Summary Here’s a summary of the latest events: Trump dismisses report on early coronavirus warnings as ‘inaccurate’. The US president dismissed a Washington Post story that stated his administration was informed back in January that coronavirus was likely to become a pandemic, calling it a disgrace” at today’s coronavirus task force press briefing. Disaster declared in New York as fears grow over lack of ventilators. New York state governor Andrew Cuomo said the state is “scouring the globe” in search of medical supplies after the state has emerged as the center of the US coronavirus outbreak. White House economic response package could reach $2tn. Trump administrations officials are proposing a government financial response to the coronavirus crisis that could be worth as much as $2tn in an effort to stimulate the staggering US economy. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell says lawmakers expect terms to be finalized late Saturday night and intends to hold a vote on Monday. Updated at 10.04pm GMT FacebookTwitter 6h ago 21:44 New Hampshire’s largest hospital is taking an intrepid approach toward the personal protective equipment shortage that has dominated the headlines in the early days of the coronavirus crisis. Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center is encouraging volunteers to sew face masks for patients, visitors and staff using pre-prepared kits with fabric and elastic for pickup. The hospital has set up a website that includes instructions on how to sew the mask using CDC guidelines. A hospital spokesperson says the masks will be sanitized and distributed throughout the Dartmouth-Hitchcock health system in New Hampshire and Vermont. Kristin Roth, the DHMC’s director of volunteer services, says the response has been robust “We were being inundated with questions about: How can I help?” she says. A devastating story out of New Orleans today could offer a corrective to the misconception that coronavirus only kills the old and immunocompromised. Natasha Ott, 39, felt the beginnings of a cold coming on 11 days ago. On Monday, she was tested for coronavirus and failing to shake symptoms consistent with the new strain. On Friday, she was found dead in her kitchen before the results were returned. Ott’s partner says the dearth of available tests “shows how ill-equipped New Orleans is to handle a pandemic that has already claimed 16 lives and infected nearly 600 people across the state”. Unlike many news organisations, we chose a different approach: to keep the Guardian’s independent journalism open to everyone around the world. In these extraordinary times, we believe every one of us deserves equal access to accurate news and calm explanation. Thanks to your support, we’re able to stay free of a paywall, our journalism available for all. No matter how unsettled the future feels, the Guardian will remain with you, delivering quality, measured, authoritative reporting. We hope to help all of us make critical decisions about our lives, health and security – based on fact, not fiction. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – and it only takes a minute. Thank you. Make a contribution - The Guardian As the Senate scrambled to settle by Saturday night on the terms of a bipartisan agreement on a more than $1tn bill aimed at getting Americans through the coronavirus crisis, a feeding frenzy has broken out among lobbyists representing airlines, hotels, cruise lines, casinos and other powerful interests who want a taste of the action. Our Peter Stone checks in from Washington: The Republican bill provides passenger airlines and air cargo carriers up to $58bn in loans, while a mix of hotels, cruise ships, shopping malls and other sectors were given $150bn to help weather the economic downturn. Hours before the Republican measure was released, Trump said he expected the package would provide help for the airlines, cruise lines and “probably hotels”. On Tuesday, Trump met with hotel industry executives who reportedly asked for $150bn in help and another $100bn for their suppliers. Watchdog groups are raising red flags about the $50bn loan package for America’s big passenger airlines which in recent years have drawn growing consumer complaints, while spending tens of billions on stock buybacks. And the $150bn in the Republican bill for the well-connected hotel industry – which Trump’s family business is heavily engaged in – and other industries have also generated criticism. “An emergency like this highlights the inequities of a system where well-connected industries can lobby directly for specific carve-outs and potentially cushion wealthy executives,” said Robert Maguire, research director at the watchdog Crew. Here’s our David Smith’s report from the White House today on Donald Trump’s response to the Washington Post report that he ignored early warnings from US intelligence agencies about the threat posed by the coronavirus outbreak in China. As the novel coronavirus makes its way into America’s heartland, the Kansas City Star warns that many towns are woefully undermanned for what’s ahead. Eleven of Kansas’ 105 counties have no hospital at all, according to a data analysis published on Friday by Kaiser Health News. More than a third of the state’s 114 counties are without one. Mankato is the county seat of Jewell County, which has the highest percentage of elderly residents in Kansas: Nearly 30 percent of its 2,850 residents are age 65 or older. The median age is 53, compared to 38 in Johnson County. Coronavirus affects the elderly particularly hard. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 80% of Americans who have died from Covid-19 have been age 65 or older. Though isolated from large urban areas – the nearest city of any size, Hastings, Nebraska (population about 25,000) is more than an hour’s drive to the north – Jewell County residents are taking the threat seriously. Locals understand the challenge that they’re facing. With 25 beds, Jewell County Hospital is preparing for the worst. But it will be hobbled in the fight. Only six of its 25 beds are available for treating acute patients at any one time. The rest are occupied by people in need of long-term care. There are no doctors on staff day to day. They both commute regularly from a town 30 minutes away. And there is only one ventilator, a recent cast-off from the emergency services agency that hospital staff are only now learning how to use. “We definitely have limited resources,” nurse practitioner Dawn Steinman said. “But we’re trying to be very proactive.” White House economic response package could reach $2tn White House officials are proposing a government financial response to the coronavirus crisis that could be worth as much as $2tn in an effort to stimulate the staggering US economy. Republican and Democratic lawmakers have been working behind closed doors on the prospective Senate bill, which would coordinate with the US Federal Reserve to help individuals, small businesses and industries that have been devastated by the pandemic. “We’re getting closer and closer to an agreement, and all the discussions have been in good faith,” said Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, who intends to hold a vote on Monday. “I think we’re clearly going to get there.” The lawmakers have discussed a number of provisions for the bill, including the issuing for $1,000 checks to some Americans and more than $350bn in aid to small businesses through federally guaranteed loans. “We’re talking about half the workers in America,” Florida senator Marco Rubio said. “We’d like to help even more people.” The Federal Aviation Administration lifted a temporary halt of all flights to New York City airports due to coronavirus-related staffing issues after about 30 minutes. The directive, which initially warned it could last several hours, advised air traffic controllers to “stop all departures” to Kennedy, LaGuardia, Newark airports as well as Philadelphia International Airport, citing problems at the FAA enroute center in Ronkonkoma, New York. The air-traffic controllers at JFK have been working at an alternate location on the property this week after it was revealed an FAA technician assigned to the control tower tested positive for Covid-19. New York governor Andrew Cuomo said the Javits Center on the west side of Manhattan is one of four venues under consideration as a potential site for an emergency “field hospital” as the state frantically attempts to boost its hospital capacity from around 50,000 beds to 75,000. Cuomo said the state has already hospitalized 1,600 people and the massive 1.8m sq ft of convention space along the Hudson River could house 1,000 more beds. Other proposed sites include the State University of New York campuses at Stony Brook and Westbury on Long Island and the Westchester Convention Center. “That would give us a regional distribution and a real capacity if we can get them up quickly enough,” Cuomo said. Trump jumps in on one final question before handing over to Pence and departing the briefing room: “We inherited an obsolete, broken system and when you hear the number of tests that we’ll be providing, and are now, it’s incredible,” the president says. “I’ve heard a lot of governors say the same thing. We took over an obsolete, broken testing system that wouldn’t have worked for even a small problem, let alone one of the biggest pandemics in history, and what [the members of the coronavirus task force] have done is incredible.” At today’s briefing Trump claimed: “If you remember, I was the one who closed this country down. You don’t write that, or you don’t say it too much, certainly on CNN.” Fact check: Trump played down the threat and did little beyond restricting travel from China. It was the NBA and other sporting organizations, theatres and theme parks, state governors and city mayors who took the lead on local measures. Many have complained about a lack of federal leadership. Trump calls report of receiving early coronavirus warning "a disgrace" Trump is (finally) asked about the Washington Post intel story which reports that his administration was informed back in January that coronavirus was likely to become a pandemic. “I saw the story,” he says. “I think it was a disgrace.” He continues to say it was a “very inaccurate story”, though declines to rebut any specific claims. Trump is asked how the one of the richest countries in the world could be facing such a shortfall of masks and other personal protective equipment. As he’s done before, he points to inherited circumstances: “Many administrations preceded me. For the most part, they did very little in terms of what you’re talking about. This is unprecedented.” He then adds his administration has gotten “tremendous reviews” for its response. Trump tells those who have lost jobs: "keep receiving your paychecks" While fielding questions from the press corps, Trump is asked what he would tell people who have lost their jobs during a week the US economy came to a standstill. “Keep receiving their paychecks,” he says. “Hopefully their companies are going to be in a very strong position. We want to keep everything together.” Asked whether he’s spoken to speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi about the proposed stimulus package, Trump declines but says he’s spoken to a number of congressional leaders “directly or indirectly”. When asked about the uncertain supply of N95 masks, he defers to Fema administrator Peter Gaynor, who says: “On masks, we’re trying to match supply and demand. There’s a range of requests across the country and we’ll try to match the supply and demand every day.” New Jersey governor Phil Murphy has just announced a statewide stay-at-home order including the closure of all non-essential businesses during a briefing in the state capital. “I don’t take this action lightly but my goal is to make sure you can gather safely with family and friends later,” he says. The order allows for certain exceptions for people to leave their homes, such as seeking medical attention, obtaining essential goods or services, reporting to work or visiting family.