8 Major Coronavirus Developments Including Federal Stimulus — March 25, 2020

Prince Charles Tests Positive

The coronavirus does not discriminate -- Senators, Harvard's president, NBA stars and now a Prince.

Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to his office said Wednesday.

The statement said the 71-year-old Prince of Wales had mild symptoms and “he remains in good health.”

Rhode Island Borrowing $300M -- Getting Hundreds of Millions From Feds

Leaders from the Rhode Island House of Representatives and Senate will meet on Thursday to consider a proposal by Governor Gina Raimondo to borrow $300 million in emergency funding as part of the state’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Raimondo writes in a letter to legislative leaders, "I have determined that since the demands placed upon funds regularly appropriated to state and local agencies in coping with the Disaster Emergency are too great, it is necessary and appropriate that the state borrow for a term not to exceed two years from the United States government or any other private source an amount not to exceed $300,000,000."

Numbers

124 Cases in Rhode Island

1,159 Cases in Massachusetts

11 Deaths in Massachusetts

54,428 Cases in the United States

792 Deaths in the United States

427,510 Global Cases

18,947 Global Deaths

106,463 Global Recoveries

Near Record Day on Wall Street

The Dow was up 2,112 on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged more than 11%, its biggest one-day gain since 1933, on signs that lawmakers were nearing a deal on a giant stimulus package to ease the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Major indexes opened sharply higher after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) emerged from late-night negotiations saying they were within striking distance of a deal.

Stocks continued climbing throughout the day and closed near session highs. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) voiced hope Tuesday that a deal would get done later in the day. The stimulus package is expected to be worth at least $1.6 trillion.

“Markets are definitely reacting to the prospects of a stimulus deal,” said Jason Pride, chief investment officer for private wealth at Glenmede.

NY Summer Residents in RI

Newport, South Kingstown, Little Compton, Narragansett, and other Rhode Island communities are getting an influx of New York summer homeowners.

Block Island has ordered seasonal residents into self-quarantine.

"Any person crossing over to Block Island must immediately self-quarantine for fourteen days upon arrival on Block Island, and thereafter must shelter-in-place," said the Block Island Tourism Council. 

Hospitals Are Battling for Equipment

The Washington Post is reporting:

"A mad scramble for masks, gowns and ventilators is pitting states against each other and driving up prices. Some hard-hit parts of the country are receiving fresh supplies of N95 masks, but others are still out of stock. Hospitals are requesting donations of masks and gloves from construction companies, nail salons and tattoo parlors, and considering using ventilators designed for large animals because they cannot find the kind made for people.

The market for medical supplies has descended into chaos, according to state officials and health-care leaders. They are begging the federal government to use a wartime law to bring order and ensure the United States has the gear it needs to battle the coronavirus. So far, the Trump administration has declined."

Rhode Island's Cases are Growing and Few Are Getting Tested

It appears that Rhode Island's number of cases are beginning to grow -- but only 1,200 have been tested.

In Massachusetts, nearly 14,000 have been tested.

The Commonwealth has 7 times the population of Rhode Island -- and has done 10 times the number of tests.

GOP Criticize RI's Debt 

R.I. Republican Party Chairman Sue Cienki criticized the process.

“The Disaster Emergency Funding Board cannot ignore the state constitution’s restrictions on debt. In general, under Article 6, Section 16, debt cannot be incurred without voter approval except in time of war. If Rhode Island needs to issue a tax anticipation notes, it can follow Article 6, Section 17 of the State Constitution. If Rhode Island needs to use its Rainy-Day Fund, which is approximately $200 million, it can follow Article 9, Section 17 of the State Constitution. Under our form of government, it is the voters not a handful of State House politicians who decide Rhode Island needs hundreds of millions in debt. There are constitutional ways to get through this crisis," said Cienki. 

House Minority Leader Blake Filippi has raised concerns about the process by which legislative leaders will make fiscal decisions that would typically be made by the full House and Senate. 

“If we would have passed our House Bill 7757 setting up emergency remote meetings of the General Assembly, there wouldn’t be a need for the board to exercise these extraordinary powers. Rather, the full House and Senate would be making these critical decisions - as they should be,” said Filippi.  “Absent remote meetings, the DEFB laws need to be updated to have bi-partisan representation - likely by adding the House and Senate Majority and Minority Leaders. In the meantime, we will stay in contact with our colleagues in government, and closely monitor the decisions of the Board, as they could have long-lasting implications for Rhode Island.”