March 21 coronavirus news

Turkey announced a partial curfew for citizens older than 65 years old and for those who have chronic conditions starting at midnight on Saturday.

The partial curfew prohibits senior citizens and those with chronic illnesses from using public transportation, being in parks and leaving their homes, the Turkish interior ministry said in a statement.

For those who live alone and are covered by the curfew, social support will be available through provincial governorships, the statement said.

The conditions covered by the partial curfew include chronic pulmonary obstruction disease, asthma, chronic lung diseases, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, liver disease and those taking immunosuppressants, the statement said.

President Trump said he wished China had told him earlier about coronavirus, according to remarks he made at the White House on Saturday.

Trump added that China “was very secretive and that’s unfortunate.”

The President went on to criticize China saying, “they knew they had a problem earlier, I wish they could have said that.”

Trump said that when he first realized how bad the virus could be he “started doing the closings.” The first travel restrictions related to coronavirus went into place on February 2.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott issued an advisory today directing gymnasiums, fitness centers and similar exercise facilities to close all in-person operations no later than 8 p.m. ET on March 23. 

The advisory also included hair salons and barbers, nail salons, spas and tattoo parlors.

President Trump said the decision on whether to hold the Tokyo Olympics as planned this summer is “totally up to them,” referring to the Japanese government. 

The President praised the “beautiful” venue that Japan has already built, and said he did not want to influence the decision being made.

Some context: The head of USA Swimming wants the Olympics to be postponed to 2021, calling it "the right and responsible thing to do" in a letter to the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee

Tim Hinchey III, the CEO of USA Swimming, asked the group to advocate for the change because "the right and responsible thing to do is to prioritize everyone's health and safety and appropriately recognize the toll this global pandemic is taking on athletic preparations."

In response to concerns from some doctors complaining about shortage of supplies, President Trump defended the White House’s coronavirus response and placed part of the blame on previous administrations.  

Trump added: "And we are making much of this stuff now and much of it is being delivered now. We've also gotten tremendous reviews from a lot of people that can't believe how fast it's coming. When I hear they have an order of 55 million masks and that is just one order, that's one order, out of many, and there are many millions of masks beyond that, and I keep saying, how is it possible to use so much? But that's the way it is.”

The death toll in Italy from coronavirus has risen by 793 in the past 24 hours to 4,825, according to the Italian Civil Protection Agency.

Overall, the number of confirmed cases in Italy is 53,578, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Texas will issue temporary permits to "nurses who have yet to take the licensing exam" and suspend other regulations for students to assist with the state's response to Covid-19, Gov. Greg Abbott said in a press release Saturday.

Abbott is allowing "nurses with inactive licenses or retired nurses to reactivate their licenses," the release said.

Nursing students in their final year will be allowed to "meet their clinical objectives by exceeding the 50% limit on simulated experiences," the release added.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced a statewide "stay at home" order which will go in to effect at 9 p.m. ET Saturday.

This order follows New York and Connecticut which made similar orders Friday.

There are 1,327 confirmed Covid-19 cases in New jersey with 16 deaths in total, Murphy said at a press conference.

There were 400 more COVID-19 confirmed cases since yesterday, Murphy added

The order will prohibit all gatherings, such as celebrations, the governor said.

Murphy’s executive order further directs the closure of all non-essential retail businesses to the public, with the exceptions of:

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, stressed that not all Americans should be tested for coronavirus during a White House press conference Saturday.

Fauci noted if people get tested unnecessarily, they will utilize important personal protective equipment that could be used for those who do need to be tested or are at a greater risk.

Fauci noted that right now there are disparities in the amount of available personal protective equipment though, “we are working hard to correct that.”

Fauci also reiterated doctors should put off elective surgeries for the time being so they don’t put themselves of others at risk by utilizing medical equipment.