have 1,000 hospital beds and 12 operating rooms to attend to patients who are not infected with the virus.

The extra beds are desperately needed, especially in New York, where ICUs are already facing occupancy issues, even though the city has likely not yet hits its peak of coronavirus cases.

This is Joan Greve in Washington, taking over for Martin Pengelly.

Joe Biden has launched a new podcast, and the first episode is unsurprisingly about coronavirus and Trump’s response to the pandemic.

The Democratic presidential candidate sat down with Ron Klain, his former chief of staff and the former White House Ebola response coordinator.

In the interview, Biden spoke about his campaign suspending all in-person events in recent weeks amid the pandemic. “It’s just not worth it to go out there and take a chance at getting sick or further spreading the virus,” Biden said.

The former vice president also issued a statement last night calling on Trump to use the Defense Production Act in the next 48 hours to speed up the production of medical supplies.

One last question: how can we pray for you?

Trump would love that, he says, he praises the evangelical communities, the communities of faith who “were on my side in the last election as you know”.

The New York Times reported yesterday on coronavirus cases, fear and confusion among students at the evangelical Liberty University in Virginia, who were told to come back despite the public shutdown.

Here’s our piece about how churchgoers all over the world are ignoring physical distancing advice:

How is the Trump family coping, Kilmeade asks. Trump says his son Barron, 14, is not unhappy with having to be schooled at home.

Now Trump’s on to what he knows about Elmhurst hospital in his native Queens, in New York, and its “body bags and refrigerated trucks”. He discussed that in the Rose Garden yesterday.