Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Drive-thru coronavirus test sites popping up slowly across America

Drive-thru coronavirus testing sites are starting to pop up across the United States but few if any are at the major retail stores that pledged last week to provide parking lot space for them. On Wednesday, many Americans with suspected coronavirus infections were heading to drive-thru testing sites at hospitals, with their doctor's referral. They were met by healthcare workers in protective gear, swabbing their noses through an open window.

For U.S. small restaurants, coronavirus impact is swift and brutal

On St. Patrick's Day last year, Amy and Chris Hillyard marked the 30th anniversary of Farley's, their pair of cafes in San Francisco and Oakland, California, with live bagpipes and noisy crowds. This year, they spent the day quietly packing up beans, granola, and a vegan coconut curry made from unsold produce to give to the 40 employees they had to lay off on March 16.

Two generic drugs being tested in U.S. in race to find coronavirus treatments

U.S. researchers, following the lead of scientists in other countries, have launched studies to see whether widely-available, low-cost generic drugs can be used to help treat the illness caused by the new coronavirus. There are currently no vaccines or treatments for the highly-contagious COVID-19 respiratory illness, so patients can only receive supportive care for now.

U.S. lawmakers pushing ahead with third coronavirus aid package

U.S. lawmakers were rushing ahead on Thursday with forging a massive economic stimulus measure to counter the destructive impact of the coronavirus, with the Senate's leader vowing not to let the chamber adjourn until the mission is accomplished. Although a few lawmakers expressed doubts about the yawning sums under discussion, with one Republican warning this week against "shoveling money out of a helicopter," the Senate's majority Republicans said they hoped to have a proposal agreed on with President Donald Trump's administration by sometime on Thursday.

Pelosi calls on Trump to speed production of critical medical equipment

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday called on President Donald Trump to speed up mass production of medical and protective equipment using the Defense Production Act, citing shortages in the country. "Right now, shortages of critical medical and personal protective equipment are harming our ability to fight the coronavirus epidemic, endangering frontline workers and making it harder to care for those who fall ill," Pelosi said in a statement.

U.S.-Canada border closed as Florida congressman diagnosed with coronavirus

The United States and Canada closed their shared border to "non-essential traffic" on Wednesday to curb transmission of the coronavirus as U.S. President Donald Trump moved to bolster medical equipment supplies and the outbreak struck Capitol Hill. Two members of the U.S. House representatives - Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida and Ben McAdams of Utah - said on Wednesday they had each tested positive for coronavirus, becoming the first lawmakers in Congress known to have become infected.

For better or worse, coronavirus tests couples forced to share home offices

Before coronavirus shut his office, Scott Ford worked with his phone in one hand and chatted with his dozens of co-workers as he paced around their desks at Techstars, a startup accelerator based in Boulder, Colorado. Now he sits across a shared desk from his wife, a proofreader for a publishing company who demands total silence so she can focus on her job in their newly occupied home office in Superior, Colorado.

U.S. FAA administrator will self-quarantine for seven days

U.S. Federal Aviation Administration chief Steve Dickson told employees that he will self-quarantine at home for seven days after a brief interaction with one of two members of Congress who have tested positive for COVID-19. Dickson said he is feeling well and said he has not received a test because he is symptom free. "The smart and constructive thing for me to do is stay home," Dickson said. Some news outlets on Wednesday published photos of Dickson shaking hands with Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, who has now tested positive, during a congressional hearing last week.

Meet the Americans still going out and gathering in large groups

As people in San Francisco shelter in place and New York City was warned to prepare for a similar measure, some 40 people met in New Mexico for an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting on Wednesday amid White House pleas to avoid groups as the country battles coronavirus. Officials are telling Americans they must practice social distancing and avoid groups of more than 10 people to slow the spread of the pandemic.

From a trickle to a steady flow: Coronavirus caseload tests U.S. military

It is not even 10 a.m. and Navy nurse Lieutenant Gretta Walker has already sent at least eight people for coronavirus screening at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Her colleague, Samantha Smith, a civilian nurse at the base hospital, said the pace of patients arriving over coronavirus concerns was rapidly picking up.