Jordan's coronavirus cases rise as it moves to cushion economy

Jordan confirmed 12 new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday, as the central bank announced measures to help troubled businesses and a tourism sector hit hard by the impact of the crisis.

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Guatemala reports first coronavirus death, an elderly man back from Spain

Guatemala has registered its first fatality from coronavirus infection, an elderly man who had recently visited Madrid, Health Minister Hugo Monroy said on Sunday, in one of the first deaths from the outbreak to hit Central America.

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African nations close borders, cancel flights to contain coronavirus spread

Several African governments on Sunday closed borders, canceled flights and imposed strict entry and quarantine requirements to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, which has a foothold in at least 26 countries on the continent as cases keep rising.

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Colombia cancels classes to halt the spread of coronavirus

Classes at Colombia's public schools and universities will be canceled from Monday to contain the spread of the coronavirus, President Ivan Duque said on Sunday.

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France preparing confinement order to fight coronavirus sources

France is preparing an order that would put its inhabitants under partial lockdown to combat the coronavirus epidemic, sources aware of the planning said on Sunday, a move that would tighten further restrictions on public life.

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An in-house expert helped Microsoft decide to let workers stay home.

By BY KAREN WEISE from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2TRMbqv

New York Schools Close

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Pence Pledges High-Speed Coronavirus Testing From 2,000 Labs This Week

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Spain’s King Cuts Financial Ties With Father Amid Scandal

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Countries across the world have restricted travel.

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California Calls for Residents 65 and Older to Stay at Home

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Debate Live Analysis: Biden and Sanders on Coronavirus

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A Sunday Without Church: In Crisis, a Nation Asks, ‘What is Community?’

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Iran reports more than 100 new virus deaths as fears mount

The official leading Iran's response to the new coronavirus acknowledged Sunday that the pandemic could overwhelm health facilities in his country, which is battling the worst outbreak in the Middle East while under heavy U.S. sanctions. Elsewhere in the region, Lebanon ordered residents not to leave their homes except for urgent necessities and even closed down Beirut's famous Mediterranean boardwalk. Muslim authorities indefinitely closed the Al-Aqsa mosque in east Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam, with prayers continuing to be held on the sprawling esplanade outside.

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Coronavirus travel: President Trump considering domestic restrictions, adds U.K. to ban

In addition to potential domestic restrictions, Trump added the UK and Ireland to the existing international ban.

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U.S. Screening Snarls Travel; Airlines Cut Flights: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- Airlines are halting flights, and other business are grinding to a stop. People around the the world face more draconian restrictions on gatherings and travel.Europe now reports more daily coronavirus cases than China did at its peak in February. Cases jumped 20% in the U.K., which faced criticism for its approach to the virus. Currencies seem headed for more volatile swings after a turbulent week, early trading shows. New Zealand’s central bank slashed its benchmark rate.Key Developments:Cases top 164,000 worldwide, as deaths exceed 6,400Italy adds 368 deaths in one day, raising total to 1,809The U.S. totals 3,125 cases and 61 deathsIreland asks pubs to closeFrance tightens controls at German borderSubscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here.Click VRUS on the terminal for news and data on the coronavirus and here for maps and charts. For analysis of the impact from Bloomberg Economics, click here. To see the impact on oil and commodities demand, click here.Ohio Shuts Bars, Restaurants (3:50 p.m. NY)Ohio is closing all bars and restaurants indefinitely after reports of crowds still gathering as St. Patrick’s Day faces the limitations imposed by the spread of coronavirus. Carry-outs and delivery will still be allowed, Governor Mike DeWine announced at a press conference in Columbus.“This is a very, very crucial time,” DeWine said. “Delay means more people will die.”Travel Limits Roil Airports (3:15 p.m. NY)Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport was among facilities overwhelmed this weekend with passengers, including many coming from Europe, who faced new screening measures.As pictures of lines and stories from travelers were shared on social media, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said the White House failed to prepare for the influx of returning passengers in response to President Donald Trump’s new travel restrictions.New Zealand Cuts Rates (3 p.m. NY)The New Zealand central bank slashed its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points as strict border controls look set to tip the economy into recession. In an emergency move, the Reserve Bank cut its cash rate to 0.25% from 1% and said it will remain there for at least the next 12 months.U.S. Airlines Slash Flights (2:50 p.m. NY)American Airlines will slash long-haul international flights by 75% through early May as demand collapses and governments impose restrictions to slow the virus’s spread. Delta Air Lines further cut its international flights. United Airlines earlier said it would cut April domestic capacity 10% and international 20%, but warned additional reductions could follow.D.C. Shuts Night Clubs (2:20 p.m. NY)Washington, D.C., ordered nightclubs and multi-purpose facilities to close and told restaurants to remove bar seats and stop serving patrons who are standing. The district also limited indoor gatherings to 250 people. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said restaurants and bars must set tables and booths to ensure patrons are at least six feet apart.South Africa Declares Disaster (2 p.m. NY)South Africa declared a national state of disaster, closed 35 ports of entry, banned gatherings of more than 100 people and shut schools starting the middle of this week. Flights will be halted from Italy, Iran, the U.S., U.K. and South Korea, the government said.President Cyril Ramaphosa in a televised speech discouraged citizens from non-essential domestic travel.N.Y. May Be ‘Overwhelmed’ (1:45 p.m. NY)New York Governor Andrew Cuomo warned that the state’s health-care system is about to be “overwhelmed,” but he stopped short of ordering schools or businesses to close.Instead, he asked companies to close voluntarily and let employees work from home. Schools will remain open, he said, because many families rely on them for food and child care.New York has 729 cases -- the most in the U.S. -- with three deaths.Ireland Asks Pubs to Close (1:40 p.m. NY)The Irish government asked pubs to close for at least two weeks after video of bars jammed with drinkers in defiance of guidelines appeared on social media. Industry groups say it’s impossible to police social-distancing guidelines.The government also pleaded with citizens not to replace pub visits with house parties.Europe Outpacing China at Peak (1:30 p.m. NY)Europe is reporting more new cases each day than China did when the disease peaked in that country, the head of the World Health Organization said. Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said canceling sporting events can help slow the spread.The situation will worsen in many countries before it improves, said Maria Van Kerkhove, a WHO epidemiologist. While the situation is improving in Asia, countries where the disease has peaked could experience relapses, she said.SAS Idles 90% of Staff (1:15 p.m. NY)Scandinavian airline SAS AB is idling up to 10,000 employees, or 90% of staff, to cope with fallout from the coronavirus and related government measures that have restricted international air travel.The airline will also cancel most flights staerting Monday, according to a statement. SAS said it will maintain certain routes in order to enable flights to return from various destinations.Dutch Schools, Bars to Close (1:15 p.m. NY)The Dutch government ordered schools, gyms, restaurants and bars to close until April 6. Suspending classes puts the Netherlands in line with most other European countries, though it’s a reversal from Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s insistence last week that schools will stay open.Manhattan Project Approach Urged (12:20 p.m. NY)U.S. hospitals are preparing for a surge in patients as testing becomes more prevalent, revealing the extent of Covid-19’s spread, which led one administrator to urge more action.“We need to think about this in almost like a war-like stance,” Peter Slavin, president of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”He urged the government to wage a Manhattan Project-type effort, as it did in World War II on the atomic bomb, to spur the health-care industry to make more surgical masks, eye protection gear and gowns.Portugal Limits Crowds (12:10 p.m. NY)Portugal is banning events with more than 100 people, Internal Administration Minister Eduardo Cabrita said in a broadcast on SIC Noticias. The government had already blocked events with more than 1,000 people.U.K. Cases Rise 20% (11:43 a.m. NY)The U.K. said 1,372 people have tested positive for coronavirus, up from 1,140 a day earlier. An additional 14 deaths brings the total to 35. Health Secretary Matt Hancock defended the government, which hasn’t closed schools or halted mass gatherings as have many other nations.Hash tags including CloseTheSchoolsNow and lockusdown were trending on Twitter in the U.K. Sunday. People over age 70 will be asked to stay home in “the coming weeks,” Hancock told Sky News.Health Insurers Drop Copays (11:20 a.m. NY)U.S. health insurers are dropping coronavirus testing copayments and requirements that treatments be approved in advance. The America’s Health Insurance Plans trade group posted details of the emergency steps taken related to Covid-19. Insurers include Aetna, Anthem, the 36 Blue Cross Blue Shield Association plans, Cigna, and Humana.Kroger Offers Paid Time Off (10:55 a.m. NY)The Kroger Co. will allow paid time off for workers who have Covid-19 or are placed under mandatory quarantine, it said in a statement. Two employees -- in Colorado and Washington state -- tested positive. The grocer said it is seeking workers for immediate positions in stores, manufacturing plants and distribution centers.Nike Shuts Stores for 2 Weeks (10:45 a.m. NY)Nike Inc. will close all U.S. and western Europe retail stores through March 27 to help slow the outbreak. The closures, which include Canada, Australia and New Zealand, will take effect Monday. Nike will continue to pay employees during the shutdown, the company said.The company said Nike-owned stores in South Korea, Japan and most of China -- which were closed in February -- are currently open.Europe Cases Surge (9:09 a.m. NY)Spain’s diagnosed cases of the coronavirus jumped 35% to 7,753 on Sunday and the death toll more than doubled to 288, the Health Ministry said. In Switzerland, 2,200 cases marked a 62% increase. The number of deaths in the Netherlands rose by eight to 20, while confirmed cases increased by 176 to 1,135, according to a daily update from the RIVM National Institute for Public Health and the Environment on Sunday. Several countries cautioned that fewer tests are being performed as more people fall ill.Mnuchin Sees No Recession (9:03 a.m. NY)Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he doesn’t expect the coronavirus pandemic to tip the U.S. economy into recession, even though growth will slow. “Later in the year, obviously the economic activity will pick up as we confront this virus,” Mnuchin said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”Goldman Confirms Cases (9 a.m. NY)Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has confirmed to staff its first two cases of coronavirus as the Wall Street bank steps up plans to split up teams and allow more employees to work from home.In a memo seen by Bloomberg News, Goldman Sachs told staff that it had received confirmation that an employee from its London office who was off sick with suspected coronavirus had tested positive and was at home in isolation. The other case is in Sydney.Ski Resorts Shut (7:50 a.m. NY)Vail said it will halt all of its North American resorts from March 15-22 and “use that time to reassess our approach for the rest of the season,” the company said in a statement. Alterra Mountain Co., which operates resorts including Steamboat and Winter Park in Colorado, Squaw Valley in California and Vermont’s Sugarbush, said it will suspend operations from today until further notice.Iran Deaths Leap (7:45 a.m. NY)Iran’s deaths from the virus rose to 724 over the past 24 hours, with 113 new fatalities reported since yesterday. Total confirmed cases now stand at 13,938, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said in a statement on state TV.Singapore Says U.K. Cases to Surge (7:18 a.m. NY)The U.K. and Switzerland are effectively not trying to combat the coronavirus and cases are likely to surge in the coming weeks, a Singapore minister said. “These countries have abandoned any measure to contain or restrain the virus,” Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong said at a press briefing Sunday.The city-state said Sunday it added 14 new cases, the biggest one-day jump.France Limits Domestic Travel (7 a.m. NY)France will gradually reduce domestic transport links by air, rail and bus in a bid to limit travel and fight the coronavirus epidemic. The move comes a day after the government closed restaurants, cafes and non-essential stores.European Cases Climb (6:30 a.m. NY)Belgium’s health ministry reported 197 new cases on Sunday, bringing the total of confirmed infections to 886. Finland, which has implemented tighter testing criteria, had 240 cases. Poland’s cases rose 63% from Friday to 111 cases of coronavirus and three deaths. The count is rising as the nation is now testing all those who are in quarantine. Full border controls are in place as of today, and cafes, restaurants and shopping malls are closed. Slovakia reported 54 cases, an increase of 10.Austria Bans All Gatherings (6 a.m. NY)Austria’s chancellor said the country is widening restrictions to ban all public gatherings of more than five people. “We’re aware those are massive restrictions but they are necessary,” Sebastian Kurz said on Twitter. Austrians are asked to isolate themselves and have no social contact outside their households. The number of confirmed cases jumped to 800 on Sunday, from 602 on Saturday. In neighboring Slovenia, public transportation has been temporarily shut down.EU Medical Exports Eased (6 a.m. NY)Germany and France will lift restrictions on the export of medical equipment, allowing for deliveries to Italy, the EU commissioner for the internal market said. Germany will send 1 million masks to Italy.\--With assistance from Boris Groendahl, Yudith Ho, Thomas Penny, Tara Patel, Golnar Motevalli, Harry Wilson, Macarena Munoz, Thomas Mulier, Joost Akkermans and Hanna Hoikkala.To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Steve Geimann in Washington at sgeimann@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: James Ludden at jludden@bloomberg.net, Ian Fisher, Linus ChuaFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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Chile quarantines 1,300 aboard two cruise ships

Chile has quarantined more than 1,300 people aboard two cruise ships after an elderly Briton aboard one of them tested positive for the coronavirus, the health ministry announced Saturday. Both ships are cruising the Chilean fjords in Patagonia. The 85-year-old man showed symptoms of the virus after getting off the Silver Explorer ship in the far southern port of Caleta Tortel, 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles) from Santiago.

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Fauci: U.S. is 'entering into a new phase in the testing space'

Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, said on Sunday that the United States is "entering into a new phase in the (coronavirus) testing space."

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Israel's president to ask Netanyahu rival Benny Gantz to form government

Opposition leader Benny Gantz will be asked to form a new government, Israel's president said on Sunday, boosting his chances of ousting veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It was a blow to Netanyahu, who is fighting for his political life amid unprecedented political deadlock and a criminal indictment for corruption, which he denies. Netanyahu, 70, is Israel's longest-serving leader and has been heading the country's efforts to combat the coronavirus.

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Why Washington state is at the center of the US coronavirus outbreak

High numbers can be attributed in part to the fact that the state reported the first case in the US and jumpstarted testingOn Saturday, Alexandria, 22, was struggling to breathe, so she called 911 and was rushed to an isolation unit at a Seattle hospital.She had had a fever for days and was tested for the flu and strep throat, and given a chest X-ray. But, she said, the doctors told her she would not be tested for coronavirus because she hadn’t traveled to China and was not in the at-risk age range.After being discharged with a diagnosis of a viral infection, with no recommendations about home isolation, she was escorted out of the hospital, where she waited on the street for her partner to pick her up.It took four days before another physician heard her symptoms, sent her in for coronavirus testing, and she was diagnosed positive.Since January, when Washington reported the first case of coronavirus in the US, the state has been the central focus of the American outbreak, documenting the most cases and deaths associated with the infection in the country. Its position in what has now been declared by the World Health Organization as a pandemic can be attributed to everything from individual missed opportunities for diagnosis and state funding gaps to restrictive federal guidelines for testing.But at the same time, those high numbers can also be attributed to the simple fact that the state diagnosed its first case before the rest of America and was forced to jumpstart its testing and surveillance response.Dr Scott Lindquist, the Washington state epidemiologist for communicable disease, explained that Washington is not at the country’s center of this outbreak, but rather at the “leading edge”.“We are leading the rest of the country,” he said. “They are using all our experience… as they’re finding the same amount of activity in their state.”As of Thursday, state officials have confirmed 457 cases in Washington across 13 counties, including 31 deaths.Following guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), early testing in Washington was done through the CDC and limited to individuals who had symptoms and a travel history to China or contact with a known case. These guidelines have since broadened, allowing academic and corporate labs to conduct testing and healthcare providers to decide who is eligible for the test.Janet Baseman, the associate dean for the University of Washington’s School of Public Health, said she doesn’t think there’s anything that could have been done differently at the state and local level, as officials were following the federal guidelines. But if there had been more people tested earlier it could have had an important impact on exposure.“We would have found the cases earlier, and if we would have found the cases earlier, people who tested positive would have been able to take extra precautions to isolate themselves and to possibly keep other people from becoming exposed, thereby limiting transmission,” she said.The University of Washington’s virology lab was one of those spaces that was prepared early to contribute to additional testing. Keith Jerome, the head of the virology division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, said developed a test that detects the virus and worked with the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through February to get approval to start testing.But the lab wasn’t able to start until 2 March, after the FDA changed its policy to say labs that have validated tests could begin testing immediately.The University of Washington lab can currently handle about 1,000 samples a day, and by next week may be able to process as many as 4,000 samples. Jerome said they’re working toward being able to test 10,000 samples a day, but also to simply get the word out that there are labs with plenty of capacity for testing.According to the CDC website, between 18 January and 10 March, the highest number of samples collected for testing in a single day was 404.Jerome said right now it’s not a priority to look at how the situation should or could have been handled, since they need to focus on responding to the outbreak at hand. But, in the future, when officials do take a careful look at how the outbreak developed, he said it’s very possible that they’ll determine that more people should have been tested sooner.He said it’s also possible they conclude that “we should have tapped into the tremendous expertise that certain academic laboratories have in this kind of thing. To kind of keep them out of the response in the early days may not have been the right decision.”But the factor that may have truly solidified the state’s central position in the outbreak of coronavirus in the US was when the infection struck an acute nursing home in Kirkland, Washington, on the outskirts of Seattle.Although most coronavirus infections cause mild symptoms, for people older than 60 years and those with chronic illness or weakened immune systems, it can cause more severe issues.Over the last three weeks, the facility has seen 13 people associated with the center be diagnosed with coronavirus and die. Originally home to 120 residents and 180 employees, the center has now seen those numbers drastically reduced, with 63 residents testing positive for the virus and 66 employees showing symptoms, according to a report released by the facility on Thursday.Washington state’s health department said Saturday that 18 CDC employees had been at the facility, and they along with Seattle and King county public health have provided technical assistance to the center’s staff. The department said it has also provided the facility with an infection control expert, and there is a team of clinicians on site from the US health and human services department.The state’s health department has spent $3.4m on coronavirus response. Lawmakers are currently in the process of approving $200m to go toward fighting the outbreak.Lindquist said the public health system in Washington has been severely underfunded for years. If the funds they’ve requested in the past had been approved and in place at the start of this outbreak, they would have been more prepared to handle it.For example, during the 2019 legislative session, local health partners advocated for $100m in ongoing funding to support activities in such areas as communicable disease. The final budget included $22m in funding, according to the state health department.“I think we would have had more people working here, so we could have processed things with the latest technology instead of having to upgrade as we’re going along in this,” he said. “We would have had enough machines to do this, we would have had enough staff to do this, we would have had enough epidemiologists to give help to the counties that were overly burdened.”

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Despite 2 potential exposures to coronavirus, Trump's White House doctor said he doesn't need to be tested or quarantined

White House physician Sean Conley said the president's potential exposures to COVID-19 were "low" and did not require testing or quarantine.

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Pence Announces New Travel Bans on United Kingdom and Ireland as Coronavirus Pandemic Spreads

Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday that new travel bans would be implemented on the United Kingdom and Ireland as the novel coronavirus pandemic spreads.At a White House press conference with President Trump, the vice president said the ban would take effect from midnight Monday, but that U.S. citizens, permanent residents and their families would be allowed to return to the country through 13 airports where the Department of Homeland Security has established enhanced entry screening capabilities. Pence also encouraged individuals returning from those countries to self-quarantine for two weeks.The decision came after the U.S. restricted travel from Europe earlier this week in the wake of growing coronavirus outbreaks in several major European countries. Last week, the World Health Organization declared Europe the new “epicenter” of the coronavirus epidemic. By Saturday, more than 145,000 infections and over 5,400 deaths had been recorded worldwide. The United States has confirmed at least 2,112 cases and 47 deaths, according to the Associated Press.Travel to the U.S. will now be restricted from China, Iran and 28 European countries including the U.K. Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.The United Kingdom had initially been spared when Trump announced in a Wednesday evening address that he would be banning European travel. However, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been criticized at home for his government’s slow response to the coronavirus. He initially balked at the kind of mass closures and restrictions that many other European countries have taken, though the government indicated that it would likely ban mass gatherings beginning next week. Other European countries have taken more serious steps to attempt to slow the spread of the virus. Both Spain and Italy have announced national lockdowns of businesses and restricted most travel inside their countries, while at least ten countries have begun enforcing border closures. “We’re using the full power of the government to defeat the virus,” Trump said on Saturday.House lawmakers approved legislation to counter the escalating coronavirus outbreak early on Saturday morning, capping two days of negotiations between Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and the Trump administration. The bill provides expanded paid sick leave and unemployment insurance for those dealing with the virus, offers free testing for all, and increases Medicaid funding for local health care systems.While Republicans initially had misgivings with proposals in the bill, GOP leaders claimed credit for forcing changes, and ultimately an overwhelming number in both parties voted in favor of the package.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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Pope prays at Great Plague church as Italy toll mounts

Pope Francis left Vatican City on Sunday to pray in a Rome cathedral for coronavirus victims as Italy's death toll hit a one-day high of 368. The 83-year-old pontiff's unannounced visit to a church with a crucifix from the times of the Great Plague came with Italy's hospitals running out beds and the entire nation of 60 million under effective lockdown. Only occasional joggers and a few locals carrying grocery bags could be seen on the streets of Rome in what has fast become Italy's biggest crisis in several generations.

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