Gas selling for under $1 per gallon in 13 states as demand plummets

Gas is selling at drastically reduced prices in the United States as people continue to quarantine themselves indoors due to coronavirus.

In a whopping 13 states, gas could be found for less than $1 per gallon as of late last week, according to data released by the travel and navigation app GasBuddy.

The states on that list include New York, Michigan, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Ohio, Colorado, Missouri, Iowa, Virginia, Wisconsin, Kansas and Kentucky.

The United States as a whole has experienced a precipitous decline in gas prices amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with the national average dipping to just $1.82 per gallon, according to AAA.

Exactly one year ago, the price of a gallon cost over a dollar more, at $2.84.

The latest national average price for a gallon is down from $1.87 last week.

Six states have experienced their lowest prices in a decade: Wisconsin, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Michigan, Minnesota and Iowa.

“I fully expect that as many as half of the nation’s states will ultimately see prices fall to at least decade lows, with perhaps most of them ultimately falling to lows not seen since the early 2000’s,” said Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s head petroleum analyst.

The demand for gas that the United States experienced in late February and early March has plummeted by 50% to 70% in April thus far, GasBuddy said.

— New York Daily News

1,300 sign petition to close beef plant near Tri-Cities with coronavirus outbreak

More than 1,300 have signed an online petition calling for Tyson Fresh Meats near the Tri-Cities to be shut down to control an outbreak of the new coronavirus.

By Sunday, 89 people connected to the plant living in four counties and two states reported being infected with COVID-19.

The petition calls for the beef slaughter and packing operation in Wallula to close for at least 14 days to prevent cases from skyrocketing.

“Because of a lack of pressure from elected officials, Tyson continues to keep their Wallula plant running, exposing hundreds of other workers to the virus and endangering the neighborhoods and communities in which those workers live, shop and go to the doctor,” says the petition.

Tyson Foods closed its pork plant in Columbus Junction, Iowa, earlier this month when about two dozen workers tested positive for COVID-19. It diverted its livestock supply to other plants in the region.

Now officials there are calling on Tyson to shut down another Iowa processing plant because of a spike in COVID-19 cases in Black Hawk County.

In Washington state, the petition about the Wallula plant will be sent to Gov. Jay Inslee, Jay Wiesman, the Washington state Secretary of Health, and Noel White the chief executive of Tyson Foods.

It also is to be sent to the mayors of Walla Walla, Kennewick and Pasco.

As of Sunday 81 cases linked to the plant had been reported in Benton and Franklin counties, seven in Walla Walla County and one in Umatilla County, Ore.

— Tri-City Herald

This Bay Area town is among the first to offer coronavirus testing to every resident

The remote Bay Area town of Bolinas is among the first communities in the world to attempt to test all of its residents for the novel coronavirus.

Bolinas, population 1,600, will offer free tests Monday through Thursday to residents 4 years and older up, according to a statement from the University of California, San Francisco, whose staffers will administer the tests.

The communitywide testing effort was spearheaded by two locals, venture capitalist Jyri Engestrom and pharmaceutical company executive Cyrus Harmon. Nearly the entire town was registered for testing as of Friday, according to the Mercury News.

The drive-thru test will entail a mouth and throat swab to check for active infection and a finger prick to detect antibodies, a crucial step in determining who has already had the virus. A second round of testing will follow two weeks later if enough money is raised.

The project is expensive, costing upward of $400,000 and entirely funded by private donations, the Mercury News reported.

Few communities globally have attempted to implement comprehensive testing. And those that have tend to be small, tight-knit and progressive-leaning, such as Bolinas and Telluride, Colo.

— Los Angeles Times

Fauci tells protesters no recovery if virus not ‘under control’

Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert on the White House coronavirus task force, pushed back against protesters demonstrating against stay-at-home orders, saying the U.S. economy won’t recover until the virus is “under control.”

Fauci said his message to the protesters is that “this is something that is hurting from the standpoint of economics” but that re-opening too soon could cause even more harm. His comments on ABC’s “Good Morning America” contrasted with remarks made by President Donald Trump, who has encouraged the protests.

“Unless we get the virus under control, the real recovery economically is not going to happen,” Fauci said. “So what you do if you jump the gun and go into a situation where you have a big spike, you’re going to set yourself back.”

Fauci acknowledged it can be “painful” to carefully follow federal guidelines recommending a phased re-opening, but failing to do so is “going to backfire.”

— Bloomberg News

U.S. border restrictions extended for another month

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration announced Monday that it is extending travel and asylum restrictions along the U.S. border for at least one more month, citing the ongoing health emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of Homeland Security, announced that Mexico and Canada have agreed to keep the suspension on nonessential travel in place for at least another 30 days.

“As President (Donald) Trump stated last week, border control, travel restrictions and other limitations remain critical to slowing the spread and allowing the phased opening of the country,” he said in a press statement.

In addition, a notice previewed Monday in the Federal Register extends a March 20 order by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allowing the administration to turn back all migrants who arrive at the border without papers — including asylum seekers and unaccompanied children.

Since the order was issued, more than 11,000 migrants have been summarily expelled without going through the typical legal processes that let them file for asylum or other protections, according to acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark A. Morgan.

When Trump originally announced the CDC order on March 20, he said it would help prevent a “viral spread at our borders.” He invoked a World War II law that permits the president to prohibit “the introduction of persons and property from such countries or places” if deemed likely to introduce communicable illnesses into the country.

According to health researchers tracking the pandemic, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador —the countries providing the largest number of migrants to the U.S. southern border —have reported far fewer cases than the United States of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

— CQ-Roll Call

Cantwell among senators urging help for local media outlets

In a letter to Senate leadership, U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., John Kennedy, R-La., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and John Boozman, R-Ark., called for any future legislation supporting small businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic to include help for local media outlets.

The letter specifically points to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which provides small businesses with financial assistance. However, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s affiliation rule, which restricts assistance to companies owned by larger entities, means that many local news outlets cannot benefit from the PPP. Pointing out that this rule has previously been waived for hotels and restaurants, Cantwell and her colleagues pushed for the Senate to allow the same for news outlets that have suffered significant losses in advertising revenue amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, an estimated 33,000 U.S. news workers have been laid off, furloughed or are receiving reduced pay, according to The New York Times.

“Ensuring that local news outlets remain viable at this critical time is not only a matter of fairness, but is essential to public health,” the senators wrote. “Local newspapers, radio, and television stations provide important local content that keeps their communities informed. People rely on local newspapers and broadcasters to cover school and business closures, to widely communicate public health guidance, and to combat life-threatening misinformation.”

— The Seattle Times