SPREAD UPENDS DAILY LIFE IN U.S.
Infection rate rises along with fears of recession
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON • The expanding coronavirus outbreak threw daily American life into turmoil on Thursday as more professional sports leagues suspended their seasons, Broadway theatres cancelled performances, and new restrictions caused chaos in trans-atlantic airline travel.
Fears of a U.S. recession rose in step with an increase in the number of people infected by the virus, which causes the sometimes fatal COVID-19 respiratory illness. The concerns were reflected in U.S. stock markets, with major indexes entering bear-market territory.
California and New York announced sweeping bans on large gatherings and more schools, museums and other institutions announced plans to close.
Officials in the hardest-hit parts of the country, including New York and Washington states, were trying to balance the need to protect the public from the highly contagious coronavirus while stopping short of actions that could freeze the daily lives of millions of people and stop economic activity.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency to fight the coronavirus outbreak on Thursday, allowing him to use new powers as the number of confirmed cases rose to 95.
New York state will ban gatherings of more than 500 people beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday in order to slow the spread of the virus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a news conference. Establishments that can fit 500 people or fewer must halve their capacity beginning on Friday, Cuomo said.
PANDEMIC
Broadway theatres in Manhattan will have to start observing the new rules on Thursday night, Cuomo said. Hospitals, nursing homes, mass transit and certain other facilities will be exempt from the new rule.
More than 1,300 U.S. cases of coronavirus have been confirmed and 38 people have died. A nursing home in Kirkland, Wash., has accounted for a large share of the deaths.
The state of Georgia reported its first death on Thursday.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott said he would quarantine himself after meeting last week with a member of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s delegation in Florida. Another Bolsonaro official on the trip has since tested positive for the virus.
President Donald Trump and Vice-president Mike Pence met the Brazilian delegation, but White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said: “Both the President and Vice-president had almost no interactions with the individual who tested positive and do not require being tested at this time.”
U.S. health officials have struggled to quickly expand testing capacity to make screening for the virus widely available, and have acknowledged that it is not easy for those possibly exposed to the virus to get tested.
“The system is not really geared to what we need right now,” Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. official on infectious diseases, said at a congressional hearing. “The idea of anybody getting it (testing) easily the way people in other countries are doing it, we’re not set up for that.”
Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks and at least one player in the National Basketball Association are among those who have been infected with the coronavirus, which can lead to pneumonia and other respiratory problems, especially in the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.
The NBA has suspended its season until further notice. The National Hockey League announced on Thursday it was pausing its season and Major League Soccer announced a 30-day suspension of its season. Major League Baseball also reportedly suspended spring training and delayed the start of its regular season.
The outbreak has forced the closure of many schools and prompted some universities, including Harvard and Princeton, to announce they will move to virtual classroom instruction after the spring break later this month.
U.S. citizens and permanent residents returning from Europe will be screened for the virus and asked to go into “self-quarantine” for 14 days as part of new travel restrictions that affect 26 nations but exempt Britain and Ireland, Pence said in an interview with CNN.
“Americans coming home will be funnelled through 13 different airports, they’ll be screened, and then we’re going to ask every single American and legal resident returning to the United States to self-quarantine for 14 days,” Pence said.