Washington, the hardest hit US state during the coronavirus crisis, reported three more deaths this weekend, bringing its total to 16. Two deaths in Florida, combined with one in California, brought the national death toll at 19.
The Washington State Department of Health said the latest deaths have occurred in King County, which has registered all but one death in the state. At least 12 of these deaths have occurred at EvergreenHealth Medical Center, according to the hospital’s website.
The department did not immediately provide further information on the newly deceased patients.
Meanwhile, the deaths of two Florida residents mark the first deaths outside the West Coast, According to Florida health officials, concerns over viruses are causing sudden changes for students, conference attendees and train travelers across the country.
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In quick succession this weekend, Stanford University temporarily moved its classes online, the popular South by Southwest festival was abruptly canceled, and Amtrak announced plans to cancel its non-stop high-speed train service. between Washington, DC and New York City for three months due to declining demand from anxious travelers.
Nationally, the number of infections has risen to at least 340, according to a compilation by the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering. Cases are scattered in about half of the states, with Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota and Nebraska reporting their first cases recently. At least 14 people have died from the virus.
Here is the latest news on the COVID-19 epidemic:
New York declares emergency
In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency on Saturday to deal with the worsening crisis, as the number of cases rose to 11 in New York and 76 across the state.
The number of cases in New York more than doubled in 24 hours, said the governor, largely due to the importance given to testing of potential patients.
“We are testing aggressively,” said Cuomo. “The more positives you find, the better.”
Florida reports first virus deaths off west coast
Public health officials said that two people in the 1970s who had traveled abroad died in Santa Rosa County in Panhandle, Florida and in the Fort Myers area. At least one of these deaths, considered a suspected positive, has not been confirmed by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
When confirmed by the CDC, the two cases in Florida would bring the total number of deaths in the United States to 16.
The Florida Department of Health also said that six Florida residents had been diagnosed with a coronavirus as well as one non-Florida resident.
– Caryn Shaffer, Treasure Coast Newspapers, and Jeffrey Schweers, USA TODAY Network, Florida
Grand Princess will dock but still do not know where; 21 on board positive test
The more than 3,500 people aboard the Grand Princess of Princess Cruises remained in limbo Saturday morning while awaiting information on when and where the cruise ship will dock after 21 people on board have tested positive for coronavirus.
Vice President Mike Pence said Friday that the ship will dock this weekend in a “non-commercial port” and that all passengers and crew will be tested. Of the 21 positive tests, 19 were crew members who had likely been exposed to the virus on a previous trip. The vice president said they would likely be quarantined on the ship.
While health officials said around 1,100 crew members would remain on board, passengers could be disembarked for quarantine, perhaps at U.S. military bases or other sites. This is what happened to hundreds of passengers who were exposed to the virus on another cruise ship in January.
President Donald Trump, speaking Friday at the Atlanta CDC, said he would prefer not to allow passengers on US soil but would stick to the recommendations of medical experts.
– Morgan Hines, John Fritze, Maureen Groppe and Associated Press
Amtrak Cancels DC Nonstop Service to NYC Acela for 3 Months
Amtrak is canceling Acela high-speed non-stop service between Washington, D.C. and New York until the end of May due to reduced demand following coronavirus outbreaks.
Amtrak said in a statement that it also plans to take additional measures, including reducing cars, changing schedules or canceling more rail services.
To address health concerns related to the virus, Amtrak has already announced that it will undertake more frequent cleaning of trains and stations, make disinfectants and disinfectants more readily available, and discuss good hygiene practices with workers.
Tourists, quarantined crew on a Nile cruise ship
A cruise ship on the Egyptian Nile with more than 150 tourists and local crew was quarantined on Saturday in the southern city of Luxor, while 45 people on board tested positive for the new coronavirus, authorities said.
A Taiwanese-American tourist who had previously traveled on the same ship tested positive on her return to Taiwan, the World Health Organization informed the Egyptian authorities, who then tested everyone on the ship.
Health officials first discovered that a dozen Egyptian crew members on the ship had contracted the fast-spreading virus and said they had no symptoms, according to a joint statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Health and WHO Friday.
Stanford is the latest university to move all classes online
Stanford University, which has 17,000 students, is the last school to cancel all courses in person and move them online due to concerns over the coronavirus.
Persis Drell, the schools provost, said that the courses for the last two weeks of his winter term would move online and the large group events would be canceled or adjusted. The university, which is located in northern California’s Silicon Valley, has also canceled its in-person Admit Weekend event slated for April 23 for potential undergraduates.
The University of Washington, located in Seattle, announced Friday that it will move all classes online for the next three weeks for its 57,000 students.
China quarantine hotel collapses
A hotel in southeast China that was used for medical observation of people in contact with coronavirus patients collapsed on Saturday, trapping some 70 people, official media reported. No deaths were reported immediately.
At least 34 people were rescued from the wreckage of the Xinjia Express hotel in Quanzhou, a city in Fujian province, the ministry of emergency management told the South China Morning Post.
The 80-room hotel was converted by the city government to observe people who had come into contact with patients infected with the virus, according to the People’s Daily.
The largest daily count ever made in Italy soars by more than 1,200
Italy recorded its largest daily increase in coronavirus cases on Saturday since the initial epidemic in northern Italy more than two weeks ago. A further 1,247 cases increased the total to 5,883. Another 36 people also died from the virus, bringing the death toll to 233. Most of the deaths were in the elderly, with one or more underlying conditions.
The director of the Italian National Institute of Health, Silvio Brusoferro, urged Italians to take precautions, including avoiding public places and keeping a distance, to protect the elderly. He said there was “evidence of superficial attitudes” towards the measures
Seniors were asked to stay home if possible and avoid emergencies, by contacting their doctor directly if they were sick.
• In Spain, where eight people died, the authorities believe that a major epidemic in the north of the country is linked to a funeral where many people were infected.
• In Britain, where a second person died Friday of the virus, the public has been asked to prepare for “social distancing,” which could include temporarily reducing socialization at entertainment or sporting events or reduction of non-essential travel on public transport and recommendations for working from home.
Pope Francis will deliver public blessings by video
Pope Francis will deliver his next two public blessings by video to prevent the crowd from gathering in St. Peter’s Square as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus.
The Vatican said in a statement on Saturday that the Pope will deliver his traditional Sunday noon blessing from the library of the Apostolic Palace instead of appearing at a window in St. Peter’s Square. Wednesday’s hearing will be handled the same way.
Francis also stopped celebrating morning mass before inviting guests to the chapel of the Vatican hotel where he lives.
By staying inside, the pope not only limits the spread of the virus in the crowd, he also protects himself. The 83-year-old pontiff, who had a portion of a lung removed from a respiratory infection when he was younger, is recovering from a cold. He would be exposed to serious complications if he caught the coronavirus.
WHO warns of “false hopes” that the virus will disappear with the summer
One day after four other states announced their first cases of the new coronavirus, more than 338 people in the United States were infected on Saturday.
More than 102,000 people worldwide have been infected with the virus and more than 3,400 have died. Over 57,000 people have recovered.
The World Health Organization has warned of “false hopes” that the disease will subside when the hot summer weather arrives in northern countries.
The number of infections overshadows other major epidemics such as SARS, MERS and Ebola. The virus is still far less widespread than the annual flu epidemics, which cause up to 5 million serious cases worldwide and 290,000 to 650,000 deaths a year, according to the World Health Organization.
Which states have cases of coronavirus?
Here is an overview of the states that have reported COVID-19:
Starbucks employee diagnosed with coronavirus in Seattle
An employee of a popular Starbucks store in downtown Seattle has been diagnosed with COVID-19, the company announced on Friday. The store, which is a Starbucks Reserve bar, has been closed for cleaning and the employee is quarantined at home, said Starbucks. It is the first case of American coronavirus reported by Starbucks.
“We quickly activated our protocols, immediately closing the store and initiating deep cleaning overnight, following all guidelines recommended by public health authorities in the city of Seattle and King County,” said a statement from the society.
The store is expected to reopen in the coming days with employees “who have no known impact from COVID-19,” the company told USA TODAY.
Starbucks asked employees to increase cleaning in all of its stores and announced Wednesday that it was temporarily suspending the use of reusable cups for fear of coronaviruses.
– Jessica Guynn and Kelly Tyko
SXSW canceled due to fears of an epidemic
The South by Southwest conference on music, film and technology was canceled on Friday – the most publicized event to date yet a victim of the new coronavirus, officials calling it a medical, data-driven decision. SXSW, as we know, had vowed to continue, despite recent developer conferences that were canceled by Facebook and Amazon.
The organizers said it was the first time in 34 years that the event had not taken place.
This year’s conference brought together several high-profile speakers, including former presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton, Beto O’Rourke and Andrew Yang and Steve Jobs’ widow Laurene Powell Jobs and rockers Ozzy Osbourne, director Judd Apatow and Kim Kardashian West. Almost 300,000 people participated in 2019.
The 10-day festival was scheduled to start on March 13.
– Jefferson Graham
