March 15 coronavirus news

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.

Pope Francis left the Vatican on Sunday to walk through Rome’s empty streets to pray for an "end to the pandemic," according to a Vatican news release.

During his walk the Pope visited "two important pilgrimage sites in Rome to pray for the city and the world," the release said.

The first site is the ancient icon of Maria Salus Populi Romani at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, and the other at the foot of a wooden crucifix that protected Rome from a great plague.

Earlier in the day, the Pope gave his weekly blessing to an eerily empty St. Peter's Square as Italy remains on lockdown.

The Vatican released photos and video showing Pope Francis walking in a desolate Via del Corso. One of the main streets in the historic center of Rome, Via del Corso is normally packed with tourists. 

In a decision he described as "extraordinarily painful," New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday that he is closing the city's public schools on Monday until at least April 20.

The mayor said the city would make every attempt to reopen schools at that point, but that it’s possible schools could remain closed for the rest of the school year.

As part of the school closings, de Blasio announced the following:

Public schools in New York City and Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties will close this week to limit the spread of coronavirus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced in a news release Sunday.

Schools in Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties will close for two weeks beginning on Monday, Cuomo said. Nassau and Suffolk counties are on Long Island while Westchester County is just north of New York City.

New York City officials must develop a plan within the next 24 hours to ensure schoolchildren who rely on school meals will continue to receive them. Parents, especially those who are health care workers or first responders, will be provided access to childcare as needed, Cuomo said.

South Carolina will close all public schools due to the coronavirus outbreak until the end of March, according to an executive order by Gov. Henry McMaster.

McMaster made the announcement at an afternoon news conference.