Prince Charles, the 71-year-old heir to the British throne, has tested positive for coronavirus but is in good health and is now self isolating in Scotland.
Charles, eldest son of Queen Elizabeth, is displaying what Clarence House said were mild symptoms but remains in good health and has been working from his home on the Balmoral Estate in Scotland. His wife, Camilla, tested negative.
“The Prince of Wales has tested positive for coronavirus,” Clarence House said. “He has been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual.”
“The Duchess of Cornwall has also been tested but does not have the virus,” Clarence House said.
A royal source said the Prince of Wales was tested on Monday and got the results on Tuesday. Charles has spoken to both Queen Elizabeth and his children.
He last saw the 93-year-old monarch on the morning of March 12 following an investiture, before the earliest time he would have been infectious.
“Her Majesty The Queen remains in good health,” Buckingham Palace said. “The Queen last saw The Prince of Wales briefly after the investiture on the morning of 12th March and is following all the appropriate advice with regard to her welfare.”
A royal source said that the earliest Charles would have been infectious was March 13.
Queen Elizabeth left London for Windsor Castle on March 19. She is with her 98-year-old husband, Philip.
“It is not possible to ascertain from whom the Prince caught the virus owing to the high number of engagements he carried out in his public role during recent weeks,” Clarence House said.
Shaikh Bahaduresha, 31, lived on Mumbai's streets for two months last year, unable to make ends meet on his meagre taxi-driving profits of roughly $5 a day. After he got married in December, his wife put some money towards renting a small apartment, and they moved in together.
But with much of India now under lockdown to fight the coronavirus, Bahaduresha's newfound stability could come crashing down. He has no more taxi customers, which means he cannot afford food beyond rice and lentils, and will not be able to pay his rent, due on Tuesday.
Also read: US states, cities desperate for coronavirus help, military prepares
"I have no savings. My wife and I will be on the street again," said Bahaduresha as he waited in vain next to shuttered stores for a cab owner who he said owed him a deposit. "The US is a VIP country, you can block it for a month and it's okay, but in India you have to take care of the poor."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged India's 1.3 billion people to stay home and the majority of the country is under lockdown. As of Monday, India had reported 471 cases of the virus and nine deaths.
"I have no savings. My wife and I will be on the street again," said Bahaduresha as he waited in vain next to shuttered stores for a cab owner who he said owed him a deposit. "The US is a VIP country, you can block it for a month and it's okay, but in India you have to take care of the poor."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged India's 1.3 billion people to stay home and the majority of the country is under lockdown. As of Monday, India had reported 471 cases of the virus and nine deaths.
A dozen Indians living in Mumbai's sprawling Dharavi slum said they supported the clampdown, but wanted government support. The issue highlights how difficult it is for countries to tackle the virus without destroying livelihoods - a challenge that is especially acute in developing nations with significant populations living hand-to-mouth.
"So far, the prime minister's intervention has put the onus of responsibility on citizens ... but it has fallen short of explaining clearly what the state is going to do," said Gilles Verniers, a political science professor at Ashoka University near New Delhi
"There is nothing that looks like a national plan on the social front." The prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Some markets near the slum were closed and vendors still selling vegetables on the pavement said their distributors were no longer supplying them.
Dharavi residents said they were stretching out meals and forgoing pricier foods such as mutton. Khatun, a frail 70-year-old, wept on her bed as she recounted that her son, who does odd painting jobs, was out of work. Ajay Kewat, 21, said his family only had provisions for a few more days: "I'm afraid that after a week, there won't be food."
While scientists across the globe race to develop drugs and vaccines to combat the COVID-19 outbreak that has infected over 275,000 people in at least 177 countries, killing more than 11,000 patients, biologists in Karachi were sent packing after the Sindh government announced the closure of all educational institutions across the province.
As part of this, the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) – a world-renowned scientific research institute located in the University of Karachi – was also temporarily shut down, due to which the ongoing research on medicines for the novel coronavirus had to be suspended.
The drug preparation process was started in early March, with experiments being conducted at the Dr Panjwani Centre for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, a subsidiary of the ICCBS.
Stalled progress
Pakistani scientists involved in the preparation of the medicine reportedly made a breakthrough during the initial stages of the research as they identified nine compounds which could be effective in inhibiting the growth of the virus in the host cell. The research was being carried out by Dr Atia-tul-Wahab and her team under the supervision of the ICCBS director, Dr Iqbal Choudhary.
Per sources, even though the university was initially closed upon the orders of the government, scientists at the ICCBS continued their activities in the labs as their research was making progress. However, complaints began to surface on social media regarding the non-closure of the research centre, after which authorities ordered the centre to halt all research-related activities and sent the researchers home.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Dr Choudhary confirmed that all research, including experiments for the preparation of coronavirus vaccine, had been stalled.
“Some teachers secretly made a video of scientists entering and leaving the institute despite a lockdown,” he said. “Subsequently, they uploaded the video on social media, giving the impression that scientists were violating the government’s orders. Under such circumstances, it became very difficult for us to carry on with the experiments and administer the institute, because of which we were compelled to suspend all research activities.”
It is worth noting that unlike in Pakistan, research activities for the preparation of coronavirus medicine and vaccine in the two countries most affected by the outbreak were not halted for a single day, even when there was a complete lockdown.
Hopes still high
Even though it was disappointing for ICCBS scientists to suspend their research activities just when their efforts started to bear fruit, they are primed to resume the task at hand as soon as possible.
“During the initial stage of our research, we examined a sample of COVID-19 through computer simulation,” Dr Atia-tul-Wahab revealed. “Through this process, nine compounds have been identified that can inhibit or break the host cell of the coronavirus.”
She explained that one of the compounds turned out to be very effective in inhibiting the replication of the virus, and was considered as the lead molecule in the preparation of a potential preventative vaccine.
Meanwhile, Dr Choudhary said that once the university is allowed to reopen, the centre will immediately restart its research activities.
“The virus is not a living thing, but when it enters the human body, it multiplies by possessing the host cell and causes infections,” he explained. “Our scientists are working to inhibit the function of the protein of the virus so that cell replication can be halted in the host cell.”
Dr Choudhary added that scientists were working on identifying the protein of the virus. Once identified, the virus would be cloned to study its intracellular replication rates.
“After carrying out other necessary scientific steps, clinical trials will begin and the created vaccine will first be tested on animals and later on humans,” he said. “We are hoping for the best.”
Pakistan on Saturday reopened its border with Afghanistan to allow the crossing over of trucks carrying food and essential goods under the Afghan Transit Trade, customs officials informed on Saturday.
The cross-border movement of trucks came a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced the opening of the Chaman-Spinboldak border “to support our Afghan brothers and sisters” amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In the first phase, 50 trucks with fresh fruits and vegetables entered Afghanistan after clearance from customs officials.
The officials said that the clearance process was completed late on Friday.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan had sealed the Chaman border on March 1 in order to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
All cross-border movement was suspended as Islamabad made hectic efforts to screen travelers for the virus.
The prime minister had given directions on Friday to open the Chaman-Spinboldak border as a gesture of support to war-torn Afghanistan.
“Despite the global pandemic of COVID-19, we remain committed to supporting our Afghan brothers and sisters. I have given instructions to open the Chaman-Spinboldak border and let trucks crossover into Afghanistan. In this time of crisis, we remain steadfast with Afghanistan,” PM Imran said in a tweet.
Ex-Afghanistan CEO Abdullah Abdullah had thanked PM Imran for keeping the Chaman-Boldak border open.
“I thank PM Imran and Pakistan government for accepting our people and traders' call to keep the Chaman-Boldak border open for the flow of foodstuff and key commodities at this critical time,” Abdullah had tweeted.
The prime minister's decision was viewed with apprehension as Pakistan witnessed higher number of coronavirus cases after pilgrims from Iran entered the country via Taftan border. The number of confirmed cases in Pakistan crossed 500 on Saturday after Sindh reported more cases among zaireen quarantined in Sukkur.
Social media giant Facebook on Wednesday acknowledged that it had erroneously taken down some posts and links to news items, including those related to the novel coronavirus, after its anti-spam system experienced a glitch but that it "restored" them later.
Posts mistakenly taken down by the social media platform also included those pertaining to the Aurat March in Pakistan, among others that had no link to coronavirus.
A screenshot showing the warning received by a Facebook user over their post related to Aurat March 2020. Facebook/Screenshot/via Geo.tv
A Facebook user spoke to Geo.tv, saying they had received a warning after one of their posts related to the Aurat March 2020 had been taken down early Wednesday morning.
"Your post goes against our Community Standards on spam," the warning stated. "We have these standards to prevent things like false advertising, fraud and security breaches."
The Facebook user told Geo.tv that their post was restored later in the day and the notification carrying the warning had also disappeared.
In a Twitter post, Facebook Vice President for Integrity, Guy Rosen, wrote that the company had "restored all the posts that were incorrectly removed, which included posts on all topics - not just those related to COVID-19".
Guy Rosen
✔
@guyro
We’ve restored all the posts that were incorrectly removed, which included posts on all topics - not just those related to COVID-19. This was an issue with an automated system that removes links to abusive websites, but incorrectly removed a lot of other posts too.
"This was an issue with an automated system that removes links to abusive websites, but incorrectly removed a lot of other posts too," Rosen added.
COVID-19 is the name given by the World Health Organization (WHO) to the new strain of coronavirus that has left over 8,000 people dead around the world.
Pakistan reported its first two deaths on Wednesday as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Minister Taimur Khan Jhagra confirmed that both patients — one in Mardan and another in Hangu — had died. The number of nationwide infections, on the other hand, hit 250, with most cases in Sindh.
It looks like an anti-spam rule at FB is going haywire. Facebook sent home content moderators yesterday, who generally can't WFH due to privacy commitments the company has made. We might be seeing the start of the ML going nuts with less human oversight. https://twitter.com/sfmnemonic/status/1240059769295011841 …
We're on this - this is a bug in an anti-spam system, unrelated to any changes in our content moderator workforce. We're in the process of fixing and bringing all these posts back. More soon.
Rosen also responded to a report on Twitter, saying it was "a bug in an anti-spam system, unrelated to any changes in our content moderator workforce".
According to Time, Facebook users had raised complaints that "links to news stories about school closings and other information related to the virus outbreak [were] being blocked by the company’s automated system".
Most of the Facebook links to news stories were from websites such as Medium, USA Today, and Buzzfeed.
Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, have left a hospital in Australia’s Queensland state five days after testing positive for the coronavirus, People magazine reported on Monday.
The pair are now resting at a rented home in Australia and remain under quarantine in the house, the U.S. magazine’s report said, citing a representative of the actor.
Last week, Hanks wrote on Twitter that he and Wilson had tested positive for the virus in Australia, where he is working on a film, after they felt tired and achy with slight fevers. Both Hanks and Wilson are 63 years old.
Hanks had traveled to the Gold Coast, on Australia’s east coast south of Brisbane, to begin filming a movie about Elvis Presley. He is set to play Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, in the Warner Bros production. Warner Bros is owned by AT&T.
Hanks and Wilson were the first major American celebrities known to have contracted the coronavirus, which causes a disease, COVID-19, that has killed more than 70 people and infected more than 3,800 in the United States.
Germany's foreign minister said Monday the rights to coronavirus vaccine research were not for sale, following reports Donald Trump wanted the US to buy exclusive access to a potential vaccine developed by a German biotech firm.
The comments, made in an interview to media group Funke, come as scientists raced to develop a vaccine against the deadly coronavirus that has killed some 6,000 people, seen millions placed under lockdown and devastated global markets.
"German researchers play a leading role in drug and vaccine development and we cannot allow others to seek exclusive results," Heiko Maas told Funke.
Citing sources close to the German government, Die Welt newspaper had previously reported that Trump had offered "a billion dollars" to secure research into a vaccine by German biotech firm CureVac "only for the United States".
"Germany is not for sale," economy minister Peter Altmaier told broadcaster ARD on Sunday, reacting to the report. At a news conference, interior minister Horst Seehofer was asked to confirm the attempts to court the German company.
"I can only say that I have heard several times today from government officials today that this is the case, and we will be discussing it in the crisis committee tomorrow," he said.
CureVac said in a statement Sunday that it "abstains from commenting on speculations and rejects allegations about offers for acquisition of the company or its technology".
The report prompted fury in Berlin. "International cooperation is important now, not national self-interest," said Erwin Rueddel, a conservative lawmaker on the German parliament's health committee.
A US official told AFP Sunday that the report was "wildly overplayed".
"The US government has spoken with many (more than 25) companies that claim they can help with a vaccine. Most of these companies already received seed funding from US investors." The official also denied that the US was seeking to keep any potential vaccine for itself.
"We will continue to talk to any company that claims to be able to help. And any solution found would be shared with the world."
CureVac, founded in 2000, is based in the German state of Thuringia, and has other sites in Frankfurt and Boston. The firm markets itself as specialising in "development of treatments against cancer, antibody-based therapies, treatment of rare illnesses and prophylactic vaccines".
The lab is currently working in tandem with the Paul-Ehrlich Institute, linked to the German health ministry. Last week, the firm mysteriously announced that CEO Daniel Menichella had been replaced by Ingmar Hoerr, just weeks after Menichella met with Trump, his vice president Mike Pence and representatives of pharma companies in Washington.
"We are very confident that we will be able to develop a potent vaccine candidate within a few months," CureVac quoted Menichella as saying on its website shortly after the visit. On Sunday, CureVac investors said that they would not sell the vaccine to a single state.
"If we are successful in developing an effective vaccine, then it should help and protect people across the world," said Dietmar Hopp, head of principal investor dievini Hopp Biotech Holding, in a statement.
Economy minister Altmaier welcomed the statement, saying it was a "fantastic decision". He also pointed out that the government has the power to scrutinise foreign takeovers, saying that "where important infrastructure and national and European interests are concerned, we will take action if we have to."
Princess Beatrice’s wedding seems to have come to a stale mate as news came forth which reveals that the Queen will not be participating in her great grandchild’s marriage ceremony for one shocking reason.
The main reason behind the Queen's decision to back off from the ceremony is attributed to her aging health and her high risk factor for catching coronavirus.
Hence, in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Queen and her husband, both aged well over 60 years of age, have been recommended to remain in self isolation for the remainder of the pandemic's spread.
According to an official palace statement from the royal family, it is a “sensible precaution and for practical reasons in the current circumstances, changes are being made to the Queen‘s diary commitments in the coming weeks”.
The statement further went on to say, “In consultation with the Medical Household and Government, Her Majesty’s forthcoming visits to Cheshire and Camden will be rescheduled.
“Audiences will continue as usual. Other events will be reviewed on an ongoing basis in line with the appropriate advice.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry after bidding adieu to the British royal family earlier this year are aiming to become ‘financially independent.’
However, how the two are to support themselves without the assistance from the royals, is still unclear. And while many may have assumed the former Suits star will be steering back into Hollywood, that appears to be poles apart from the truth.
According to the latest buzz, the 38-year-old Duchess of Sussex is not looking to rekindle her ties with Hollywood in any way whatsoever as a source close to New York Post informed that neither is Meghan looking for a gig with Marvel nor with Disney.
Earlier, multiple reports had claimed that the former actor was looking to find a way back into the acting business with The Sun stating Meghan will be making an appearance at Met Gala this year as well.
All schools, colleges, universities and madressahs will remain closed throughout the country till April 5, 2020, the National Security Committee decided on Friday as Pakistan reported another new case of the coronavirus the same day, taking the total affected tally to 21.
The latest development was announced in a tweet by Federal Minister of Education, Professional training and National Heritage Shafqat Mahmood in a tweet.
"In a meeting of the National Security Committee presided over PM Imran Khan, it has been decided to close all educational institutions in the country till April 5. This includes all schools and universities, public and private, vocational institutions and madaris," he tweeted.
Shafqat Mahmood
@Shafqat_Mahmood
In a meeting of the National Security Committee presided over PM Imran Khan, it has been decided to close all educational institutions in the country till April 5. This includes all schools and universities, public and private, vocational institutions and madaris.
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The minister said that the decision will be reviewed by the Ministry of Education on March 27 and further decisions in this regard will be taken.
Shafqat Mahmood
@Shafqat_Mahmood
The situation regarding closure of all educational institutions in the country would be reviewed by the Ministry of Education on 27th March and further decisions taken.
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Following the federal government's decision of closure, the Punjab government also shut down its schools till April 5.
The Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas said : "Due to the Pandemic Coronavirus Schools in Punjab will be closed starting Sunday March 15th, 2020 to Sunday April 5, 2020."
Murad Raas
@DrMuradPTI
Due to the Pandemic #Coronavirus Schools in Punjab will be closed starting Sunday March 15th, 2020 to Sunday April 5, 2020. Health of our Children & honourable Teachers are priority #1. At the end of the day it’s better to be safe than sorry.
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Health of our Children & honourable Teachers are priority #1. At the end of the day it’s better to be safe than sorry," he said
Previously, the Sindh government had announced extending the closure of educational institutions in the country till May 30.
Read more: Coronavirus: Schools, colleges, universities in Sindh to remain closed till May 30
"Summer vacations are being preponed in Sindh & schools in Sindh will reopen on the 1st of June 2020. Decision has been made by cabinet," Advisor to the Chief Minister on Law Murtaza Wahab had tweeted.
Similarly, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government announced that all educational institutes throughout the province will remain closed till May 15.
The KP leadership also directed that all political and public gatherings be banned, while Chief Minister Mahmood Khan also postponed his rally in Swat as the virus continues to spread around the globe.
After recovery from coronavirus, the world is likely to reconsider the global supply chains to avoid concentration of industries in one country, China, which will create opportunities of relocation of some industries to Pakistan, said State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Deputy Governor Dr Murtaza Syed.
Speaking at a meeting to discuss the impact of coronavirus on Pakistan’s trade, organised by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Syed pointed out that though coronavirus cases were decreasing in China, the infections were increasing in other countries. “By the end of May, the situation may improve,” he added.
The central bank official stated that 50-60% of the factories were closed in China due to COVID-19, therefore, next quarter results would show a decline in economic growth. Last year, the global GDP grew around 3%, which was going to fall this year due to the epidemic, he said.
“Risk appetite is decreasing among investors around the world and money is moving towards risk-free markets like bonds,” he said.
Syed pointed out that England and other developed economies were reducing interest rate to help their markets cope with the impact of the coronavirus.
He told businessmen that in 2018, Pakistan imported electrical and electronic equipment worth $3.09 billion while machinery, nuclear reactors and boilers valuing at $3.09 billion were imported. Both the categories were among major imports from the country. The deputy governor said, “Pakistan also imports around 20% raw material, hence, there is disruption in the supply chain, which our businessmen are overcoming by heading towards other countries to substitute their imports.
“Machinery import is decreasing as Pakistan has completed imports under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), therefore, currently we have some room. However, due to the decline in machinery imports, progress on the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) is going to be delayed.”
He pointed out that the exporters were also looking towards Africa and European countries to divert their exports. “Recently, oil prices decreased, which is going to have a positive impact on Pakistan, as oil is one of the major commodities imported every year.” In the near future, the situation due to the coronavirus could turn worse, but there was hope in the long term, he remarked.
Speaking during the meeting, The Indus Hospital Infectious Diseases Consultant Dr Samreen Sarfaraz said, “COVID-19 is a storm in a teacup, which is exaggerated and shown as a tsunami.”
“COVID-19 is moderately transmissible and a new viral illness of low mortality rate,” she said. “Roughly, 80% of patients recover without being admitted in a hospital, other 17% recover after admission for supportive care and only 3.4% die,” she said.
“Its pandemic potential is nothing when compared to the influenza pandemics in the past.”
Sindh Minister for Information Nasir Hussain Shah on Tuesday put to rest speculations that the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 matches due to be held in the city may not take place owing to concerns regarding the spread of the coronavirus in Pakistan.
All matches due to be held at the National Stadium will take place as per the schedule, said Shah, during a press conference at the stadium.
His remarks came in the backdrop of reports that the provincial health department will forward recommendations to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah for a ban to be placed on public gatherings. They also came as two more cases of the virus were reported in the province, one in Karachi and one in Hyderabad.
"The virus is not as deadly as being portrayed [...] it is not as if someone who contracts cannot recover fully," said the information minister.
The first patient identified here was discharged and his family members were screened and do not have symptoms, he added.
When asked whether spectators should come to watch the PSL matches, he said they are welcome to do so and can come without any fear.
"We will provide sanitisers and there are arrangements for screening as well," he said.
Shah, along with PCB officials and health department officials had conducted a review of the arrangements at the National Stadium, prior to the media briefing.
Matches at the stadium are due to take place from March 12-17.
A smartphone app that lets users check the eyes of newborn babies for jaundice may be an effective, low-cost way of identifying which cases need treatment, scientists reported Monday.
Jaundice, a liver problem which causes the skin and whites of the eyes to turn yellow, causes 114,000 newborn deaths and 178,000 cases of disability a year.
Also read: WHO boss urges people to fight coronavirus 'before it gets out of control'
Three-quarters of the deaths occur in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, meaning the results of this new pilot study — published in the journal PLOS ONE and led by researchers at the University College London (UCL) — could be an important boost to health care professionals in poorer regions.
Senior author Terence Leung, from UCL´s medical physics and biomedical engineering department, said: "In many parts of the world, midwives and nurses rely on sight alone to assess jaundice. However, this is unreliable, especially for newborns with darker skin.
Also read: CES 2020: Tech solutions for senior citizens
"Our smartphone-based method provides a more robust assessment, ensuring serious cases do not go unnoticed. While we await the evidence of a larger trial, we believe that this method, used as an app, could help to prevent the deaths of newborn babies due to severe jaundice worldwide."
Jaundice is caused by high levels of a yellow compound called bilirubin that is produced during normal breakdown of red blood cells. Most cases are harmless, but in some instances a neurotoxic form of bilirubin can enter the brain, leading to death or disabilities like hearing loss, cerebral palsy and cognitive impairment.
Also read: Indians have smallest brains in the world: research
Newborns suspected of having jaundice can be given a blood test at the hospital, but the condition sometimes only occurs several days after birth once the child has been brought home.
In the current study, smartphone pictures were taken of 37 newborn babies who had been referred for blood tests. The images were processed to remove distortions from background light and the yellowness of the eyes were quantified to predict bilirubin levels.
The predictions were then compared to the blood test results, with the algorithm correctly identifying all cases that would normally require treatment. The app was also 60 percent successful at identifying cases that did not require treatment.
The success rate was comparable to transcutaneous bilirubinometers — hand-held devices that cost upwards of $6,000 and are recommended for use by midwives. The method is now being tested in a larger trial involving more than 500 babies in Ghana.
Authorities in New York Saturday declared emergency in the city as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 89, while the nationwide death toll from the virus reached 19 on Saturday.
More than half of all US states have reported cases of the coronavirus, which originated in China last year and causes the sometimes deadly respiratory illness COVID-19. As the outbreak takes root, daily life has become increasingly disrupted, with concerts and conferences canceled and universities telling students to stay home and take classes online.
Organizers of the Conservative Political Action Conference, a high-profile annual gathering that took place in Maryland last month, said on Saturday one of their attendees had tested positive for the virus after exposure prior to the event. The person had no interactions with President Donald Trump or Vice President Mike Pence, who were in attendance, the American Conservative Union said in a statement.
The two latest deaths were in Washington’s King County, the hardest hit area in the United States after the virus spread among residents at a nursing facility in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland. The first deaths on the East Coast were announced late Friday, with two people succumbing in Florida.
In New York, the number of confirmed cases rose by 13 on Saturday to a statewide total of 89 people, Governor Andrew Cuomo said. He issued a declaration of emergency.
“It allows expedited purchasing and expedited hiring, which is what we need right now,” Cuomo told a news conference.
Kansas, Missouri and Washington DC announced their first cases.
People walk through a sparse international departure terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) as concern over the coronavirus grows on March 7, 2020 in New York City.-AFP
In international waters off California, passengers on a cruise ship that was barred from docking in San Francisco after some aboard tested positive for the novel coronavirus did not know on Saturday when they might be able to step ashore.
Trump said on Friday he would prefer the Grand Princess’s 2,400 passengers and 1,100 crew remain out at sea, but that he would let others decide where she should dock.
After 19 crew and two passengers out of 46 tested on the Grand Princess were found to have the virus, Pence said the ocean liner will be taken to an unspecified non-commercial port where everyone on board will be tested again, and that those “who need to be quarantined will be quarantined” and those who need medical care will receive it.
US officials also began tracking another cruise ship that may have shared crew with the Grand Princess or the Diamond Princess, another ship where the coronavirus spread onboard, Pence said.
One Grand Princess passenger described a dull and sometimes queasy wait for news of when their limbo would end.
“It bugs me that my relatives in the Bay Area know what’s going to happen with us before I do,” Elizabeth Aleteanu of Colorado Springs said in an interview conducted via Facebook.
She turned 35 on Wednesday in a small, windowless cabin shared with her husband and two young children, where the rocking of the vessel sometimes left her nauseated.
“The cruise director and staff called my phone and sang happy birthday,” she wrote. “They delivered a princess notebook, birthday card, set of dominoes and a flower arrangement to my cabin. I’m not sure that we’re getting off today. It’s a big flower arrangement ... makes me think we’ll be on board for a hot minute.”
The ship’s captain had addressed passengers earlier to say he did not know when they could dock, and that one guest who was critically ill on Friday was taken off the ship, Aleteanu said. The ship has increased its offering of television programs to help passengers pass the time, she said.
The predicament of the Grand Princess was reminiscent of the Diamond Princess cruise liner, also owned by Carnival Corp, the world’s leading cruise operator. It was quarantined off Japan in February and was for a time the largest concentration of coronavirus cases outside China.
This image grab made frame video released by the California National Guard on March 5, 2020 shows Airmen from the Moffett Federal Airfield base, 129th Rescue Wing arriving by helicopter to deliver test kits to the Grand Princess cruise ship off the coast of California.-AFP
Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, told a news conference at the White House on Saturday that a total of 2.1. million coronavirus tests will have been shipped to non-public labs by Monday, as the Trump administration aims to counter criticism that its response to the disease has been sluggish.
Hahn said the focus is on getting tests to the highest risk areas in Washington state and California.
Multiple manufacturers will soon send millions more tests, he said. “What they told us is they believe they could scale up by the end of next week ... for the capacity for 4 million additional tests that could be shipped,” Hahn said.
The respiratory illness has spread to more than 90 countries, killing more than 3,400 people and infecting more than 100,000 worldwide.
The economic damage has also intensified and stock markets have continued to tumble. To mitigate against the virus, some banks in New York are dividing their teams of traders between central locations and secondary sites in New Jersey and Connecticut, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc had a scare this past week when an employee at its Lower Manhattan offices told the bank he had been at a temple service in a city suburb with a lawyer who later tested positive for the coronavirus. The bank said the employee was sent home and has been under self-quarantine since then “out of an abundance of caution.”
The employee, however, did not have contact with the lawyer at the service and has not shown any signs of illness, the bank said. He is expected to return to work next week when it would have been two weeks since he attended the service.
Goldman also cleaned the floor on which he worked at its headquarters. All floors remained operational, though Goldman let employees who felt uncomfortable work remotely, it said.
“We have no confirmed cases of employees who have contracted COVID-19 and all our buildings are fully operational,” the bank said.
