March 21 coronavirus news

The United States Department of Justice is petitioning Congress to change the law to deny asylum or visas to people who test positive for the coronavirus, according to a document obtained by CNN.

CNN previously reported that the Trump administration was trying to block asylum seekers, citing the virus. The State Department temporarily stopped processing routine visas at all embassies and consulates on Friday.

The Department of Justice has submitted a multitude of legislative proposals to Congress in order to deal with the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on the judicial system, according to a document obtained by CNN.

Those include:

DOJ has not responded to CNN’s request for comment.

United Airlines is bringing back some of its international flights just one day after making significant international flight schedule cuts.

On Friday, United said it was slashing its April international schedule by 95%. However, on Saturday evening, the airline said it “knows some people around the globe are displaced and still need to get home” and will be adding some capacity back to its schedules. 

The changes mean the airline will operate at about 90% international capacity, it said. 

United States Vice President Mike Pence and his wife have tested negative for coronavirus, his spokeswoman announced Saturday evening.

“Pleased to report that the Covid-19 test results came back negative for both Vice President @Mike_Pence and Second Lady @KarenPence," his spokesperson tweeted.

Pence announced he and his wife would be tested Saturday afternoon after a staff member at his office tested positive for coronavirus.

Bolivia has announced a nationwide, 14-day "total quarantine" starting Sunday, according to Bolivian state media agency ABI.

The country's interim president, Jeanine Áñez, said Bolivians should “be at home 24 hours a day” and that only one person per family can leave at a time to go shopping. Public and private transport will be suspended.

Still operating: Pharmacies, hospitals and health centers will remain open as normal, she said. Permits will be given to employees in sectors that remain open.

Questions over election: On Saturday, the Bolivian electoral tribunal issued a notice on its website saying that the quarantine order impedes the body from carrying out preparatory activities ahead of May 3 elections.

The tribunal said that political groups and authorities should work together to decide on a “new date” that takes into account “scientific evaluations based on serious estimates about the probably evolution of the pandemic.”

An interim government has ruled Bolivia since former President Evo Morales fled the country following allegations of fraud in an October vote that would have given him a fourth term in office. Morales has said he was the victim of a coup.

Apple is donating 2 million masks to health professionals in the US and Europe.  

Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed the news in a tweet.

The company has also temporarily closed all of its stores outside of greater China and committed $15 million to helping with the worldwide recovery from novel coronavirus.

An inmate at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn has tested posted for the coronavirus, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.

This is the first known case of an inmate detained in the federal prison system to contract the virus.

The inmate initially complained about chest pains and was taken to local hospital, where he was tested for coronavirus, according to a news release from the Bureau of Prisons.

Two Bureau of Prison staff members, one at Leavenworth, Kansas, and another in Grand Prairie, Texas, tested positive for the virus and are the only known staff members to be infected at this point.

The US Embassy in Lima said Saturday it "is coordinating closely with the Peruvian Government on all options for US citizens to depart the country and are arranging charter aircraft," an alert from the embassy said Saturday.

Kuwaiti Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Anas Al-Saleh announced an 11-hour curfew from 5 p.m. Sunday to 4 a.m. Monday (local time), according to the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

Al-Saleh said the government was "forced" to impose the partial curfew due to "non-compliance with the Ministry of Health's instructions to stay indoors."

There are at least 23,572 cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States, according to CNN Health’s tally of cases that are detected and tested in the United States through US public health systems.

At least 295 people have died. The total includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, plus all repatriated cases.