BIG FINANCIAL LIFT RACE, GIVING BIDEN BLOOMBERG EXITSMar 05, 2020  · C M Y K...

C M Y K Nxxx,2020-03-05,A,001,Bs-4C,E2

U(D54G1D)y+=!"!&!$!zGail Collins PAGE A27

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A26-27

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Theywere disaffected Republicans inaffluent Washington suburbs.They were shipyard employees inNorfolk. And they were healthcare workers in Petersburg.

They all came together on Su-per Tuesday in an extraordinarysurge to the polls in Virginia, pro-pelling former Vice President Jo-seph R. Biden Jr. to an over-whelming victory in a state thatjust days earlier had seemed upfor grabs. The triumph was part ofa 10-state sweep for Mr. Biden thatresurrected his presidential can-didacy, and established him as thecentrist Democrat who would gohead-to-head with Senator BernieSanders of Vermont, the stand-ard-bearer of the party’s liberalwing.

In Virginia on Tuesday, it was nocontest. Mr. Biden won with 53percent of the vote, 30 percentagepoints more than Mr. Sanders.Voter turnout broke a state recordfor a presidential primary, andwas especially high in suburbanareas near Washington and nearRichmond and Norfolk, as well asin regions with large African-American populations. Peters-burg, a mostly-black city south ofRichmond, went 75 percent for the

Virginia VotersCame in Droves

To Back BidenBy REID J. EPSTEIN

and STEPHANIE SAUL

Continued on Page A22

Late one night, after a test con-firmed the stealth invasion of hiscells by the new coronavirus, DaleGrizzle was seized with a violentfit of vomiting in his hospitalroom.

Until then, Mr. Grizzle, 69, of Ry-dal, Ga., had maintained his trade-mark good spirits. Like most peo-ple who have contracted the virus,he had experienced mostly mildsymptoms.

But in that moment, Mr. Grizzle,a retired house painter with 13grandchildren, found himself un-able to fend off the darkness. “Igot to thinking about, ‘Is my lifegoing to end here?’” he recalled ina recent interview. “ ‘Is this goingto be it?’ I had severe anxiety.”

Anxiety is exactly what manyAmericans are feeling as a virusthat has infected nearly 100,000people and claimed more than3,000 lives across the world overthe last eight weeks finds its firstfootholds in the United States.

With health officials preparing thepublic for a widespread outbreakhere, six Americans who have al-ready tested positive for the virusspoke to The New York Timesabout its predictable and unex-pected consequences.

Some, like Mark Jorgensen, 55,

of St. George, Utah, have experi-enced no physical discomfortfrom Covid-19, as the diseasebrought on by the virus is known.Others cannot shake its signaturesymptoms, such as Carl Goldmanand his two-week-old cough.

Isolated in hospital rooms,quarantine units or their ownhomes, some early Covid-19 pa-tients turned to prayer or medita-tion. Many expressed new appre-ciation for FaceTime and other

‘Brotherhood of the Virus’: American Patients Reflect on OrdealsBy AMY HARMON Weeks of Fears, Prayers

and Unlikely Bonds

Continued on Page A12

Michael R. Bloomberg droppedout of the presidential race andbacked Joseph R. Biden Jr. onWednesday, throwing the finan-cial might of the Democratic Par-ty’s biggest benefactor behind theformer vice president’s campaignas Senator Bernie Sanders of Ver-mont vowed to wage a long battlefor the nomination.

Mr. Sanders, regarded a weekago as having a clear upper handover Mr. Biden, sounded cha-grined after losses in states fromMaine to Texas where he was hop-ing for huge turnout. There was asurge in voter participation, but itlifted Mr. Biden instead.

Mr. Sanders now faces pressureto show he can expand his politicalbase, and he acknowledged thathe had not yet managed to trans-form the electorate with a wave ofyoung people.

The sudden shift in political mo-mentum has redefined the Demo-cratic race at breakneck speed.Since Saturday night, when Mr.Biden won South Carolina in alandslide, much of the Democraticestablishment has aligned behindhim. Two rivals, Pete Buttigiegand Senator Amy Klobuchar,dropped out and endorsed Mr. Bi-

den on Sunday and Monday; hewon 10 states on Tuesday, includ-ing Texas and North Carolina;and Mr. Bloomberg backed him onWednesday.

Only Senator Elizabeth Warrenof Massachusetts remains as amajor candidate. Her campaignsaid on Wednesday that she wasassessing her path forward inview of another night of dispirit-ing election returns, including athird-place finish in her homestate, that left Ms. Warren withouta single victory after a month ofprimaries and caucuses.

Mr. Sanders said on Wednesdaythat he had spoken with Ms. War-ren, who for months had been hismost formidable rival from theDemocrats’ populist wing. But Mr.Sanders said he applied no publicpressure on her to stand down andshared no knowledge of her inten-tions, if he had any.

Some supporters have urgedMs. Warren to take her time, whileothers are pressing her to capital-ize on her existing leverage bydropping out and endorsing Mr.Biden, according to Democratswho have spoken to her. But Ms.Warren made it clear to one sup-

BLOOMBERG EXITSRACE, GIVING BIDENBIG FINANCIAL LIFT

New Pressure on Sanders to Expand HisSupport as Moderate Rivals Unite

By ALEXANDER BURNS and REBECCA R. RUIZ

Joseph R. Biden Jr. in Los Angeles after winning 10 states.JOSH HANER/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A24

Federal health officials an-nounced on Wednesday that any-one who wants a coronavirus testmay get one if a doctor agrees. Butthe nation’s testing capacity is stillso limited that experts feared clin-ics and hospitals could be over-whelmed by an avalanche of re-quests.

Under the new criteria, patientswho have fevers, coughs or diffi-culty breathing qualify for diag-nostic testing, depending on theirdoctor’s judgment. But with fluseason in full swing, tens of mil-lions of Americans have respira-tory symptoms, and doctors haveno quick way to discern whoshould be tested.

The Trump administration hasrepeatedly promised to expandthe nation’s testing capabilities bythe end of the week, even as statelaboratories estimated that it

would be weeks before millions ofAmerican could be tested.

“We are already overwhelmedwith calls day and night,” said Dr.Julie Vaishampayan, publichealth officer of Stanislaus Countyin Modesto, Calif. Public healthlaboratories in California are al-ready working seven days a week,she said.

Even as federal officials wereannouncing the new testing cri-teria, the House and the Senateagreed to provide $8.3 billion tocombat the spread of the coro-navirus. By the end of the day, thedeath toll in the United States hadrisen to 11 and the number of con-firmed cases to 157.

Ten deaths have occurred in theSeattle area, which is emerging asan epicenter. California reportedits first death from the infection,on Wednesday. The victim wasidentified as a former passengeron the Grand Princess cruise ship,which was being held in the wa-ters off San Francisco after 11 pas-sengers and 10 crew membersshowed symptoms.

Six new cases were also re-ported in the Los Angeles area,and Gov. Gavin Newsom declareda state of emergency. On Wednes-day night, Facebook announcedthat a contractor has tested pos-itive. In all, more than 50 caseshave been identified in California,the most in the nation.

In the new guidance from theCenters for Disease Control andPrevention, doctors were encour-aged to rule out other causes ofrespiratory illness and to take intoconsideration whether there areother local coronavirus cases be-

C.D.C. Opens Coronavirus Testing to Wider PoolBy RONI CARYN RABIN

and KATIE THOMASPatients Need Approval

by Doctor — ExpertsFear a Run on Kits

Private labs, now allowed to offer coronavirus tests, will need time to ramp up production of kits.JOHNNY MILANO FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

HONG KONG — The coro-navirus epidemic reached deeperinto daily life across the world onWednesday, with a sweeping shut-down of all schools in Italy andwarnings of school closings in theUnited States, intensifying the ed-ucational upheaval of nearly 300million students globally.

Only a few weeks ago, China,where the outbreak began, wasthe only country to suspendclasses. But the virus has spreadso quickly that by Wednesday, 22countries on three continents hadannounced school closings ofvarying degrees, leading theUnited Nations to warn that “theglobal scale and speed of the cur-rent educational disruption is un-paralleled.”

Students are now out of schoolin South Korea, Iran, Japan,France, Pakistan and elsewhere— some for only a few days, othersfor weeks on end. In Italy, suffer-ing one of the deadliest outbreaksoutside China, officials saidWednesday that they would ex-tend school closings beyond thenorth, where the government hasimposed a lockdown on severaltowns, to the entire nation. Allschools and universities will re-main closed until March 15, offi-cials said.

On the West Coast of the UnitedStates, the region with the mostAmerican infections so far, LosAngeles declared a state of emer-gency on Wednesday, advisingparents to steel themselves forschool closings in the nation’s sec-ond-largest public school district.Washington State, which has re-ported at least 10 deaths from theoutbreak, has closed someschools, while on the other side ofthe country in New York, newly di-

School’s Out,And FamiliesFeel the Pinch

By VIVIAN WANGand MAKIKO INOUE

Continued on Page A8

A school in Nagoya, Japan, opened for children whose parents were unable to stay home with them while classes were suspended.KYODO, VIA REUTERS

Tornadoes in North Nashville added tofears that gentrification will be the endof a black neighborhood. PAGE A19

NATIONAL A17-24

Tennessee Enclave in PerilUntil recently, women were barred fromthe Cresta Run, a test for practitionersof the Olympic sledding sport. PAGE B9

SPORTSTHURSDAY B9-12

No Swiss Mountains for YouThe fashion icon Betty Catroux’s big-gest ambition is “not to lift a finger.” Shedid rustle up enough energy to chatwith Guy Trebay, though. PAGE D1

THURSDAY STYLES D1-8

She’d Really Rather Not

John G. Roberts Jr. took aim at ChuckSchumer for remarks against justiceschosen by President Trump. PAGE A19

Chief Justice Rebukes Senator

Jewish cemeteries have become targetsfor vandals in Alsace, a region with anuneasy relationship to a troubledwartime past. France Dispatch. PAGE A4

INTERNATIONAL A4-16

Fighting French Anti-Semitism

The divergent policies on asylum ofGreece and Turkey, NATO members,pose a quandary for Europe. PAGE A7

E.U. Treads Line on Migrants

Brokers and landlords in New York Cityare defying protections in the state’snew rent laws, tenants say. PAGE A25

NEW YORK A25, 28

Rent Laws Falling Short?Madison Bumgarner gives the ArizonaDiamondbacks an ace on the moundand a mentor in the dugout. PAGE B9

Sage Advice, and Nasty Stuff

The food delivery app DoorDash islosing money, battling rivals and law-suits and trying to go public in volatilemarkets. What could go wrong? PAGE B1

BUSINESS B1-8

Calling Wall St. for a Delivery

The director Alex Garland builds a techthriller in the new TV show “Devs,”accenting both his strengths and weak-nesses, James Poniewozik says. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-8

A Cold, Beautiful Machine

NURSING HOMES Public health experts are con-cerned that the facilities could become central to therise and spread of the coronavirus. PAGE A13

CRISIS IN ITALY Deaths and worries increase in thecountry with the oldest population in Europe and thesecond-oldest in the world, after Japan. PAGE A9

TOLL ON AIRLINES United Airlines made a wide-spread cut to domestic service, signaling that anxi-ety was starting to erode ticket sales. PAGE B1

BARRIERS In China, metal sheets typically used tokeep people from construction sites are being de-ployed to wall off neighborhoods. PAGE B6

TRACKING AN OUTBREAK

Continued on Page A10

Joseph R. Biden Jr. not onlyreclaimed his status as a front-runner on Super Tuesday, but healso carved a clear path toamassing enough delegates toclinch the nomination by the

Democratic NationalConvention.

Bernie Sanders,the left wing’s cham-

pion, has dodged a knockoutblow for now. Though he has losthis lead in pledged delegates, heremains competitive in the dele-gate count, and he has probablystopped Mr. Biden well short ofan overall majority of delegatesawarded on Super Tuesday.

But a New York Times analy-sis suggests that the close dele-gate race might not last for long.If the race doesn’t take a decisiveturn, Mr. Biden is likely to buildan insurmountable delegate leadover the next few weeks.

Mr. Biden largely swept theEastern half of the country,where most of the delegatesawarded after Super Tuesday areat stake. And in many states, Mr.Sanders was able to forestallgreater defeats only because ofthe large number of early voterswho cast their ballots before theSouth Carolina race, when theparty’s moderate voters were

Delegate Lead, Though Slight,

Seems SturdyBy NATE COHN

Continued on Page A22

NEWSANALYSIS

VOL. CLXIX . . . No. 58,623 © 2020 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2020

Late EditionToday, sunny to partly cloudy, sea-sonally warm, high 52. Tonight,partly cloudy, mild, low 41. Tomor-row, cloudy, occasional rain, high 48.Weather map appears on Page B8.

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