Federal, State and Local Government Responses to the COVID-19 in the US.
The global outbreak of Coronavirus in Wuhan China in 2019 and its subsequent spread to other parts of the world has led to losses of lives and the crippling of the economies all over the world. As of May 6, 2020, the US had 1.23 million confirmed cases, 164,000 recoveries, and 71,855 deaths. The federal, state and local governments within the US have implemented policies aimed at fighting the spread of Coronavirus in a bid to save lives and return the country to normalcy. The efforts by the three levels of government in coordination with health organizations such as WHO and CDC are aimed at saving lives and the economy. This paper seeks to identify the efforts of the Federal Government and states in combating Coronavirus. Despite the measures and policies by various levels of government, the situation could have been changed had the federal government reacted in time. There's also a disconnect between efforts by individual states and those of the Federal Government. Because the health of US citizens depends on the measures and policies made by the government, it's essential to understand and analyze the role played at each level of governance and its impact in fighting the spread of COVID-19 in the US.
Legislative Actions at state and Local Government levels related to COVID19
Officials from the state and local governments have implemented various policies as a way of countering the spread of COVID-19. These decisions have been taken to control the spread of Coronavirus and reduce public health risk. States have reacted differently and implemented a series of legislative actions in response to the challenging
coronavirus pandemic. The three levels of government have implemented a series of actions and policies as a way of responding to the COVID-19. Since the outbreak of the global pandemic, 40 state legislatures have discussed more than 120 bills aimed at helping the citizens fight the Virus and sustain themselves financially. The bills on worker protection, appropriation requests and paid leave top the list of the bills in the 40 legislatures, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. More than 300 executive orders related to schools' closures, declaration of the state of emergency, closure, and restrictions on retail and businesses, the prohibition of mass gatherings and stay at home orders have also been issued in 50 states, Guam, Virgin Islands, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. More than 1,100 executive orders have been issued to date. 12 governors in the US have established more than 20 state task forces.
Additionally, more than 30 states and the District of Columbia have issued regulations on important sectors affecting the lives of Americans. Examples of the coronavirus emergency regulations issued affect health insurance carriers, medical licensure and labor and wages during the pandemic period. As a way of reducing the rate of infection and the spread of Coronavirus, 69 legislative chambers have either been adjourned temporarily, gone on early recess, or adopted virtual meetings. The local administrations have also implemented a series of actions in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Federal Government’s Response
On its part, the Federal Government has implemented many actions to limit the spread of Coronavirus and save the country from the economic damage caused by the pandemic. These actions include the issuance of $2.3 trillion loans to support household
employers, state and local governments and financial markets. According to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors Chair, Mr. Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Government has deployed the lending powers to an unprecedented extent (CNBC, 2020). It will continue doing so until the US economy recovers. In connection to this, the Fed has reduced the federal funds rate down to between 0% to 0.25%. This step helps in reducing the cost of borrowing on home equity loans, auto loans, mortgages, and other loans.
The Trump administration has introduced various policies to help in combating the pandemic. These include imposing travel bans from countries affected by Coronavirus and the EU countries, closure of borders, the introduction of COVID-19 testing facilities, and declaration of a national emergency, among other measures. The top arms of the government, including the legislature and the judiciary, also took measures to help in the fight against the pandemic c(Parodi., et.al 2020). The supreme court was indefinitely closed to the public and later canceled its March argument sessions. This was in line with the US government's directive on the ban against public gatherings. The Senate closed the capitol and announced the closure of the house and senate facilities to the public.
In mid-March, the federal government announced social distancing guidelines such as limiting gatherings to less than ten people, avoiding unnecessary travels, avoiding eating and drinking in hotels and bars, among others. At the same time, the US parliament passed a coronavirus bill that included free testing for all, paid family and medical leave and paid sick leave. The Federal Government also extended the days for paying taxes by 90 days.
At the state level, especially in Alabama, Governor Kay Ivey issued an order against the gouging of prices of commodities during the pandemic. The state further postponed essential activities such as the upcoming primary runoff election slated for July 14. The Alabama state additionally extended the deadline for tax payment to midJuly. The state ordered the closure of entertainment venues, close contact service providers, bookstores, athletic facilities, shoe stores, and other public activities. This order, however, exempted the necessary service providers.
Many people believe the government's inaction in January, February, and early March contributed to the massive failures in response to Coronavirus. The US federal government's response compares unfavorably to other countries, many of whom were affected by the Virus ahead of the US. Since the outbreak and first knowledge of the Virus in Wuhan, China, in early January, the federal government failed to act and instead treated the Virus as a minor threat that could be easily controlled (‘Trump Administration Restricts Entry into U.S. From China’) . The Trump administration kept on assuring US citizens that the threat and risk of Coronavirus was low to Americans.
Despite the continuous spread of the Virus in other countries such as Thailand, Japan, and South Korea, the issue was treated lightly in the US. However, on January 17 the CDC started the screening process of passengers, especially those who had traveled from China. Although the end of January confirmed a handful number of cases, there was a considerable number of prospective cases that spread the Virus in the Seattle area.
The Federal Government started acting during the second phase of infection by forming the White House Coronavirus Task Force on January 27. They also declared a
public health emergency and started the process of constituting executive, legal, regulatory response procedures against the pandemic (Parodi., et.al 2020) The second phase was crucial in the fight against the Virus. It provided the government with an opportunity to scale the testing capacity. Although the WHO distributed thousands of testing kits to laboratories all over the world, the Federal Government and CDC exclusively used the domestically developed tests. The CDC made and distributed their tests to labs in the US, but unluckily the reagents were proved to be faulty after one week. This reduced the lab's ability to continue testing (John, 2020). Meanwhile, the numbers of confirmed cases and deaths continued soaring.
The recent reaction by Americans from different states shows the sad state of affairs and their opposition against the restrictions and measures imposed by various levels of government (Jernigan, Daniel 2019). About 2,500 protestors in Washington state gathered at the Capitol in Olympia to protest against the lockdown and closure of businesses. The situation was worse in Colorado with protectors who were met by a group of healthcare workers who were also protesting in Arizona, hundreds of demonstrators took to their cars. They created a gridlock around the capital building. This restless behavior is in reaction to the US federal government and state governments' continued restrictions (BBC, 2020). Sadly, as more come out to protest, the number of confirmed cases and deaths continues to rise.
References
BBC, “Coronavirus lockdown protest: What's behind the US demonstrations?” 21 April 2020
CNBC, "Treasury and IRS to delay tax payment deadline by 90 days," March 17, 2020
Count On 2, "President Trump issues new recommendations, including limiting gatherings to less than 10 people," March 16, 2020
Jernigan, Daniel B. "Update: public health response to the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak—United States, February 24, 2020." MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report 69 (2020).
John Cohen, ‘The United States badly bungled coronavirus testing—but things may soon improve” Feb. 28, 2020
Moriarty, Leah F. "Public health responses to COVID-19 outbreaks on cruise ships— worldwide, February–March 2020." MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report 69 (2020).
Parodi, Stephen M., and Vincent X. Liu. "From Containment to Mitigation of COVID-19 in the US." Jama (2020).
The New York Times, "Trump Administration Restricts Entry into U.S. From China," January 21, 2020