Oregon Declared a Disaster Area Due to Covid-19

Orders closing many Louisiana businesses and keeping people home to slow the spread of Covid-19 "may well" have to be extended past April 13, Gov. John Bel Edwards said.

Edwards and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell spoke to reporters at a briefing that was livestreamed from outside the city's convention center, which is being transformed into a 1,000-bed hospital.

That hospital, for recovering patients who no longer need ventilators or intensive care, will open by April 5, as will a nearby 250-bed center for some people awaiting test results, Edwards said.

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WASHINGTON

President Trump said Congress should reconvene if some Americans don't get their coronavirus stimulus money because of antiquated state computer systems that aren't equipped to handle the volume of federal money being sent to workers.

He said he wants the money to be distributed by the federal government, but his opponents want it distributed through existing state unemployment systems.

Trump told reporters at Sunday's White House briefing on the virus that if Americans don't get their money quickly, he's going to call for Congress to reconvene or find other ways to distribute the money.

Officials in the nation's capital announced four new deaths and 59 new positive infections from the coronavirus Sunday. That brings the totals to eight deaths and 401 infections.

Among the dead last week was a senior member of Mayor Muriel Bowser's staff. Bowser has declared a state of emergency, shuttered all schools and ordered all nonessential businesses to close. White House and Capitol tours have been canceled and the National Zoo, Smithsonian museum network and Kennedy Center have closed.

Police have blocked off dozens of streets, bridges and traffic circles to prevent crowds coming to see Washington's signature blooming cherry blossom trees.

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Two health insurers are waiving patient payments for coronavirus treatment.

Cigna and Humana won't require many of their customers to make copayments or other forms of cost-sharing for Covid-19 care. Health care providers would be reimbursed at the insurers’ in-network rates or Medicare rates.

Cigna said the waived payments would begin Monday and continue through May 31.

The moves could save those patients thousands of dollars, depending on their coverage and how much health care they've used so far this year, for treatment for the coronavirus. They come after Aetna last week announced payment waivers for patients for hospital stays tied to the coronavirus.

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WILMINGTON

Delaware's governor has issued an order telling out-of-state visitors to self-quarantine for two weeks.

The order by Gov. John Carney takes effect Monday morning and requires anyone entering the state from elsewhere to self-quarantine for 14 days. It does not apply to people who are only passing through the state.

"Now's not the time to visit Delaware. We're facing a serious situation here that is getting worse," Carney said in a statement.

Those who disobey the order, which has some exceptions for health care workers and other essential tasks, could face criminal charges.

Statewide, health officials say there were more than 200 coronavirus cases and 31 hospitalizations as of Sunday morning.

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NASHVILLE

An outbreak of the new coronavirus at a Tennessee nursing home has spread to dozens more of its residents and staff members, the governor's office said. A hospital said without elaborating that two residents have died.

Tests results released Sunday show 59 additional residents of the Gallatin Center for Rehabilitation and Healing northeast of Nashville tested positive, while 33 staff members with confirmed cases were isolated at their homes, the governor's office said.

Sumner Regional Medical Center said 42 patients from the nursing home have been admitted in isolation after some tested positive for the virus, while the 59 additional residents were to be transported there by Monday. A hospital statement did not disclose whether the two nursing home patients who died had tested positive for coronavirus.

The nursing home is being closed for a deep cleaning, with dozens of noncritical patients being taken to three other hospitals.

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BEIJING

China's National Health Commission on Monday reported 31 new Covid-19 cases, among them just one domestic infection while the others had recently arrived from abroad.

As outbreaks have surged in the United States and the rest of the world, China's reported cases have dwindled four months after the illness emerged in the central province of Hubei.

The country is easing the last of the controls that confined tens of millions of people to their homes while they sought to contain the spread of the virus. At the peak of China's restrictions, some 700 million people were in areas covered by orders or official requests to stay home and limit activity.

The focus of China's prevention measures has shifted to overseas arrivals, who have made up the bulk of new infections for more than two weeks. Virtually all foreigners were barred from entering the country starting Saturday.

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KATHMANDU

Nepal's government has extended the nationwide lockdown by a week in an attempt to stop the coronavirus spread.

The government said the lockdown imposed last week will last until April 7, shutting down businesses and major markets, and stopping transport. Flights are also halted until April 15.

A flight has been arranged to take stranded Americans back home on Tuesday. Another flight is planned for Wednesday to repatriate Australians to Sydney.

The government also banned import of alcohol, luxury vehicles and gold while ordering rent and school fees to be waived for a month.

Nepal has reported five confirmed cases, including one person who has recovered from it.

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PANAMA CITY

The Panama Canal Authority says two cruise ships carrying more than 1,800 passengers and crew, including some infected with Covid-19, have begun transiting the canal.

The announcement came after the passengers on the Zaandam and its sister ship the Rotterdam received mixed signals about their fate. While Panamanian officials said they would let the ships through the canal, Holland America Lines said it had not been given official permission and the mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, said he didn't want it to dock near his city as planned, at least without extensive precautions.

On Sunday evening, the canal authority released a statement saying the ships had started transiting the canal.

Holland America Lines said Friday that four people aboard the Zaandam had died — though the cause was not reported — and at least two had tested positive for Covid-19. It has been at sea since leaving Argentina on March 7.

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SYDNEY

Paramedics evacuated three crew members from a cruise ship that has become Australia's largest source of the new coronavirus.

New South Wales state Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said on Monday the three patients are not Australian citizens and were taken from the Ruby Princess to a Sydney hospital with the help of water police.

Authorities have been criticized for allowing 2,700 passengers and crew to disembark when the ship docked in Sydney on March 19 despite Covid-19 test results remaining unknown.

Many of the passengers traveled interstate and overseas before the health risk was known.

More than 300 people have contracted the virus from the ship, including two women, age 77 and 75, who died.

More than 1,100 crew remain on board in quarantine.

Ruby Princess’ owner Carnival Corp. said in a statement the three crew members were suffering acute respiratory symptoms.

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SEOUL

South Korea has reported 78 new cases of the coronavirus and six more deaths, bringing its totals to 9,661 infections and 158 fatalities.

South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday at least 476 infections have been linked to recent arrivals from abroad, with most of them detected in the past two weeks.

South Korea from Wednesday will enforce two-week quarantines for all passengers arriving from overseas as authorities scramble to prevent the virus from re-entering amid broadening outbreaks in Europe, North America and beyond.

The country had already enforced two-week quarantines on South Korean nationals and foreigners with long-term stay visas arriving from Europe and the United States.

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BANGKOK

Thailand's popular seaside resort island of Phuket has closed all land and sea entry and exit points until April 30 to try to limit the spread of Covid-19.

Phuket Gov. Phakaphong Tavipatana said a ban on air travel will start on April 10. Phuket attracts many foreign tourists whose travel plans have been disrupted by the widespread cancellation of international flights.

Thailand registered 39 million international arrivals last year. Phuket is a top destination for tourists, hosting more than 10 million visitors annually, including Thais.

Phuket's land travel ban, which took effect Monday, makes exceptions for transport of food and essential items, emergency vehicles and vehicles carrying publications.

Ships are banned from entering and leaving Phuket's international port, with exceptions for cargo ships, which can unload their cargoes but not allow crews to disembark before leaving as soon as possible.

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