March 18 coronavirus news

By Jessie Yeung, Helen Regan, Steve George, Angela Dewan and Fernando Alfonso III, CNN

Updated 9:37 p.m. ET, March 18, 2020
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8:16 p.m. ET, March 18, 2020

Qantas and Jetstar will suspend international flights from late March

Mark Evans/Getty Images
Mark Evans/Getty Images

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.

Here's the group's 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.

Customers, shareholders, and passengers can read more about how this affects them here.

8:11 p.m. ET, March 18, 2020

Nine coronavirus tests are now FDA-authorized for emergency use

From CNN's Arman Azad

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.

 

7:36 p.m. ET, March 18, 2020

Medical researcher from Washington state dies of coronavirus

From CNN's Andy Rose

A researcher at University of Washington Medicine has died of coronavirus, according to a tweet from the medical school.

Dr. Stephen Schwartz was a professor of pathology since 1984, according to the department’s biography, with a focus on vascular biology.

 “He has left a lasting imprint on our department, our university, and the broader scientific community and will be greatly missed,” the University of Washington Medicine's Department of Pathology tweeted. 

Schwartz co-authored dozens of studies on cardiovascular and cancer-related issues, according to a collection of research papers maintained by the National Institutes of Health. He earned his PhD from the University of Washington in 1973.

 

7:57 p.m. ET, March 18, 2020

There are at least 8,525 coronavirus cases in the US

From CNN's Allison Flexner

A man is tested for coronavirus at the Doris Ison Health Center in Miami, Florida, on March 18.
A man is tested for coronavirus at the Doris Ison Health Center in Miami, Florida, on March 18. Lynne Sladky/AP

There are at least 8,525 cases of novel coronavirus in the United States, according to the state and local health agencies, governments and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

According to the CDC, there are 70 cases from repatriated citizens. According to CNN Health’s tally of US cases that are detected and tested in the United States through US public health systems, there are 8,455 cases in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and other US territories, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases to 8,525.

In total, 145 people have died. 

Watch:

7:25 p.m. ET, March 18, 2020

FDA temporarily postpones all domestic routine surveillance facility inspections

From CNN’s Wes Bruer

The US Food and Drug Administration will temporarily postpone all domestic routine surveillance facility inspections due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn announced Wednesday.

It made the move for the health of its staff, state inspectors “and because of industry concerns about visitors," he said.

The agency handles facility inspections for all FDA-regulated products, such as food, animal feed, drugs, biological products, devices and tobacco.

“All domestic for-cause inspection assignments will be evaluated and will proceed if mission-critical. We will continue to respond to natural disasters, outbreaks and other public health emergencies involving FDA-regulated products,” Hahn said.

But the FDA will be looking at other ways to complete inspections, such as “evaluating records in lieu of conducting an onsite inspection on an interim basis when travel is not permissible, when appropriate," he said.

The FDA had previously postponed most foreign facility inspections through April. 

Hahn stated that the FDA “will continue to assess and calibrate our approach as needed and we stand ready to resume any postponed inspections as soon as feasible.”  

Hahn also said the FDA directed all eligible employees to begin teleworking this week.

7:19 p.m. ET, March 18, 2020

California governor issues order to waive standardized testing for students

From CNN's Sarah Moon

California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order to waive this year’s statewide standardized testing for K-12 students, according to a statement from his office. The order is pending federal approval.

“This time is stressful enough for students, families and educators without the additional burden of annual testing,” Newsom said. “This is an unprecedented time, and our main focus is on supporting the mental and socioemotional health of students, while continuing to provide educational opportunities such as distance learning.”

More than 6 million students are out of school in California due to closures to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

7:17 p.m. ET, March 18, 2020

Brooklyn Nets say several players tested for coronavirus after showing symptoms

From CNN's Homero De La Fuente

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images

The NBA's Brooklyn Nets said Wednesday that the team was prompted to administer a test for COVID-19 after several players and staff had shown symptoms. 

“As we learned NBA players on other teams had tested positive for COVID-19, we noticed that several of our players and staff had symptoms. Based on this information, and the judgment that all of our players are subject to high exposure due to the close physical nature of basketball, the communal nature of teams and the possibility of an accelerated spread from team to team, our medical experts advised that our players get tested," the team said in a statement. 

The team also added that they "sourced the tests through a private company and paid for them ourselves because we did not want to impact access to CDC’s public resources. Using the test results, we were able to take immediate precautions and strictly isolate the players who tested positive."

The Nets announced on Tuesday that four players had tested positive for COVID-19, most notably superstar Kevin Durant. 

So far seven NBA players have tested positive for coronavirus. 

7:22 p.m. ET, March 18, 2020

Air Canada will gradually suspend majority of international and US trans-border flights

From CNN's Rebekah Riess

Air Canada announced Wednesday that it will gradually suspend the majority of its international and US trans-border flights by March 31.

The move come after the US and Canada decided to close its borders and restrict flights as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline said in a statement.

The airline said it intends to maintain a small number of international and US trans-border destinations from select Canadian cities after April 1.

According to the statement, the airline will also continue serving all provinces and territories of Canada after that date.

7:04 p.m. ET, March 18, 2020

First member of Congress tests positive for coronavirus

Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Republican from Florida, has become the first member of Congress to test positive for coronavirus.

He tweeted that he is feeling better.

"However, it's important that everyone take this seriously and follow @CDCgov guidelines in order to avoid getting sick & mitigate the spread of this virus," Diaz-Balart said.