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Coronavirus Live Updates: Trump Restricts Travel and Tom Hanks Tests Positive Coronavirus Live Updates: Trump’s Europe Travel Ban Is Met With Confusion and Anger
(about 3 hours later)
新冠病毒疫情最新消息新冠病毒疫情最新消息
President Trump announced on Wednesday night that he was taking action to stem the spread of the coronavirus by suspending most travel from Europe to the United States for 30 days, beginning on Friday. The restrictions do not apply to Britain, he said. On both sides of the Atlantic on Thursday, the consequences of President Trump’s decision to ban most travel from Europe began to be felt economically, politically and socially.
Mr. Trump imposed a 30-day ban on foreigners who have been in the 26 countries that make up the European Union’s Schengen Area in the previous two weeks. The limits take effect Friday at midnight and will exempt American citizens and permanent legal residents and their families, although they could be funneled to certain airports for enhanced screening. The European Commission, the governing body of the European Union, issued a scathing statement condemning the move.
Later on Wednesday night, the State Department issued an advisory telling Americans to “reconsider travel” to all countries because of the global effects of the coronavirus. It is the department’s second-strongest advisory, behind “do not travel.” “The coronavirus is a global crisis, not limited to any continent and it requires cooperation rather than unilateral action,” it said. “The European Union disapproves of the fact that the U.S. decision to impose a travel ban was taken unilaterally and without consultation.”
Speaking from the Oval Office, Mr. Trump also said health insurance companies had agreed to extend insurance coverage to cover coronavirus treatments as well as waive related co-payments. The restrictions apply only to the 26 countries within the bloc’s Shengen free-travel zone and did not appear tied to the severity of outbreaks in individual countries. Britain and Ireland were not included in the ban.
The president added that he planned to soon announce emergency action to provide financial relief for workers who fall ill or need to be quarantined. He said he would ask Congress to take legislative action to extend that relief but did not detail what that would be. He said he would instruct the Treasury Department to “defer tax payments without interest or penalties for certain individuals and businesses negatively impacted.” Tens of thousands of Americans in Europe scrambled to figure out what they needed to do before the 30-day travel ban goes into effect on Friday, many unclear on the scope of the ban and worried that their flights home would be canceled. And airlines, hotels and scores of other industries — many of which had already been hurting from restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the virus — braced for even steeper declines.
The president, sitting behind the Resolute Desk with his arms crossed, finally appeared to be acknowledging the severity of the virus, calling it a “horrible infection” and acknowledging that Americans should cut back on travel that was not necessary. Across the Continent, the news was greeted with confusion, anger and skepticism even as many European nations moved to tighten their own restrictions on the movement of people both within their borders and from outside.
It signaled a break from the business-as-usual attitude he had been trying to project as recently as Tuesday, when he urged Americans to “stay calm” and said the virus would soon go away. But Mr. Trump continued to anticipate a fast end date to the spread of the coronavirus, even as medical experts have warned that the pandemic will worsen. Italy, already on lockdown, clamped down even more and on Thursday morning as virtually the only public places still open to its 60 million citizens were supermarkets and medical facilities.
“This is not a financial crisis,” he said. “This is just a temporary moment in time that we will overcome as a nation and a world.” Within the European Union — where the free movement of people among members states has long been considered one of the crowning achievements of the post-World War II order — the Czech Republic on Thursday joined other nations in announcing new border checkpoints.
The address capped a day when concerns about the threat of the virus seemed to reach a new pitch and measures to protect vulnerable populations began to upend regular life across the country. Many schools announced they would close indefinitely, some nursing homes banned visitors, and workplaces across the country urged their employees to work from home. Outside Europe, the fight against the virus also gained intensity, with India joining the growing list of countries imposing drastic travel limits.
The spread of the coronavirus across more than 100 countries now qualifies as a global pandemic, World Health Organization officials said on Wednesday, confirming what many epidemiologists have been saying for weeks. If the virus had seemed a distant threat to many Americans, news that the actor Tom Hanks and his wife had tested positive seemed to shake that notion. And the steady drumbeat of bad news from Wall Street only heightened anxiety.
Until now, the W.H.O. had avoided using the term, for fear that people would think the outbreak was unstoppable and countries would give up on trying to contain it. One after another, nations on Wednesday announced plans to spend tens of billions to fight the virus and the economic fallout it is causing. But the moves did little to ease investors’ concerns, with both Asian and European markets trading sharply lower on Thursday.
“Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly,” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, chief of the W.H.O., said at a news conference in Geneva. Congress is set to vote on a sweeping aid package for people financially affected by the coronavirus.
“We cannot say this loudly enough or clearly enough or often enough,” he added. “All countries can still change the course of this pandemic.” Delays in testing in America have made it difficult to get a full sense of scale of the outbreak there. But states are increasingly taking matters into their own hands, declaring states of emergency, canceling school and university classes, limiting the size of gatherings and ordering thousands of people with potential exposure to the virus into isolation.
While the World Health Organization has declared the global spread of the virus a pandemic, its leaders urged nations not to give up on containment. Uncontrolled spread of the virus, they warned, could overwhelm health care systems even in the wealthiest societies, presenting uncomfortable choices about who to treat first.
Those dangers were being driven home by the unfolding crisis in Italy, which has reported over 12,000 cases and 827 deaths.
Giorgio Gori, the mayor of Bergamo, a town in Lombardy, wrote on Twitter that intensive care units had become so overloaded that “the patients who cannot be treated are left to die.” He added in an interview that doctors were being forced to write off those with “smaller chances of survival.”
President Trump said on Wednesday night that he was suspending most travel from Europe to the United States for 30 days, beginning on Friday, to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The restrictions do not apply to Britain, he said.
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There is evidence on six continents of sustained transmission of the virus, which has infected more than 120,000 people and killed more than 4,300. The pandemic designation is largely symbolic, but public health officials know that the public will hear in the word elements of danger and risk. Mr. Trump imposed a 30-day ban on foreigners who in the previous two weeks have been in the 26 countries that make up the European Union’s Schengen Area. The limits, which take effect on Friday at midnight, will exempt American citizens and permanent legal residents and their families, although they could be funneled to certain airports for enhanced screening.
According to the W.H.O., an epidemic is defined as a regional outbreak of an illness that spreads unexpectedly. In 2010, it defined a pandemic as “the worldwide spread of a new disease” that affects large numbers of people. The C.D.C. says it is “an epidemic that has spread over several countries or continents, usually affecting a large number of people.” Later on Wednesday, the State Department issued an advisory telling Americans to “reconsider travel” to all countries because of the global effects of the coronavirus. It is the department’s second-strongest advisory, behind “do not travel.”
The last pandemic declared by the W.H.O. was in 2009, for a new strain of H1N1 influenza. Speaking from the Oval Office, Mr. Trump also said health insurance companies had agreed to extend coverage to cover coronavirus treatments and to waive related co-payments.
The Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks announced on Wednesday night that he and his wife, Rita Wilson, had tested positive for the coronavirus. Mr. Hanks, 63, is one of the most famous celebrities to contract the virus that has spread throughout the globe. The president said he would soon announce emergency action to provide financial relief for workers who fall ill or need to be quarantined. He said he would ask Congress to take legislative action to extend that relief but did not detail what that would be. He said he would instruct the Treasury Department to “defer tax payments without interest or penalties for certain individuals and businesses negatively impacted.”
Mr. Hanks, who is in Australia to film a movie about the life of Elvis Presley, wrote that he and Ms. Wilson, also an actor, had gotten tested after feeling tired with body aches and feverish temperatures. The couple will remain isolated for as long as public health requires, Mr. Hanks wrote. The president, sitting behind the Resolute Desk with his arms crossed, finally appeared to be acknowledging the severity of the virus, calling it a “horrible infection” and saying that Americans should cut back on unnecessary travel.
“Not much more to it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no?” Mr. Hanks wrote in the statement, which was accompanied by a photograph of a lone medical glove in a hazardous waste container. It signaled a break from the business-as-usual attitude he had been trying to project as recently as Tuesday, when he urged Americans to “stay calm” and said the virus would soon go away. But Mr. Trump continued to anticipate a fast end to the outbreak, even as medical experts have warned that the pandemic will worsen.
Hanks is playing the role of Colonel Tom Parker, Presley’s eccentric manager, who groomed the famous singer to stardom in the 1950s. Production on the film, which is being directed by Baz Luhrmann, is set to begin filming on Monday. “This is not a financial crisis,” he said. “This is just a temporary moment in time that we will overcome as a nation and a world.”
Australia has had more than 120 cases confirmed cases of coronavirus as of Wednesday. The address capped a day when concerns about the threat of the virus seemed to reach a new pitch and measures to protect vulnerable populations began to upend regular life across the country. Many schools said they would close indefinitely, some nursing homes barred visitors, and workplaces urged employees to work from home.
California has become the latest state to impose new measures aimed at containing the virus, telling residents to postpone or cancel gatherings of more than 250 people, including sports events, conferences and concerts, through the end of March.
The new guidelines also advised against gatherings in smaller venues, such as auditoriums, that don’t allow for 6 feet of distance between people. Groups of high-risk people, such as those in retirement or assisted-living facilities, should be limited to no more than 10 people, officials said.
The coronavirus is increasingly altering American life, as churches shut their doors, large gatherings in some regions are forbidden and the N.B.A. suspended the rest of its season.
Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington State, which has been hit hard by the virus, said that people should no longer sit shoulder-to-shoulder in local bars, as such socializing has become “totally unacceptable” amid the global pandemic. He also banned public gatherings of 250 people or more in three counties in the Seattle area. In Ohio, the governor said a ban on large events was imminent. San Francisco’s mayor banned group events of more than 1,000 people.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle suspended all public celebration of Mass, becoming the first Catholic archdiocese in the country to do so. And Episcopal bishops in Virginia and Washington, D.C., said that all churches in the dioceses would be closed for two weeks.
It was the latest set of public institutions to announce closings, amid moves by many colleges to move classes online and in some cases direct students to not return to campuses after spring break.
As of early Thursday, at least 1,240 people in 42 states and Washington, D.C., had tested positive for the coronavirus and 37 people had died, most of them in Washington State. Diagnosed cases in three states — Washington, New York and California — account for more than 60 percent of the U.S. outbreak.
Across Europe on Thursday, Americans scrambled to make sense of conflicting messages from Washington about if and when they would be allowed to return to the United States.
David Barreres of Toms River, N.J., who was visiting Spain, was awakened just before 4 a.m. by frantic messages from friends, who quoted a speech President Trump had just delivered from the Oval Office and urged him to book a flight immediately.
“To keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days,” Mr. Trump Mr. Trump said.
As Mr. Barreres and his wife began looking for flights, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a statement contradicting the president, saying that the rules did not apply to American citizens.
Unsure of what to believe, Mr. Barreres called travel agents, his airline and the U.S. embassy, but he could not get anyone on the phone who could clarify the situation. As of Thursday morning, he said he planned to go to the embassy in person to find out “if we’ll be able to get back to my four daughters that are in the care of their grandmother.”
After the president’s speech, officials suggested the 30-day ban applied only to foreign nationals who had been in the 26 countries that make up the European Union’s Schengen Area in the previous two weeks. The limits take effect Friday at midnight and will exempt American citizens and permanent legal residents and their families.
The Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks said on Wednesday night that he and his wife, Rita Wilson, had tested positive for the coronavirus. Mr. Hanks, 63, is one of the highest-profile celebrities to contract the virus that has spread throughout the globe.
Mr. Hanks, who is in Australia to film a movie about the life of Elvis Presley, said in a statement that he and Ms. Wilson, also an actor, had been tested after feeling tired with body aches and feverish temperatures. The couple will remain isolated for as long as public health requires, Mr. Hanks said.
“Not much more to it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no?” he said in the statement, which was accompanied by a photograph of a lone medical glove in a hazardous-waste container.
Mr. Hanks is playing the role of Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley’s eccentric manager, who groomed the famous singer to stardom in the 1950s. Production on the film, which is being directed by Baz Luhrmann, is set to begin filming on Monday.
Australia had more than 120 cases confirmed cases of coronavirus as of Wednesday.
[Read: Tom Hanks got sick in Australia, where coronavirus testing is a snap.]
At a news conference, Annastacia Palaszczuk, the premier of Queensland, said those who had been contact with the couple for more than 15 minutes would need to self isolate. “So a selfie,” she said, “wouldn’t count.”At a news conference, Annastacia Palaszczuk, the premier of Queensland, said those who had been contact with the couple for more than 15 minutes would need to self isolate. “So a selfie,” she said, “wouldn’t count.”
“What this signals is that this coronavirus can happen to anyone,” she added.“What this signals is that this coronavirus can happen to anyone,” she added.
The N.B.A. will suspend its season after a Utah Jazz player was found to have tested positive for the coronavirus, the league announced on Wednesday. The league said the suspension would take effect after the completion of Wednesday’s schedule. The House is set to vote on Thursday on a sweeping aid package for people affected by the coronavirus, with a measure that would establish a national paid leave program, expand food assistance, offer free coronavirus testing and bolster unemployment insurance.
In Oklahoma City, a game between the Thunder and the Jazz was seconds away from starting when the Thunder’s head medical staffer sprinted onto the court to talk to referees. Players from both teams then left for their locker rooms. The proposal also includes $500 million to provide assistance to low-income pregnant women and some mothers who are laid off because of the outbreak; $400 million to assist food banks; and $250 million to deliver packaged meals to low-income seniors.
The package, unveiled late Wednesday night, calls for the development of a standard for health workers’ safety and establishes a mandate for paid sick days in the case of public health emergencies like the coronavirus outbreak.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, said the measures “focused directly on providing support for America’s families, who must be our first priority in this emergency.”
Although it is expected to pass the Democratic-controlled House, it is unclear whether President Trump will embrace it. In a televised address from the Oval Office on Wednesday night, he said he would take “unprecedented” action to provide financial relief “for workers who are ill, quarantined or caring for others due to coronavirus,” but the White House did not elaborate on the details.
The main thrust of Mr. Trump’s economic rescue plan, a huge payroll tax cut, has drawn skepticism from members of both parties.
Republican congressional aides said late Wednesday that the Democrats’ bill appeared to contain several “poison pills” that would make it difficult for them to support it. And the top House Republican called it ineffective and too expensive.
“If the Democrats try to move what they’re trying to do, I don’t know that that will help the economy,” Representative Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California and the House minority leader, said in an interview on Fox News. “It’ll just cost us so much more money.”
Here are tips for stocking your pantry in ways that are practical and delicious; answers to some common questions about travel, and steps to take when talking to an anxious teen about coronavirus.
Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region fell broadly and heavily on Thursday on mounting signs that the coronavirus outbreak will take a dramatic toll on the global economy.Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region fell broadly and heavily on Thursday on mounting signs that the coronavirus outbreak will take a dramatic toll on the global economy.
Shares in Japan were down more than 5 percent midday, while shares in Australia led the region’s slump with a fall of more than 7 percent. Futures markets signaled dire openings for Wall Street and European stocks as well. Shares in Japan were down more than 5 percent, while shares in Australia led the region’s slump with a fall of more than 7 percent. Futures markets signaled dire openings for Wall Street and European stocks.
The fall was driven by a sharp drop on Wall Street on Wednesday, but it worsened considerably following a spate of late news from the United States. President Trump on Wednesday said the United States would stop most Europeans outside Britain from traveling to the country for 30 days in an effort to slow the spread. The fall, driven by a sharp drop on Wall Street on Wednesday, worsened considerably after a spate of late news from the United States, including an announcement by President Trump that the United States would stop most travelers from Europe from entering the country for 30 days.
With global growth on the line, investors have been looking for world leaders to step in to keep the economic gears turning. Mr. Trump on Wednesday said he would extend financial relief for sick workers and would ask Congress for more. Britain has said it would spend more than $30 billion. Central banks are cutting interest rates. With global growth on the line, investors have been looking for world leaders to step in to keep the economic gears turning. Mr. Trump said on Wednesday that he would extend financial relief for sick workers and ask Congress for more. Central banks are also cutting interest rates.
So far, for investors, it hasn’t been enough.So far, for investors, it hasn’t been enough.
Prices for 10 year U.S. Treasury bonds, a traditional safe haven for investors, jumped in Asian trading on Thursday, helping to keep yields at historic lows. Prices for 10 year U.S. Treasury bonds, a traditional haven for investors, jumped in Asian trading on Thursday, helping keep yields at historic lows.
Oil prices were down more than 5 percent.Oil prices were down more than 5 percent.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index was down 5.2 percent in midday trading. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index tumbled 6.3 percent.In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index was down 5.2 percent in midday trading. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index tumbled 6.3 percent.
China has passed the peak of the coronavirus outbreak, a spokesman for the country’s health ministry said on Thursday. The new coronavirus first emerged in China late last year and the country has recorded about two-thirds of the cases worldwide. Its new cases however have dropped sharply in recent days. The spread of the coronavirus across more than 100 countries now qualifies as a global pandemic, World Health Organization officials said on Wednesday, confirming what many epidemiologists have been saying for weeks.
Until now, the W.H.O. had avoided using the term, for fear that people would think the outbreak was unstoppable and countries would give up on trying to contain it.
“Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly,” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, chief of the W.H.O., said at a news conference in Geneva.
“We cannot say this loudly enough or clearly enough or often enough,” he added. “All countries can still change the course of this pandemic.”
There is evidence on six continents of sustained transmission of the virus, which has infected more than 120,000 people and killed more than 4,300. The pandemic designation is largely symbolic, but public health officials know that the public will hear in the word elements of danger and risk.
According to the W.H.O., an epidemic is defined as a regional outbreak of an illness that spreads unexpectedly. In 2010, it defined a pandemic as “the worldwide spread of a new disease” that affects large numbers of people. The C.D.C. says it is “an epidemic that has spread over several countries or continents, usually affecting a large number of people.”
The last pandemic declared by the W.H.O. was in 2009, for a new strain of H1N1 influenza.
China has passed the peak of the coronavirus outbreak, a spokesman for the country’s health ministry said on Thursday. The new virus first emerged in China late last year, and the country has recorded about two-thirds of the cases worldwide, though its new cases have dropped sharply in recent days.
On Thursday, China said it had just 15 new coronavirus cases and 11 deaths over the previous day. Eight of the infections were in Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the epidemic first spread, and six were diagnosed among travelers arriving from abroad. China’s total count of confirmed infections is 80,793, including 3,169 deaths.On Thursday, China said it had just 15 new coronavirus cases and 11 deaths over the previous day. Eight of the infections were in Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the epidemic first spread, and six were diagnosed among travelers arriving from abroad. China’s total count of confirmed infections is 80,793, including 3,169 deaths.
“The peak of the current round of epidemic in China has already passed, the number of new cases continue to decline, and the overall epidemic situation has generally been maintained at a low level,” said Mi Feng, the health ministry spokesman.“The peak of the current round of epidemic in China has already passed, the number of new cases continue to decline, and the overall epidemic situation has generally been maintained at a low level,” said Mi Feng, the health ministry spokesman.
He added that the country should not ease its aggressive approach to controlling the outbreak. “We must make medical treatment the top priority and not grow apathetic, war weary or relaxed,” Mr. Mi said.He added that the country should not ease its aggressive approach to controlling the outbreak. “We must make medical treatment the top priority and not grow apathetic, war weary or relaxed,” Mr. Mi said.
Beijing on Thursday also lashed out at comments from Robert O’Brien, the White House national security adviser, who said China’s cover-up of the initial outbreak cost the international community “two months to respond.” Beijing on Thursday also reacted with anger at comments from Robert O’Brien, the White House national security adviser, who said China’s cover-up of the initial outbreak cost the international community “two months to respond.”
Geng Shuang, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, accused Mr. O’Brien of turning “a blind eye to the international community’s high evaluation of China” and called his comments “neither moral nor responsible.” Mr. Geng said American officials should concentrate on cooperating on the fight against the virus “rather than blame China and vilify the Chinese government and people’s efforts to fight the epidemic.”Geng Shuang, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, accused Mr. O’Brien of turning “a blind eye to the international community’s high evaluation of China” and called his comments “neither moral nor responsible.” Mr. Geng said American officials should concentrate on cooperating on the fight against the virus “rather than blame China and vilify the Chinese government and people’s efforts to fight the epidemic.”
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy on Wednesday ordered almost all businesses nationwide to close as infections and deaths from the new coronavirus continued to soar, two days after he announced stringent travel restrictions. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy on Wednesday ordered almost all businesses nationwide to close as infections and deaths from the coronavirus continued to soar, two days after he announced stringent travel restrictions.
Pharmacies, grocery stores, banks and public transit will be allowed to operate, but any other commercial enterprise that is not vital — restaurants, bars, most stores, cafes, beauty salons — must close to limit the contagion, Mr. Conte said in an evening address to the nation.Pharmacies, grocery stores, banks and public transit will be allowed to operate, but any other commercial enterprise that is not vital — restaurants, bars, most stores, cafes, beauty salons — must close to limit the contagion, Mr. Conte said in an evening address to the nation.
Italy had already imposed controls unlike anything seen in a modern democracy, banning public gatherings and telling a nation of 60 million people to halt travel except for work or emergencies. But in Italy and across Europe, the epidemic has spread at a speed that has left countries scrambling to come up with containment plans. Italy had already imposed controls unlike anything seen in a modern democracy, banning public gatherings and telling a nation of 60 million people to halt travel except for work or emergencies. But in Italy and across Europe, the epidemic has spread at a speed that has left countries scrambling.
Mr. Conte did not say when the new order would go into effect, but many businesses had already closed, either based on their own judgments or in expectation of a government decree. Mr. Conte did not say when the new order would go into effect, but many businesses had already closed.
“If the numbers keep going up, which is not at all improbable,” Mr. Conte said, it would mean not that new measures were needed, but that Italians should stick to those already imposed. “We must be lucid, measured, rigorous, responsible.”
The benefits of Italy’s sacrifice will not be seen for weeks, he warned.
Italy reported more than 2,300 new cases on Wednesday, driving its total to more than 12,000, with 827 deaths — the second-worst outbreak in the world, after China. Italy has more than half the cases in Europe.Italy reported more than 2,300 new cases on Wednesday, driving its total to more than 12,000, with 827 deaths — the second-worst outbreak in the world, after China. Italy has more than half the cases in Europe.
Across Europe, the number of confirmed infections jumped by almost a quarter from Tuesday to Wednesday, reaching more than 22,000.Across Europe, the number of confirmed infections jumped by almost a quarter from Tuesday to Wednesday, reaching more than 22,000.
France, with almost 2,300 infections, and Spain, with almost 2,200, each reported an increase of about 500 from Tuesday. Germany had about 1,600.France, with almost 2,300 infections, and Spain, with almost 2,200, each reported an increase of about 500 from Tuesday. Germany had about 1,600.
Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland each have more than 400 confirmed infections. Denmark and Belgium have both reported more than 300 cases.Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland each have more than 400 confirmed infections. Denmark and Belgium have both reported more than 300 cases.
Even the island nation of Iceland has not escaped, with more than 80 infections in a population of about 364,000, one of the highest number of cases per capita worldwide.Even the island nation of Iceland has not escaped, with more than 80 infections in a population of about 364,000, one of the highest number of cases per capita worldwide.
California became the latest state to impose new measures bent on containing the virus, including telling citizens to postpone or cancel gatherings with more than 250 people, including sports events, conferences and concerts, through the end of March Reporting was contributed by Peter Baker, Elisabetta Povoledo, Steven Erlanger, Alissa J. Rubin, Alexandra Stevenson, Daniel Victor, Austin Ramzy, Russell Goldman, Livia Albeck-Ripka, Albee Zhang, Derrick Bryson Taylor, Daniel Victor, Sui-Lee Wee, Annie Karni, Marc Santora, Megan Specia, Vindu Goel, Elian Peltier, Jason Horowitz, Emma Bubola, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Jorge Arangure, Matthew Futterman, Elaine Yu, Amy Qin, Alan Rappeport, Emily Cochrane, Karen Zraick, Sandra E. Garcia, Scott Cacciola, Sopan Deb, Brooks Barnes, Noah Weiland, Sheri Fink, Mike Baker, Monika Pronczuk, Melissa Eddy, Roni Caryn Rabin, Donald G. McNeil Jr., Andrew Keh and Katie Thomas.
The new guidelines also advised against gatherings in smaller venues that don’t allow for six feet of distance between people, such as a crowded auditorium. Groups of high-risk individuals, such as those in retirement or assisted-living facilities, should be limited to no more than 10 people, the officials said.
Governments around the country were rapidly embarking on new containment efforts on Wednesday as the number of known U.S. cases of coronavirus infection rose to more than 1,200, a day after jumping by more than one-third. People in 42 states and the District of Columbia have now tested positive for the virus, and there have been at least 37 related deaths.
In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine said a ban on large events was imminent. Churches and college campuses shut their doors. New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the largest such celebration in the world, was postponed.
And in Washington State, where the virus has hit Americans hardest, Gov. Jay Inslee said on Wednesday that people should no longer sit shoulder-to-shoulder in local bars. In the era of the coronavirus, he said, such socializing has become “just totally unacceptable.”
Nowhere have the moves become more drastic and more urgent than in the Seattle area, where the state banned public gatherings of 250 people or more in three counties. Within hours, several local school districts with a combined enrollment of about 100,000 students said they would close for at least two weeks; a Patti Smith concert was postponed; and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle canceled all public masses, becoming the first Catholic archdiocese in the country to do so.
Ohio’s governor said the state’s ban on large group events was needed after new evidence concluded that the virus was spreading through community transmission in the state.
“People are going to say, ‘Oh my God, really, you’re doing that?’” Governor DeWine told reporters. “You’re going to look back on it in a week and say, ‘That wasn’t a difficult decision.’”
In New York, the state and city universities and colleges, with about 700,000 students in all, will shift primarily to online classes starting on March 19, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Wednesday. Many other colleges have canceled in-person classes, and some have told students not to return after their spring breaks.
The now-postponed St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Manhattan is one of the city’s largest recurring public events, drawing roughly 150,000 marchers and two million spectators.
At first, the censors seemed to have won.
After a Chinese magazine published online a damning interview with a doctor who was warned not to share information about the coronavirus epidemic, the article soon disappeared — the apparent victim of government efforts to silence criticism about its initial response to the outbreak.
But the censors appear to have underestimated the anger, determination and inventiveness of Chinese internet users, who have used myriad ways to share the words of the doctor, Ai Fen.
Users have snubbed and ridiculed the censors and reprinted the interview on Chinese social media again and again, using creative ways to both share the article and also highlight their anger with efforts to silence Ms. Ai. They have shared her story by using pictures of the interview written in elaborate traditional Chinese calligraphy, emojis, morse code, and even “Martian language,” a surreal version of writing Chinese characters that mixes symbols, Japanese and traditional Chinese characters.
In the interview published by Profile magazine, Ms. Ai, who works at Wuhan Central Hospital, which was one of the first hospitals to receive patients infected by the coronavirus, recounted how in December she tried to warn other doctors and former medical school classmates about the mysterious outbreak.
“Had I known what I know today, I wouldn’t have cared about being criticized, I would have told about it everywhere.” said Ms. Ai, head of the emergency room at Wuhan Central Hospital, said in the interview with Profile magazine.
Ms. Ai said she was the one who first sent around to former classmates a picture of a virus test report that indicated that a patient might have the “SARS coronavirus.” That conclusion turned out to be wrong, but scientists later identified the culprit as a coronavirus similar to the SARS virus that devastated China in 2003. Dr. Ai’s picture of the report, underlining “SARS” in red, spread among doctors in Wuhan.
“If all these doctors were alerted in time, this day wouldn’t have come,” Ms. Ai said.
Her account, as well as her indignation of being silenced ignited widespread discussion and reposts of the article as Chinese internet users raced to beat the censors.
“The interview record can be deleted, but the memory in the doctors brain across China can’t be deleted, the anger in the chest of all the doctors across the country can’t be deleted,” one internet user wrote. Another wrote: “Someone distributed the whistle, someone blew the whistle, now someone needs to spread the whistle.”
Here are tips for stocking your pantry in ways that are practical and delicious; answers to some common questions about travel, and steps to take when talking to an anxious teen about coronavirus.
Reporting was contributed by Peter Baker, Elisabetta Povoledo, Steven Erlanger, Alissa J. Rubin, Alexandra Stevenson, Daniel Victor, Austin Ramzy, Russell Goldman, Livia Albeck-Ripka, Albee Zhang, Derrick Bryson Taylor, Daniel Victor, Sui-Lee Wee, Annie Karni, Marc Santora, Megan Specia, Vindu Goel, Elian Peltier, Jason Horowitz, Emma Bubola, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Jorge Arangure, Matthew Futterman, Elaine Yu, Amy Qin, Alan Rappeport, Emily Cochrane, Karen Zraick, Sandra E. Garcia, Scott Cacciola, Sopan Deb, Brooks Barnes, Noah Weiland, Sheri Fink, Mike Baker, Monika Pronczuk, Melissa Eddy, Roni Caryn Rabin, Donald G. McNeil Jr., Andrew Keh, and Katie Thomas.