March 13 coronavirus news

Boston and Miami will be added to the list of 11 airports that are being used to divert passengers traveling to the US from European regions that are part of a travel ban, a senior official with US Customs and Border Protection said.

The new airports — Miami International Airport and Logan International Airport — go into effect at 11:59 p.m. Friday, the senior official said on a press call, adding that "anyone already en route is not impacted by this,"

Some background: President Trump announced the ban during an address on Wednesday. The ban would affect most foreign nationals who were in Europe's Schengen Area — 26 countries stretching from Iceland to Greece — in the past 14 days. American citizens, green card holders, some family members and a few other groups are exempt from the travel ban but will face additional health screening and restrictions when they arrive.

On Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence told CNN that Americans coming home will be funneled through 13 different airports.

“They'll be screened and then we're going to ask every American and legal resident returning to the united states to self-quarantine for 14 days," Pence said. 

These are the other airports: 

Two Venezuelan nationals are the nation’s first confirmed cases of coronavirus, Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez announced on state-run VTV Friday.

The confirmed cases are a 41-year-old woman who traveled to the United States, Italy and Spain, Rodriguez said. The second case is a 52-year-old man who traveled to Spain, she said.

Both are in quarantine. 

Rodriguez said the Venezuelan government is ordering all passengers who traveled on Iberia flight 6673 on March 5 and 8 to go into “immediate obligatory quarantine.”

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Friday plans to limit public gatherings and close all public schools.

All K-12 public schools will be closed starting Monday and all gatherings of more than 250 people will be banned until April 13. Classes will resume on April 13, he said.

Correction: This post has been updated to include the correct photo of Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House will pass the Families First Coronavirus Response Act today.

"The three most important parts of this bill are testing, testing, testing," she said.

Pelosi said the legislation "facilitates free coronavirus testing for everyone."

She added that the bill secures paid leave with two weeks of paid sick leave and family and medical leave "for those affected by the virus." 

She said that the legislation will also strengthen unemployment insurance.

It's unclear if the White House supports this legislation.

Watch her remarks:

Disney will pause production on some of its live-action films, according to a Disney studio spokesperson.

“While there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on our productions, after considering the current environment and the best interests of our cast and crew, we have made the decision..,” the Disney studio spokesperson said.

The movies include:

Disney said that they will continue to assess the situation and restart “as soon as feasible,” the spokesperson said.

Yes, because you or a family member might suddenly have to quarantine — but it's a good idea to always have extra food and medication anyway.

"Consider keeping a two-week to 30-day supply of nonperishable food at home," Harvard Medical School says. "These items can also come in handy in other types of emergencies, such as power outages or snowstorms."

In addition, try to keep at least a 30-day supply of prescription medication and any needed over-the-counter medication.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris will be closed starting 9 p.m. local time Friday, according to a statement on its website.

New York now has at least 421 cases of coronavirus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today. That’s an increase of at least 96 cases since the state's last update.

The governor said 50 patients are currently hospitalized, which is a 12% rate. Eighteen are in intensive care.

The governor said 28 labs will be authorized for testing in New York state. By next week, when they are up and running, the state will be able to run 6,000 tests per day. It will be a “dramatic increase” as New York is currently processing about 3,000 tests per day, Cuomo said.

Pakistan announced Friday it will be “completely” closing its borders with Afghanistan and Iran, according Dr. Zafar Mirza, a special assistant to the country’s prime minister of health.

Mirza added that all major gatherings in the country are to be canceled. Movie theaters across the country will be closed indefinitely and wedding halls will be closed for the next two weeks.

To limit ports of entry, Mirza said only three airports will be open for international travel.

At least 28 cases of coronavirus have been reported in Pakistan.