Measures taken to limit gatherings

CDC Director Robert Redfield reports that U.S. virus deaths now up to 31.

Redfield testified this morning before the House Oversight and Reform Committee.

With new deaths reported and the number of confirmed U.S. coronavirus cases exceeding 1,000, U.S. lawmakers and health officials have set up containment zones and quarantine areas and sought to limit contact with those who might be infected. Governors and other leaders are scrambling to slow the spread of the virus, banning large gatherings, enforcing quarantines and calling National Guard troops in to help.

That includes Ohio, where Gov. Mike Dewine declared a state of emergency. The OHSAA will limit attendance to its state tournaments, including the boys basketball regional tournaments this week.

The total positive cases in Indiana increased to 10 as of midnight Tuesday, with Howard and Johnson counties added to the list. Johnson County, south of Indianapolis, now has three positive cases, according to Indiana State Department of Health.

In an effort to help combat the outbreak, IU Health has launched a free virtual clinic offering COVID-19 screenings for Indiana residents.

“Our first priority is the health and safety of our communities,” said IU Health vice president of quality and safety Dr. Michele Saysana in a press release. “If you are experiencing symptoms or concerned you may have the virus, we recommend using this virtual clinic or calling your doctor before heading to an emergency department.”

To access the virtual clinic, patients can download the free IU Health Virtual Visits app to a mobile devise or enroll online at iuhealthvideovisit.org.

They would then select “Coronavirus Screen” and provide the necessary information to receive a virtual screening from a physician, advance practice provider or registered nurse.



In Washington state, the governor was expected to ban gatherings of more than 250 people in virtually the entire Seattle metro area, home to some 4 million people. Schools and houses of worship were shuttered in a New York City suburb where a cluster of cases could be the largest in the nation, and the governor sent National Guard troops to help clean public spaces and deliver food.

The moves came as the battle to stop the virus from spreading intensified. More schools and universities, including UCLA, Yale and Stanford, have announced plans to send students home and move classes online.

The virus has infected more than 1,000 people in the U.S. and killed at least 30, with one state after another recording its first infections in quick succession.

For most people, the virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms such as fever and cough. For some, especially the elderly and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. Most people recover in a matter of weeks, as has happened with three-quarters of those infected in China.

For those in the middle of a quarantine, it’s an anxious time waiting for the threat to pass.

Judy Aqua, who’s in her 60s, is quarantining herself at home in New Rochelle, outside New York city, after possibly being exposed to someone with the virus.

“People are really afraid to go to the supermarket. They’re afraid to go to the cleaner,” she said. When her husband made a recent run to a post office, she told him to wear gloves.

Life in many places went on as usual, but many major events were canceled or postponed, including the Coachella music festival that draws tens of thousands to the California desert near Palm Springs every April.

The United Nations announced it would close its New York headquarters to the public and suspend all tours, and one of the biggest resort operators in Las Vegas, MGM Resorts International, said it would close buffets at all of its Las Vegas Strip casinos as a precaution, although the casinos were staying open.

The ban on gatherings in Washington state would apply to sporting events such as Seattle Mariners baseball and Seattle Sounders soccer games, a person familiar with the decision told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly. It could be just the beginning of disruptions to sports: Already, some college sports games will be played without fans in California as well as Ohio, and the NCAA said it would “make decisions in the coming days” about its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments after two conferences banned fans from their championships and the Ivy League cancelled its basketball tournaments altogether.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency as cases statewide jumped from 51 to 92. Of that number, 70 are now connected to a meeting held last month by biotech company Biogen at a hotel in downtown Boston.

Baker said the state of emergency will give him greater authority to take such actions as shutting down large events, gaining access to buildings or stockpiling protective gear. Santa Clara County in California, home to San Jose and Silicon Valley, has banned on all gatherings of 1,000 people or more.