In other news, the Dow closed down 1,400 points today, dropping below 24,000 and entering bear market territory ending a run that lasted from 2009 to today. Thanks Obama.
Meanwhile, layoffs connected to the coronavirus are starting to trickle in by the hundreds.
Finally, the NY Times tells the story of how doctors in Seattle had to break government regulations to detect the first cases of the coronavirus because officials wouldn't let them test.
In late January, the first confirmed American case of the coronavirus had landed in her area. Critical questions needed answers: Had the man infected anyone else? Was the deadly virus already lurking in other communities and spreading?
As luck would have it, Dr. Chu had a way to monitor the region. For months, as part of a research project into the flu, she and a team of researchers had been collecting nasal swabs from residents experiencing symptoms throughout the Puget Sound region.
To repurpose the tests for monitoring the coronavirus, they would need the support of state and federal officials. But nearly everywhere Dr. Chu turned, officials repeatedly rejected the idea, interviews and emails show, even as weeks crawled by and outbreaks emerged in countries outside of China, where the infection began.
By Feb. 25, Dr. Chu and her colleagues could not bear to wait any longer. They began performing coronavirus tests, without government approval.
What came back confirmed their worst fear. They quickly had a positive test from a local teenager with no recent travel history. The coronavirus had already established itself on American soil without anybody realizing it.
Programming note... I'm sick to my stomach today so I'm signing off a little early. I'm sure I'll be fine tomorrow.