It begins: California county bans mass gatherings as coronavirus spreads Presented by

With Sarah Owermohle

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Quick Fix

— One California county took forceful action to ban mass gatherings amid coronavirus spread, while another ended quarantines as the reality of community spread sinks in.

— President Donald Trump and his team are considering measures to stabilize the economy after coronavirus fears spurred days of market losses.

— It’s another election day, as Michigan, Washington and four other states hold Democratic primaries or a caucus today.

A message from PhRMA: Today, there are several promising vaccine candidates in stage three clinical trials. These trials have tens of thousands of participants, from every walk of life. From development to robust clinical trials, and throughout manufacturing, these vaccine candidates follow the same rigorous process of other vaccines that have saved millions of lives. More.

THIS IS TUESDAY PULSE — Where this coronavirus-related press conference from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was ... really something. (PULSE wasn't sure if the vibe was more C-SPAN or Home Shopping Network.)

Send tips to [email protected] and [email protected]. And heads-up to PULSE readers: You can sign up for POLITICO Nightly: Coronavirus Special Edition, which provides a daily update on how the illness is affecting politics, markets, public health and more.

Driving the Day

IT BEGINS: SANTA CLARA COUNTY BANS MASS GATHERINGS — Officials at the heart of Silicon Valley are outlawing large public gatherings for three weeks, POLITICO’s Kevin Yamamura reports. The order begins Wednesday, applies to gatherings of at least 1,000 people and carries criminal penalties for noncompliance. It’s also thought to be the most forceful move in the nation yet.

— "This is a big decision to issue a legal order such as this," county health officer Sara Cody said at a press conference Monday evening. "We needed to carefully consider it. I think over the last five days, the uptick in cases, particularly those where we found no link to travel or other cases ... that is a tipping point for us and it's time to issue an order."

Cody said 21 cases — nearly half of the county's total — are now believed to have been contracted through community contact.

Several pro and major college sports teams — including the NHL's San Jose Sharks, which had previously flouted Cody’s advice — could end up playing in front of empty stadiums.

— "We are light years away from a few weeks ago," when San Francisco went forward with a massive Lunar New Year parade, said Balaji Srinivasan, an angel investor who was eyed as potential FDA commissioner a few years ago — and has been among the most prominent voices in Silicon Valley warning of the need for coronavirus planning and protections.

MEANWHILE: SACRAMENTO COUNTY ENDS 14-DAY QUARANTINES — It’s a shift toward accepting that coronavirus is in the community and there's no turning back, Kevin writes.

— Instead, the county says it's moving to mitigation. The change relieves health care workers and first responders from having to quarantine, which means they can work if they don't develop respiratory symptoms, potentially a way to ensure hospitals have enough people to treat the most vulnerable.

CLOSER TO HOME: THE SEC TELLS D.C. EMPLOYEES TO TELEWORK — The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday warned employees that they should work from home given that an employee was treated for symptoms of coronavirus, Renae Merle reports for the Washington Post. The SEC is the first major federal employer to recommend telework amid the virus’ spread.

SCOTT GOTTLIEB: "I THINK THE NEXT TWO WEEKS ARE GOING TO BE VERY DIFFICULT" — The former FDA commissioner told the USA Today editorial board that the country's mood and approach could shift as coronavirus infections likely climb in the coming days.

"What we're going to need to do right now is ask local governments and state governments to act in the national interest," Gottlieb said. "Seattle has to shut down its economy not just because of Seattle, but to help save New York and to help save Dallas. And that's a hard thing to ask a local government to do."

NANCY PELOSI: NO PLANS TO RECESS CONGRESS FOR CORONAVIRUS YET — The House Speaker on Monday night affirmed that members would keep working, especially given the Trump administration's push for a fiscal stimulus and other financial measures intended to defray the impact of the coronavirus. (More on that in a moment.)

— "At the present time, there is no reason for us not to continue with our vital legislative work in the Capitol," Pelosi told her colleagues on Monday night, adding that the attending physician, chief administrative officer and sergeant at arms would brief members at a Democratic Party meeting on Tuesday morning.

TRUMP PLEDGES FINANCIAL HELP TO COUNTER CORONAVIRUS LOSSES — The president said he will propose a temporary payroll tax cut and paid leave for hourly employees unable to work due to the coronavirus — the most concrete step the president has taken so far to address the economic volatility and uncertainty the virus has unleashed on the United States, POLITICO’s Nancy Cook reports.

— Trump’s top economic aides are hitting the Hill today. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow are planning to brief Senate Republicans on the various fiscal stimulus options. Republican Sen. John Cornyn told POLITICO on Monday that “it’s too early to know” if the U.S. economy needs this type of government help.

THE WHITE HOUSE EYES CRACKDOWN ON CRUISE INDUSTRY — Officials will review a plan by the cruise ship industry before deciding whether to further limit cruises during the duration of the coronavirus outbreak, POLITICO’s Dan Diamond first reported.

Health officials have pushed for further measures to lock down cruises amid the virus’ spread, give that the ships have been a vector for disease and that about one in three passengers is age 60 or older, putting them at elevated risk for coronavirus-related complications.

TRUMP HASN’T BEEN TESTED FOR CORONAVIRUS YET — That’s what the White House told reporters after an attendee at the Conservative Political Action Conference eventually tested positive for the disease. Trump attended CPAC and has interacted with multiple people who previously interacted with the infected person.

"The President has not received COVID-19 testing because he has neither had prolonged close contact with any known confirmed COVID-19 patients, nor does he have any symptoms. President Trump remains in excellent health, and his physician will continue to closely monitor him," said White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham according to a pool report.

In Congress

E&C LAWMAKERS ASK FOR FDA BRIEFING ON POSSIBLE SHORTAGES — House Energy and Commerce leaders want a briefing from FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn on the agency’s efforts to stem potential drug and medical device shortages linked to the coronavirus. Other questions they have: How FDA is ensuring supply chain safety now that facility inspections have stalled in China, the epicenter of the viral outbreak, and how the agency is tracking at-risk products.

Hahn has already told Congress that no vaccines are made in China but that the outbreak is likely to impact the supply chain. FDA has already announced one shortage linked to the outbreak and said that there are 20 drug products either solely manufactured in China or made with a basic ingredient solely made in China.

“The world is counting on our public health agencies to respond quickly and effectively to address this outbreak,” wrote E&C Chairman Frank Pallone, ranking member Greg Walden, health subcommittee chair Anna Eshoo and ranking member Michael Burgess, and oversight subcommittee chair Diana DeGette and ranking member Brett Guthrie.

WARREN, MARKEY DEMAND ANSWERS TO 'NONSENSICAL' TRUMP PRESSER, MANAGEMENT — Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey are asking Vice President Mike Pence to explain President Donald Trump's rambling and misleading comments at a CDC press conference, in a letter shared first with POLITICO.

— In Trump's wide-ranging comments on Friday, the president falsely claimed that "anybody that needs a test, gets a test" for coronavirus — even as hospitals and doctors clamored for more access — and said that he preferred to keep coronavirus-stricken Americans aboard a cruise ship in order to keep "the numbers" low. Trump also discussed Fox News ratings, attacked Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, mused about becoming a scientist and appeared to compare the CDC’s fumbled coronavirus response to his own impeachment.

— The comments alarmed Warren and Markey, who said they have deeper questions about Trump's management of the viral outbreak, citing reports by POLITICO and other outlets about his decisions.

"This series of false, politicized, and nonsensical statements by the President are deeply troubling," the Massachusetts Democrats write in their letter to Pence. "Friday's press conference was a disservice to the nation and the non-partisan scientists and public health experts at the CDC and across the federal government."

UP TO $125 MILLION IN SEED MONEY FROM GATES, WELLCOME, MASTERCARD — The three organizations are announcing the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, intended to speed up development and rollout of treatments, including in low-resource nations. The multi-pronged approach will include testing approved drugs for activity against the coronavirus and screening libraries of compounds, as well as working with industry partners and regulators.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome will each commit up to $50 million to the initiative; Mastercard will commit up to $25 million.The Gates Foundation’s funding is part of its previous $100 million commitment to fighting the new coronavirus.

"Investing now, at scale, at risk and as a collective global effort is vital if we are to change the course of this epidemic," Wellcome’s Jeremy Farrar said in a statement. "We welcome others to join us in this effort."

2020 Watch

IT’s ELECTION DAY IN SIX STATES — And Joe Biden appears set to win Michigan, the biggest prize today. (Although Hillary Clinton had a similar lead on Sen. Bernie Sanders in the state four years ago, before Sanders scored a major upset.)

— Washington state is voting today too, but the state’s entirely vote-by-mail, a major advantage as officials try to get a handle on the local spread of coronavirus, CNN’s Kate Sullivan reports.

Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri and North Dakota also are holding elections today.

— What PULSE is watching: Whether coronavirus fears affect turnout, and what the exit polls say about voters’ stance on health care and the virus’ spread.

JAMES BIDEN’s HEALTH CARE VENTURES FACE A GROWING LEGAL MORASS — The younger brother of Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden had promised potential partners in 2017 and 2018 that his last name could open doors and that Joe Biden was excited about the public policy implications of their health care business models, according to court filings and interviews with James' former business contacts, POLITICO’s Ben Schrekinger reports. Now there’s a growing legal mess around those investments, which some Republicans are looking to exploit in attacks on Joe Biden’s campaign, Ben writes.

A message from PhRMA: America’s biopharmaceutical companies are making great progress against a common enemy – COVID-19. They’re learning from successful vaccines for other diseases, developing new treatments and collaborating like never before. Today, there are several promising vaccine candidates in stage three clinical trials. These trials have tens of thousands of participants, from every walk of life. From development to robust clinical trials, and throughout manufacturing, these vaccine candidates follow the same rigorous process of other vaccines that have saved millions of lives. America’s biopharmaceutical companies are working day and night until they defeat COVID-19. Because science is how we get back to normal.

Names in the News

JENNIFER McGUIGAN BABCOCK now senior VP, Medicaid policy at Association for Community Affiliated Plans. Babcock has held several other roles during her 13-year ACAP tenure, including VP for exchanges.



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