Canada's Trudeau says he may impose further border restrictions with US
From CNN’s Paula Newton
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he and his officials will "shift our posture," if necessary, when it comes to stricter border controls with the United States.
“We are braced for a broad range of scenarios, we have put contingency plans for next steps depending on what trajectory the virus takes in Canada or indeed around the world," said Trudeau during his daily news conference outside his Ottawa home where he remains in quarantine.
"We are looking at a broad range of things nothing is off the table but we will respond every step of the way with the necessary actions," he said.
Border states including Washington and New York have become Covid-19 hotspots and Canadian officials are becoming more concerned about community spread as hundreds of thousands of Canadians return to the country from the US and beyond.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says it has tested more than 120,000 Canadians to date and there’s an almost equal mix of travel-related and community spread cases across the country. Canada now has at least 2,500 cases of the virus, with cases spiking by at least 25% Tuesday alone. Canada has reported 25 deaths.
2:34 p.m. ET, March 24, 2020
New York City Fire Department says 51 members test positive for coronavirus
From CNN's Sonia Moghe
Fifty-one members of the New York City Fire Department have tested positive for Covid-19 as of Tuesday, according to department spokesperson Jim Long.
The members include firefighters, as well as emergency medical service personnel and other workers.
Long said five people have been hospitalized.
2:24 p.m. ET, March 24, 2020
France will launch financial aid package to stem spread of coronavirus to developing nations
From Ya Chun Wang in Paris
The French government will launch a new financial aid package in order to stem the spread of coronavirus to developing nations, with a particular focus on countries within Africa, France's Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian said Tuesday.
"We will mobilize a financial package of assistance to prevent the epidemic from spreading to regions or subcontinents, which today are not contaminated but tomorrow could be a new risk for us," Le Drian told lawmakers in the French National Assembly.
"International cooperation and support must absolutely be given to the most vulnerable of the third-world countries, because they are going to need it very quickly," the Foreign Minister added, highlighting Africa as particular area of concern.
2:24 p.m. ET, March 24, 2020
Sierra Leone declares 12-month state of "public health emergency"
From CNN’s Bukola Adebayo in Lagos
Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio declared a 12-month state of “public health emergency” starting Tuesday in the West African nation to prevent the spread of coronavirus. It has yet to report a case.
Bio, in a televised address to the nation, expressed concerns about the rapid spread of the virus, warning that it could send Sierra Leone into “a state of emergency.”
The country was at the center of the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak that ended with more than 28,000 cases and 11,000 deaths.
The President said the coronavirus pandemic poses “enormous” health and economic challenge to citizens and the country’s health facilities and it has become necessary for the government to take critical steps to protect its citizens. He offered no immediate details on what those steps would be during the address.
Bio did say the announcement is not a lockdown and warned against hoarding and hiking of goods and services in the country.
“This is not a lockdown and nobody must use this as an excuse to hoard goods, hike prices, or engage in acts of lawlessness. This public emergency is not meant to make the lives of Sierra Leoneans difficult or unbearable,” he said.
Bio said the government would deploy police and country’s security forces to ensure that citizens comply with public health directives in the country.
“We believe that the actions that we take as a government, will have an impact on the well-being of our beloved nation,” the President said.
Sierra Leone had banned overseas travel for public officials last week and prohibited gathering of more than 100 people as a precautionary measure against the virus.
2:19 p.m. ET, March 24, 2020
Italians could be fined more than $3,000 if they don't comply with coronavirus restrictions
From CNN's Sharon Braithwaite and Livia Borghese
Italy will impose higher fines for people who defy coronavirus emergency regulations, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Tuesday.
People who violate the emergency measures will be slapped with fines ranging from 400 to 3,000 euros — or $435 to $3,225, Conte said.
The latest in Italy: In Codogno — the village in Lombardy where the first big cluster of Covid-19 was reported at the beginning of the epidemic in Italy — had no new cases on Tuesday, Giulio Gallera, Lombardy’s health assessor said in a news conference.
“We know there are hospitals completely full of patients, in particular in the area of Bergamo were two hospitals are at their maximum capacity: the Pope John XXII hospital has 417 Covid-19 patients and the other hospital has 424 Covid-19 patients,” Gallera said.
He thanked the Italian military for its assistance in building a field hospital in Crema.
2:15 p.m. ET, March 24, 2020
Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks close during coronavirus outbreak
Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks will be closed to visitors until further notice during the coronavirus outbreak.
"The National Park Service listened to the concerns from our local partners and, based on current health guidance, temporarily closed the parks,” said Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly and Grand Teton Acting Superintendent Gopaul Noojibail said in a statement.
They added: “We are committed to continued close coordination with our state and local partners as we progress through this closure period and are prepared when the timing is right to reopen as quickly and safely as possible.”
2:08 p.m. ET, March 24, 2020
Trump says that he and coronavirus task force doctor "get along very well"
From CNN's Maegan Vazquez
President Trump said Tuesday that he still has a good relationship with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the coronavirus task force member who leads the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases.
“We get along very well,” Trump said during a Fox News virtual town hall.
“I think it’s very good,” he said of his relationship with Fauci. “You would have heard about it if it wasn’t.”
Asked why Fauci wasn’t at the town hall today, Trump said, “You know, they have other things to do. And yesterday we weren’t really talking about what he’s an expert on. We were talking about other things.”
The President complained that when a task force member isn’t seen at a briefing or meeting, the press is quick to ask why they aren’t there.
“I respect all of these people. These are great people,” Trump said. He called Dr. Deborah Birx and Fauci “extraordinary.”
Earlier in the town hall, Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams asserted that the President listens to his health experts, including Fauci, about the coronavirus.
2:06 p.m. ET, March 24, 2020
There are now more than 49,000 coronavirus cases in the US
According to CNN Health’s tally of US cases that are detected and tested in the United States through public health systems, there are at least 49,070 cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States.
At least 624 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.
2:00 p.m. ET, March 24, 2020
Virginia nurse says her hospital is "exceptionally chaotic"
From CNN's Ellie Kaufman
An emergency room nurse who works at a hospital in Virginia said the conditions at her hospital are “exceptionally chaotic.”
The nurse, who requested anonymity, said the rules about the personal protective equipment they are required to wear are changing “if not daily, hourly.”
She said that nurses and doctors in her hospital who have auto-immune disorders and underlying conditions are being asked to wear the same protective equipment – one n95 mask for the entirety of their shift – as healthy nurses and doctors. She feels this is putting workers with underlying conditions at higher risk of contracting coronavirus.
“I don’t think they are protecting their staff at all,” she said. “The staff that does have chronic illnesses are required to wear the same PPEs as those that are healthy.”
She said last week, hospital staff used N95 masks as they are supposed to be used, one time and then you throw them away. This week, they are using the N95 masks until they are soiled because they are running out of supplies.
She said they are seeing “60, 70, 80 patients” in one shift, “the majority of them have cough, fever, shortness of breath, and you are out there, and you have full garb and you have that one measly mask for all of those patients.”
She feels like the hospital and the government were not prepared for the outbreak and the needs it would impose on hospitals.
“They should have been preparing when this outbreak happened in China,” she added.
In her emergency room, patients who potentially have Covid-19 are waiting in the same waiting room as people coming into the emergency room for other unrelated issues. This is where she believes the highest risk is for patients.
“I think they put a lot of people at risk. You have an elderly couple that is having chest pain sitting right next to someone who has a cough and flu… I think that’s extremely reckless,” she said
She also said they are not testing patients in her emergency room. If you are suspected to have Covid-19, you are separated into a room with other people who potentially have it. She said people are not getting tested unless they meet strict criteria, simply because there are not enough tests to test everyone who has the symptoms.
“On my shift, I think we tested 10 people yesterday when we should have tested probably 50 to 60 just to identify community spread,” she added.
She said she’s also putting her family at risk by being exposed to patients who potentially have Covid-19 every day. Her 18-year-old daughter is home from college for the rest of the semester since classes have been suspended. She said she has not hugged her daughter since this started, for fear she may pass anything on to her.