March 12 coronavirus news

Due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Paris Resort will close at the end of the business day Sunday through the end of the month, the company said in a statement tonight.

Disney Cruise Line will also suspend all new departures beginning Saturday through the end of the month, the company added.

Disney cast members will be paid during the closure period, and hotels and dining complexes at both Disney World and Disneyland Paris will stay open until further notice, according to the company statement.

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is suspending all prison visits, with some exceptions, starting tomorrow for two weeks, according to a tweet from the organization.

“Only staff, vendors and contractors will be allowed to enter any of the state prisons—pending results of a screening,” the department said in the tweet.

New Mexico will close all public elementary and secondary schools starting Monday, according to a press release from the office of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. 

The shutdown will last three weeks to try to slow the spread of coronavirus.

The governor’s office says more details about the closure will be released Friday, but the state wanted to get the word out earlier so parents can begin planning for child care next week.

The school closure announcement came shortly after the state announced its sixth confirmed coronavirus case.

The NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers announced today that they plan to compensate all Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse employees, hourly and event staff team members, as if every game and every event is still taking place.

The announcement comes after the team's Kevin Love announced a $100,000 donation to the arena’s staff.

Yesterday: The NBA suspended its season after a player preliminarily tested positive for coronavirus, stunning fans and players.

Utah Jazz all-star center Rudy Gobert tested positive, according to ESPN and other media outlets, shortly before his team's game Wednesday night against the host Oklahoma City Thunder.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced the state’s first death from coronavirus today.

The patient is a male in his 70s who lived in a long-term care facility in Wyandotte County, Kelly said.

According to the governor, the man had other underlying health conditions and was receiving care at a local hospital before he passed away.

The man was not mobile, so the state is treating this as a case of community spread and health officials are now conducting public health contact tracing.

Some context: Kelly said this situation demanded that she declare an emergency, which will grant her administration the ability to activate state resources and mobilize personnel to assist where needed.

This death is the state’s fifth confirmed case of coronavirus.

This is the 41st death in the US.

Two Transportation Security Administration officers performed pat-downs and luggage checks at Mineta San Jose International Airport prior to testing positive for COVID-19, according to information provided to local officials by the federal agency.

TSA has authorized "frontline personnel" interacting with the public "to wear surgical masks if they choose to do so." 

The province of Alberta is asking residents to cancel all large gatherings and advising them against traveling outside of the country in an effort to mitigate the spread of novel coronavirus, officials said in a news statement.

The total number of presumptive positive cases in the province is 23 as of Thursday, the statement said.

There are at least 147 cases of coronavirus, including one death, in Canada.

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock has declared a statewide emergency due to the coronavirus. 

Although there are currently no confirmed cases in the state, Bullock said in a Facebook post, “Our state is preparing for coronavirus to come to Montana and we will be prepared to respond all along the way.”

More context: The declaration comes on the same day that Montana’s system of public colleges and universities announced it would be moving to distance learning as much as possible and suspending in-person classes as of March 23. 

However, the announcement from the Montana University System said all campus operations will remain open, including dormitories.

“The Tonight Show” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers” will suspend production beginning Friday until March 30, according to NBC. 

The shows had previously planned to take a hiatus the week of March 23.

The network said they are monitoring the situation and will decide about future shows when they get closer to production.