Steve Hilton: Flatten the coronavirus curve, but not the economy, before it's too late

Now, you've been hearing everywhere else about the coronavirus and the latest numbers and the medical response. But I want to focus on what I think is an even bigger crisis, and that is the economic, social and above all, human cost of the total shutdown policy.

No one should question the seriousness of this virus, and especially as I said last week, the need to avoid so many hospitalizations at the same time that our medical system can't cope. The chosen strategy is social distancing, and right now, that involves extreme measures to shut down daily life.

But there is a huge gap between sensible social distancing and the total shutdown spreading across the country. Just as the spread of coronavirus creates a curve of the number of people infected, this economic shutdown is creating a curve of the numbers of people affected, losing their jobs, their homes, their businesses.

I'm not sure that the people on TV have grasped how serious this is. To the extent they're focusing on it at all, they are using completely the wrong frame of reference. They talk about a recession like the one we had in 2008. What planet are they on? We've never seen this before, a total self-imposed shut down of the economy. Businesses large, medium and small will lose all their revenue. Not a slight reduction, or even a steep reduction like in a recession, but all of it -- gone. No income, nothing, potentially for months.

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https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/steve-hilton-flatten-coronavirus-curve-but-not-the-economy

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The Supreme Court ruled that states can bar or limit insanity pleas from criminal defendants.

The 6-3 decision Monday for a case from Kansas was issued electronically with no hard copies at the court over fears of the coronavirus pandemic.

James Kraig Kahler was sentenced to death for murdering his estranged wife, her grandmother, and two teenage daughters. Kahler’s defense team wanted to plead guilty by mounting an insanity defense, but Kansas is one of a few states that have limited the ability for defendants to do so.

Justice Elena Kagan, a liberal justice, sided with the conservative members of the high court and wrote the majority opinion.

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NOTICE OF INVESTIGATION Date: 03/22/2020  Time:  11:56 pm Location / Address:  300 S. Maryland Avenue, Delmar   Type of Incident: Residential Structure Fire   Description of Structure / Property: Two story wood-framed single family dwelling   Owner / Occupants: Catherine Gillis Injuries or Deaths: None Estimated $ Loss: Structure:  $160,000     Contents: $40,000 Smoke Alarm Status: Present not activated Fire Alarm / Sprinkler Status: n/a Arrests(s): None  Primary Responding Fire Department: Delmar Volunteer Fire Department # of Alarms: 2      # Of Firefighters: 60 Time to Control: 60 minutes Discovered by: Occupants Area of Origin: side porch     Preliminary Cause: Under Investigation Additional Information:  Anyone with information in reference to this fire is urged to contact the Lower Eastern Region Office of the State Fire Marshal @ 410-713-3780

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Secret Service employee tests positive for coronavirus nearly three weeks after last contact with colleagues and protectees

A member of the Secret Service has tested positive for coronavirus.

The federal law enforcement agency announced the news overnight on Sunday and later clarified that the unidentified employee had not had any contact with colleagues or people they are hired to protect, in the past several weeks.

The Secret Service member was said to be experiencing mild symptoms of the illness – which can range from as little as a headache and fever.

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Coronavirus Monday updates: Va. schools closed through end of academic year, NC schools closed through May 15

Virginia public schools will remain closed through the rest of the academic year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced Monday.

“School closures are necessary to minimize the speed at which COVID19 spreads and protect the capacity of our healthcare system,” Northam said.

Virginia becomes just the second state to close public schools through the end of the academic year, joining Kansas.

Northam says school division leaders will decide how they’ll educate their students through the end of the school year, and the state’s department of education will issue guidance. The announcement came about an hour after North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper delayed the opening of state public schools until May 15.

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Postponed

In light of Governor Hogan's declaration of a state of emergency in Maryland due to the emergence of Coronavirus Disease 2019, or COVID-19, the following hearings for public comment scheduled in Delmarva Power & Light Company's application for adjustments to its Maryland retail rates for the distribution of electric energy are hereby cancelled: Monday, March 23, 2020 Chesapeake College; Tuesday, March 24, 2020 Kent County Library; Monday, March 30, 2020 Wor Wic Community College. Public comment hearings in this matter will be rescheduled at a later date. Visit www.psc.state.md.us for more information.