Coronavirus live updates: Italy's vast quarantine; Reprieve for a cruise ship; US death toll climbs to 19 - USA TODAY

John Bacon USA TODAY

Published 9:42 AM EDT Mar 8, 2020

Streets and shops were empty in Milan and vast swaths of northern Italy were essentially locked down Sunday as the government dug in against an advance of the global coronavirus sweeping across the nation at an alarming rate.

In the U.S., the death toll climbed to 19 this weekend, all but three fatalities in Washington state. More than 400 infections have been reported, but the number is rising almost as fast as tests for the virus can be conducted.

Italy's death toll rose to 233 on Sunday, and almost 6,000 infections have been confirmed. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed the decree affecting the at least 15 provinces that are home to more than a quarter of Italy's 60 million people.

“For Lombardy and for the other northern provinces that I have listed there will be a ban for everybody to move in and out of these territories and also within the same territory,” Conte said. “Exceptions will be allowed only for proven professional needs, exceptional cases and health issues.”

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• Hotel in China collapses: Hotel was being used for coronavirus quarantine 
• Grand Princess still in limbo: 21 coronavirus cases detected on board
• Coronavirus myths, debunked: A cattle vaccine, bioweapons and a $3,000 test
• 100 years ago: Seattle was under siege by the deadliest flu in history. Here's what life was like.

Here's the latest on the outbreak of COVID-19: 

Cruise ship passengers get good news

The Grand Princess cruise ship will begin to allow guests to disembark Monday, three days after 21 people aboard tested positive for coronavirus. Princess Cruises announced early Sunday it had been informed by state and local officials that the ship, off the coast of California, would be able to dock in the Port of Oakland, cruise line public relations director Negin Kamali told USA TODAY. 

Guests who "require acute medical treatment and hospitalization" will be first to disembark. Kamali said it was "unclear" whether other passengers would also be allowed off the ship Monday, or whether they would have to wait further. 

The company announced Wednesday that those on board may have been exposed to coronavirus after sailing with 62 passengers who officials say had been on the ship's previous voyage to Mexico. A 71-year-old California man who had been on the Mexico cruise eventually died from the virus.

– Morgan Hines and Curtis Tate, USA TODAY

10 dead in collapse of China isolation building

At least 10 people were dead and 23 missing as first responders in Beijing sifted through the debris of a collapsed building used to isolate arrivals from other parts of the country. State media said about 80 people had been inside the converted hotel when tragedy struck. The Health Ministry said at least 38 people were being treated at hospitals; the hotel’s owner was detained for questioning. Authorities said the building was undergoing renovations when the collapse occurred.

New York declares emergency

In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency Saturday to deal with the worsening crisis, as the number of cases jumped to 11 in New York City and 76 statewide.

The number of cases in New York City more than doubled in 24 hours, the governor said, in large part because of heavy emphasis on testing potential patients.

“We are testing aggressively," Cuomo said. “The more positives you find, the better.”

Florida reports first virus deaths outside of the West Coast

State health officials said two people in their 70s who had traveled overseas died in Santa Rosa County in Florida’s Panhandle and in the Fort Myers area. At least one of those deaths, viewed as a presumptive positive case, has not been confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

When confirmed by the CDC, the two Florida cases would bring the total number of U.S. deaths to 19. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis, meanwhile, has ordered the state's Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee to "Level 2" to coordinate response to the outbreak. Level 2 activation is a preparatory, intermediate-level response that "may not require activation" of all emergency support functions, though "primary, or lead" responders are notified.

The Florida Department of Health also said six Florida residents have been diagnosed with coronavirus along with one non-Florida resident.

– Caryn Shaffer, Treasure Coast Newspapers, and Jeffrey Schweers, USA TODAY Network, Florida 

Europe struggles to combat virus

• In Spain, where eight people have died, authorities believe that an outbreak in the northern part of the country are linked to a funeral were many people became infected.

• In Britain, where a second person died Friday of the virus, the public was told to prepare itself for “social distancing,” which could include temporarily reducing socializing at entertainment or sporting events or reducing non-essential travel on public transport and recommendations to work from home.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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2020-03-08 13:07:30Z
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'Thrown under the bus': Some Afghans view U.S.-Taliban peace deal with mix of disbelief and anger - The Washington Post

Lorenzo Tugnoli for The Washington Post Shogofa Danish, 25, a Dari news presenter for ToloNews TV, anchors a morning news cast. In January 2016, a Taliban suicide bomber rammed his car into a bus carrying employees of Tolo TV, Afghanistan’s most popular private broadcaster, killing seven staffers. Many Afghans feel the deal negotiated between the U.S. and the Taliban gives the group too much power.

KABUL — As U.S. and Taliban negotiators celebrated the signing of a peace deal in Doha, for many in Kabul, the agreement felt like a betrayal. After more than 18 years of a U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, the document seeking to end it made no mention of any of the ideals once touted by the conflict’s supporters and architects.

The deal, signed Feb. 29 in Qatar’s capital, also leaves the Afghan government in a weakened position as it prepares for its own round of talks with the Taliban, according to the Afghan officials and analysts.

The provisions included a commitment to a controversial prisoner swap that robs the government of key leverage before the talks, which had been scheduled to begin by Tuesday. And a reference to the Taliban as the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” is seen as giving the group greater legitimacy, despite language that the United States does not recognize any such political standing.

“We were thrown under the bus for a photo op and a handshake,” said a senior Afghan government official.

Lorenzo Tugnoli for The Washington Post

Onlookers observe the site of an attack, claimed by ISIS, in Kabul on Friday.

He complained that the deal did not extract enough concessions from the Taliban, and instead made controversial pledges on behalf of the Afghan government. The result, he said, is the Taliban will probably enter talks with the Afghan government from a stronger negotiating position.

Many Afghans who see themselves most closely allied with American values — and most dependent on U.S. support — fear they have the most to lose from the peace deal. Supporters of women’s rights, civil society and some sectors of the country’s political and security establishment described reading the deal with a mix of disbelief and anger.

[U.S. signs peace deal with Taliban]

“I want peace. All Afghans want peace. But I don’t think this deal will bring us peace,” the Afghan official said, describing it as a step in the wrong direction that will further destabilize the country.

His sentiment was echoed by two other Afghan officials. All spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Since deal, a spike in violence

Lorenzo Tugnoli for The Washington Post

The aftermath of an attack, claimed by ISIS, that killed at least 32 people in Kabul on Friday.

Violence across Afghanistan has risen since the deal was signed. On Friday, Kabul saw its deadliest attack in months. Islamic State gunmen shooting down on a religious gathering from a nearby multistory building killed at least 32 people and wounded 81. Some civilians at the site of the attack blamed the peace talks for the carnage.

“With the talks of peace recently, there are some elements . . . who want to disrupt that process,” said Mohammad Jawad, a primary schoolteacher who lives near the site of the attack.

The Taliban quickly issued a statement Friday saying it was not behind the shooting.

Under the peace deal, the Taliban made several commitments to fight terrorist groups such as the Islamic State in exchange for the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 14 months. But what the deal did not include were Taliban commitments concerning what a future Afghan government would look like.

[Afghan government objects to elements of U.S.-Taliban peace deal]

Democracy and women’s rights were the ideals described as central to the U.S. mission in Afghanistan following the launch of the war after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists attacks. For years, the Taliban had given haven to Osama bin Laden and other top leaders of al-Qaeda.

In his State of the Union address the following year, President George W. Bush cited advances in women’s rights.

“The last time we met in this chamber, the mothers and daughters of Afghanistan were captives in their own homes, forbidden from working or going to school. Today women are free,” he said in 2002.

More than 18 years later, Shogofa Danish is one of many Afghan women who say they have seen the benefits of the freedoms brought with the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. But the peace deal signed in Doha filled her with dread.

“This is my dream job,” she said, speaking from the slick studios of Tolo broadcasting in Kabul, where she presents the news in Dari. “I don’t want to go back. I want this life.”

Lorenzo Tugnoli for The Washington Post

Shogofa Danish fears the deal will allow the Taliban to regain power and curtail her freedom.

Danish said she fears that the deal signed by the United States and the Taliban will bring the extremists back to power and allow them to curtail her freedom.

Even without the Taliban in a position of formal power, Danish’s work is dangerous. Her employer has been attacked and repeatedly threatened by the militants. A maze of blast walls and checkpoints surround the modern office buildings where she works.

“I’m worried, but I will not accept [returning to Taliban rule]. I will never give up,” she said.

‘We spilled blood together’

Fawzia Koofi’s adult life has straddled both Taliban rule and the United States’ war in Afghanistan. The 45-year-old former parliamentarian and prominent women’s rights activist said she was saddened by the text of the peace deal, but not surprised.

She has participated in several rounds of informal meetings with the Taliban and U.S. negotiators over the past few years, and said she has noticed a shift in U.S. policy in Afghanistan: away from democratic ideals to focus almost entirely on drawing down U.S. forces.

“I was told that if everything else is going well in Afghanistan, we are not going to keep letting our soldiers get killed for Afghan women,” she said, recounting a briefing she had with a senior U.S. official in the past year. She refused to name the official because of the sensitivity of the matter.

[Trump speaks with senior Taliban leader by phone, in a first since war began]

On the outskirts of Kabul, at a military base shared by U.S. and Afghan special operations forces, Lt. Gen. Mohammad Farid Ahmadi’s office is dotted with plaques, coins and other tokens from U.S. commanders who have come and gone.

Ahmadi, now the commander of Afghanistan’s elite commandos unit, has had his military career defined by the presence of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. As a young man, he served alongside U.S. Marines in Konar and Kandahar before being one of the first to join the elite commandos unit when it was established in early 2007.

Lorenzo Tugnoli for The Washington Post

Recruits of a special forces unit of the Afghan National Army train in the morning at a base near Kabul.

He said that despite what the peace deal may say, he does not believe the United States will completely leave anytime soon.

“I fought alongside the Americans, and many American troops fell beside me. We spilled blood together. You cannot describe that high level of trust,” he said.

He cannot imagine U.S. forces would draw down to zero in the 14 months prescribed by the peace deal.

“I trust they will withdraw in a more accountable and responsible way,” he said.

[Violence in Afghanistan will probably continue despite deal, U.S. military leaders say]

Ahmadi said he is most concerned with the lack of a provision in the deal to leave behind a small U.S. counterterrorism force in Afghanistan. He said Afghan troops are still dependent on close U.S. support for counterterrorism operations.

“We will have some type of insurgency or terrorism in this part of the world forever,” he said.

“Leaving counterterrorism [forces in Afghanistan] helps us and it helps them,” he said, referring to the United States and other NATO members. Without assistance in that area, he said he fears much higher levels of violence.

Like many of the other Afghan officials and civilians interviewed for this story, Ahmadi said a quick, complete American withdrawal would be a move similar to the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, after which Afghanistan collapsed into years of bloody civil war.

“I think that Americans are wiser than this and won’t make the same mistake,” he said.

Koofi, the prominent women’s rights activist, also hit tones of optimism despite her concerns for the future.

Initially, she said the peace deal made her so angry that she almost released a statement condemning it.

“But we decided this is just the first step,” she said. When the Afghan government begins its own talks, she said she is hopeful they will manage to extract more concessions from the Taliban regarding women’s rights and democratic values.

“Our battle starts now,” she added with a smile.

Lorenzo Tugnoli for The Washington Post

Fawzia Koofi, a former parliamentarian and prominent women’s rights activist, was one of the few women who was a part of an Afghan delegation that held negotiations with the Taliban during the peace talks led by the United States.

Sharif Hassan contributed to this report.

Read more

What you need to know about the U.S.-Taliban peace deal

The Afghanistan Papers: A secret history of the war

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news

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2020-03-08 13:02:58Z
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Cruise ship off California amid coronavirus outbreak to dock in Oakland on Monday, operator says - Fox News

The Grand Princess cruise ship, which has been held off the coast of Northern California since Thursday because of a coronavirus outbreak on board, will dock at the Port of Oakland on Monday, Princess Cruises confirmed late Saturday.

As of Friday, 19 crew members and two passengers had tested positive for COVID-19 and those who need "acute" medical treatment or hospitalization will be transported to medical facilities in the state, the company said in a statement.

Only 45 of the ship’s passengers have been tested for the virus, meaning the other nearly 3,500 aboard will need to be tested and quarantined once the ship docks.

GRAND PRINCESS CRUISE SHIP REPORTS 'FEWER THAN 100' PEOPLE IDENTIFIED FOR CORONAVIRUS TESTING

“Following health screenings, guests who are California residents will go to a federally operated facility within California for testing and isolation, while non-Californians will be transported by the federal government to facilities in other states. Crew will be quarantined and treated aboard the ship,” the statement said.

Americans removed from the Diamond Princess cruise ship held off the coast of Japan last month were quarantined for two weeks at military bases in California and Texas.

The Grand Princess canceled its final stop in Mexico en route to San Francisco from Hawaii last week after officials learned a man who had been on the ship last month contracted the virus and died this week, The Mercury News of San Jose reported.

Passengers have been on the ship since Feb. 21 when they left California for Hawaii.

Princess Cruises’ chief medical officer Dr. Grant Tarling said the company believes the man, who didn’t have any symptoms until he was on board, contracted the virus in California before he boarded, according to The Mercury News.

By Friday, at least 69 people in California had tested positive for the virus and one person had died.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Two patients in Florida and 16 in Washington state have also died.

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2020-03-08 10:28:19Z
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How the rapidly-spreading coronavirus evolved in the US - CNN

Here's how the disease quickly evolved in the US:

First case of the virus in the US

Federal health officials announced the first case of coronavirus in the US on January 20. The patient was in Washington state, and had just returned five days prior from Wuhan, China, where the outbreak started.

Biggest major outbreak outside China

The largest coronavirus outbreak outside of mainland China at the time was a cruise ship floating in Japanese waters. The Diamond Princess cruise ship announced a total of more than 700 passengers had coronavirus. Over 3,600 people, including 428 Americans, were stuck on the cruise ship that had been docked in Yokohama since February 4.

First major warning on likely spread

A top federal health official warned Americans on February 25 that coronavirus would spread in the United States. "It's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness," said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

First coronavirus death in the US

A patient infected with coronavirus in Washington state died on February 29, marking the first fatality due to the virus in the United States. The man in his 50s had underlying health conditions, and there was no evidence he had close contact with an infected person or a relevant travel history that would have exposed him to the virus.

First coronavirus confirmation in New York City

New York confirmed its first case of coronavirus on March 1. The patient contracted the virus while in Iran, officials said. "There is no reason for undue anxiety -- the general risk remains low in New York. We are diligently managing this situation," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

First death outside Washington state

A death reported in Northern California on March 4 became the first fatality outside Washington state.

The victim was an elderly man with underlying health conditions, who was probably exposed to the virus on a trip aboard a Princess Cruises ship that traveled from San Francisco to Mexico in February.

Ship is held at sea in the US due to coronavirus

A ship carrying more than 3,500 people was held at sea off the coast of California as it traveled from Hawaii on March 4. The Grand Princess previously carried a passenger who became the first person to die from coronavirus in California, and was ordered to stay at sea for days as it awaited test results. Officials later confirmed 21 positive cases of coronavirus.

First deaths outside the West Coast

Florida authorities announced March 6 that two coronavirus patients in the state died. It was the first deaths believed to be linked to the virus on the East Coast. The state also confirmed more than a dozen cases, considered the second largest cluster on the East Coast after New York.

First infection in the nation's capital

The first case of coronavirus infection in the District of Columbia was reported on March 7.

The patient was a resident in his 50s who appeared to have no history of international travel and no close contacts with a confirmed case, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced.

Infections hit more than 400

Now the US cases are at more than 400 and include 70 people repatriated to the US. Of those, 21 people are aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship. The ship was held off the coast of San Francisco and has been in limbo since March 4, when officials learned the first California fatality had traveled to Mexico on the ship last month. It's expected to head to Oakland, California, this week.

A nursing home is at the center of the outbreak

The hard-hit Washington state is grappling with an outbreak at Life Care Center nursing home in suburban Seattle, where at least 14 people have died, the King County Health Department said.

All 63 residents remaining at the facility are confined to their rooms and dozens more have been transferred to various hospitals, said spokesman Tim Killian of the Kirkland facility.

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2020-03-08 10:12:57Z
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Coronavirus: Northern Italy quarantines 16 million people - BBC News - BBC News

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1. Coronavirus: Northern Italy quarantines 16 million people - BBC News  BBC News
2. Italy Locks Down the Country’s North to Fight Coronavirus  The Wall Street Journal
3. Italy quarantines 16 million over coronavirus  Al Jazeera English
4. Coronavirus: Northern Italy quarantines 16 million people  BBC News
5. Coronavirus live updates: Italian PM signs lockdown decree affecting millions in north  The Guardian
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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2020-03-08 10:20:17Z
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Italy announces lockdown as global coronavirus cases surpass 105,000 - CNN

The sweeping move puts the entire Lombardy region, as well as 14 other provinces, under travel restrictions, and is one of the toughest responses implemented outside of mainland China to get the Covid-19 epidemic under control.

CNN is verifying exactly when the lockdown will go into effect.

The announcement came after Italy saw a dramatic spike of 1,247 confirmed novel coronavirus cases on Saturday, the Civil Protection Department said in a statement.

The country has now recorded 5,883 cases and 233 deaths, the most fatalities outside mainland China and the biggest outbreak in Europe.

Announcing the new measures, Conte said: "There will be an obligation to avoid any movement of people who are either entering or leaving" the affected areas. "Even within the areas moving around will occur only for essential work or health reasons," he said, according to Reuters.

While the lockdown only applies to northern Italy, other measures will be applied to the entire country. These include the suspension of schools, university classes, theaters and cinemas, as well as bars, nightclubs, and sports events. Religious ceremonies, including funerals, will also be suspended.

Other countries in Europe are also struggling to contain outbreaks as cases continue to rise.

On Saturday, France's general director of health, Jerome Salomon, confirmed 16 dead and 949 infected nationwide, and Germany now has 795 cases. The United Kingdom confirmed a second death from the novel coronavirus on Saturday, while 206 people have tested positive, British health officials said in a statement.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on "all countries to continue efforts that have been effective in limiting the number of cases and slowing the spread of the virus."

In a statement, the WHO said: "Allowing uncontrolled spread should not be a choice of any government, as it will harm not only the citizens of that country but affect other countries as well."

Meanwhile in China, search and rescue efforts continued on Sunday for survivors from the collapse of a hotel that was being used as a coronavirus quarantine center.

The hotel, in the southeastern city of Quanzhou, in Fujian province, came down Saturday night with 80 people inside. Four people died, one person remains in critical condition and four others are seriously injured, according to China's Ministry of Emergency Management.

"We are using life detection instruments to monitor signs of life and professional breaking-in tools to make forcible entries. We are trying our utmost to save trapped people," said Guo Yutuan, squadron leader of the Quanzhou armed police detachment's mobile unit.

The building's owner is in police custody, according to state news agency Xinhua and an investigation is underway.

South Korea cases surpass 7,000, more than 400 in US

The total number of worldwide cases stands at more than 105,000, with 3,599 deaths. China's National Health Commission reported 27 new deaths from the coronavirus on Sunday, and 99 new infections.

As Italy and Iran suffer from the most deaths outside of China, South Korea continues to battle the worst outbreak.

On Sunday, South Korea announced 367 new infections, bringing the country's total to 7,134, according to the South Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 50 deaths.

Among the new cases, 294 are from Daegu city and 32 are from North Gyeongsang Province, the most heavily infected areas in the country.

In the United States, 444 cases of the novel coronavirus have been confirmed, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and state and local governments, and 19 people have died.

This includes presumptive positive cases that tested positive in a public health lab and are pending confirmation from the CDC, and confirmed cases have received positive results from the CDC.

On Saturday, the American Conservative Union announced that one of the attendees at last week's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland, tested positive for coronavirus.

President Donald Trump and vice president Mike Pence were attending the event, though the ACU said the attendee did not come into contact with either of the men.

When asked by reporters if he was worried about being exposed to coronavirus after he attended CPAC, Trump said, "I'm not concerned at all."

Trump, who was speaking alongside Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro ahead of their dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, also noted that the administration would not cancel any political rallies as the virus spreads.

"We'll have tremendous rallies. We're doing very well. We've done a fantastic job, with respect to that subject, on the virus," Trump said.

Meanwhile, 14 out of 16 coronavirus deaths in the US state of Washington are associated with a nursing home in Kirkland, according to a Seattle & King County Public Health press release. The Life Care Center is at the center the coronavirus outbreak in the United States.

Some Life Care Center patients have gone from no symptoms to acute symptoms within an hour, according to Tim Killian, spokesperson for Life Care Center of Kirkland.

"We've had patients die relatively quickly under those circumstances," he said, adding that the virus was "volatile, unpredictable."

There were 180 staff members employed at Life Care Center as of February 19 and 70 employees now have symptoms of novel coronavirus. The Center of Disease Control has provided "extra nurses, practitioners and doctors," to the nursing home.

CNN's Steven Jiang, Shanshan Wang and Yong Xiong in Beijing, Akanksha Sharma and Chermaine Lee in Hong Kong, Livia Borghese in Rome, Yoonjung Seo in Seoul and Taylor Barnes and Jennifer Hauser in Atlanta contributed.

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2020-03-08 09:33:59Z
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Mainland China reports 44 new virus cases as spread continues to slow at epicenter - Reuters

FILE PHOTO: A community worker in protective suit disinfects a residential compound in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak, Hubei province, China March 6, 2020. REUTERS/Stringer

SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - Health authorities in mainland China on Sunday reported 44 new confirmed cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus by the end of March 7, a decrease from 99 the day prior.

That brings the total number of confirmed cases in China to 80,695 by the end of March 7. Authorities reported 27 new deaths on March 7, down from 28 deaths on March 6.

All the new deaths occurred in Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak. The total number of deaths hit 3,097.

Authorities also counted three new imported coronavirus cases by the end of March 7, bringing the total imported case count to 63.

Reporting by Josh Horwitz and Huizhong Wu; Editing by Leslie Adler

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2020-03-08 09:52:15Z
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