By Jessie Yeung, Adam Renton, Sheena McKenzie and Meg Wagner, CNN
Delta has waived change fees for customers traveling to, from or through Europe and the U.K. through May 31, the company said in a news release.
This comes after President Trump's announcement that the US is cancelling travel from 26 European countries for the next 30 days, beginning Friday at midnight.
"The safety and health of our customers and employees is always our highest priority," the airline said.
From CNN’s Patrick Sung and Aleks Klosok
Spain's top division La Liga soccer league has become the latest sports association to cancel play in a bid to stem the spread of the virus.
All football matches have been suspended for two weeks, the league's organizing body said in a statement Thursday.
The decision comes after Real Madrid put all of its football and basketball squad into quarantine, after one of the club's basketball players tested positive for coronavirus.
The football and basketball clubs share the same training facilities.
From CNN’s Sara Spary and Mia Alberti
Schools, colleges and childcare facilities will be closed in the Republic of Ireland from Friday as part of a nationwide effort to halt the spread of coronavirus, the country's Prime Minister Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Thursday.
The closures will also apply to cultural institutions and will remain in place until March 29.
Indoor gatherings of more than 100 people and outdoor gatherings of more than 500 people will also be canceled, he said at a press conference in Washington.
"We have not witnessed a pandemic of this nature in living memory," Varadkar said. "And this is unchartered territory for us."
Read the full story here.
From CNN's Paul Sillers
There may be a run on toilet rolls and dry pasta, but few shoppers seem to be in a rush to buy plane tickets.
Growing anecdotal evidence -- if the #emptyplane and #emptyflight hashtags on Twitter and Instagram are a reliable barometer -- indicates there's no shortage of empty airline seats. It's one consequence of anxieties surrounding the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Hardy passengers still up for flying may be under the impression they're aboard the Mary Celeste, with tales of "ghost flights" (empty or near-empty planes) traversing the stratosphere -- even before US President Donald Trump's sudden restrictions on flights between Europe and the United States.
Crew and fuel are costly, and the environment plays a price, too. The reason airlines continue to operate these expensive flights, however, is because the industry is engaged in a slots game more high-stakes and lucrative than anything you'll find in Las Vegas.
Even when passengers are staying away, airlines still need to protect their slots: their scheduled time on valuable routes.
Read the full story here.
From CNN’s Mia Alberti in London
European Union leaders said Thursday they disapprove of President Trump’s decision to ban travel from Europe to the US amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement, the Presidents of the European Council and the European Commission, Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen, respectively, said that the outbreak is a “global crisis, not limited to any continent and it requires cooperation rather than unilateral action.”
“The European Union disapproves of the fact that the US decision to impose a travel ban was taken unilaterally and without consultation,” the statement read.
In the UK, Donald Trump’s decision was received with skepticism by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who said there “isn’t evidence that interventions like closing borders or travel bans are going to have a material effect on the spread of infection.”
Speaking to the BBC, Sunak – effectively the country’s Finance Minister – suggested the UK was not considering a similar ban, saying all decisions “with regard to flight bans are always guided by the science.”
Talking to Talk Radio, Sunak also said the ban “will have significant impact” in the UK’s economy but only “but temporarily.”
US Vice President Mike Pence told CNN's New Day it was "all hands on deck" as the country tackles the coronavirus outbreak.
And that includes handshakes, it seems.
Pence said that he was "still shaking hands here at the White House," despite leaders around the world advising social distancing to help stem the flow of the virus.
"I'm also washing my hands regularly," added Pence, as per advice from health experts.
"We're all in this together," said Pence, adding, "We're going to work our hearts out to keep the number of people contracting this disease low."
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said while he is a believer in not destroying peoples livelihoods — but said "more and more restrictions" are likely coming as the coronavirus outbreak spreads.
He said the new restrictions would "certainly" come today and tomorrow. When asked what kind of restrictions, he said “we are going to put the details out there.”
"We are going to very quickly put out guidance about having to reduce crowds and audiences while still having a certain amount of activity," he said.
De Blasio said the city has been bracing and preparing, adding many New Yorkers and Americans have been adapting in a way that in people in China and Italy had no chance to do. “People are really changing their habits," he said.
“We still have a chance to stay ahead of this relative to them," he said of the countries with the first outbreaks.
Here's what de Blasio said about how coronavirus could affect certain New York systems and attractions:
Vice President Mike Pence said the US was "working on making tests broadly available across the country," in an interview on CNN's New Day Thursday.
"One of the things we are working on is a central reporting website," he added.
Pence said that the "American people can be confident" in the country's handling of the outbreak, adding: "We're making steady progress."
The Vice President told CNN that "last week we changed the criteria for testing" and that the "Washington state, California (and) New York clusters are now subject to tough CDC guidance."
From CNN's Angus Watson in Sydney
Disinfecting efforts are underway at the Sydney Opera House and health officials are tracking down concert goers who attended a small Rita Wilson performance there last Saturday, after the singer-actress and her husband, Tom Hanks, revealed they tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
A Sydney Opera House spokesperson told CNN that "the Opera House is in touch with NSW Health and Queensland Health and will be acting on their advice." The spokesperson added that: "This includes getting in touch with anyone, including patrons and staff, who may have been in contact with the couple while at the Opera House."
The venue had already implemented several health and safety measures prior to the performance including on-site cleaning with hospital-grade disinfectant according to the spokesperson, who added that the Opera House remains open unless otherwise advised.