March 15 coronavirus news

Passengers on the Golden Princess cruise ship docked in a New Zealand harbor are not being allowed to disembark, as three people aboard have been quarantined by the ship's doctor, according to the Canterbury District Health Board.

One of the quarantined passengers has coronavirus symptoms and is being treated as a suspected case. The two others had been in contact with a confirmed case in the past two weeks, said the health board.

The ship departed Melbourne, Australia, on March 10. It had been on a 13-day New Zealand itinerary, and is now docked in Akaroa, in the Banks Peninsula, while it awaits "precautionary health testing," said the operator Princess Cruises in a statement to CNN.

Canterbury District Health Board Medical Officer of Health, Ramon Pink, said the local public health team is taking a precautionary approach.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Saturday announced that all cruise ships will be banned from coming to New Zealand until June 30.

Japan announced 64 new coronavirus cases, bringing the nationwide tally to 1,477, according to Japan’s Health Ministry.

It's the largest single-day increase the country has seen.

Of the 1,477 total cases, 697 are associated with the Diamond Princess cruise ship, and the remaining 780 are land cases.  

One Diamond Princess passenger tested positive after having seemingly recovered from the virus. The 70-year-old Japanese man tested positive on February 14, then was released from hospital after testing negative on March 2. Yesterday, he had a high temperature, was re-tested, and diagnosed positive again.

Spike in Japan: The spike in Japan's numbers come as the crisis appears to be stabilizing in other Asian countries. South Korea and mainland China, the two hardest hit countries in the region, have both a slowdown in infections and deaths this week.

But Japan has seen its numbers jump -- just earlier this week, health officials said the average rate of infection was 30 new cases per day.

The spike in numbers, and the broader global pandemic, have sparked calls to cancel the Tokyo 2020 Olympics -- but organizers say preparations are continuing.

As cases in the US continue to rise, reaching nearly every part of the country, states are beginning to report first deaths. Three states confirmed their first deaths today:

In Virginia, the patient was a man in his 70s who contracted the infection from an unknown source. He died from respiratory failure.

In Louisiana, the patient was a 58-year-old Orleans Parish resident with underlying health conditions who was being treated in New Orleans.

In New York, there were two deaths reported today. One was an 82-year-old with emphysema; the other was a 64-year-old with significant health problems, who died on Thursday but was only confirmed to have the virus after death.

Brune Poirson, the French Secretary of State to the Minister for Ecological and Inclusive Transition, tested positive for coronavirus, a ministry spokesperson told CNN on Saturday.

The spokesperson added that "despite the symptoms, her health condition showed no worrying signs ... In accordance with health authority's recommendations, all the contact cases have been identified and are quarantined as of now." 

Earlier this week, French Minister of Culture Franck Riester was diagnosed with coronavirus, ministry officials told CNN. 

And last week a French MP and parliament staffer tested positive. 

There are at least 2,816 cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States, according to the state and local health agencies, governments and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A total of 58 people have died. 

A breakdown of the numbers: According to the CDC, there are 70 cases from repatriated citizens. 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 2746 cases in 49 states, the District of Columbia and US territories, bringing the total number of cases to 2,816. 

 West Virginia is the only state not reporting a case of coronavirus.  

Spain's government announced Saturday that the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to a government statement.

“The tests carried out in the last hours in Moncloa [the prime minister’s residence] on the people closest to the prime minister have tested positive in the case of his wife, Doña Begoña Gómez," the statement read. "Both Mrs. Gómez and the president are well, both remain in La Moncloa and follow the preventive measures established by the health authorities at all times."

President Donald Trump's coronavirus test came back negative Saturday, according to White House physician Sean P. Conley.

"One week after having dinner with the Brazilian delegation in Mar-a-Lago, the President remains symptom free," Conley's note read.