California calls for ban on large events as coronavirus cases hit 198
LOS ANGELES — California has recorded 198 cases of the new coronavirus as of Thursday, up from 177 the day before, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced.
California officials are calling for the cancellation of all gatherings with 250 or more people to slow the spread of the coronavirus, a decision that came hours after a new federal travel ban and the suspension of the NBA season.
The recommendations have the potential to touch virtually all corners of social life across the state: community meetings, sports events and school theater performances.
The move comes as President Donald Trump suspended most travel from Europe as the novel coronavirus continued its spread across the globe Wednesday, claiming its first life in Los Angeles County and causing the World Health Organization to refer to the outbreak for the first time as a pandemic.
The WHO has officially declared the coronavirus a pandemic. This is the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus. Infectious disease physician Timothy Brewer of the University of California, Los Angeles compares the novel coronavirus to other pandemics such as H1N1, MERS, SARS and influenza.
The new policy from the California Department of Public Health, which will be in effect at least through March, marks the first time the state has issued a request for all residents across California to adopt so-called “social distancing” measures and represents a new sense of urgency in the administration’s approach to fighting the virus.
“Changing our actions for a short period of time will save the life of one or more people you know,” Newsom said in a statement. “That’s the choice before us. Each of us has extraordinary power to slow the spread of this disease. Not holding that concert or community event can have cascading effects — saving dozens of lives and preserving critical health care resources that your family may need a month from now. The people in our lives who are most at risk — seniors and those with underlying health conditions — are depending on all of us to make the right choice.”
As a result, the Los Angeles Police Department will postpone its graduation ceremony for new officers, which was scheduled for this week at the Los Angeles Police Academy, to avoid a large gathering, according to officials. Such a graduation typically draws 300 people to the training facility near Dodger Stadium.
Faced with two outbreaks of coronavirus on its ships and increasing government pressure, Princess Cruises announced Thursday it would suspend all operations for its vacation voyages for 60 days.
The news comes as federal and state authorities undertake a massive operation to disembark 3,500 passengers from the Grand Princess, a number of them infected by the virus, and move them to quarantine sites largely on U.S. military bases.
And in an announcement that brought the spreading public health crisis to Hollywood, Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson said they had tested positive for the virus.
“Hello, folks,” Hanks said in a statement. “Rita and I are down here in Australia. We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches. Rita had some chills that came and went. Slight fevers too. To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the coronavirus and were found to be positive.”
Tulare County in California’s Central Valley announced its first case of the coronavirus late Wednesday.
“It is believed that the virus was contracted out of the area and the individual did enter public areas while showing symptoms,” Tulare County Health and Human Services’ Public Health branch said in a statement.
The person is in stable condition, the statement said.