U.S. President Donald Trump during a news conference at the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House February 29, 2020 in Washington, DC. Department of Health in Washington State has reported the first death in the U.S. related to the coronavirus.
Alex Wong
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
2:41 pm: ‘Our Fed should start being a leader’: Trump calls for debt refinancing amid coronavirus fallout
President Trump on Saturday also doubled down on his criticism of the Federal Reserve and what he sees as its reluctance to lower interest rates in the midst of coronavirus fears and its potential impact on the American economy.
“Our Fed should start being a leader,” Trump said. “We should have the lowest interest rates. We don’t have the lowest interest rates. Our Fed rate is higher. You look at Germany, you look at Japan, you look at other countries: many of them have negative rates.” — Franck
2:27 pm: Trump considering travel restrictions at US southern border over coronavirus
President Trump on Saturday said his administration was considering travel restrictions at the U.S.-Mexico border, after his administration announced new restrictions on travel to Iran and heightened advisories for areas in South Korea and Italy.
Mexico, however, has only reported three confirmed cases of the coronavirus so far, while the U.S. has confirmed 66 cases of the illness. — Kimball
2:14 pm: US expands Iran travel restrictions over coronavirus, raises advisory for regions in South Korea and Italy
President Donald Trump authorized the expansion of travel restrictions against Iran and is now recommending Americans refraining from visiting regions of Italy and South Korea impacted by the infectious coronavirus.
Vice President Mike Pence detailed the heightened travel warnings in a press conference from the White House.
“First, the president authorized action today to add additional travel restrictions on Iran. … Iran is already under a travel ban, but we’re are expanding existing travel restrictions to include any foreign national who has visited Iran within the last 14 days,” Pence said.— Franck
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.
The patient was a man in his 50s with underlying health conditions, who was tested at the Washington State Public Health Lab, according to U.S. health officials. President Trump during a Saturday press conference incorrectly said the patient was a woman. –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.
