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Amazon is informing employees that one of its Seattle-based workers has been diagnosed with coronavirus.
According to a mass email for all staff members in Seattle and Bellevue, Washington, the employee infected with the novel coronavirus first became ill on February 25 and has not been back to work since that time.
The company said it has directly notified all coworkers who had been in close contact with the patient. The worker was based at the downtown office building the company refers to as Amazon Brazil, according to the email.
An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the authenticity of the email to CNN, adding, “We’re supporting the affected employee.”
It was not immediately clear whether the case was included in Washington state’s count of coronavirus patients in King County, which stood at 21 on Monday.
New Zealand has reported a second case of the novel coronavirus, the country’s Ministry of Health said in a statement on Wednesday, local time.
The patient is a New Zealand citizen in her 30s who recently returned to Auckland from northern Italy, the statement said. She does not require hospital level care and is currently under self-isolation at home.
The country’s first case — which was confirmed last month — is a New Zealand citizen who traveled to Iran and returned to New Zealand via Bali.
There are seven new cases of novel coronavirus confirmed in Malaysia, bringing the country’s total to 36, Noor Hisham Abdullah, the director general of Health Malaysia, announced on Twitter Tuesday.
The director general said all the new cases are close contacts of a patient who previously contracted the virus and they are currently in a stable condition.
A senior administration official acknowledged that the Trump administration is feeling a major sense of urgency to distribute testing kits for the coronavirus amid bipartisan criticism that the kits are being deployed too slowly.
The official conceded that the question from health professionals nationwide, and from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, is: “Why can’t the feds give us tests?”
This official went on to note that roughly one million kits are expected to be distributed throughout the country in the coming days. The official emphasized that the administration is eager for the kits to be deployed in order to obtain the data needed to assess just how widespread the outbreak is becoming, something that cannot be clearly determined at the moment.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced that most events of the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio, will be held without spectators this weekend based on guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on preventing the spread of coronavirus.
The Arnold Sports Festival is an annual multi-sport festival held in Columbus that includes the Arnold Classic, a bodybuilding competition named for Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Schwarzenegger called the decision a “very sad moment for us, for my partners Jim Lorimer and Bob Lorimer, because we have been doing this now since 1976 when we held the first Mr. Olympia and Mr. Universe competition in Columbus, Ohio, and ever since we have been doing this without any interruption whatsoever.”
The former California governor added, “Let me be very clear that we have the biggest and the best health and fitness festival in the world, but we would never choose making money over people’s health.”
The British Columbia Ministry of Health announced three additional confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Canadian province this evening.
This brings British Columbia’s coronavirus total to 12, according to Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer.
According to Henry, the new cases include…
The three individuals did not require hospitalization and are recovering in their homes, according to Henry.
By the numbers: These new cases bring Canada’s total number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases to 33, including 20 in Ontario, 12 in British Columbia and one in Quebec.
Vice President Mike Pence pledged that upcoming briefings on coronavirus would be on camera, following a Tuesday evening on the record briefing led by Pence that the White House press office insisted remain off camera.
The press office also insisted that reporters not broadcast any sound from the briefing, in which the vice president announced several new US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initiatives, including a change in policy that now allows any American to receive a coronavirus test, if a doctor deems it necessary.
When pressed about the briefing being off camera, Pence said it was because President Trump had already made multiple on camera statements today.
“You’re going to see us in here every day answering questions… but the president was at NIH today and the president addressed the country today,” Pence said.
He added that “I expect we’ll be back on camera tomorrow.”
Some context: On two occasions last week, Trump and members of the Coronavirus Task Force briefed reporters on camera from the briefing room.
Now that coronavirus is spreading in the US, lots of people are going to their doctors, urgent care clinics or emergency rooms to find out whether their coughs, sneezes and fevers mean they have the coronavirus.
But some are worried about the cost of that testing after the Miami Herald wrote a story about a man who went to the hospital with flu-like symptoms and was told he might owe $3,270. (Turns out he actually had the flu, but his limited-coverage insurance policy left him with a $1,400 bill.)
Here’s how much it will cost you if you seek care: The coronavirus test itself shouldn’t generate a bill – for now – since the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is picking up the tab. That could change as more labs start running the test.
But the visit and other tests aren’t free. How much you’ll owe depends on several factors, including what insurance you have, where you seek treatment and what tests providers give you. For instance, those who haven’t satisfied their deductibles will likely be on the hook for more of the bill. Going to the emergency room is typically far more pricey than visiting your doctor or an urgent care clinic.
Those feeling sick can call their insurers to learn what the costs they might incur.
State governments and the Trump administration are also looking to relieve the financial burden so Americans don’t hesitate to get checked out — which could worsen the disease’s spread.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday required health insurers in his state to waive any cost sharing associated with testing for coronavirus. And the Trump administration is looking at providing hospitals with funding to care for the uninsured.
Congress is still hashing out a multi-billion supplemental spending bill to respond to the public health emergency.
The final sticking point: Making an eventual vaccine affordable.
An administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said today that any costs associated with the coronavirus test would be covered by Medicare and Medicaid.
Seema Verma’s remarks followed an announcement by Vice President Mike Pence Tuesday evening saying that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would issue new guidance that “any American can be tested (for coronavirus), no restrictions, subject to doctors’ orders.”
Asked by CNN if the testing would be free and what would be done to help those who could not afford it, Pence said guidance was going to be sent out immediately that notes that Medicare and Medicaid covers the test.
Verma noted that it is a diagnostic test so it would be covered under insurance as an essential health benefit and is a covered service in the exchanges — in Medicaid and in Medicare.
CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield added that the test the CDC provides to the public health community is provided free of charge to public health labs across the country.
Pence said that there was concern that some people felt they could not be tested if they were only mildly symptomatic, but the new guidance will make clear “that any clinician or health authority can administer the test.”
Singapore confirmed two new cases of novel coronavirus Tuesday evening, bringing the country’s total to 110, according to a statement posted by the Ministry of Health.
The two patients include two male citizens aged 70 and 33, who have not reported travel history to affected countries and regions, the statement said. The 33-year-old is linked to a cluster of cases at Wizlearn Technologies.
In response to the outbreak, Singapore has banned visitors who recently traveled to Iran, northern Italy, and South Korea, the minister for National Development, Lawrence Wong, announced Tuesday.
Singaporean citizens and residents returning from those locations will be placed on a mandatory 14-day home quarantine upon their return, he added.
Seattle is joining other communities in Washington state today, declaring an emergency to respond to the novel coronavirus.
In a statement, the office of Mayor Jenny Durkan said they will be announcing actions to be taken as a result of the emergency “in the coming days.”
Around the state: Similar emergency proclamations have been made by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, along with the King County government and the Seattle suburbs of Kirkland and Redmond.
So far, all of the confirmed deaths in the United States due to coronavirus are from Washington state.
There are 122 cases of the novel coronavirus, including nine deaths, in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tonight, as well as state and local governments.
According to the CDC, there are 48 cases from repatriated citizens. According to CNN Health’s tally of US cases that are detected and tested in the United States through the US public health systems, there are 74 cases in 13 states. Bringing the total of coronavirus cases to 122.
This includes presumptive positive cases that tested positive in a public health lab and are pending confirmation from the CDC, and confirmed cases have received positive results from the CDC.
The Northern California city of Berkeley just announced its first confirmed case of novel coronavirus from a resident who returned from a country with a coronavirus outbreak.
The resident, who returned to Berkeley on Feb. 23, was concerned about being exposed through travel and stayed home in a voluntary self-imposed quarantine, according to a statement from the City of Berkeley.
Berkeley Public Health is investigating whether the individual had contact with others. Individuals who were potentially exposed will be identified, notified and evaluated, the statement said.
Berkeley City Manager Dee Williams-Ridley also proclaimed a local emergency at noon today. The declaration allows the city to arrange more resources to prepare for any additional cases.
Respirator face masks in California’s emergency planning reserves are being freed up for use by health care workers.
Many of the face masks from the state’s emergency reserve are nearing or beyond their “use by” date, and are to be used only in low-risk situations, according to a statement from California Public Health.
Shortages of N95 masks have been reported nationwide, and this move is an effort to free up unexpired masks for more high risk circumstances.
Watch:
Kanoa Igarashi, a professional surfer born and raised in the United States but who will represent Japan at the upcoming 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, tells CNN that he and his fellow Olympians are “ready to compete” despite being concerned about the coronavirus threat.
Igarashi, who has already qualified for the Games and is expected to be one of Japan’s stars this summer, told CNN World Sport host Don Riddell that he is mentally preparing for all scenarios.
Igarashi admits that the threat has him “concerned about my health and obviously it can affect my training and competitions prior to the Olympics” but is “not too worried about it.”
United Airlines announced new “flexible booking” for people who want to change their flights plan because of the COVID-19 outbreak, according to a press release from the airline.
United Airlines says it will not charge a change fee for any purchases made between March 3 and March 31, and no advance notice is necessary.
“If a customer decides to cancel their flight, they can retain the value of the ticket to be applied to a new ticket without fee for travel up to 12 months from the original ticket issue date,” the press release said.
Last week the company announced it was suspending some service to Tokyo-Narita, Osaka, Singapore and Seoul. Additionally, it has extended the suspension of flights between US hubs and Beijing, Chengdu, Hong Kong and Shanghai through April 30.
Iran announced Tuesday that it will temporarily release more than 54,000 prisoners in an attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus, according to Iran’s semi-official news agency ISNA citing Iran’s Judiciary spokesperson Gholamhossein Esmaili.
The spokesperson said that the release of prisoners is under the supervision of Iran’s Health Ministry, ISNNA said in its report.
“The health of the prisoners is very important for us regardless of their status as security prisoners or regular prisoners.” Esmaili said as quoted on ISNA.
Some context: There are now 77 people dead in Iran from novel coronavirus, and 2,336 positive cases of infection, Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi said on state TV Tuesday.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say it’s developing a system to track the number of people in the United States tested for the novel coronavirus and it hopes to post that information online — but that doesn’t satisfy a US congressman who wrote a letter of complaint to the agency this week.
The CDC’s plan is “wholly inadequate,” according to Rep. Mark Pocan, a Wisconsin Democrat.
How the CDC got here: For weeks, the CDC has been posting the total number of people it has tested for the virus on its website. On Monday, that information disappeared. The CDC website still posts the number confirmed and presumptive positive coronavirus cases.
Until last week, CDC was one of only a few labs in the United States testing for the novel coronavirus. Now, many public health labs across the United States are able to perform the test.
Pocan sent a letter to CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield expressing concern about the vanished data.
On Tuesday, a CDC spokeswoman sent an email to CNN about its new plan.
“We’re working on a system to get [novel coronavirus] test results from state and local public health labs each week and hope to post that,” CDC’s Kristen Nordlund wrote to CNN.
Pocan told CNN that this that plan was “more of an excuse than an answer.”
He added that the CDC keeps track of national health data for a wide range of diseases and should be able to keep track of testing data for the novel coronavirus on a daily basis.
“There’s only 50 states. We can get this information relatively easily,” he said.
At a briefing on Tuesday, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said that since “many states are now testing and reporting their own results” any numbers CDC reports “would not be representative of the testing being done nationally.”
The US Navy’s 6th fleet is now also doing a 14-day self-quarantine between port visits by US Navy ships in Europe over concerns of the coronavirus, according to two US Navy officials, the move is intended to bring the fleet into line with instructions from US Pacific Fleet.
Ships will stay at sea for at least 14 days after visiting any port in Europe in order to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“In conjunction with the other fleets, we have instituted a 14-day underway period between port visits to allow for crew monitoring,” said Cdr. Kyle Raines, spokesperson for the 6th fleet.
Some context: The 6th fleet is responsible for the US Navy presence in Europe, including Russia and nearly the entire continent of Africa.
