March 30 coronavirus news

By Amy Woodyatt, Julia Hollingsworth, Ben Westcott, Adam Renton, Meg Wagner and Mike Hayes, CNN

Updated 11:41 p.m. ET, March 30, 2020
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11:21 a.m. ET, March 30, 2020

Vermont governor asks anyone entering state to quarantine for 2 weeks

WPTZ
WPTZ

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott announced a new order today that tells anyone who enters Vermont from another state to self-quarantine for 14 days.

“That means heading directly to where you’re going with no stops in-between,” Scott said in a news conference.

Scott said the new order he signed also clarifies the types of lodging that he suspended last week.

The order suspending lodging applies to hotels, bed and breakfasts, as well as short-term rentals such as Airbnb and campgrounds, Scott said.

“This is a violation of the stay at home order,” Scott said, adding they are suspending online reservations today.

11:13 a.m. ET, March 30, 2020

English football club lends its London stadium to Covid-19 relief effort

From CNN's Kevin Dotson

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Shaun Botterill/Getty Images/FILE

​Tottenham Hotspur F.C. announced that the club has made its London stadium and facilities available to officials to assist in local Covid-19 relief efforts beginning today.

The football club has been in contact with the Haringey Council, the Greater London Authority and the National Health Service.

"As a club, we have always been clear about our commitment to the wider community — never has this been more important than it is now," Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy said.

The stadium's basement car park will be set up as a storage base and distribution hub for London Food Alliance, which helps get food supplies to people most vulnerable during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

11:04 a.m. ET, March 30, 2020

FEMA is working with manufacturers around the world to get critical supplies 

From CNN's Leyla Santiago

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is working with global manufacturers for critical supplies and distributing them domestically. 

“We are working with manufacturers from Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, India, Honduras and Mexico. Contracted flights arrived at private sector distribution hubs this morning in Chicago, and more will be arriving in Ohio on Tuesday. From there, supplies are being sent to other states through private sector distribution networks,” a FEMA spokesperson said in a statement to CNN today.

The first flights landed this past weekend at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport and the personal protective equipment is "being distributed to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut,” the spokesperson said.

11:09 a.m. ET, March 30, 2020

Dubai was set to host the world’s largest international expo this year. Officials are now recommending postponing it.

From CNN’s John Defterios in Abu Dhabi

 Giuseppe Cacace/AFP/Getty Images/FILE
 Giuseppe Cacace/AFP/Getty Images/FILE

A one-year delay of Dubai’s Expo 2020 will be recommended to the governing body of the world expo due to the spread of coronavirus, a statement by the organizing steering committee said.

“The Committee collectively agreed to explore with the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the World Expo governing body, the possibility of a one-year delay to the opening of Expo 2020,” the statement read.

In a virtual meeting, the steering committee and representatives of the countries taking part in the event said that a final decision on postponement can only be made by a vote by the BIE’s Executive Committee and the General Assembly.

“A change of dates requires a two-thirds majority vote from Member States of the Organization,” the statement added. 

About the expo: Dubai has been preparing for the world’s largest international exhibition for 7 years with $8 billion of investment. It was set to start in October 2020.  

10:53 a.m. ET, March 30, 2020

Florida governor to sign stay-at-home order for southern part of the state

WPLG
WPLG

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced at a press conference today he will be signing an executive order for the state that "codifies a common set of rules regarding safer at home for southeast Florida." 

DeSantis cites the high number of Covid-19 cases in south Florida as the reason behind the order. The order applies to Broward, Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, DeSantis said.

"With this order and all that these counties have done we're going guns blazing and doing all that we can to slow the spread of Covid-19," DeSantis said. 

10:55 a.m. ET, March 30, 2020

Former Baltimore health commissioner says it’s "insulting" to suggest hospitals are hoarding supplies

Dr. Leana Wen
Dr. Leana Wen CNN

Addressing comments made over the weekend by President Trump, Dr. Leana Wen, former health commissioner for the city of Baltimore, said it’s insulting to suggest hospitals are hoarding supplies.  

Without providing any evidence or examples, President Trump raised questions on Sunday about why there is such a large demand for masks in hospitals and again charged there is some “hoarding” of ventilators. 

Speaking with CNN’s Alisyn Camerota, Wen said, “It's not as if we get through today and we're done. We need to be preparing for months or years, and frankly, it's insulting to suggest that hospitals are somehow keeping equipment away from health care workers, and jeopardizing their lives.”

“We're looking at the numbers of patients coming in, and we can easily see how much equipment is needed and not only that, but it's not just the equipment that we're using right now, we also have to be prepared for the equipment that we're going to be needing in the months to come, because this is not a one-time event. It's not as if we get through today and we're done,” Wen said. 

Wen said in the Baltimore area, “this is still the relative calm before the storm but we know that storm is not far away because we are hearing and seeing the reports of our colleagues in New York."

10:45 a.m. ET, March 30, 2020

New York paramedic: For the first time in my 17-year career, I cried

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

New York City Fire Department paramedic Anthony Almojera said he has seen a lot on his job — but dealing with the coronavirus crisis has posed new challenges.

He described how he tried to comfort a husband after his wife, who was a health care worker, died — but he couldn't touch the grieving man.

“When people pass away, the grief component has to transfer,” he said. “Normally, I would put my arm around him but this time around, I had to keep distance and I watched this man’s grief come over him, his anger, his sadness. We tried to comfort him from a distance because there’s a high probability he has it and I have to be concerned for not only my safety but my crew’s safety," he said, adding that the husband was also a health care worker.

"It didn’t allow me or the crew as well the capability of consoling the living like we do. For the first time in my 17-year career, I went back inside the truck and I cried,” Almojera said.

He said that while his crew is vulnerable, they're still working to help people.

“I just want to say to everybody out there, if you call 911, we’ll be there," he said.

Watch more:

10:41 a.m. ET, March 30, 2020

A US Navy hospital ship is nearing its New York City dock

Bebeto Matthews/AP
Bebeto Matthews/AP

The US Navy Hospital Ship Comfort is expected to soon dock in New York City.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo spoke about the coronavirus pandemic as the ship approached its dock.

"If you wait to prepare for when the storm hits, you lose because it's too late," he said.

Remember: The ship is not expected to treat coronavirus patients. Rather it will be used to relocate shore-based patients undergoing treatments that are not coronavirus-related in an effort to help ease the burden on hospitals.

It contains 12 fully-equipped operating rooms, 1,000 hospital beds, radiology services, a medical lab, pharmacy, optometry lab, a CAT-scan and two oxygen producing plants, according to the Navy.

10:33 a.m. ET, March 30, 2020

There are now at least 140,570 coronavirus cases and 2,443 deaths in the US

According to CNN Health's tally of US cases that are detected and tested in the United States through US public health systems, there are at least 140,570 cases of coronavirus in the US; 2,443 people have died in the US from coronavirus. 

The total includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as all repatriated cases. Hawaii and Wyoming have not reported a death from coronavirus.