California has declared an emergency over the coronavirus outbreak, as tests continue Thursday on board a Princess cruise ship that has been linked to two cases of the illness in the state.
The first death in California related to coronavirus was confirmed Wednesday, while another fatality in Washington brought that state's death toll to 10.
Congressional leaders have agreed on an $8 billion emergency funding package to help fight the coronavirus that is headed to the House.
The virus is now spreading more rapidly outside China, where the epidemic started, with mainland China recording just 119 new confirmed cases while hundreds of cases were reported globally.
South Korea alone recorded an additional 516 cases of coronavirus Wednesday, bringing the total to 5,328 confirmed cases, the largest outbreak outside of mainland China.
Governments around the world are introducing a range of measures to stop the spread of the disease. In Italy, where there have been more than 2,000 cases, all schools and colleges are shut for 10 days.
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Live Blog
First case in Tunisia; four new cases in Qatar
Tunisia's Ministry of Health announced the country's first case Monday: a 40-year-old Tunisian national who had recently returned from Italy.
Qatar's main news agency, meanwhile, announced four new cases — bringing the nationwide total to seven.
Elizabeth Warren releases coronavirus plan
Sen. Elizabeth Warren released a new plan on Monday to address the health and economic threats of the new coronavirus. She had previously released a plan to counter the virus' health effects and a spending bill in the Senate.
The plan released Monday includes making sure that all Americans, including the uninsured, can get free coronavirus care, including any forthcoming vaccine. It creates an emergency paid leave program for people to take time off to get care. It includes a $400 billion fiscal stimulus package to counter the potential economic impact of the spreading virus.
Warren remains in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, though she trails well behind Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden.
The scene in Milan
World's largest shipping container conference is canceled
TPM, a trade conference for the cargo shipping industry that was set to open Sunday in Long Beach, California, has been canceled amid concerns about the outbreak, the event's sponsors announced Monday. The organizers had expected upwards of 2,000 participants.
Louisiana gets proactive
NASA's data shows China’s air pollution plummets amid outbreak
Data from NASA's pollution monitoring satellites shows significant decreases over China in the concentration of nitrogen dioxide, a gas that contributes to air pollution — a change that's "at least partly related to the economic slowdown following the outbreak of coronavirus," the space agency's said.
In an effort to curb a growing epidemic, the Chinese government put several major cities on lockdown and told millions of its factory workers to stay home to limit the spread of the virus, slowing down production.
“This is the first time I have seen such a dramatic drop-off over such a wide area for a specific event,” said Fei Liu, an air quality researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
Russia confirms first case
Russia's first coronavirus patient has been diagnosed in Moscow, according to the Federal Welfare Service. The patient is a Russian citizen who had been in Italy and returned to Moscow on Feb. 23.
NY governor: 'It's deep breath time'
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged people across the state to "relax," saying at a news conference Monday morning that "it's deep breath time."
"Excuse our arrogance as New Yorkers," Cuomo said. "We think we have the best health care system on the planet right here in New York. ... We don't even think it's going to be as bad as it was in other countries."
He provided some details on the state's first confirmed case: a Manhattan woman who contracted the virus while traveling in Iran. Cuomo said she is a 39-year-old health care worker who got back to New York on Tuesday and didn't take any public transportation upon her return.
He said that state officials don't believe she was contagious on the plane, and that she took a private car from the airport to her residence, where she is now isolated. He added that officials plan to contact other passengers on the flight and the driver of the car as a precaution.
Watch live: NY officials update on first confirmed case in state
The news conference is expected to start at 9:45 a.m. ET. Stay tuned for live coverage.
Number of coronavirus cases in the U.K. rises to 40
The United Kingdom now has at least 40 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, the government confirmed Monday.
The country has tested 13,525 people, meaning just 0.29 percent were positive.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the country needed to be prepared for the new coronavirus to spread further.
“I think it’s very important to stress that this is a problem that is likely to become more significant for this country in the course of the next days and weeks,” Johnson said.
Adviser to Iran's supreme leader dies after contracting coronavirus
Iran's state media reported Monday that an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader has died after contracting coronavirus.
The death comes as Iran struggles to contain an outbreak that has already claimed 66 lives, and sickened more than 1,500 people. The vast majority of coronavirus cases and deaths have been registered in China.
Last week, two members of Iran’s parliament contracted the virus as well as the deputy health minister, who was sokeen wiping his brow and looking feverish at a press conference a day before he announced he had tested positive.