NYC Schools Closing until April 20th at least.
California to close bars, nightclubs and wineries
From CNN’s Stella Chan
All California bars, nightclubs, wineries and brew pubs will be closed because they are “a non-essential function,” state Gov. Gavin Newsom said during a press conference Sunday.
Restaurant capacities must be reduced by half to practice social distancing, Newsom said.
It seems like a lot of regulatory restrictions can be overlooked in an emergency.
Public schools in New York City and three surrounding counties will close this week, state governor says
From CNN’s Laura Ly
Public schools in New York City and Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties will close this week to limit the spread of coronavirus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced in a news release Sunday.
Schools in Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties will close for two weeks beginning on Monday, Cuomo said. New York City schools will close early this week, but no date has yet been set. Nassau and Suffolk counties are on Long Island while Westchester County is just north of New York City.
New York City officials must develop a plan within the next 24 hours to ensure schoolchildren who rely on school meals will continue to receive them. Parents, especially those who are health care workers or first responders, will be provided access to childcare as needed, Cuomo said.
South Carolina closes all public schools
From CNN’s Shawn Nottingham
South Carolina will close all public schools due to the coronavirus outbreak until the end of March, according to an executive order by Gov. Henry McMaster.
McMaster made the announcement at an afternoon news conference.
My dd has a friend from work whose ds is a suspected case. He is a med student who was working in the ER in PA and is now running a 105 temp. 
Wow. That is surprising. Our state only has a few cases but we have curbside testing for patients ages 0- 21. Why are children’s clinics getting tests and hospitals in states with the most cases not receiving tests?
because 100,000 of the students are homeless.
Yes there are homeless children in the NYC school system however in the state of NY the classification of homeless is very loose. This can be someone living in temporary housing, renting a hotel room, a child moved from one parent to another, some foster care situations, with a family member temporarily… This does’t necessarily mean on the street.
Cuomo is telling New Yorkers that this is doomsday situation where hospitals will not be able to handle the wave of illness yet he isn’t shutting down the state. The numbers are climbing rapidly.
NYC Schools Closing until April 20th at least.
Finally. Now let you cafeteria ladies go home and be safe too.
Kudos to the governor of Ohio. He is taking a very aggressive stance about this. Schools closed, and I believe he was the first to close all restaurants and bars.
We were planning a family birthday party…was supposed to be at a pub. We’ve changed it to a nice family dinner at one of my sibling houses. If order out places are still operating, we will support some local businesses that way.
Any updates from the press conference. There was a lot discussed and how to distill it all. So much info.
Especially around testing and labs. It’s sounds like some significant progress. And the airline issue was explained a bit better.
Hopefully this time next week things look a lot better on the testing and numbers reporting front.
Stock futures hit limit down after Fed slashes overnight rate and WH press conference. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/15/traders-await-futures-open-after-fed-cuts-rates-launches-easing-program.html
I don’t get the curbside testing being limited to 0-21. Why?
They didn’t learn from the last time. It is evoking more panic to do such a one-off move on a Sunday. Market psychology.
All New York City hospitals will be required to cancel elective surgeries, mayor says
From CNN’s Laura Ly
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday that he would sign an executive order on Monday requiring all hospitals in the city to cancel elective surgeries in the coming days.
De Blasio said his power to do so exists under New York’s state of emergency and that his executive order would be worded carefully to allow some flexibility to close out some existing elective surgeries, but that all elective surgeries would cease soon.
Starbucks switching to a ‘to go’ model in US and Canadian stores
From CNN’s Richard Davis
Starbucks announced on Sunday that its US and Canadian stores will move to a “to go” model for at least two weeks to help contain the coronavirus, according to a company news release.
The coffee retail giant said the latest move was intended to encourage social distancing.
“As we all know, the situation with COVID-19 is extremely dynamic and we will continue to review the facts and science and make the proactive decisions necessary to protect our partners, customers and communities,” wrote Rossann Williams, an executive vice president and head of US retail operations for the coffee chain.
Starbucks said there would be temporary closures in stores with high-social gatherings as well as in communities with high clusters of coronavirus cases.
Vice President Pence says more than 2,000 labs will have high-speed testing capability by Monday
From CNN’s Nicky Robertson and Jason Hoffman
During a White House briefing Sunday, Vice President Mike Pence announced that “more than 2,000 labs” will have high-speed testing capacity by Monday.
Since the declaration of a national state of emergency, Pence said federal public health services have worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and “have reached out to all 50 states to create a process that will enable all Americans who need to be tested to go to a community-based testing site outside of usual health care facilities.”
Pence noted these tests will be focused on those “most in need.”
Adm. Brett Giroir with the US Public Health Service outlined how new coronavirus testing will be rolled out. He said there would be 1.9 million tests available this week across the 2,000 labs. Giroir also emphasized that the priority would be placed on those most vulnerable.
Giroir added that there wouldn’t be undue stress put on the acute health care system, meaning emergency rooms or urgent care.
{ I hope it happens this time. Rolling back on the “everyone who wants one”, “everyone who needs one bit” though. This whole thing just ticks me off majorly. 
]
It is being offered by a children’s urgent care. I only know about it bc of a notification from them. They serve patients 0 to 21. Whether or not there are others for adults, I havent looked bc we are healthy.
It was bound to happen, though, imo. There is no way around the fact that business fundamentals are going to be impacted significantly by this crisis. I wonder how long before the Fed goes negative? Scary thought.
CNBC. At least for now…
Powell says the Fed doesn’t see negative rates as ‘appropriate’ policy for the United States
PUBLISHED SUN, MAR 15 20206:44 PM EDTUPDATED MOMENTS AGO
Jeff Cox
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Sunday that it’s unlikely that the central bank will entertain negative interest rates as the next step to help the economy during
Powell spoke after the central bank’s move to cut short-term interest rates to near-zero and implement $700 billion of quantitative easing.
“We do not see negative policy rates as likely to be an appropriate policy response here in the United States,” the chairman said in response to a question during a conference call.
In an extraordinary move aimed at calming financial markets, the Fed slashed its funds rate to a range of 0%-0.25%, where it was during the financial crisis and for seven years after. In addition, the central bank announced a $700 billion asset purchase program that also hearkened back to the crisis.
Negative rates on government bond yields have become prevalent across Europe and Japan. President Donald Trump, who has been pushing the Fed for easier monetary policy, also has mentioned the benefit of negative rates.
However, Powell said that a policy review over the past year indicated that the Fed’s conventional tools like interest rates and quantitative easing are sufficient.
Lebanon announces two-week lockdown
From Ghazi Balkiz
Lebanon has closed its airport, borders and ports for two weeks starting Sunday until March 29 at midnight to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country, Information Minister Manal Abdul Samad said in a press conference on Sunday in Beirut.
People are obligated to stay in their homes unless there is an “extreme necessity,” the minister said.
The government is banning public and private gatherings and government offices will be closed except for security, health and service offices, according to Abul Samad.
All private commercial companies, except for food production-related ones, were also instructed to close, the minister said.
Coronavirus killed three people and infected 100 others in Lebanon as of Sunday.
Serbia has introduced a state of emergency to halt the spread of coronavirus, president Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday after meeting top government and health officials in Belgrade.
Vucic said he was acting in line with legal provisions that allow him to declare a state of emergency in the absence of a sitting parliament, which was disbanded ahead of April 26 general elections.
“From this very moment we have a state of emergency,” Vucic said in a televised address, adding that the government will formulate the “harshest measures” soon.
He said that the fight “against an invisible adversary” will be aimed at the protection of the elderly, who are particularly at risk from the outbreak.
Vucic said kindergartens, schools and universities will be closed until the end of the semester.
Health authorities in the Balkan country have so far reported 46 cases of infection and tested 283 people. There have been no fatalities, but two patients are in a serious condition.
Vucic warned that from Monday the military will be guarding hospitals, while police will be monitoring those quarantined or in self-isolation for 14 or 28 days. Those who violate quarantine may face jail terms of up to three years, he said. (Guardian)
[ I wonder what affects whether someone is quarantining for 14 or 28 days. ]
The Czech Republic tightened restrictions on Sunday to combat the new coronavirus outbreak, banning people from moving around except for work, essential shopping and other necessary activities until 24 March.
Prime Minister Andrej Babis said the new measures would take effect from midnight, adding the government recommended that those who can work from home or take holidays.
The country of 10.7 million has confirmed 253 cases of the virus with no deaths reported so far.
The restrictions come a day after the government closed most shops and restaurants for at least 10 days. Other measures include a ban on nearly all international travel from Monday, and closing schools. (Guardian)
The Costa Rican health ministry has announced that there are now 35 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Central American country.
Of those cases, 30 are Costa Rican nationals and 5 are foreigners ranging from 10 to 87 years old. According to the update, 450 people have tested negative for the virus.
UK coronavirus crisis ‘to last until spring 2021 and could see 7.9m hospitalised’
The coronavirus epidemic in the UK will last until next spring and could lead to 7.9 million people being hospitalised, a secret Public Health England (PHE) briefing for senior NHS officials reveals. 
Three cases of coronavirus have been confirmed on the Pacific island of Guam, the second territory in the region to have confirmed cases of the virus.
All three confirmed cases are currently in isolation. Preliminary investigation has indicated that all three had travel connections—two recently traveled to the Philippines and the third had a family member who recently returned from Japan.
Guam also declared a state of emergency, including a 14-day suspension of non-essential government operations, school closures, closure of senior citizen centres and self-isolation for people returning from travel.
The announcement follows the first confirmed case of Covid-19 in the Pacific region last week, when French Polynesia announced that a politician, Maina Sage, had been diagnosed with the virus.
Sage had recently travelled to Paris and had met with France’s culture minister, who has since been diagnosed with Covid-19.
Regional organisations and Pacific governments are preparing for more cases of Covid-19 in the islands region. Many citizens in small island developing states are fearful of the potential stress on medical services.
An epidemic of measles across the Pacific last year highlighted the potential for transmission of infectious diseases, adding to existing burdens on public health systems from non-communicable diseases.
Guardian