March 5 coronavirus news

Our live coverage of the novel coronavirus has moved here.

Gov. Larry Hogan told reporters there are three cases of coronavirusin Maryland after the state lab tested the patients’ samples.

The people are a married couple in their 70s and another individual in their 50s from Montgomery County. They returned in late February from international travel, the governor said

They were on the same group trip overseas, but officials are not releasing where exactly they traveled.

The three patients are in good condition and isolated at home. 

Investigators are trying to identify people the patients might have interacted with since their return.

There are 19 states that have had positive or presumptive positive tests.

Colorado officials announced two presumptive positive cases of coronavirus, the state’s first cases.

The first case is in an out-of-state visitor – a male in his 30s – to Summit County. 

When the man arrived at Denver’s airport on February 29, he was asymptomatic, Gov. Jared Polis said.

The man developed symptoms two days ago, was tested yesterday and today the state lab said the test was positive.

The person was advised to go to a lower alititude and relocated to Jefferson County, the governor added..Coronavirus makes people sick, usually with a mild to moderate upper respiratory tract illness, similar to a common cold. 

The man is in isolation and his fiancee is in quarantine. Two friends from Colorado have been given quarantine directions, the governor said.

Polis said the man traveled to Italy in mid-February and had a travel companion who has had a positive coronavirus test in another state, Polis said.

The governor said there is a second case but that he didn’t have details.

In this photo provided by Michele Smith, passengers look on as a Coast Guard helicopter hovers above the Grand Princess cruise ship on Thursday, March 5, off the California coast. 

Virus tests are underway for cruisegoers aboard the Grand Princess, passenger Michael Bell told CNN.

The tests were delivered to the ship by a California Air National Guard helicopter.

As the aircraft hovered, guardsmen dropped the test kits and lowered CDC medical personnel, Lt. Col. Jonathan Shiroma told CNN.

Almost 100 passengers, including guests and staff, need to be tested, Princess said in a statement.

The ship’s captain told passengers over the cruise ship’s loudspeakers that tests are being conducted and will be flown out by dinnertime, Bell said.

He added that the CDC has forced the closure of the casino and all group activities on the ship. Guests are being told to stay 6 feet (2 meters) from one another, according to Bell.

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Lyft said it is encouraging staffers at its San Francisco headquarters to work from home for the rest of this week “out of an abundance of caution.”

“We recently learned that a Lyft team member at our San Francisco headquarters was in contact with someone who was exposed to COVID-19. The team member has not exhibited any symptoms, and is in touch with medical professionals,” Lyft spokeswoman Alexandra LaManna said in a statement to CNN Business.

“We are basing every step of our response process on CDC guidance.”

The company had its headquarters deep-cleaned overnight, according to LaManna.

The US Department of Homeland Security refused entry into the country to 241 people – 14 at airports; 227 at land ports – within the past month because of the novel coronavirus, according to data provided by the department. 

The figures provided by DHS were recorded from February 2 to March 3. The department did not provide a breakdown by country for those who were refused entry at airports. 

 Another 106 foreign nationals were denied entry before arriving in the US at pre-clearance airports, where US Customs officials conduct screening overseas.

The department is tasked with screening passengers that are subject to the President’s travel restrictions from China and Iran. At the beginning of February, the United States began implementing stringent travel restrictions in an effort to contain the coronavirus outbreak. Most foreign nationals who visited China in the 14 days before their arrival to the United States are denied entry. That was expanded last week to include Iran. 

Israel and the Palestinian Authority imposed a closure on Bethlehem and surrounding towns and villages Thursday evening following the discovery of seven cases of coronavirus in the Palestinian city. PA President Mahmoud Abbas declared a state of emergency across the West Bank.

“The movement of Israelis and Palestinians in and out of the city is prohibited,” Israeli Minister of Defense Naftali Bennett said in a statement.

The decision was made in coordination with the Palestinian Authority, Bennett said, and following consultations with the National Security Council and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.

The city of Seattle is working to add new homeless facilities in an attempt to slow the spread of novel coronavirus. 

Mayor Jenny Durkan announced that two new groups of “tiny houses” and a repurposed former treatment facility will make it possible for the city to house another 100 people without shelter.

Remember: Currently, no novel coronavirus patients have been identified by health officials as being homeless.

The shelter expansion follows efforts by King County to add new temporary buildings to isolate confirmed coronavirus patients, including three modular units and a motel. Durkan said Seattle’s new homeless facilities are not intended to serve people who already have the novel coronavirus.

It will take up to three weeks before the new shelters are fully operational. Durkan said additional shelter options can be made available more quickly if necessary, using plans already in place for severe weather emergencies.

In this photo provided by Michele Smith, a Coast Guard helicopter delivering virus testing kits hovers above the Grand Princess cruise ship Thursday, March 5, off the California coast.

Coronavirus testing is underway for cruise ship passengers aboard the Grand Princess, passenger Michael Bell told CNN.

The tests were delivered to the ship via a California Air National Guard helicopter a short time ago. 

The chopper hovered above the ship and para-rescue jumpers dropped the test kits and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention medical personnel down to the vessel, Lt. Col. Jonathan Shiroma told CNN.

Nearly 100 passengers have been identified as needing to be tested, including guests and staff, Princess said in an earlier statement.

In an announcement over the cruise ship’s loudspeaker, the ship’s captain told passengers that tests are being conducted and will be flown out by dinner, with results expected about five hours later, Bell said.

Bell said the CDC has forced the closure of the casino and all group activities on the ship. Guests are being told to stay six feet away from one another.

The Irish Department of Health has confirmed seven new cases of COVID-19 today, raising the total in the country to 13.

According to the daily report posted on the government’s website, the new patients include four men who “are associated with travel from Northern Italy” and two women who were in contact with other patients. The government says one person “is believed to have caught the virus through community transmission.”

One of the people affected was admitted to Cork University Hospital and is recovering in an isolation unit. The hospital has canceled all outpatient appointments scheduled for Friday “as part of infection control measures.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced a new public testing lab network across the state that he said will allow Texas to process kits more quickly.  

The labs are located in 10 cities: Lubbock, Fort Worth, Dallas, Tyler, El Paso, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Corpus Christi and Harlingen. 

So far about half the labs are up and running (Houston, Dallas, El Paso, Lubbock, and Forth Worth), while the others will be online by the end of the month, Abbott said. 

Abbott also confirmed that the patient diagnosed with coronavirus in Fort Bend County contracted the virus overseas, but he would not say where. He confirmed an investigation is underway on who’s been in close contact with the patient. 

Asked for his thoughts on SXSW not being canceled, Abbott said that was a decision up to local officials.

Dr. John Hellerstedt, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, maintained there has been no community spread of the coronavirus in Texas, since the patient in Fort Bend County contracted the virus overseas. He also said that’s why they’re not concerned about homeless populations yet at this time. 

US stocks finished sharply lower on Thursday, with all three major indexes closing down more than 3%.

Worries about the global coronavirus outbreak once again spurred a selloff in stocks.

Here’s where things stand:

Investors plowed money into safe haven assets like bonds. The 10-year Treasury bond yield dropped to a new record low below 0.91%. Bond yields move in the opposite direction of bond prices.

The Harris County Public Health (HCPH) reports two new cases of novel coronavirus in Harris County, Texas.

According to a press release from the agency, a man and a woman from the unincorporated area of northwest Harris County, outside Houston, tested positive for COVID-19. These cases are travel-related and, at this time, there is no evidence of community spread.

The tests were verified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The first case in Texas was reported Wednesday, in Fort Bend County, Texas.

Los Angeles County Public Health is reporting another four cases of novel coronavirus.

All four patients recently traveled to Northern Italy and are being isolated. Their close contacts are being quarantined, according to L.A. County Public Health.

This brings L.A. County’s total to 11.

An additional person has died of novel coronavirus in King County, Washington, according to the local health department. 

In a written release, the department describes the victim as a woman in her 90’s who died on Tuesday. Her death was not included in the daily report issued earlier today from the state Department of Health.

This brings the total number of coronavirus deaths in Washington state to 11. A 12th death was confirmed earlier this week in California. The King County announcement does not affect the overall number of positive coronavirus cases reported in Washington state, which stands at 70.

Due to the increased amount of testing and results expected in coming days, King County says it will no longer provide personal details about coronavirus patients going forward.

Rhode Island officials are working on a policy to limit the number of people that can visit health care facilities and nursing homes due to fears over coronavirus, Rhode Island Department of Health officials said in a statement.

The policy restricts people from visiting staff or patients if they are under the age of 18 or if they are sick, according to the statement. 

Additionally, officials have asked employers, if possible, to ask their employees who have traveled to China, Iran, Italy, South Korea, or Japan in the last 14 days to remain at home until they have been symptom-free for 14 days.

Rhode Island currently has two confirmed cases of coronavirus.

Cleaning products are displayed on a shelf at Jackson Hardware on March 2 in San Rafael, California.

The US Environmental Protection Agency is arming consumers with a list of disinfectants that people can use to protect themselves from the novel coronavirus.

The federal agency released a five-page list of chemicals and products Thursday that it says are strong enough to ward off “harder-to-kill” viruses than SARS-CoV-2.

Here are some of the registered disinfectants on the EPA’s list:

You can read the full list of disinfectants here.

Bonnie Castillo, executive director of National Nurses United, speaks during a news conference at the National Nurses United offices on March 5 in Oakland, California.

National Nurses United says 80 of its members nationwide are currently self-quarantined due to the novel coronavirus. 

Speaking at a press conference today, Bonnie Castillo, a registered nurse and executive director of National Nurses United, said, “it is not a successful strategy to leave nurses and other health care workers unprotected so that one patient can sideline so many workers at once.”  

During the press conference, Deborah Burger, president of California Nurses Association, read a letter from an anonymous nurse who works in California and is currently self-quarantined. In the letter, the nurse said they are struggling to get a test, despite developing a fever after caring for a patient who tested positive for novel coronavirus. 

The nurse is currently waiting to get a test, the letter said.

“This is not a ticket dispenser at the deli counter. It’s a public health emergency, delaying this test puts the whole community at risk,” the letter added.

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 plane prepares to land at Oakland International Airport on April 25, 2019 in San Leandro, California.

Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly says a drop-off in bookings began last week, and the airline may have to join competitors in cutting flights if it continues. 

He said the decision hadn’t been made, but called it a “gut punch.”  

This is significant because Southwest is essentially only a domestic carrier – so it isn’t seeing people who are disinterested in flying to China, but seeing people who don’t want to fly around the US.

Kelly said he doesn’t think discounting prices would help, though it is something he could consider.

Vice President Mike Pence stops to talk to reporters briefly as he leaves the US Capitol after meeting with Congressional Democrats and Republicans on recent developments with the novel coronavirus March 4 in Washington, DC.

Vice President Mike Pence said the United States doesn’t have enough coronavirus tests, at this point, to meet what officials expect to be the demand for them in the future.

“We don’t have enough tests today to meet what we anticipate will be the demand going forward,” Pence told reporters following a meeting with his coronavirus task force and executives from 3M in Minnesota. 

“For those that we believe have been exposed, for those who are showing symptoms, we’ve been able to provide the testing,” Pence said.

He went on to say the US “distributed 1,500 kits, with roughly 500 tests each so there’s roughly about a million and a half tests going out to hospitals.” 

Medical professionals note that many patients require multiple tests to confirm a positive test result, meaning that of the million and a half tests available, the number of patients who actually receive the tests will likely be much lower, until supplies and testing capacity are increased. 

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