March 20 coronavirus news

Non-essential medical and dental procedures are temporarily restricted across Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office said in a statement Friday.

Non-essential medical treatments include joint replacement, bariatric surgery and cosmetic surgery, “except for emergency or trauma-related surgery where postponement would significantly impact the health, safety, and welfare of the patient," the statement said. 

According to the statement, non-essential dental procedures also include cosmetic or aesthetic procedures, like veneers, teeth bleaching or cosmetic bonding, as well as all routine hygiene appointments.

The State Department anticipates that repatriation flights from Morocco would continue throughout the weekend, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker said Friday.

Schenker said that the US Mission in Morocco fielded “over 3,000 emails” and a phone bank consular staff answered “hundreds of phone calls.”

He said there were more than 1,000 American citizens in Morocco. A senior State Department official said that in their experience there are usually “several times as many individuals who want to get out than that actually contact us.” 

“So the number actually turns out to be much larger,” they said. That official said the repatriation had been “a large logistical effort” and noted they were expecting “half a dozen if not more flights.” They said they would see what the demand was going forward.

The official could not provide an estimate for Americans in the region when asked. However, they noted that “we are working 24/7 in the field to handle the inflow of requests of information requests.”

“And mind you, that is in some cases with consular staff that has left on authorized departure for health reasons. So just the volume in this unprecedented situation, it's hard to contend with and we’re doing our best,” they said. “I think our people out in the field are doing an amazing, amazing job.”

The senior official said the State Department staff had “gone dramatically to telework."

The governor of the hard hit region of Lombardy in northern Italy has said it needs more soldiers than it has been allocated to enforce an emergency lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus. 

"It's being said that 114 soldiers will be sent to Lombardy, which means practically nothing. I think we need to add a zero (to that number) to seriously start discussing the problem."

Fontana warned that the situation is not improving judging by the newest numbers of confirmed cases and deaths.

The Lombardy region is working with the mayors of the municipalities hit by coronavirus to write a list of requests to send to the government.

Among the region's requests, "limitations to physical activity, to all activities in offices and professional ones, closure of construction sites, further limitation in commercial activities," an assessments of the production chains that can be considered "not essential for our region and the country."

Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser said the district's first coronavirus death is a man in his 50s.

The patient was “a 59-year-old male” who “was admitted to a local hospital last week, presenting with symptoms of fever and cough as well as other underlying medical conditions," she said in a statement, adding that he later tested positive.

The US Food and Drug Administration announced a temporary policy change Friday to allow the expanded use of “FDA-cleared non-invasive, vital sign-measuring devices” so health care workers can monitor coronavirus patients remotely.

The devices include those that can measure body temperature, respiratory and heart rate and blood pressure.

The FDA’s Principal Deputy Commissioner Dr. Amy Abernethy said in a statement that the agency wants to “ease burdens on health care providers and facilities” during the national coronavirus public health emergency. 

“Allowing these devices to be used remotely can help health care providers access information about a patient’s vital signs while the patient is at home, reducing the need for hospital visits and minimizing the risk of exposure to coronavirus,” Abernethy said.

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a package to protect workers and companies in a bid to preserve millions of jobs amid the downturn sparked by the coronavirus outbreak.

The finance minister said during a daily news conference on Friday that for "the first time in history," the British government would pay 80% of wages of employees who are not working, up to £2,500 ($2,900) a month.

The chancellor said the package would be open to any employer in the UK, covering the cost of wages "backdated to March 1 and will be open before the end of April for at least three months."

He added that a coronavirus business loan package would be interest-free for 12 months and also announced an increase to welfare payments.

"Taken together, I’m announcing over £6 billion ($7 billion) of extra support through the welfare system," he said, calling on businesses to stand by their employees.

The "unprecedented" economic rescue plan comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for the closure of pubs, theaters and restaurants.

The number of coronavirus cases in Italy has reached 47,021, the Italian Civil Protection Agency said Friday. 

There have been 627 coronavirus-related deaths in 24 hours.

So far, 4,032 people in Italy have died from the disease.

CORRECTION: This post has been updated to reflect the correct number of total confirmed cases in Italy.

The World Health Organization has issued a stark warning to young people during the novel coronavirus pandemic who believe their age may protect them from the disease.

Tedros said he is grateful so many young people are, “spreading the word and not the virus” adding, “every day, we are learning more about this coronavirus and the disease it causes. One of the things we are learning is that although older people are the hardest hit, younger people are not spared.”

"Data from many countries clearly show that people under 50 make up a significant proportion of patients requiring hospitalization,” Tedros said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that “at the moment, the McConnell bill is inadequate,” in remarks on the Senate floor Friday.

Schumer added that “We need to work with uncommon speed and make this next bill what it needs to be... Democrats are already at work with our Republican colleagues to get this done.”

Schumer said he spoke with President Trump earlier today and urged him to deploy the Defense Production Act among other things, to which he said, Trump agreed to do so.

The legislation in question: The emergency economic aid proposal would include direct payments to Americans under a certain income threshold, $200 billion in loans to airlines and distressed industry sectors and $300 billion in forgivable bridge loans for small businesses.

The proposal's formal rollout sets the stage for Republicans and Democrats to try to reach a bipartisan agreement to move a stimulus package forward as the virus continues to spread.