King County in Washington state is taking over a public soccer field to use as a hospital for people who may have coronavirus.
The facility in Shoreline is designed to accommodate up to 200 beds, according to an announcement from the city. Shoreline officials said they are hoping to save traditional hospital beds only for people with the most serious needs if there is a surge in suspected coronavirus patients.
A video from CNN affiliate KOMO shows a group of workers on Wednesday laying construction materials on the field.
However, city officials said the hospital will not be allowed to operate unless all city regulations are followed, including obtaining a permit. It is unclear when the hospital will open.
Colorado is the latest state to shut down elementary and secondary schools to combat the spread of coronavirus.
In a statement, Gov. Jared Polis said he signed an executive order suspending in-person teaching and both public and private schools across the state. The order will go into effect Monday until April 17.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced Wednesday the state’s first death due to novel coronavirus.
According to a statement from the governor, the patient was a Prince George’s County resident in his 60s, who suffered from an underlying medical condition.
“It is with profound sadness that I announce the first death in Maryland as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. I ask all Marylanders to join me in praying for his family and loved ones during this difficult time. As we pray for his loved ones, I ask that we continue to pray for each other, for our state, and for our nation as we face this crisis together. We must use every possible resource at every level of government to save lives and keep people safe,” Hogan said in the statement.
At least 85 cases of coronavirus have been reported in Maryland.
Rep. Ben McAdams, a Democrat from Utah, tweeted Wednesday that he tested positive for coronavirus.
He said he first felt symptoms on Saturday after returning from Washington, and was tested on Tuesday. He received the positive result on Wednesday.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio criticized President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic Wednesday night, telling CNN “there’s a massive national crisis going on and he’s consistently late and very marginal in what he does.”
De Blasio said the federal government is absent in the discussion right now and noted the President is “the Herbert Hoover of his generation.”
“He’s taking actions that are far, far behind the curve and aren’t addressing the core concerns and talking about a massive number of new cases we expect of coronavirus, we’re almost to 2,000 cases right now in New York City alone,” de Blasio told CNN. “That’s going to cause a surge into our hospitals, they’re going to be using up their supplies rapidly in an unprecedented manor.”
He added that the President “has not done anything to maximize the amount of medical supplies being produced and to ensure they are being distributed where they are needed most in the United States."
The Senate had earlier Wednesday approved the House-passed bill. The move allowed the upper chamber to devote its full attention to passing the next relief package in response to the coronavirus crisis.
According to the White House, the "Families First Coronavirus Response Act" will provide "supplemental appropriations related to the COVID-19 public health emergency, as well as waivers and modifications of Federal nutrition programs, employment-related protections and benefits, health programs and insurance coverage requirements, and related tax credits during the COVID-19 public health emergency."
Australian airline Qantas and its subsidiary Jetstar will suspend scheduled international flights from late March until at least the end of May due to the coronavirus crisis.
In a statement posted on its website Thursday, Qantas Group announced that 60% of its domestic flights would also be cut, and two-thirds of its 30,000 employees would be temporarily stood down.
There's the possibility of ad-hoc international flights, the group said in its statement.
Earlier this week, cuts to 90 per cent of international flying and about 60 per cent of domestic flying were announced by Qantas and Jetstar. With the Federal Government now recommending against all overseas travel from Australia, regularly scheduled international flights will continue until late March to assist with repatriation and will then be suspended until at least the end of May 2020. As the national carrier, Qantas is in ongoing discussions with the Federal Government about continuation of some strategic links.
More than 150 aircraft will be temporarily grounded, including all of Qantas’ A380s, 747s and B787-9s and Jetstar’s B787-8s. Discussions are progressing with airports and government about parking for these aircraft.
Essential domestic, regional and freight connections will be maintained as much as possible.
The US Food and Drug Administration has now authorized nine coronavirus tests for emergency use.
The maker of one of those tests, Abbott, promised on Wednesday to ship 150,000 laboratory tests “immediately."
The authorizations are somewhat of a formality. FDA guidance issued earlier this week allows companies to manufacture and ship tests before receiving permission.
Yet the authorizations still offer a stamp of approval to tests, signaling that federal regulators are satisfied with their validation data and believe their benefits outweigh any risks, such as false positives or negatives.
Four other tests were authorized by the FDA this week; Abbott’s test is the fifth, for a total of nine.
Unlike tests that give results at home or in a doctor’s office, coronavirus tests must be run on specialized equipment in clinical labs.
The Abbott system can process up to 470 tests per day, according to the company, whose test was authorized Tuesday. The Swiss firm Roche, whose test was greenlit last week, says its systems can process up to 960 results in eight hours.
Such “high-throughput” systems have the potential to dramatically increase testing capacity in the United States. But shortages of the people and tools needed to run the tests – like health care workers and cotton swabs – could still slow testing.