The Latest: US health agency looking into cyber incident
The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 169,000 people and killed more than 6,500. The COVID-19 illness causes mild or moderate symptoms but most people, but severe symptoms are more likely in the elderly or people with existing health problems. More than 77,000 people have recovered from it so far, mostly in China.
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The lead U.S. agency handling the coronavirus outbreak says it is investigating a potential cyber incident.
Federal agencies are under continual cyberattack, and the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement Monday that it had put extra protections in place as it prepared to deal with the coronavirus.
Spokeswoman Caitlin Oakley said in a statement that the department on Sunday “became aware of a significant increase in activity on HHS cyber infrastructure and are fully operational as we actively investigate the matter.”
HHS said it’s coordinating with federal law enforcement to find out what happened.
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A day after the Dutch government sparked panic buying of pot from the country’s famed weed-selling coffee shops by announcing they had to close for three weeks, authorities said the shops can reopen — but only for takeaway sales.
People hoping to stock up on weed formed long queues outside coffee shops across the country Sunday night after the government ordered bars, restaurants and coffee shops closed for three weeks in an effort to tackle the spread of the coronavirus.
In a clarification of the closure order, the government said Monday that restaurants and coffee shops can remain open “for orders that are to be picked up.”
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he will close the border anyone not a citizen or a permanent resident amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Trudeau announced the move Monday outside his residence, where is self-isolating after his wife tested positive for the virus. He also asked all to Canadians to say home as much as possible amid the pandemic.
Trudeau says his government will restrict flights to Canada to airports in four major cities. Canada is mandating air carriers to screen passengers with symptoms of the novel coronavirus out of lines so they don’t board planes home.
He said the country is taking “increasingly aggressive steps” to keep everyone safe.
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Britain is dramatically ramping up measures to combat the new coronavirus, telling U.K. residents to avoid “all unnecessary contact” with others.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson says people should work from home whenever possible and avoid pubs, theaters and restaurants. If anyone in a household has a fever or persistent cough, everyone there should stay at home for 14 days.
He said that these new restrictions are “particularly important” for people over 70, pregnant women and those with underlying health conditions. Johnson said the most vulnerable should be shielded from social contact for 12 weeks starting this weekend.
Until Monday, the U.K. had resisted taking some of the tough measures seen in other European countries. But Johnson said that the “without drastic action” cases of the virus in the U.K. could double every five to six days.
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A top World Health Organization outbreak expert says evidence shows that children can be infected with the new coronavirus but tend to have “mild infection” and said officials are “not seeing transmission in settings like schools.”
Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead for WHO’s emergencies program, cautioned Monday that “we have seen children die from this infection, so we can’t say universally it’s mild in children.”
“From the evidence that we are seeing, we’re not seeing transmission in settings like schools — where we would worry about amplification of transmission,” she told a news conference at WHO headquarters in Geneva.
She said children appear to be infected at a lower rate than adults, “which is different to what we would see from influenza.”
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Leaders of the Group of Seven have participated in a video teleconference to coordinate responses to the coronavirus after some European leaders were upset by U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision last week to impose a travel ban without consulting them.
The G-7 leaders of Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, the United States and France met Monday.
French President Emmanuel Macron says he thinks unilateral decisions taken by countries across the globe are counterproductive to fight the outbreak.
“We will coordinate research efforts on a vaccine and treatments, and work on economic and financial response,” Macron tweeted.
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The number of deaths of people testing positive for the coronavirus in Italy now tops 2,100.
Italy’s civil protection agency said 349 people have died in the past 24 hours. That brings to 2,158 the number of deaths since the first locally transmitted case was diagnosed on Feb. 21.
The number of positive diagnoses rose by 13%, to 27,980.
Angelo Borelli, the head of the civil protection agency said that cases had slowed in Lombardy, the hardest-hit region.
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Organizers of the biggest international Arctic research expedition say they are suspending aerial survey campaigns after being hit bit government restrictions and a positive case of the new coronavirus.
Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute said Monday that a researcher who was due to participate in the MOSAiC mission tested positive for the virus in Bremen last week, forcing organizers to postpone plans to conduct survey flights focusing on the atmosphere and sea ice.
A Norwegian government requirement for all travelers from non-Nordic countries to be placed in quarantine for 14 days caused expedition organizers to suspend the aerial survey campaigns entirely.
The main expedition remains ongoing aboard the German icebreaker Polarstern currently in the Arctic. Organizers say a planned crew rotation by plane in early April “should – barring unforeseen developments – still be possible.”
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Switzerland’s government has declared a state of emergency, ordering shops, restaurants, bars and other facilities to be shut down in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The measures exclude health care operations and supermarkets but include entertainment and leisure facilities, which will be closed until April 19.
“We need to do everything possible to slow the advance of the coronavirus,” Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga said, urging people to practice social distancing and follow government guidelines.
The nation, which had already implemented border controls on people coming from risk areas, extended them to include checks on the borders with Germany, Austria and France.
The government approved the use of up to 8,000 members of the military to help in hospitals, as well as where needed with logistics and security.
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The U.S. Transportation Security Administration says that at least six screening officers at three airports in two states have now tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
TSA reported the most recent case Sunday at the Orlando International Airport in Florida. The agency says on its website that the officer’s last day at work was March 10.
It said some security checkpoints may close as a result but gave no immediate details.
TSA says all fellow employees who came into contact with the officer who tested positive are in self-quarantine at home for 14 days.
Four officers tested positive at the San Jose International Airport in California and one at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida.
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Spain is restoring border controls and severely restricting who can enter the country.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska announced Monday that beginning at midnight only Spaniards or residents in Spain, people who work just across the border or who have a compelling need will be allowed through.
Spain has borders with France and Portugal, as well as with the British territory of Gibraltar, the principality of Andorra and with Morocco, due to its two North African enclaves.
The measures do not limit goods transporters. Grande-Marlaska says the measures were agreed with the European Union and Portugal.
Spain is the fourth-most infected country in the world, with more than 9,000 cases and 309 fatalities.
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The head of the World Health Organization says social distancing and other measures to limit contact between people can help fight the spread of the coronavirus, but testing people who might have the disease is its No. 1 priority.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the COVID-19 outbreak is the “defining global health crisis of our time” and will “be a test of our resolve.”
“We have not seen an urgent enough escalation in testing, isolation and contact tracing, which is the backbone of the response” to determine who is sick, he said.
“You cannot fight a fire blindfolded and we cannot stop this pandemic if we don’t know who is infected,” he said. “We have a simple message for all countries: test, test, test.”
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The multimillion-dollar effort to reconstruct Paris’ Notre Dame cathedral is being suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The former French army chief who French President Emmanuel Macron chose to lead the yearslong restoration project announced the decision Monday.
The public restoration body Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin oversees says the general believed safety measures against the coronavirus put in place, such as “minimum security distances,” mean that it is impossible to continue restoration work at this stage.
On Monday, Paris parks such as the historic Buttes Chaumont created by Emperor Napoleon III in 1867 will also close to the public as the city restricts its population’s movement to contain the COVID-19 crisis.
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Romania has declared a state of emergency because of the coronavirus epidemic.
President Klaus Iohannis said Monday that the declaration would apply across the whole country for 30 days.
Iohannis said schools would be closed, with classes to be held online or on TV.
Courts will hear only urgent cases, procurement rules will be simplified in health care to speed up the purchase of medicines and equipment, and employees and their families in economic sectors affected by the epidemic will receive special benefits.
Iohannis said that the measures were “temporary, but they are needed now, to prevent a much greater evil in the future.”
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Aid group Doctors Without Borders is calling on European Union member countries to show solidarity by ensuring essential medical supplies such as face masks are channeled to where they are most critically needed.
The group, known by its French acronym MSF, said shortages of personal protective equipment are increasingly commonplace in Italy, the country with the second-biggest number of cases in the world.
MSF says the shortage is leaving healthcare workers on the frontline exposed. It said nearly 1,700 health care workers have been infected in Italy.
Some doctors are forced to wear the same face mask for 12 hours, she said.
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Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has tightened public health measures in the Russian capital, banning gatherings of more than 50 people until April 10.
Sobyanin also expanded the list of countries that travelers from are subject to mandatory quarantines upon arrival. It now includes all European countries along with the United States, Britain and Russia’s ex-Soviet neighbors Ukraine and Belarus.
He also ordered Moscow schools closed starting from Saturday.
The mayor also asked elderly people to stay home.
The Russian government reported Monday that the country has 93 infections, up 30 from a day earlier. Of all contagions, 86 people were infected abroad and seven got the new coronavirus locally.
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Authorities in India say travelers from the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey and and the United Kingdom will not be allowed to enter.
They said Monday that passengers coming from the UAE, Oman and Kuwait will be subject to mandatory two-week quarantines upon arriving in India.
The restrictions will be in place from March 18 and will be in place till March 31, when they’ll be reviewed.
The Indian government has also advised its states to put in place measures to promote social distancing, such as closing schools, museums and swimming pools. It urged the private sector organizations to allow people to work from home, wherever possible while asking them to avoid non-essential travel.
So far, India has confirmed 114 cases, with 2 deaths.
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Somalia has confirmed its first coronavirus case, an alarming development in the Horn of Africa nation with one of the continent’s weakest health systems after nearly three decades of conflict.
Health Minister Fawziya Abikar said the virus was confirmed in a Somali national who recently arrived from abroad.
Somalia’s government quickly announced that international flights to the country are no longer allowed.
Large parts of Somalia remain under the control of the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group, which has been hostile to aid groups and often carries out deadly attacks in the capital, Mogadishu.
The insecurity will hurt efforts to contain the virus.
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The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
