The U.S. death toll rose to 26, infections spread to all but a handful of states and two cruise ships languished on each side of the country Tuesday as the coronavirus rolled unabated across the nation and around the world.
The global death toll that has now topped 4,000 and the number of confirmed cases approached 115,000. The epidemic continued its global torment, prompting Dublin and Boston to cancel their famous St. Patrick’s Day parades.
Following the worst drop in U.S. stocks since 2008, President Donald Trump said he would be proposing “very major” and “very dramatic” measures to help workers and businesses hurt by the virus outbreak. Details to come.
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U.S. stocks collapsed Monday, with the Dow Jones industrial average plummeting by more than 2,000 points, but futures were sharply positive territory early Tuesday.
While acknowledging that the threat of a pandemic was “very real,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also noted that 93% of the worldwide cases were confined to four countries and insisted that “we are not at the mercy of this virus.”
Here’s the latest on the outbreak of COVID-19:
- Travel fallout:American, Delta cutting global and domestic flights
- Oops:Family says they bought 12-year supply of toilet paper by accident
- Is it safe to ride? Coronavirus fears are challenging public transit across US
- COVID-19, explained: Everything to know, from symptoms to how to prepare
- Health or a paycheck?Workers with no paid sick leave face tough choice
Passengers await exodus from Grand Princess
More than 2,000 passengers and crew anxiously awaited exodus from the Grand Princess cruise ship when disembarkation continues Tuesday in Oakland, California. More than 20 passengers dealing with acute illness and scores of Canadians bound for a flight home were among the first group to exit the ship Monday. The vessel had been floating off the California coast since Thursday, when 21 of those aboard – including 19 crew members – tested positive for novel coronavirus. U.S. passengers are bound for quarantine at military bases.
On the East Coast, the Caribbean Princess faced a no-sail order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after learning two crew members had transferred from another vessel where at least one guest tested positive for the virus. Neither crew member appears symptomatic, Princess Cruises said in a statement. The Caribbean Princess will make a brief stop at Grand Cayman for test kits and then is expected to anchor off the coast of Florida until the no-sail order is lifted, the statement said.
– David Oliver and Jorge Ortiz
‘Wheel of Fortune’ spins without an audience
The popular NBC game show “Wheel of Fortune” is the latest television project to shift plans amid the coronavirus scare. The show is taping without live studio audiences, USA TODAY has confirmed. Last week, CBS announced that it was suspending production on “The Amazing Race” in response to the outbreak. “Fortune” tapes months in advance, so the presumably quieter shows will not immediately be noticeable to viewers at home. Both are filmed at a studio in Culver City, California.
– Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY
Locker rooms off limits to media
Officials from four major professional sports leagues – MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS – have announced that team clubhouses and locker rooms will temporarily be closed to the media and non-essential personnel, effective Tuesday.
Instead, all interviews will take place in designated areas outside locker rooms. The media will also be asked to maintain a six-foot distance from players during those Q&A sessions.
– Gabe Lacques, Bob Nightengale and Jeff Zillgitt
California county cancels mass gatherings following first death
Santa Clara County in California has canceled mass gatherings of more than 1,000 people, a move that could have a significant impact on three local sports teams.
The order, issued by the county’s Public Health Officer on Monday night, comes in the wake of the county’s first coronavirus death. The mass-gatherings ban goes into effect at 12 a.m. PDT Wednesday and will last at least three weeks.
The move will directly impact events held at San Jose’s SAP Center — home of the NHL’s Sharks and AHL’s Barracuda — as well as at Earthquakes Stadium — home of the MLS’ Earthquakes — and potentially sporting events at Stanford University in Palo Alto.
— Jace Evans
New Jersey governor declares state of emergency
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency and a public health emergency on Monday as the number of coronavirus cases in the state grow, effective immediately, to “contain the spread of COVID-19.”
It’s the first time that a New Jersey governor has declared a public health emergency under state law, said Murphy’s communications director, Mahen Gunaratna. That order lasts for 30 days and would have to be extended after that, if needed, he said.
It comes two days after New York declared a state of emergency in response to the coronavirus, though New Jersey’s count of 11 presumed positive cases is much lower. New York has the nation’s most presumed positive cases, at 143.
— Dustin Racioppi and John Connolly, NorthJersey.com
More on coronavirus:
- Coronavirus myths, debunked:A cattle vaccine, bioweapons and a $3,000 test
- Is there a ‘silver bullet’ disinfectant? Businesses cash in on panic at schools
- ‘It’s an awful risk’ Former FDA chief cautions against cruises amid coronavirus
Chinese President Xi makes first visit to Wuhan since coronavirus outbreak
President Xi Jinping visited China’s virus epicenter Tuesday for the first time since cases of a then-unidentified respiratory illness emerged in the city of Wuhan in December.
The disease’s spread in China cast scrutiny on Xi’s leadership, as he was conspicuously absent from the public eye during the early days of the crisis. Initial failures to react quickly were pegged on municipal and provincial-level officials who have since been replaced.
State media reported Xi arrived in the morning in Wuhan, which has been under lockdown along with several nearby cities since late January in a disease-containment measure. The city has the bulk of the country’s more than 80,000 confirmed cases, and authorities sent thousands of medical workers and built several prefabricated isolation wards to deal with its mass of COVID-19 patients.
Xi’s visit may indicate that the ruling Communist Party is feeling confident about the results of its anti-virus campaign, which shut down much of the world’s second-largest economy starting in late January. The apparent subsiding of China’s outbreak came only after authorities there imposed massive quarantines, which are still largely in place.
Panama reports first coronavirus case
The country of Panama, on the isthmus that connects Central and South America, confirmed its first case of coronavirus Monday. The patient is a 40-year-old woman who had returned Sunday from Madrid. She is now isolated at home and will receive daily visits from health workers, according to Rosario Turner, the country’s health minister.
The virus that causes the COVID-19 illness has also been confirmed in the Caribbean, Brazil, Mexico, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Argentina, Peru, Costa Rica, Chile and Argentina.
Map: Which states have coronavirus cases?
Here’s a look at which U.S. states have reported cases of COVID-19:
What’s the worldwide death toll?
The global death toll surpassed 4,000 on Monday night, pushed by a rising number of fatalities in Italy (463), Iran (237), South Korea (54), according to a Johns Hopkins University data dashboard.
The total of confirmed cases is nearing 115,000, with more than 80,700 in mainland China, where the virus has killed more than 3,100 people. Six other countries have at least 1,000 cases — Italy, Iran, South Korea, France, Germany and Spain.
For most people, the virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, but it can progress to serious illness including pneumonia, especially in older adults and people with existing health problems. WHO says mild cases last about two weeks while patients with serious illness recover in about three to six weeks.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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