March 3 coronavirus news
Six people have died from coronavirus in Washington state
Six people have now died in Washington state from the novel coronavirus, according to health officials.
A person has died from coronavirus in Snohomish County, according to Heather Thomas, spokesperson with the Snohomish Health District. No additional details were immediately available from the health district.
Five other people have died in King County, according to Jeffrey Duchin, a public health official with the county.
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Amazon removed 1 million items for coronavirus-related price gouging
Amazon says it has pulled more than 1 million products for price gouging or falsely advertising effectiveness against the coronavirus.
This action comes after Wired found sellers gouging the prices of coronavirus-related products, like face masks, or charging people "exorbitant shipping costs," according to the magazine.
The company said in a statement that it has "always required sellers provide accurate information" on product pages and removes those that violates its policies. Amazon said that third-party sellers must follow its Fair Pricing Policy, which states companies can't set a price "significantly higher" then seen in other places or sell an item that "misleads customers."
"We are disappointed that bad actors are attempting to artificially raise prices on basic need products during a global health crisis and, in line with our long-standing policy, have recently blocked or removed tens of thousands of offers," an Amazon (AMZN) spokesperson told CNN Business. "We continue to actively monitor our store and remove offers that violate our policies."
5 coronavirus deaths confirmed in Washington state
There have been five deaths the novel coronavirus in Seattle and King County, according to Jeffrey Duchin, a public health official with the county.
A step-by-step look at how experts are containing and mitigating coronavirus
There are a lot of steps that go into containing and mitigating the novel coronavirus, also known as Covid-19.
The strategy may include controlling the disease by testing for the virus as early as possible, tracing the contacts of an infected person and by preventing infections in health care facilities. It may also include non-pharmaceutical interventions for individuals and communities, like encouraging good hygiene and canceling events where a lot of people will gather.
Later on, treatments and vaccines may help mitigate the outbreak — but those take time to develop and test.
Resolve to Save Lives, a health initiative to prevent epidemics, spelled out the process in this chart:
World Health Organization sends medical supplies to Iran
Iran has received the first planeload of assistance from the World Health Organization, including eight tons of medicines and test kits, to help the country in its battle against the new coronavirus outbreak, state news IRNA reported.
A United Arab Emirates military aircraft carrying the aid landed at Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport, IRNA said.
Representatives of the UN's health agency have also arrived in Iran to examine the country's handling of the virus.
Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted this:
Can you catch the coronavirus by eating food prepared by others?
It's recommended that you take precautionary measures when it comes to foods and utensils that are communal. The novel coronavirus is a respiratory virus, meaning it transmits through the lungs. It's recommended that you are cautious when it comes to shared utensils and foods like salad bars.
"It's not a virus that will necessarily transmit easily in that way. I would say that things like salad bars, you know, we will have to be very diligent about what we are touching and all of these utensils that many people might be touching. That would be where I would be the risk of the transmission occurring, more so than the food that we are actually eating. This is a respiratory virus that transmits through the lungs," said Dr. Michael Mina, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Harvard University.
Italy coronavirus cases now total 2,036 people
The number of coronavirus cases in Italy climbed to 2,036, with 52 deaths reported so far, according to an update from the country’s Civil Protection Authority on Monday.
Of the people infected, 149 have since recovered.
More on this: Italy has the most coronavirus cases of any country outside of Asia.
In Lombardy, the northern Italian region at the center of the country's outbreak, 1 in 10 of confirmed coronavirus cases involve medical personnel, according to Paola Stringa, a press officer for the Lombardy regional government.
Correction: This post has been corrected to reflect the total number of cases of coronavirus in Italy, including patients who have recovered and those who have died. There are 2,036.
Four Americans released from national quarantine unit
Four Americans who were being monitored in the National Quarantine Unit at the UNMC/Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha were released from the quarantine unit, according to a release from the institution.
Two of the people previously tested positive for coronavirus, while two others tested negative throughout the quarantine process, the release said.
The two people who previously tested positive for the disease were released from quarantine yesterday afternoon, having tested negative for the virus in three separate tests, 24 hours apart, according to UNMC health officials. The two people who tested negative left the quarantine unit this morning.
These four Americans met all UNMC/Nebraska Medicine qualifications for release, which exceeded CDC qualifications.
British Airways cancels flights due to coronavirus-related lack of demand
British Airways, one of the largest airlines in Europe, has announced that it will be canceling several flights to “match reduced demand due to the continuing coronavirus issue,” it said in a statement today.
The cancelations will impact flights between March 16 and March 28 and include:
- Cancelling 12 roundtrips from London Heathrow to New York JFK
- Cancelling 171 short-haul roundtrip flights from London Heathrow to countries including Italy, France, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland
- Cancelling 7 short-haul roundtrip flights from Gatwick to Italy, France and Albania
- Cancelling 26 short-haul roundtrip flights from London City to Germany and Italy
“We will be contacting customers on cancelled flights so we can discuss their travel options, including rebooking onto other carriers where possible, full refunds or booking with BA for a later date of travel,” the statement added.