Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday declared a state of emergency as the nation's leaders attempt to contain the spread of coronavirus. 

"I have issued an Executive Order declaring a State of Emergency to establish a unified command structure and direct funds as necessary in response to #COVID19," DeSantis said in a tweet. 

As of Monday night 13 people have tested positive for COVID-19, the illness associated with coronavirus, and two have died in the state of Florida.  

Four professional U.S. sports leagues on Monday announced new rules on access to locker rooms and clubhouses amid the spread of coronavirus.

Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League made the announcement in a joint statement.

"After consultation with infectious disease and public health experts, and given the issues that can be associated with close contact in pre- and post-game settings, all team locker rooms and clubhouses will be open only to players and essential employees of teams and team facilities until further notice,” the statement said. “Media access will be maintained in designated locations outside of the locker room and clubhouse setting.”

The changes are effective beginning Tuesday. The National Football League, whose regular season does not officially begin for several months, was not in the joint statement.

A declaration of disaster has been issued in Iowa Monday as the state reports five additional people have tested positive for coronavirus. 

Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the order in an effort to expand resources in an effort to contain COVID-19, the disease associated with coronavirus, as the total number of presumptive positive cases in the state climbed to eight.

Four of the new confirmed cases were passengers over the age of 60 who were on the same Egyptian cruise as the state's previous three patients, according to a press release from the Iowa Department of Public Health. 

The fifth case involved a "middle-aged" adult who had recently traveled to California, where at least 114 people have tested positive for coronavirus and two have died.

President Donald Trump said Monday that he is looking at a possible payroll tax cut, along with other measures, to help American workers and boost the economy, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak.

He said he'd announce the "dramatic" details of the proposed relief on Tuesday. "They will be major," he said.

Trump announced the measures after the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the day with a loss of around 2,000 points on Monday.

Read the full story here.

WASHINGTON — Turkey's ambassador to the United States, Serdar Kilic, says the European Union must do more to help his country absorb an influx of refugees from the war in neighboring Syria, after Ankara said it would not stop refugees from leaving Turkey to enter E.U. territory.

Kilic also said his country had taken steps to bolster security on its border with Iran to counter the threat of the coronavirus but that trying to prevent the spread of the virus in refugee camps in Syria would be a "mission impossible."

"We have reached the limits of our capabilities" to accept refugees, Kilic told reporters.

Read the full story here.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced on Monday afternoon the city would not hold its annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, which was set to take place in the city’s South Boston neighborhood March 15.

In a statement, Walsh said the event was being cancelled “out of an abundance of caution to ensure that we are doing what is needed to keep the residents of Boston safe and healthy.”

There were 41 confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Massachusetts as of Monday evening. 

The first St. Patrick’s Day parade in Boston was held in 1737.

At the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, patients who are worried that they may have the coronavirus no longer enter the hospital itself. Instead, they are treated just outside in big tents, where physicians donning protective gear test them and a special air filter whisks germs away.

The two 20-foot-wide tents were put up on Saturday as a way to limit the exposure between individuals suspected of having the coronavirus and patients in other areas of the hospital.

Read more about what hospitals are doing to prepare.

Italy's prime minister announced Monday that the lockdown placed on millions in the Lombardy region has been extended to the entire country in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus. 

The country's residents should avoid traveling outside areas where they live unless they can prove it’s because of a medical or work emergency, according to the sweeping new restrictions imposed by Italian Prime Minster Guiseppe Conte.

The extended lockdown, which also requires businesses to close by dusk, will take effect Tuesday and be in effect until April 3, Conte said.

“There won’t be just a red zone,″ Conte told reporters, referring to the designated lockdown areas in Lombardy. "There will be Italy." 

The nationwide decree also extends school closures in Italy. Schools in the center and south of Italy that were closed because of the virus had been slated to reopen on March 16.

As of Monday, at least 463 Italians have died from coronavirus-related deaths of the more than 9,000 confirmed positive cases.