Latest coronavirus updates: Airport tower shuts down, Kevin Durant reportedly tests positive, first death in Illinois
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This daily live blog will provide the latest updates, news and details of COVID-19 from media outlets and social media sources nationally and around the world.
6:32 p.m. The tower at Chicago Midway Airport closed, according to the FAA, after "several" air traffic controllers tested positive for COVID-19 coronavirus.
FAA says tower at Chicago's Midway Airport is closed after 'several' air traffic controllers test positive for COVID-19 https://t.co/elbgNpyPIh
— (@CNBC)Mar 17 2020
6:15 p.m. Disney reportedly will release "Mulan" on Disney+ if virus "continues to linger."
Just got off the phone with a Hollywood expert, who told me he fully expects "Mulan" to drop on Disney+ soon if the virus "continues to linger."
— (@HerbScribner)Mar 17 2020
6:10 p.m. Florida schools will be closed through April 15, according to the governor.
BREAKING: Both Gov. DeSantis and the Collier County School District announced all Florida schools will be closed until April 15th. https://t.co/GV242sb1sC
— (@Fox4Now)Mar 17 2020
5:42 p.m. The PGA Championship has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 2020 PGA Championship has been postponed. https://t.co/hnOHbKTeTb
— (@PGAChampionship)Mar 17 2020
5:29 p.m. Kevin Durant reportedly has tested positive for COVID-19.
Kevin Durant tested positive for coronavirus, Durant tells @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Durant says he is feeling fine: "Everyone be careful, take care of yourself and quarantine. We're going to get through this."
— (@ShamsCharania)Mar 17 2020
4:13 p.m. Dow regains 1,049 points as Trump takes steps to shore up economy, promising checks to American households. The S&P 500 rose 6% and the Dow rose 5.2%.
3:57 p.m.
The Nets announce that four players tested positive for COVID-19 pic.twitter.com/S0kAztSG8g
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) March 17, 2020
3:53 p.m.
#Breaking: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announces first #COVIDー19 related death in Illinois. The Chicago woman in her 60s had contact with a known positive case, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. #coronavirus
— (@eugenedanielTV)Mar 17 2020
2:44 p.m. France confirms 175 coronavirus-related deaths and 7,730 cases across country. Meanwhile, the United States tops 5,000 confirmed cases.
NEW: There are now more than 5,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States Two weeks ago, there were 125. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
— (@ByMikeBaker)Mar 17 2020
2:39 p.m. Marriott Hotels are closing around the globe due to COVID-19. Recent reports say they will furlough tens of thousands of employees without pay.
2:04 p.m.
We now face a severe blood shortage due to an unprecedented number of blood drive cancellations during this #coronavirus outbreak. Make an appointment to help patients counting on lifesaving blood: https://t.co/bg2LGQOUjS https://t.co/XTyfxyUIYS
— (@SDICRedCross)Mar 17 2020
2:01 p.m. President Donald Trump wants the government to send checks to Americans in the next two weeks in an effort to curb the economic cost of the coronavirus outbreak, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.
1:25 p.m. The ACC announced that it has canceled "all athletic related activities including all competition and practice through the end of the 2019-20 academic year" in order to mitigate the further spread of COVID-19.
Number of cases in Georgia reaches 146.
12:35 p.m.: Uber decides to suspend its uberpool options.
Amid the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s call for social distancing, ride-sharing company Uber has opted to suspend its practice of riding with multiple passengers.
11:30 a.m.: Maryland delays its primary.
Maryland has been added to the list of states that will not hold presidential primaries this spring to minimize the threat of coronavirus.
11 a.m.: Amazon suspends most shipment from independent retailers.
Amazon has temporarily suspended new shipments of all products by independent merchants unless the items are considered “high demand” like medical supplies and household cleaning products used to stop the spread of coronavirus.
9:07 a.m.
Just in: @Southcom commander Adm Faller as well as some members of his staff have tested negative for COVID-19 after contact with the Brazilian delegation March 8. Good news for Pentagon employees and reporters who interacted with him last week!
— (@laraseligman)Mar 17 2020
8:55 a.m.
White House to propose roughly $850 billion emergency economic stimulus to address virus threat
— (@PatrickDManning)Mar 17 2020
8:47 a.m.
Last American Airlines flight from Colombia leaves. Woman says she is sick. Decision made they want her out of the country. Full flight of people to Miami with her on plane.
— (@darrenrovell)Mar 17 2020
8:30 a.m.
A senior administration official tells me “you may see action from the Fed today” on short term credit for businesses. That is “under serious consideration” now I am told. This is just one source, and we are working to develop more information now.
— (@EamonJavers)Mar 17 2020
7:06 a.m.
Update on our #COVID19 novel antibody program: We’ve identified hundreds of virus-neutralizing antibodies from our VelocImmune technology and are now selecting the top candidates for clinical testing. Learn more: https://t.co/JhkedKl8yM
— (@Regeneron)Mar 17 2020
6:40 a.m.
There are already 11,178 cases of Coronavirus in Spain. 491 have died. Madrid continues to have the highest number of cases, peep and Catalonia exceeds 1,300 cases and is the second most affected community.
— (@M0n1k1ta)Mar 17 2020
2:21 a.m.
TCP SYN/ACK reflective DDoS attack traffic targeting @HHSGov hosts detected by Bad Packets: https://t.co/x7a8Bg6Ozi #threatintel
— (@bad_packets)Mar 17 2020
12:15 a.m.
Excuse me @realDonaldTrump-I think @Marriott doesn’t understand your advice that NO gatherings over 10 ppl take place for the next few weeks & I think @dralexpatel would agree that its impossible & possibly illegal to move forward with @wrestlecon. So stop the threats #Marriott!
— (@IAmJericho)Mar 17 2020