The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SHELTER IN PLACE?
Governor’s office says it can’t be done without permission from state.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said residents should be prepared for the possibility of a shelter-in-place order within days, but Andrew Cuomo, the state’s governor, said “there is no consideration of issuing one.”
New York City reside n ts should be prepared for the possibility of a shelter-in-place order
within days, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday.
But New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office immediately
pushed back on the idea of a shelter-in-place order for the city, reiterating that it cannot be done without the state’s permission and that “there is no consideration” of issuing one.
De Blasio said no decision had been made yet, but he wants city and state officials to make a decision within 48 hours, given
the fast spread of the new coronavirus.
“New Yorkers should be prepared right now for the possibility of a shelter in place order,” de Blasio said at a news briefing.
Administration announces 90-day delay for tax payments
The Trump administration says individuals and businesses will be allowed to delay paying their 2019 tax bills for 90 days past the usual April 15 deadline.
The extension announced Tuesday is an effort to inject up to $300 billion into the economy at a time when the coronavirus appears on the verge of causing a recession.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said individuals will be able to delay paying up to $1 million in payments.
Corporations will be able to defer payment on up to $10 million.
Taxpayers will still have to file their tax returns by the April 15 deadline.
But they won’t have to pay their tax bill for 90 additional days, officials said.
Government, tech industry discuss harnessing data
The U.S. government is in active talks with Facebook, Google and a wide array of tech companies and health experts about how they can use location data gleaned from Americans’ phones to combat the novel coronavirus, including tracking whether people are keeping one another at safe distances to stem the outbreak.
Public-health experts are interested in the possibility that private-sector companies could compile the data in anonymous, aggregated form, which they could then use to map the spread of the infection, according to three people familiar with the effort, who requested anonymity because the project is in its early stages.
Florida governor on virus: Last call for bars, nightclubs
Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered all Florida bars and nightclubs to close for 30 days starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, upending St. Patrick’s Day revelry with a more aggressive push to contain the new coronavirus.
The governor said four students at the University of Florida tested positive for the virus that has infected more than 170 people in Florida, killing five.
Europe moves to shut out visitors to slow coronavirus
European leaders were preparing Tuesday to close off a region of 30 countries and more than 450 million people to nearly all visitors from the rest of the world in a bid to arrest the spread of the coronavirus, starting a long stretch of isolation like nothing in modern history outside wartime.
Heads of government from the 27 European Union members were due to meet by teleconference to approve a proposal by the bloc’s executive to close a region stretching from Portugal to Finland, and from Greece to Iceland, to nonessential visitors for at least 30 days. That period that could be extended.
The closing represents the first coordinated response to the epidemic by the European Union.
Until now, governments have pursued widely differing measures to slow down the virus at home, at times blaming one another for the e pidemic’s spread.
Iran warns virus could kill ‘millions’ in Islamic Republic
Iran issued its most dire warning yet Tuesday about the new coronavirus ravaging the country, suggesting “millions” could die in the Islamic Republic if people keep traveling and ignore health guidance.
A state TV journalist who also is a medical doctor gave the warning only hours after hard-line Shiite faithful on Monday night pushed their way into the courtyards of two major shrines that were closed due to the virus. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a religious ruling prohibiting “unnecessary” travel.
At least 17 elders die at nursing home in Madrid in past five days
At least 17 elders from a Madrid nursing home have died in thepast five days, city authorities said.
The Spanish capital’s regional authorities acknowledged Tuesday 17 people have died at the nursing home. The announcement came after worried relatives turned to the media to reveal a cluster of the new coronavirus they fear may have infected many others.