Coronavirus live updates: Trump to hold press conference, first US death confirmed

FAN Editor

President Donald Trump holds a news conference with members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) on the COVID-19 outbreak at the White House on February 26, 2020.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images

This is a live blog. Please check back for updates.

All times below are in Eastern Standard time.

  • Total confirmed cases: More than 85,000
  • Total deaths: At least 2,933

1:13 pm: Washington state confirms first US death from coronavirus

The U.S. reported on Saturday its first death from the coronavirus in Washington state. Jamie Nixon, a public information officer with the Washington State Department of Health, said that a patient in the state has died from the infection. A news conference will be held by officials in King County at 4:00 pm EST. –Newburger

12:57 pm: Wall Street Journal owner News Corp halts all nonessential business travel

News Corp has halted nonessential business travel for its employees as of yesterday due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, a spokesperson confirmed to CNBC. 

“I can confirm that as of yesterday we have made the decision that all News Corp employees should avoid non-essential business travel until further notice,” the spokesperson said. — Newburger

12:06 pm: Trump to hold White House press conference on latest developments

President Donald Trump announced he will hold a 1:30 pm ET press conference at the White House on the latest coronavirus developments. — Kimball

11:15 am: Lebanon reports three new virus cases, bringing total to seven 

Lebanon’s health ministry said on Saturday that three new cases of the virus are confirmed, bringing the country’s total to seven, according to state news agency NNA. The people infected had been in contact with other infected people in the country. 

Lebanon has closed all schools until March 8 to combat the spread of the virus, as well as stopped flights for non-residents from countries where people are infected. 

The first three cases in the country were connected to passengers who had been on flights from Iran. –Newburger 

11:00 am: US FDA to allow some labs to use virus tests prior to review

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a new policy Saturday that will allow laboratories to develop diagnostic tests for the coronavirus in order to speed up testing capacity in the U.S.

The new policy is for specific labs that develop and begin to use coronavirus diagnostics before the FDA has completed review of their Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) requests, the administration said. 

“Under this policy, we expect certain laboratories who develop validated tests for coronavirus would begin using them right away prior to FDA review,” said Jeff Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “We believe this action will support laboratories across the country working on this urgent public health situation.”

 — Newburger 

10:08 am: Automakers ‘scrambling’ for parts and preparing war rooms as virus spreads

9:45 am: Britain reports number of coronavirus cases has risen to 23

The number of people infected with coronavirus in the United Kingdom rose to 23 on Saturday, after three more people in England tested positive for the virus, Britain’s health department announced. 

Two of the patients recently returned from Italy and the other returned from Asia. A total of 10,483 people have been tested as of Saturday morning, health officials said. — Newburger 

9:26 am: France bans gatherings of more than 5,000; Paris half-marathon cancelled

The French government banned public gatherings with more than 5,000 people on Saturday due to the coronavirus outbreak as France reported 16 new cases.

“All public gatherings of more than 5,000 people in a confined space are temporarily banned across France,” Health Minister Olivier Veran told journalists. He also that the number of confirmed cases had risen to 73 and that there had been no new deaths.

The Paris half-marathon scheduled for Sunday has been cancelled as a consequence. Some 44,000 runners were expected to participate in the event. — Reuters, Kimball

9:00 am: Cases in three U.S. states raise concerns over local, person-to-person spread 

Confirmed coronavirus infections in the U.S. in people who had not been overseas or in contact with another infected person has raised concerns over local, ‘community-transmitted’ spread of the virus in three states: California, Oregon and Washington state. 

Oregon reported its first case of the virus in an adult who lives in Washington County. Officials said the person has no history of travel to a country where the virus is known to be circulating, and is not believed to have had close contact with other confirmed cases. Washington state reported the case in a high school student from Snohomish County, which is still being investigated. And Santa Clara County health officials in California confirmed the infection in an elderly woman with no travel history or any known contact with a traveler or infected person.

There are at least 64 confirmed cases in the U.S., but the three new cases on Friday and one earlier in the week were the first in the country in which the cause of the infection is unknown and could signal that the virus is beginning to spread across the country. — Newburger

8:00 am: South Korea reports 813 new cases

South Korea has the largest coronavirus outbreak outside of China. It reported on Saturday 813 new cases, bringing the country’s total infections to 3,150. The country has had a record increase since it confirmed the first patient on Jan. 20. 

South Korea officials warn that the number of cases is expected to rise as they continue to test people. Most of the cases have come from the southeastern city of Daegu and surrounding areas. — Newburger

5:24 am: Iran cases surge as more officials are infected 

The coronavirus in Iran has infected 593 people and killed 43, according to an Iranian Health Ministry spokesman on Saturday, with more cases confirmed among government officials. There are 720 cases across the Middle East.

There are more concerns that the virus will continue to spread in the government. Five Iran parliament members have tested positive for the virus. — Newburger

Read CNBC’s coverage from the Asia-Pacific team here.

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