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Roger Cohen PAGE A23

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A22-23

WASHINGTON — Faced with atorrent of criticism from cities andstates that have been pleading forhelp to deal with the most criti-cally ill coronavirus victims, Pres-ident Trump announced on Fridaythat the federal governmentwould buy thousands of ventila-tors from a variety of makers,though it appeared doubtful theycould be produced in time to helphospitals that are now over-whelmed.

His announcement cameshortly after authorizing the gov-ernment to “use any and all au-thority available under the De-fense Production Act,” a KoreanWar-era authority allowing thefederal government to comman-deer General Motors’ factoriesand supply chains, to produceventilators.

It was the latest example of Mr.Trump’s mixed messages abouthow to ramp up production tomeet a national crisis. Just 24hours before, he had dismissedthe complaints of mayors and gov-ernors who said that they weregetting little of the equipmentthey needed for an expected on-slaught of serious cases. And thisweek he praised companies that— General Motors included —were rallying to help provide nec-essary equipment.

But he turned on G.M. on Fri-day, accusing it of “wasting time”and seeking to “rip off” the gov-ernment. “Our fight against the vi-rus is too urgent to allow the give-and-take of the contractingprocess to continue to run its nor-mal course,” the president said.

But it was unclear whether Mr.Trump’s use of the law wouldmake much difference. He was es-sentially ordering the company todo something it had already ar-ranged to do: G.M. announcedearlier on Friday that it was mov-ing forward with an emergencyjoint venture with a small manu-facturer, Ventec Life Systems,even in the absence of a contractfrom the Federal EmergencyManagement Agency.

Company executives seemedstunned by the president’s effortto command them to carrythrough with an effort they hadinitiated.

In a late-afternoon news confer-ence, Mr. Trump said, “Now itturns out we will have to be pro-ducing large numbers.” He saidthat over the next 100 days, “wewill either make or get, in some

PLEA FOR VENTILATORS AS TRUMP SIGNS AID BILLConflicting MessagesOver Production of

Needed Supplies

This article is by David E. Sanger,Maggie Haberman and AnnieKarni.

WASHINGTON — PresidentTrump on Friday signed a sweep-ing $2 trillion measure to respondto the coronavirus pandemic, butnot before a late objection from alone rank-and-file Republicanforced hundreds of lawmakers torush back to the capital even asthe virus continued to spreadthrough their ranks.

The move by RepresentativeThomas Massie, Republican ofKentucky, accomplished an ex-traordinary feat, uniting Presi-dent Trump and John Kerry, theformer Democratic secretary ofstate and presidential candidate,in a bipartisan moment of outrageagainst a lawmaker who wantedto force the whole House to take aformal roll-call vote.

House Democrats and Republi-cans teamed up to bring justenough lawmakers back to theCapitol to thwart Mr. Massie’s tac-tic, and the measure passed on avoice vote. It was a resoundingshow of support for a bill that law-makers in both parties said wasimperfect, but essential to ad-dress a national public health andeconomic crisis.

“I want to thank Democrats andRepublicans for coming togetherand putting America first,” Mr.Trump said on Friday as he signedthe legislation in the Oval Office.

But by then, the spark of biparti-sanship appeared to have faded.While the legislation was theproduct of a compromise amongRepublicans, Democrats and theadministration, Mr. Trump did notinvite any Democrats to the WhiteHouse to celebrate its enactment,as is typical.

The measure is unparalleled inits scope and size, touching on ev-ery aspect of the country in an ef-fort to send help to desperateAmericans, provide aid to hospi-tals combating the disease, andbolster an economy forced to slowor shut down altogether to min-imize the spread of the pandemic.

In weeks, it will send direct pay-ments of $1,200 to individualsearning up to $75,000, with small-er payments to those with in-comes of up to $99,000 and an ad-

Lone Objector Fails to Derail Passage by HouseBy EMILY COCHRANE

and SHERYL GAY STOLBERGDirect Payments to Be

Made to AmericansWithin Weeks

Continued on Page A9

FABIO BUCCIARELLI FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Of the 9,134 deaths from the coronavirus in Italy, more than 1,600 have been in the Bergamo region. Above, Claudio Trivelli, 61, who tested positive. Page A12.The World’s Epicenter

Two weeks ago, an unexpectedcluster of coronavirus cases inNew Rochelle, N.Y., seemed an un-nerving sign that an outbreak thathad devastated China and Italywas taking hold in the New Yorkregion and could spread rapidly.

The state took drastic meas-ures, including creating a contain-ment zone, which stirred somecriticism. But now, the latest dataindicates that the measures maybe starting to work.

The outbreak, which Gov. An-drew M. Cuomo once said was ad-vancing “unabated” in New Ro-chelle, has appeared to slow: Overthe last four days, only 38 newcases were reported to the county.

“Everybody talks about flatten-ing the curve, and I think that’s ex-actly what we were able to do inNew Rochelle,” said Dr. SherlitaAmler, the Westchester Countyhealth commissioner. “We knowwe can’t stop every single case,but our goal was to reduce thenumber of cases, and I do thinkthe measures were successful indoing that.”

State and local health officialscautioned that it was too early todeclare victory, but the resultsseemed to show how tough socialdistancing measures, firstadopted here and then imposedaround the country, combinedwith an aggressive testing philos-ophy, can have an effect on curb-ing the coronavirus.

The experience in New Ro-chelle, a small city just north ofNew York City, has convertedearly skeptics, including someresidents who had chafed at therestrictions.

“In the beginning, it felt likehouse arrest,” said Samuel Heil-man, a New Rochelle residentwhose family was among those or-dered to self-quarantine on March3. The families had all attended

A Cluster SiteSees ProgressAfter Isolation

By SHARON OTTERMANand SARAH MASLIN NIR

Continued on Page A16

WASHINGTON — So much haschanged so quickly for JosephPalma that he barely recognizeshis life.

On Tuesday last week, he wasgoing to work, helping passengersin the customs area of the Miamiairport. The next day, he was laidoff without severance or benefits.Five days later, he moved back inwith his 59-year-old mother, load-ing his bed and his clothes into theback of his friend’s pickup truck.

Now he is staring at his bank ac-count — totaling about $3,100 —and waiting on hold for hours at atime with the unemployment of-fice, while cursing at its crashingwebsite.

“I’m feeling scared,” said Mr.Palma, who is 41 and nervousabout the $15,000 in medical debthe has from two recent hospitalstays. “I don’t know what’s theending. But I know I’m not in goodshape.”

For the millions of Americans

who found themselves without ajob in recent weeks, the sharp andpainful change brought a pro-found sense of disorientation.They were going about their lives,bartending, cleaning, managing

events, waiting tables, loadingluggage and teaching yoga. Andthen suddenly they were in freefall, grabbing at any financial helpthey could find, which in manystates this week remained locked

away behind crashing websitesand overloaded phone lines.

“Everything has changed in amatter of minutes — seconds,”said Tamara Holtey, 29, an ac-

‘We Have Lost It All’: Millions Reel From Sudden UnemploymentThis article is by Sabrina Tav-

ernise, Audra D. S. Burch, SarahMervosh and Campbell Robertson.

A normally bustling Washington street. Service industry workers have been hit hard by shutdowns.ALYSSA SCHUKAR FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A10

LONDON — For weeks, PrimeMinister Boris Johnson of Britainwas a defiant holdout amongWestern leaders in refusing tolock down his country against thespread of the coronavirus. On Fri-day, he became the first of thoseleaders known to have contractedthe disease.

Mr. Johnson’s diagnosis, con-firmed in a test on Thursday,threatened to throw an alreadyrattled British government intoturmoil. Fears of a wider conta-gion grew, as two other senior offi-cials disclosed that they, too, wereinfected.

And with the heir to the throne,Prince Charles, saying this weekthat he had fallen ill with the virus,Britain faced the alarming

prospect of having to confront itsgreatest crisis since World War IIwith several of its leading figuresin quarantine.

Mr. Johnson, 55, insisted hewould not relinquish his duties. Ina remarkable two-minute videoposted on Twitter, he used his owncase as a sort of teachable mo-ment for the country, appealing topeople to work from home andcomply with the more drastic so-cial distancing measures he put inplace Monday.

“I’ve developed mild symptoms

U.K.’s Leader,Virus Holdout,

Tests Positive

By MARK LANDLERand STEPHEN CASTLE

Continued on Page A6

Prime Minister Boris Johnsonshared his results on Twitter.

OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER

Continued on Page A8

President Trump is 73. Former VicePresident Joseph R. Biden Jr. is 77. Andmany of the voters providing them withtheir greatest momentum are eligiblefor Social Security. PAGE A21

NATIONAL A21, 24

The Gray Grip on Power

A No. 2 train operator died near thenorth end of Central Park in an early-morning blaze that the police are inves-tigating as possible arson. PAGE A24

Subway Fire Kills Worker

The University of Michigan dismissedthe voice teacher David Daniels, whofaces a sexual assault charge. PAGE A24

University Fires Opera Star

Efforts to hold Saudi officials account-able for the journalist’s killing continue,but punishment is unlikely. PAGE A19

INTERNATIONAL A19-20

Turkey Ends Khashoggi Inquiry

A Pentagon directive orders planning todestroy an Iranian-backed militia, but aU.S. general notes the risks. PAGE A20

Rift Over Iran Strategy

Around the world, gilded retailers havebeen on lockdown in recent weeks. Inthe United States, many are also cover-ing storefronts with plywood. PAGE B7

BUSINESS B1-7

Now Closed, and Boarded Up

Upended by the outbreak, nonprofitsare laying off workers and reaching out to stretched donors. PAGE B1

Givers of Aid Seek Help

For the rich and the poor, child careoptions, internet access and extra livingspace can mean starkly different out-comes in coping with disruptions todaily life during the pandemic. PAGE B1

Magnifying a Class Divide

Black art, history and political life areconverging in a way not seen in dec-ades. We asked 35 African-Americanluminaries to discuss a work or a peerfrom the last 20 years. Arts & Leisure.

THIS WEEKEND

A Moment for Black Artists

Are cats your fancy? Do dogs delightyou? Our special section for youngpeople features plenty of pictures, triviaand games, all geared toward pet own-ers in The New York Times for Kids.

Barks, Meows and More

The pandemic has shut down museumsand galleries, and canceled an entireway of life for contemporary artists.What will the future hold? PAGE C1

ARTS C1-6

Awaiting the Aftermath

VOL. CLXIX . . . No. 58,646 © 2020 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 2020

Late EditionToday, cloudy skies, periodic after-noon rain, cooler, high 52. Tonight,periodic rain, low 45. Tomorrow,cloudy skies, showers, a milder day,high 56. Weather map is on Page B9.

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