Coronavirus latest news: 1.2 million testing kits to be ready by end of week
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is committed to providing our readers with the most comprehensive coverage of the deadly coronavirus.
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.
9:09 p.m.
The CDC is scheduled to have 1.2 million COVID-19 coronavirus testing kits ready by the end of the week, according to reporter Cole Miller of KOMO.
Four million kits are scheduled to be ready by the end of next week, Miller reported.
Pence says @CDCgov will have enough tests by end of the week to test 1.2 million Americans. By the end of next week, an additional 4 million. "American businesses are stepping up" in development of therapies, vaccine, supplies #KOMONews
— Cole Miller (@ColeMillerTV) March 6, 2020
8:40 p.m.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said California Department of Insurance and Department of Managed Health Care ordered insurance companies to waive out-of-pocket costs for preventive coronavirus testing. The costs waived include but are not limited to "co-pays, deductibles or coinsurance — to zero for all medically necessary screening and testing for COVID-19, including hospital, emergency department, urgent care and provider office visits where the purpose of the visit is to be screened and/or tested for COVID-19," The San Francisco Chronicle reported.
BREAKING: we have ordered health insurance companies to waive ALL out-of-pocket costs for preventive coronavirus testing. https://t.co/5LWWoOqx2r
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 6, 2020
8:01 p.m.
Vice President Mike Pence and Washington State Gov. Jay Inlsee met to discuss federal and state response to COVID-19 coronavirus, according to CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller.
In Washington State, @VP tells @GovInslee that Pres Trump will sign the $8.3-billion Coronavirus response funding bill Friday in DC. "We're with you. We're here to help," Pence tells Inslee. Says bill has funding for state & local response. "Washington setting a great example." pic.twitter.com/8En66AO3Fe
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) March 6, 2020
6:59 p.m.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi signed the emergency package for COVID-19 coronavirus response and sent it to President Donald Trump.
This #coronavirus emergency response package gives our government the resources it needs to confront this public health crisis – without stealing a dime from other critical initiatives. With my signature, it goes to the President’s desk. pic.twitter.com/stxLFdcdcj
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) March 5, 2020
6:40 p.m.
A nurse in Northern California says she was denied a coronavirus test by the CDC after contracting the virus from a patient she volunteered to care for, according to Los Angeles Times reporter Matt D. Pearce.
Pretty stark statement from a Kaiser nurse in NorCal who got sick after caring for a coronavirus patient, criticizing CDC for delays in testing. https://t.co/GDlOH7TLzz https://t.co/wleK6CRVeQ
— (@mattdpearce)Mar 05 2020
6:05 p.m.
BREAKING A part-time concessions vendor who worked the Feb. 22 Seattle Dragons football game at Century Link Field has tested positive for coronavirus (#COVID19), according to a source and confirmed by public health officials 1/5
— Lewis Kamb (@lewiskamb) March 5, 2020
5:47 p.m.
Congress just passed a bipartisan $8.3 bil Coronavirus emergency funding package.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) March 5, 2020
This will allow us to deliver a coordinated, comprehensive response to this crisis, including funding for treatment and vaccine research.
For Coronavirus updates, follow @CDCgov & @lapublichealth. https://t.co/DMBuxw5SHF
»RELATED: US stocks plunge again as coronavirus fuels ‘roller-coaster market’
4:54 p.m.
#BREAKING: The Children’s Discovery Museum in San Jose announces it is CLOSED until at least next week after an employee “may have been exposed” to #coronavirus #COVID19
— Damian Trujillo (@newsdamian) March 5, 2020
4:41 p.m.
🔴#Coronavirus: un député LR et un salarié de l'Assemblée nationale infectés, un autre cas suspect (@AssembleeNat ) @franceinfoplus pic.twitter.com/6KOToFt6DW
— Guillaume Daret (@GuillaumeDaret) March 5, 2020
4:17 p.m.
A Vanderbilt University student studying abroad has tested positive for COVID-19, WZTV reported. It is not clear where the student had been studying. They are now in their hometown getting treatment.
#BREAKING: Vanderbilt student studying abroad tests positive for COVID-19 https://t.co/oBDkzKnjHV
— FoxNashville (@FOXNashville) March 5, 2020
"We have confirmed that one of our students who had been studying abroad has tested positive for COVID-19," Susan R. Wente, Vanderbilt Interim Chancellor and Provost, said in a statement Thursday. "That student has not returned to Nashville and is currently undergoing treatment in their hometown. We are working with public health officials to take appropriate precautions.
"Vanderbilt requires that students, faculty, staff, postdocs and visitors who have traveled to a CDC Level 3 country (currently China, Italy, Iran and South Korea) and/or have come into contact with someone infected with COVID-19 register with the university using the links on the coronavirus website and self-isolate for 14 days. The university is also working directly with any individuals who may be affected."
2:48 p.m.
Lyft is the latest tech company to send employees home over coronavirus https://t.co/F6AmhLzco7 by @nmasc_ pic.twitter.com/yvS8NepT5z
— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) March 5, 2020
2:22 p.m.
‘We don’t have enough tests today’ — VP Pence confirms that the U.S. does not have enough coronavirus tests right now pic.twitter.com/dIAxmMNFXf
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 5, 2020
2:12 p.m.
BREAKING: 2 cases of #coronavirus confirmed in #SanFrancisco. #kpix #cbsnbayarea WATCH: https://t.co/Pqy9TK1SVq pic.twitter.com/hPj3qUog71
— Jackie Ward (@JackieKPIX) March 5, 2020
1:52 p.m.
WA State Sec. of Health on UPDATED NUMBERS: 70 cases (up from 39), 51 in King Co, 18 in Snohomish and first case in Grant Co. 10 deaths (no new deaths) #KOMONews
— Cole Miller (@ColeMillerTV) March 5, 2020
1:40 p.m.
»Atlanta couple who got COVID-19 doing better, coming home
An Atlanta couple, sickened by coronavirus last month while vacationing on a cruise ship in Japan, are fully recovered and on their way back to Atlanta.
1:39 p.m.
#UPDATE: Health Department says the 44-year-old Williamson County man who tested POSITIVE for #COVID19 (#Coronavirus) had traveled on a nonstop, round-trip flight between Boston, Mass. & Nashville International Airport. @WKRN pic.twitter.com/fpdW3xkDxB
— Josh Breslow (@JoshBreslowWKRN) March 5, 2020
1:09 p.m.
»Cruise ship held off California coast after coronavirus death
A cruise ship with as many as 3,000 people on board was being held offshore near San Francisco as passengers and crew experiencing coronavirus symptoms undergo tests to determine whether they might have contracted the virus,
12:52 p.m.
BREAKING: Gov Cuomo announces first case of Coronavirus on Long Island- a 42 year old man in NASSAU County who has been hospitalized.
— Christine Insinga (@cinsinga12) March 5, 2020
12:36 p.m.
»Use these disinfectants against the coronavirus, EPA says
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a list Thursday of EPA-registered disinfectant products that have qualified for use against the coronavirus.
12:29 p.m.
»First case of coronavirus in Tennessee reported outside of Nashville
The first case of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, was reported in Georgia's neighboring state of Tennessee on Thursday.
11:45 a.m.
BREAKING: Westchester up to 21 coronavirus cases, according to county officials. Unsure if there’s a connection to the original New Rochelle case at this time @News12WC
— Jonathan Gordon (@JGordonTV) March 5, 2020
11:38 a.m.
#BREAKING: 5 Florida residents who traveled to China test positive for coronavirus, governor says https://t.co/COyH6aAd0o
— (@WPTV)Mar 05 2020
11:29 a.m.
»First case of coronavirus reported in South Africa
South Africa has announced its first confirmed case of the coronavirus.
11:13 a.m.
#Florida @GovRonDeSantis this morning says there’s been another presumptive positive #coronavirus case in the state: an elderly man in the Panhandle’s Santa Rosa County who had been traveling internationally. pic.twitter.com/sJAKrFJKN2
— Troy Kinsey (@TroyKinsey) March 5, 2020
10:41 a.m.
Live update: NATO HQ in Brussels confirms first coronavirus cases https://t.co/lbZGF6wzBS
— TOI ALERTS (@TOIAlerts) March 5, 2020
10:23 a.m.
The state says only a handful of people have been tested and the tests are in "limited capacity." He says now that testing will ramp up, but they are following the CDC guidelines which are strict.
— Latricia Thomas (@LatriciaTnc9) March 5, 2020
10:10 a.m.
Trump administration won’t meet its goal of having a million coronavirus tests rolled out by the end of the week, senators say. https://t.co/pdslnT7fPE
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) March 5, 2020
10:06 a.m.
GOOGLE TELLS SEATTLE-AREA EMPLOYEES TO STAY HOME: INTERNAL MEMO$GOOGL
— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaOne) March 5, 2020
10:05 a.m.
BREAKING: @GovBillLee confirms first case of coronavirus in Tennessee. @WPLN pic.twitter.com/TXYlXxokr1
— Sergio Martínez-Beltrán (@SergioMarBel) March 5, 2020
8:30 a.m.
»Georgia schools navigate handling of coronavirus
Schools charged with protecting 1.8 million Georgia students have had to strike a precarious balance as they react to coronavirus, on one hand assuring parents they recognize the threat, while on the other projecting calm.
About the Authors
Kelcie Willis is a writer and online content producer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Sociology from the University of Georgia. At the AJC, she covers state, regional and national news with the Content Curation Desk.
