March 15 coronavirus news

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published interim guidance Sunday recommending "that for the next 8 weeks, organizers (whether groups or individuals) cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the United States."

The CDC's recommendation does not apply to "day to day operations of organizations such as schools, institutes of higher learning or businesses."

"This recommendation is made in an attempt to reduce introduction of the virus into new communities and to slow the spread of infection in communities already affected by the virus. This recommendation is not intended to supersede the advice of local public health officials," the CDC said.

Watch:

Oklahoma declared a state of emergency Sunday, according to an order from Gov. Kevin Stitt.

The declaration comes as the state announced their eighth case of coronavirus. In Stitt’s order, he says Oklahoma’s state emergency operations plan is being activated.

Twenty-nine states have closed schools in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

The states have announced that they will be closing schools in the coming weeks. The amount of time and conditions under which they will close differ from state to state.

Here are the states that have closed schools so far:

Massachusetts public and private schools will suspend operations for three weeks beginning Tuesday until April 6, according to a news release from Gov. Charlie Baker.

There are 138 confirmed coronavirus cases in Massachusetts, the state’s health department announced late Saturday afternoon.

After cutting the target interest rate to zero on Sunday to help the economy during the coronavirus pandemic, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the measures were "essential to contain the outbreak," but will "take a toll on the economy in the near term."

The Fed took a number of actions "to support American families and business and the economy overall and to support the flow of credit" as it is affected by coronavirus, Powell said. 

The Fed expects to maintain the rate until “we are confident the economy has weathered" the current situation, Powell said.

Watch:

Lebanon has closed its airport, borders and ports for two weeks starting Sunday until March 29 at midnight to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country, Information Minister Manal Abdul Samad said in a press conference on Sunday in Beirut.

People are obligated to stay in their homes unless there is an "extreme necessity," the minister said.

The government is banning public and private gatherings and government offices will be closed except for security, health and service offices, according to Abul Samad.

All private commercial companies, except for food production-related ones, were also instructed to close, the minister said.

Coronavirus killed three people and infected 100 others in Lebanon as of Sunday.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday that he would sign an executive order on Monday requiring all hospitals in the city to cancel elective surgeries in the coming days.

De Blasio said his power to do so exists under New York's state of emergency and that his executive order would be worded carefully to allow some flexibility to close out some existing elective surgeries, but that all elective surgeries would cease soon.

Starbucks announced on Sunday that its US and Canadian stores will move to a “to go” model for at least two weeks to help contain the coronavirus, according to a company news release.

The coffee retail giant said the latest move was intended to encourage social distancing. 

Starbucks said there would be temporary closures in stores with high-social gatherings as well as in communities with high clusters of coronavirus cases.

During a White House briefing Sunday, Vice President Mike Pence announced that “more than 2,000 labs” will have high-speed testing capacity by Monday.

Since the declaration of a national state of emergency, Pence said federal public health services have worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and "have reached out to all 50 states to create a process that will enable all Americans who need to be tested to go to a community-based testing site outside of usual health care facilities." 

Pence noted these tests will be focused on those "most in need."

Adm. Brett Giroir with the US Public Health Service outlined how new coronavirus testing will be rolled out. He said there would be 1.9 million tests available this week across the 2,000 labs. Giroir also emphasized that the priority would be placed on those most vulnerable.

Giroir added that there wouldn’t be undue stress put on the acute health care system, meaning emergency rooms or urgent care.