March 23 coronavirus news

The first charter flight to repatriate US citizens has departed, according to the US Embassy in Guatemala.

“We are committed to helping Americans return home during #COVIDー19,” the embassy tweeted along with a video of the plane taking off.

Two flights are expected to leave from Guatemala City to the US Monday.

In an alert Sunday, the embassy said it did not know when civilian flights would resume in Guatemala following the government-coordinated charter flights, and urged travelers to continue to check the availability of commercial flights.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned the coronavirus “pandemic is accelerating,” in a tweet on Monday.

Tedros said there are more than 300,000 cases of coronavirus across the world.

“It took 67 days from the first reported case to reach the first 100,000 cases, 11 days for the second 100,000 and just four days for the third 100,000," he laid out.   

There are at least 40,069 cases of novel coronavirus in the United States, according to CNN Health’s tally of US cases that are detected and tested in the United States through US public health systems. At least 472 people have died.

The total includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as all repatriated cases.

US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said a bipartisan deal could be reached shortly on the coronavirus bill.

Schumer argued that McConnell is setting “arbitrary vote deadlines” by continuing to set up procedural votes when a bipartisan deal has not yet been reached, downplaying the failed vote yesterday by emphasizing that the real action is the ongoing talks, not procedural votes.

Schumer noted he is meeting regularly with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and White House legislative director Eric Ueland to hash out a deal. “We hope and expect to conclude negotiations today," he said.

He called the bill they are discussing "the largest emergency funding bill in American history."

Schumer addressed the news that Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s husband as well as Sen. Rand Paul have tested positive. “I want to let them know, both of them, that the Senate is thinking of them and praying for their speedy recovery,” he said.

As researchers continue seeking treatment options for Covid-19, the World Health Organization on Monday warned against using "untested drugs" to treat patients and running drug trials inappropriately. 

"That’s why WHO has launched the SOLIDARITY trial, to generate robust, high-quality evidence as fast as possible," Tedros said. "The more countries sign up to the trial and other large studies, the faster we will get results on which drugs work and the more lives we will be able to save." 

Last week, WHO and its partners launched an international clinical trial aimed at gathering and generating data on effective treatment options for Covid-19.

Currently, there is no known treatment for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

With many people facing weeks largely confined to their homes in densely populated cities because of coronavirus, it's understandable that some have considered heading to more remote places in pursuit of freedom and fresh air.

But as recreational vehicles and other traffic have flooded into some of these rural destinations, those living there have reacted with alarm — urging people to stay away to avoid bringing infection and overwhelming limited health provisions.

The situation has been particularly acute in the Highlands region of Scotland, a largely unpopulated area whose rugged landscapes of mountains and islands is one of the most beautiful tourism attractions in the UK.

So much so that local officials are issuing warnings, telling people — including second homeowners — they are not welcome.

Read the full story here.

New Jersey is suspending all elective surgeries and invasive procedures scheduled to take place after 5 p.m. ET Friday until further notice, Gov. Phil Murphy announced at a news conference Monday.

About the executive order: It “applies to all medical and dental operations that can be delayed without undue risk to the current or future health of the patient, as determined by the patient’s physician or dentist.”

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is closing nonessential businesses as of 5 p.m. ET today, but he is not issuing a “shelter in place” order.

Today’s order shuts down all businesses considered non-critical infrastructure sectors as defined by federal guidelines issued last week.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said today that in the next 48 hours the Department of Emergency Management will send out more than 200,000 personal protection equipment items to facilities across the state in response to the Covid-19 outbreak. 

The items include: