Chinese diplomat promotes conspiracy theory that US military brought coronavirus to Wuhan

Chinese diplomat promotes conspiracy theory that US military brought coronavirus to Wuhan
CNN Digital Expansion 2017. Ben WestcottSteven Jiang
By Ben Westcott and Steven Jiang, CNN

Updated 0253 GMT (1053 HKT) March 14, 2020


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A completely empty San Marco Square is seen on March 9, 2020 in Venice, Italy. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced a "national emergency" due to the coronavirus outbreak and imposed quarantines on the Lombardy and Veneto regions, which contain roughly a quarter of the country's population. Italy has the highest number of cases and fatalities in Europe.
The movements in and out are allowed only for work reasons, health reasons proven by a medical certificate.The justifications for the movements needs to be certified with a self-declaration by filling in forms provided by the police forces in charge of the checks.
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Hong Kong (CNN)A prominent Chinese official has promoted a conspiracy theory that the United States military could have brought the novel coronavirus to China -- and it did not originate in the city of Wuhan, as thought.

Posting to his more than 300,000 followers on Twitter, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian republished a video of Robert Redfield, the director for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, addressing a US Congressional committee on March 11.
In the clip, Redfield said some influenza deaths in the US were later identified as cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Redfield didn't say when those people had died or over what time period, but Zhao pointed to his remarks in support of a growing conspiracy theory that the coronavirus did not originate in Hubei province in central China. He did not offer any further evidence for the claim.

Lijian Zhao 赵立坚
✔
@zlj517
2/2 CDC was caught on the spot. When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!

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"CDC was caught on the spot. When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!" the Foreign Ministry official said.
Hundreds of athletes from the US military were in Wuhan for the Military World Games in October 2019.
The video of Redfield was also published to Twitter by other state media outlets, including national broadcaster CCTV and the popular Global Times tabloid.
On Friday, Zhao's fellow Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said there were "varied opinions" on the origin of the virus in the international community.
"China always considers this a scientific question, which should be addressed in a scientific and professional manner," he said, avoiding questions on whether Zhao's tweet represented the Chinese government's official position.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian during a daily briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Beijing, on February 24.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian during a daily briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Beijing, on February 24.
Origin theories
Parts of Chinese social media, and even the country's government, appear to have launched a concerted campaign to question the origin of the novel coronavirus, which has infected more than 125,000 people globally.
The first reported cases of the virus were in Wuhan, and since then the city has had more infections and deaths than anywhere in the world.
Speaking in his official capacity at a press conference in Beijing on March 4, Zhao told reporters that "no conclusion has been reached yet on the origin of the virus" -- and Chinese scientists were still tracing where it came from.
On February 27, renowned Chinese infectious disease expert Zhong Nanshan also questioned where the coronavirus had come from.
"The infection was first spotted in China but the virus may not have originated in China," Zhong said at a press conference.
On Thursday, Hua Chunying, Zhao's boss who heads the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of Information, tweeted a link to Redfield's testimony, saying it was "absolutely wrong and inappropriate to call this the Chinese coronavirus."
China's ambassador to South Africa, Lin Songtian, took to Twitter on March 8 to say that although the first epidemic was recorded in China, it didn't mean the virus "originated from China."
However, Zhao's colleague Geng cautioned Thursday that the origin of the virus could only be determined "by science."
"We don't hope to see anyone making an issue out of this to stigmatize other countries," he said. "With COVID-19 developing into a pandemic, the world should come together to fight it instead of leveling accusations and attacks against each other, which is not constructive at all."


W.H.O.: Coronavirus is 'not unstoppable' 14:19
Twitter diplomacy
Zhao's comments are another example of Chinese government figures using Twitter to defend China against criticism -- despite the platform being banned in the country, along with Facebook, Instagram and a number of other prominent Western social media sites.
Prior to 2019, few Chinese officials had verified Twitter accounts. But since then, ambassadors, mission heads and Chinese foreign ministry spokespeople across the world have joined Twitter.
In January, Chinese ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming weighed in on the UK's decision on whether or not to ban telecommunications giant Huawei from its 5G networks on Twitter.

Cui Tiankai
✔
@AmbCuiTiankai
 · Dec 5, 2019
Replying to @AmbCuiTiankai
#Xinjiang was the victim of terrorism for too long. Now, as a result of a resolute fight against terrorism and the education efforts to help those affected by extremism, no terrorist attack has occurred there in 3 years.


Cui Tiankai
✔
@AmbCuiTiankai
The life of local people of all ethnic groups in #Xinjiang has returned to normalcy. Facts are facts. No matter how much “fake news” is generated, no matter what absurd numbers are fabricated by those rumormongers. Ultimately, facts will always prevail over lies.

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Cui Tiankai, the Chinese ambassador to the US, took to Twitter in December to deny accusations of human rights abuses against Muslim-majority Uyghurs in Xinjiang. "Ultimately, facts will always prevail over lies," he tweeted.
Zhao was promoted in mid 2019 after building a reputation for himself on Twitter as a fierce advocate for Chinese interests -- arguing with western politicians and blocking Beijing's critics -- during his time as a senior diplomat at the Chinese embassy in Pakistan.
The headline and first line of this story have been updated to better characterize the claim by China's Foreign Ministry spokesman.

U.S. summons Chinese envoy over Beijing's coronavirus comments

U.S. summons Chinese envoy over Beijing's coronavirus comments
Humeyra Pamuk, David Brunnstrom
4 MIN READ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department summoned the Chinese ambassador to the United States on Friday to protest against comments by Beijing suggesting the U.S. military might have brought the coronavirus to Wuhan, as tensions between the two global powers over the outbreak intensified.

FILE PHOTO: China's ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai responds to reporters questions during an interview with Reuters in Washington, U.S., November 6, 2018. REUTERS/Jim Bourg - RC1D2559A9C0
David Stillwell, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia, delivered a very “stern representation” to China’s ambassador Cui Tiankai, a State Department official said, adding that Beijing’s envoy was “very defensive.”

The State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said China was seeking to deflect criticism of its role in “starting a global pandemic and not telling the world.”

“Spreading conspiracy theories is dangerous and ridiculous. We wanted to put the government on notice we won’t tolerate it for the good of the Chinese people and the world.”

Defense Department Spokeswoman Alyssa Farah wrote on Twitter on Friday that “the Communist Party of China has chosen to promulgate false & absurd conspiracy theories about the origin of COVID-19 blaming U.S. service members. #ChinaPropaganda”

The virus, also called COVID-19, has infected 138,000 people worldwide and killed more than 5,000.

China’s embassy did not respond to requests for comment.

Despite the signs of tension, U.S. President Donald Trump praised Beijing on Friday for its “data sharing”.

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Asked by a reporter during a White House news conference about “odd narratives” being offered by some Chinese officials, Trump appeared to brush off any concern, saying he had read one article on the subject, but that he did not think it was representative of his discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Trump, who in a national address this week called the outbreak a “foreign virus” that started in China, added: “They know where it came from, we all know where it came from.”

Tensions escalated after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian took to Twitter on Thursday.

“When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!” Zhao tweeted in English.

The episode is the latest in an increasing war of words between Washington and Beijing, whose already strained ties over issues including trade, intellectual property rights and press freedom have further been tested by the virus outbreak.

The coronavirus, which emerged in China in December, has spread around the world, pummeling financial markets, halting industry, bringing some flights to a standstill, closing schools and forcing the postponement of sports events and concerts.

Zhao’s comments came days after Robert O’Brien, the U.S. national security adviser, said China had reacted slowly to the coronavirus, probably costing the world two months when it could have been preparing.

Wuhan was ground zero for the outbreak, which the World Health Organization this week labeled a pandemic. It has infected more than 127,000 people worldwide, including nearly 81,000 in mainland China, and killed more than 5,000 people.




Beijing was criticized for initially attempting to censor some Chinese doctors who sounded an alarm over the virus. Since January, it has imposed draconian containment measures, effectively locking down Wuhan and the surrounding Hubei province, home to 60 million people.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has complained that the U.S. response had been hindered by what he called imperfect data from Beijing.

He and several other U.S. politicians have angered Beijing by referring to the “Wuhan virus.” In a national address on Wednesday, Trump called the outbreak a “foreign virus” that started in China.

China's coronavirus epicenter reports just five cases; Beijing tomb-sweepers urged to stay back

China's coronavirus epicenter reports just five cases; Beijing tomb-sweepers urged to stay back

4 MIN READ

BEIJING (Reuters) - The Chinese city of Wuhan, ground zero of the coronavirus outbreak, reported just five new cases on Friday, the second day in a row the tally has been less than 10, while no locally transmitted infections were reported in the rest of the country.

A woman wearing a protective face mask is seen at a residential community following an outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), in downtown Shanghai, China March 13, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song
Wuhan, capital of central Hubei province, registered the five new cases on Thursday, the National Health Commission said, down from eight cases the previous day. The commission routinely reports new cases the day after the data is collected.

Excluding Wuhan, Hubei had reported no new infections for eight consecutive days.

The province also lowered the epidemic risk ratings of several cities and regions, leaving only Wuhan classified as “high risk” as of the end of March 12, according to the Hubei Daily, a state-owned newspaper.

Hubei government says only Wuhan city is high epidemic risk as of March 12
See more stories
The commission said on Thursday China’s coronavirus epidemic had passed its peak, even as alarm over the virus intensified elsewhere with global markets suffering record falls and governments unveiling measures to try to slow the spread of a disease that has infected more than 127,000 people worldwide.

The financial hub of Shanghai reported two new cases, while Beijing saw one, all imported by people traveling to China from affected areas abroad, the health authority said.

Those cases brought the total number of new infections in mainland China to eight on Thursday, down from 15 the previous day, and the lowest since the healthy authority started publishing nationwide figures in January.

To date, the total accumulated number of cases in mainland China is 80,813.

The coronavirus has killed more than 3,000 people in mainland China.

It had also stalled the world’s second-largest economy as, beginning in January, authorities ordered work stoppages, travel restrictions and home quarantines.

As the measures start to pay off, local governments have been ordered to revive their economies, especially those in areas that have not had to deal with extensive outbreaks.

Hubei province has started to loosen the strict controls that kept up to 60 million people under a virtual lockdown for weeks.

Wuhan has seen some restrictions relaxed this week and the nearby city of Huanggang, which also had numerous coronavirus cases, on Friday begun relaxing its lockdown, saying that residents could start traveling within the city.

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Outside Hubei, about 60% of small- and medium-sized firms and 95% of large ones have gone back to work, vice industry minister Xin Guobin said on Friday.

The death toll in mainland China reached 3,176 as of the end of Thursday, up by seven from the previous day.

In Hubei, there were six new deaths, with Wuhan accounting for all of them.

As the Qingming tomb-sweeping festival approaches, when millions of Chinese families traditionally pay respects to ancestors, clean their graves, offer flowers and burn incense, authorities in Beijing have urged the public to stay away.

“We will arrange free services at cemeteries, the staff will offer free tomb cleaning and free flowers,” said Li Quanxi, an official at Beijing’s civil affairs bureau.

Slideshow (9 Images)
“We want to encourage people to transform social traditions amid the coronavirus outbreak.”

The festival is on April 4.

Spain Becomes Latest Epicenter of Coronavirus After a Faltering Response

Spain Becomes Latest Epicenter of Coronavirus After a Faltering Response

The government declared a state of emergency Friday, days after it allowed mass gatherings in the capital and cases jumped to 4,200.


The Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona shut its doors to visitors on Friday.
The Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona shut its doors to visitors on Friday.Credit...Joan Mateu/Associated Press
Raphael Minder
By Raphael Minder
March 13, 2020
Updated 7:23 p.m. ET

MADRID — Just last weekend, about 120,000 people marched through downtown Madrid to celebrate International Women’s Day. Some 60,000 soccer fans filled one of the city’s largest stadiums. And 9,000 supporters of Vox, Spain’s third-largest party, gathered inside a former bullring.

Now Spain has the second-highest number of infections of any European country, after Italy — overtaking the larger nations of France and Germany — and faces the fastest spreading contagion on the Continent.

Between last weekend and Friday, the number of cases in the country shot from several hundred to 4,200, with 120 deaths, and the prime minister warned that the number of cases could reach 10,000 by next week. That would give Spain one of the fastest rates of coronavirus contagion in the world.

The government declared a state of emergency.

Spain’s initial, seemingly blasé approach to the virus and its failure to take mitigating steps sooner is facing sharp criticism. And coming on the heels of the crisis in northern Italy, where a slow response allowed the virus to overwhelm the health care system, Spain’s experience once again underscores the necessity for governments to take strict measures early to combat the virus’s spread.

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It may also prove to be the latest warning to governments that have resisted imposing tough restrictions before a spike in cases brings on a crushing public health crisis.


ImageA police officer blocked the road to Igualada on Thursday, one of the four towns in northeastern Spain that have been locked down.
A police officer blocked the road to Igualada on Thursday, one of the four towns in northeastern Spain that have been locked down.Credit...Samuel Aranda for The New York Times
On Thursday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain, while acknowledging that ‘‘many more families are going to lose loved ones,’’ took a notably restrained set of measures, even as British medical officials estimated the number of infected people in the country was already between 5,000 and 10,000.

In Spain, after defending the decision to let mass gatherings go on, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez warned on Friday that Spain was “facing very difficult weeks.” Two ministers in his cabinet have already tested positive, and he and the rest of the cabinet are now being tested.

While there have been significant outbreaks in Basque and Catalan towns, the Madrid region has become the epicenter of Spain’s crisis. By Wednesday, Madrid accounted for about half of the cases and almost two-thirds of the fatalities.

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All Madrid schools and universities have now been shuttered for at least 14 days, with other regions later following suit. Catalonia, the region in northeastern Spain, said late Friday that it would start to “restrict entrances and departures” though it did not offer details.

Get an informed guide to the global outbreak with our daily coronavirus newsletter.

On Thursday, three of the politicians who led last weekend’s events tested positive for coronavirus, raising questions about whether those in charge in Spain had actually helped spread the virus, rather than halt it.

The far-right Vox party apologized to its followers for holding its Madrid meeting, while both the leader and the secretary general of Vox tested positive for coronavirus.


Image
Empty shelves at a grocery store in Guernica, in the Basque region.
Empty shelves at a grocery store in Guernica, in the Basque region.Credit...Vincent West/Reuters
The rapid worsening of the situation in Spain has now heightened the political bickering in a country that was already deeply polarized.

Shortly after Mr. Sánchez spoke on Friday, Pablo Casado, the leader of the main opposition Popular Party, said his group would support extending the state of emergency beyond the initial 15 days, if needed.

But he also took a direct swipe at Mr. Sánchez, saying his government “should start leading.” Mr. Casado added, “During the last weeks, the government has made serious mistakes.” It’s time, he said, to “show firmness and determination.”

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Until Friday, the Spanish authorities had avoided sweeping measures that could spook people.

Only a day earlier, in a news conference on Thursday that was held by video link while he and his cabinet members underwent coronavirus testing, Mr. Sánchez skirted questions about a state of emergency. He dismissed suggestions that the Spanish authorities had been underestimating the health threat.


Image
Newlyweds leaving a civil registry in Madrid on Friday. The city’s local authorities decreed that all wedding ceremonies must be held behind closed doors.
Newlyweds leaving a civil registry in Madrid on Friday. The city’s local authorities decreed that all wedding ceremonies must be held behind closed doors.Credit...Chema Moya/EPA, via Shutterstock
While recognizing that there was no “instruction manual” to deal with this kind of health crisis, Mr. Sánchez said he could offer “a message of calm, serenity, unity and above all trust in those who know how to contain the extension of this virus.”

Yet some Spanish medical specialists believe his reassuring tone was overdone.

Ángela Hernández Puente, a doctor who is the deputy secretary general of a Madrid health sector labor union, said in a phone interview that “Spain has until now handled this crisis with a certain level of complacency — and certainly not energetically enough.’’

‘‘Instead of letting professionals lead the work, politicians have got in the way,’’ she said. ‘‘I’ve seen more a blame game between them than coordination.”

Some criticism has also come from outside Spain, notably Italy.

Walter Ricciardi, one of Italy’s top health experts, said it was “madness” that women had been allowed to march through Madrid last weekend.

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“These big rallies do a favor to the virus, instead of obstructing it,” Dr. Ricciardi said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper ABC. “We have been saying that Italy was only the first European country that was affected, but that this would then happen to the other countries as well.”


Image
The usually bustling La Boqueria market in Barcelona was almost empty on Thursday.
The usually bustling La Boqueria market in Barcelona was almost empty on Thursday.Credit...Emilio Morenatti/Associated Press
While Spain has long been praised for having one of Europe’s most advanced public health systems, Madrid hospitals are scrambling to find more face masks and add beds to cope with the growing rate of coronavirus cases.

At Madrid’s La Paz hospital, the gym has been turned into a makeshift sleeping area. In the Catalan town of Igualada, which is under lockdown, the mayor described the situation in the local hospital as “desperate.”

Part of the challenge in Spain is that health care is largely in the hands of regional administrations rather than the central government.

While Mr. Sánchez has been stressing the strong level of cooperation with regional politicians, tensions are emerging. It has not helped that he leads a left-wing minority coalition government that barely scraped into office earlier this year, after inconclusive elections.

“We have a very good Spanish health system, but we have the problem that it is fragmented between 17 regions and under the control of politicians who often do not wear the same party colors,” said Ms. Hernández Puente, the health labor union official.


Image
An empty gallery at El Prado Museum in Madrid on Thursday.
An empty gallery at El Prado Museum in Madrid on Thursday.Credit...Bernat Armangue/Associated Press
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The state of emergency will come into force Saturday, but it’s unclear how far it will stretch.

As in Italy, there are concerns about tightening the screw too far on the movement of people in Spain, which is heavily reliant on its services industry, particularly a tourism sector that accounts for 12 percent of Spain’s gross domestic product.

In a report published Friday, academics from the Esade university warned that the economic impact of coronavirus on Spain “will be more severe than in other countries because of its economic structure.”

Even as Spain prepares its state of emergency, Mr. Sánchez has continued to emphasize that Spain should coordinate its response to coronavirus with its European Union partners. So far those responses have been diffuse.

As a Socialist leader, Mr. Sánchez has also sounded acutely aware of what he learned from the euro debt crisis, when countries like Spain imposed stringent budget cuts and austerity measures.

“Europe knows it cannot repeat errors that end up burdening our economies,” Mr. Sánchez said Thursday.

The Coronavirus Outbreak - Answers to your most common questions

The Coronavirus Outbreak - Answers to your most common questions
Updated March 13, 2020

What is a coronavirus?
It is a novel virus named for the crownlike spikes that protrude from its surface. The coronavirus can infect both animals and people and can cause a range of respiratory illnesses from the common cold to lung lesions and pneumonia.

How contagious is the virus?
It seems to spread very easily from person to person, especially in homes, hospitals and other confined spaces. The pathogen can travel through the air, enveloped in tiny respiratory droplets that are produced when a sick person breathes, talks, coughs or sneezes.

Where has the virus spread?
The virus, which originated in Wuhan, China, has sickened more than 142,100 in at least 113 countries and more than 5,300 have died. The spread has slowed in China but is gaining speed in Europe and the United States. World Health Organization officials said the outbreak qualifies as a pandemic.

What symptoms should I look out for?
Symptoms, which can take between two to 14 days to appear, include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Milder cases may resemble the flu or a bad cold, but people may be able to pass on the virus even before they develop symptoms.

How do I keep myself and others safe?
Washing your hands frequently is the most important thing you can do, along with staying at home when you’re sick and avoiding touching your face.

How can I prepare for a possible outbreak?
Keep a 30-day supply of essential medicines. Get a flu shot. Have essential household items on hand. Have a support system in place for elderly family members.

What if I’m traveling?
The State Department has issued a global Level 3 health advisory telling United States citizens to “reconsider travel” to all countries because of the worldwide effects of the coronavirus. This is the department’s second-highest advisory.

How long will it take to develop a treatment or vaccine?
Several drugs are being tested, and some initial findings are expected soon. A vaccine to stop the spread is still at least a year away.

L.A. County coronavirus cases hit 40 as community spread intensifies; state reported its fifth death

L.A. County coronavirus cases hit 40 as community spread intensifies; state reported its fifth death
By COLLEEN SHALBY, RONG-GONG LIN II, ANITA CHABRIA, LUKE MONEY, NINA AGRAWAL
MARCH 13, 20205:05 PM
Santa Clara County announced a second death from COVID-19 Friday evening. The person who passed away was an adult woman in her 80s, was hospitalized March 9, and was among the COVID-19 cases previously reported by the county, a news release from the county’s public health department said.

The death was the fifth in California, which had 247 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Friday morning. Santa Clara County has the most cases of any county in the state, reporting 79.

L.A. County Public Health Department officials confirmed eight new cases of the novel coronavirus Friday, bringing the local total to 40.

Three of those cases are likely the result of community transmission, as the source of exposure is unknown. Two of the individuals are hospitalized, public health director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said at a news conference.


Children’s Hospital Los Angeles said in a news release Friday that it was treating a child between the ages of 6 and 9 with COVID-19. The child, who had no history of travel and has an unrelated underlying medical condition, was in isolation, as were the child’s parents, the hospital said.

Officials said they expect cases to expand significantly as more people get tested. Ferrer said L.A. County got more test kits this week, and noted that initial testing limitations have made estimates difficult to gather.

“It’s very hard to know how many cases we have,” she said.

On Monday L.A. County officials will release geographic locations and age groups of the known cases. Those who may be close contacts of individuals who test positive for the virus may start receiving “blanket quarantines,” rather than being interviewed first, Ferrer said.

In Riverside County a former patient from a Rancho Mirage skilled nursing home tested positive for COVID-19, officials said Friday. Cameron Kaiser, Riverside County public health officer, said the department plans to test each patient and employee at the 99-bed facility as soon as possible.

“Quick action is required when we are dealing with a vulnerable population like this,” said Kaiser.

An elderly patient at a Northern California assisted-living facility died from the disease earlier this week, and the death toll has mounted at a Seattle-area nursing home that has been at the center of the U.S. coronavirus epidemic.

As the number of cases throughout the world grew to more than 137,000, with more than 2,500 infections reported in Italy, World Health Organization officials said Friday that Europe has now become the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“More cases are now being reported every day than were reported in China at the height of its epidemic,” said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

In the U.S., President Trump declared a national emergency, freeing up more resources to aid local and state governments. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin reached a deal on an economic stimulus package, providing paid sick leave for workers and billions of dollars for food programs and unemployment benefits.

At the same time, school districts, sports organizations, concert promoters and religious groups were racing to cancel or delay large gatherings to guard against the spread of the virus.

The National Collegiate Athletic Assn. canceled its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, all theaters on Broadway went dark, the U.S. Supreme Court said it would no longer welcome visitors, and Major League Baseball called off spring training games and delayed the start of the season by at least two weeks.

Amid growing concerns and fresh signs that the virus is continuing to sweep across California, officials continued to take action against the virus.

School officials announced that Los Angeles Unified School District – the second largest school district in the U.S. – would shut down on Monday as fears over the coronavirus continued to mount. The move will affect more than 670,000 children and adult students.

LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner said that the district was planning for a two-week closure, at least, but refrained from providing a reopening date.

“These next two weeks will be difficult, and we are not certain what lies ahead after that,” he said.

Other school districts across the state continued to close campuses, affecting hundreds of thousands of students. Long Beach Unified School District, San Diego Unified School District, Santa Clara Unified School District, and Oakland Unified School District officials announced that schools would close until at least early April. San Francisco announced it was closing its public schools for three weeks, beginning Monday through the end of the regularly scheduled spring break April 3.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles also announced that Catholic schools in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties would close and move to remote learning effective Tuesday, until at least March 31. The archdiocese serves nearly 75,000 students, including many from low-income and immigrant communities.

“We recognize the significant impact this extended closure will have on our entire community, students, families, and staff,” Paul Escala, Superintendent of Catholic Schools wrote in a letter to families. “We also acknowledge the burden this will place on our staff and working families. As a community of faith, we must come together and help one another.”

Earlier the archdiocese announced it was lifting from its parishioners the obligation of attending Sunday Mass for the next three weeks. The Diocese of San Jose issued a similar suspension on all public masses beginning Saturday.

“Baptisms, weddings, and funerals may be celebrated but should be limited to immediate family,” San Jose diocese Bishop Oscar Cantú said.

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said City Hall would be closed to non-city employees, with the exception of members of the public attending City Council meetings. The Los Angeles City Council also planned to sharply reduce the number of public meetings, to limit potential public exposure to the virus.

With Garcetti’s order properties to limit city properties to no more than 50 outside visitors at a time, the operators of Griffith Observatory opted to close. The Hollywood Hills landmark normally has about 4,000 visitors a day. The Los Angeles Zoo also said it would close.

The city-owned Los Angeles Convention Center is rescheduling the Rug Show, the Best of You LA Expo and about eight other planned consumer shows, said Doane Liu, executive director of the Department of Convention and Tourism Development.

The Los Angeles Public Library said Friday that the Central Library in downtown and all 72 branch libraries will close through March 31. Due dates for borrowed materials are being extended and late fines waived during the closure period, the library said in an announcement on its website.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Natural History Museums announced they will close their main campuses until further notice. The decision affects LACMA’s main Wilshire campus, the museum’s gallery at Charles White Elementary School in MacArthur Park, and all public programs and events.

The Los Angeles County Probation Department, which maintains juvenile halls and camps, is temporarily suspending visitations to its juvenile halls and residential treatment facilities in an attempt to keep the coronavirus from infecting its staff or the youth under their supervision, officials said Friday.

The prohibition applies to weekend, special and after-court visits from family or community groups, but will not stop court-ordered or required legal visits from taking place, according to the department. Youth will have extended phone privileges and internal programming will continue, officials said.

The calls for “social distancing” to slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 could be seen from the San Francisco waterfront, where normally bustling food stands were nearly empty, to Los Angeles International Airport, where cars could make the usually jammed vehicle loop in just five minutes.

In Palm Springs, the landmark aerial tramway closed indefinitely. And following Disneyland’s announced closure through the end of March, Universal Studios theme park said it, too, would close through March 28, while the adjoining Universal CityWalk shopping center would remain open. Six Flags Magic Mountain, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and Knott’s Berry Farm will all close until the end of March.

Disney said it planned to keep hotels at the resort open until Monday to give guests time to make plans. The company said it would pay its employees during the shutdown.

The park has closed only three other times since its 1955 opening: on a national day of mourning after the 1963 assassination of President Kennedy, following the 1994 Northridge earthquake and after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the U.S.

Santa Clara County, which has been hard hit, banned all gatherings of 100 or more and limited gatherings of 35 or more. No sick individuals or high-risk persons may be present at such gatherings, officials said.

County Health Officer Dr. Sarah Cody called the virus a historic struggle in medical terms.

“These measures are designed to slow the spread of disease,” Cody said.

The number of confirmed cases rose to at least three in San Joaquin County — prompting officials there to declare a local public health emergency — and Santa Cruz County now has at least seven cases.

“We have shifted our efforts away from containment and towards mitigation,” said Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel. “We continue to work closely with our regional, state and national partners in our efforts to lessen the impact of COVID-19.”

After calling for the cancellation of all gatherings of more than 250 people, California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a sweeping executive order allowing the state, if necessary, to take over hotels and medical facilities to treat a potential tide of coronavirus patients.

“This is where we need to go next,” Newsom told reporters Thursday, adding that the shutdowns are aimed at slowing the virus’ spread and to “get through the next few months, so we don’t overwhelm our healthcare delivery system.”

The governor had exempted casinos, card rooms and movie theaters from his guidance against large gatherings. But he said his administration was “moving quickly and effectively towards a resolution” with those businesses. Newsom said that movie theater operators had told him they were trying to devise ways to introduce social distancing while still allowing patrons to gather to see films.

Christopher Thornberg, founding partner of Beacon Economics, compared the situation to a “national earthquake” that is hitting hard but will pass.

“If we just close down the damn country … we might get in front of this and stop it, in which case that short-term panic will lead to a collective sigh of relief,” he said.

Two days after the World Health Organization first said that COVID-19 had caused a world pandemic, health experts struggled to come to grips with the magnitude of the challenge.

At a House Oversight Committee hearing Thursday, Dr. Anthony Fauci said the U.S. was “failing” to provide testing for everyone who needs it.

“The system is not really geared to what we need right now — what you are asking for,” said Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “That is a failing…. Let’s admit it … the idea of anybody getting it easily, the way people in other countries are doing it, we’re not set up for that. Do I think we should be? Yes.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) sent a letter to Vice President Mike Pence — who is heading the White House response to the disease — urging the administration to rapidly expand coronavirus testing capacity and to establish clear guidelines for when state and local government should deploy public health measures.

The head of the American College of Emergency Physicians said in a call with reporters that the virus would “put a fairly tremendous strain on our health system.” Dr. William Jaquis said he expects the case counts to rapidly increase in the coming weeks, adding: “COVID is very serious and we’re treating it as such.”

Another federal official said blood banks had seen a substantial drop in donations because of a fear of the coronavirus. That trend needs to be reversed, said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

“We need people to prevent the blood supply from getting depleted. We need it not to get to the point that surgeries are having to get canceled,” Marks said. “To ensure an adequate blood supply, we need people to come out and donate blood.”

Even as they scrambled to address the threat, public officials had to tend firefighters and police officers whose work exposed them to the virus.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said three deputies and five county Fire Department staff members had been placed under quarantine after responding to a call Monday involving a person in Walnut who later died of the coronavirus.

The department announced that six firefighters were quarantined after responding to a call at Union Station on March 2. The woman had respiratory issues and declined to be transported to the hospitals. LAFD was notified that she tested positive for the virus on Friday. The firefighters had regularly reported to work, but have not shown symptoms. They will only need to be quarantined for three more days.

Times staff writers Hailey Branson-Potts, Andrew J. Campa, James Rainey, Susanne Rust, Dakota Smith, Alex Wigglesworth and Richard Winton contributed to this report.

కోడిని తింటే ‘కోవిడ్‌’ రాదు..

Mar 14, 2020, 04:31 IST

వదంతులను నమ్మొద్దంటున్న పశుసంవర్ధక శాఖ 

సాక్షి, అమరావతి బ్యూరో: కోడి మాంసం తింటే కరోనా (కోవిడ్‌) వైరస్‌ రాదని పశుసంవర్ధక శాఖ స్పష్టం చేసింది. దీనిపై వస్తున్న పుకార్లను నమ్మొద్దని సూచించింది. కరోనా వైరస్‌ ప్రచారంతో ఆందోళన చెందిన మాంసంప్రియులు చికెన్‌ తినడం భారీగా తగ్గించేశారు. దీంతో ధరలు పాతాళానికి పడిపోయి కోళ్ల పరిశ్రమ కకావికలమైపోతోంది. ఈ పరిశ్రమ యజమానులు ఆర్థిక నష్టాల్లో కూరుకుపోయారు. దీంతో పశుసంవర్ధక శాఖ స్పందించింది..
- కోడి మాంసం, కోడిగుడ్లు తినడం వల్ల కరోనా వైరస్‌ సోకదన్న విషయం శాస్త్రీయంగా నిరూపణ అయిందని.. దీనిపై విస్తృతంగా ప్రచారం చేయాలని ఆ శాఖ సిబ్బందికి ఆదేశాలిచ్చింది. 
- పౌల్ట్రీ ఫెడరేషన్ల సహకారంతో అవగాహన కార్యక్రమాల నిర్వహణతో పాటు.. ప్రోత్సాహక చర్యలు చేపట్టాలని పశుసంవర్ధక శాఖ జిల్లా జాయింట్‌ డైరెక్టర్లు, సంబంధిత అధికారులకు సూచించింది. 
- పుకార్ల కారణంగా కోళ్ల సంఖ్య తగ్గిపోయి భవిష్యత్తులో చికెన్, కోడిగుడ్ల ధరలు అమాంతంగా పెరిగే ప్రమాదం పొంచి ఉంది. 
- కోళ్ల దాణాలో వాడే ముడి సరకులైన మొక్కజొన్న, సోయాల ధరలు దెబ్బతిని రైతులూ నష్టపోయే అవకాశం ఉంది.