March 3 coronavirus news

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took to the Senate floor today to rail against President Trump, saying President Trump is downplaying the virus to a "dangerous degree." 

Schumer also said that the Trump administration needs to take three steps: issue "coherent guidance" on how school districts should respond if a virus is detected in the community; issue a "uniform" screening policy for airports and ports of entry; and allow federal scientists and medical experts to speak freely.

Schumer also reiterated that the emerging spending deal must prohibit the administration from spending the funds on anything other than the coronavirus.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said today the Senate must quickly pass a coronavirus supplemental and warned Democrats against “moving the goalposts” or interfering in the ongoing positive negotiations between appropriators. 

A premiere for a new animated film has been canceled in an effort to minimize potential risk of exposure to coronavirus.

More context: “Superman: Red Son” is adapted from a 2003 graphic novel in which Superman comes to Earth and lives in the former Soviet Union instead of the US. The film is a direct-to-DVD release and is not set for distribution in movie theaters. Some Hollywood studios have previously canceled planned film premieres in other regions impacted by coronavirus, but this appears to be the first cancelation of a movie premiere in the US. (Like CNN, Warner Bros. and DC are units of WarnerMedia.)

There is one confirmed case of coronavirus in New York as of Monday, a 39-year-old health care worker who had recently returned from Iran. She is currently in home isolation.

The Dow is up more than 1,100 points, or 4.4%, during the final minutes of trading.

The markets rebound from last week’s plunge over coronavirus concerns is intensifying. The S&P 500 is up 3.9%, while the Nasdaq rallied 3.6%.

There are 100 cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as state and local governments. 

According to the CDC, there are 48 cases from repatriated citizens. According to CNN Health’s tally of US cases that are detected and tested in the United States through US public health systems, there are 52 cases in 11 states. Bringing the total of coronavirus cases to 100.

This includes presumptive positive cases that tested positive in a public health lab and are pending confirmation from the CDC, and confirmed cases have received positive results from the CDC. 

Here's a breakdown of the 52 US cases:

Ontario is reporting three new cases of novel coronavirus, according to Dr. David Williams, Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health.

Dr. Williams says this brings Ontario’s total to 18 confirmed cases.

The new cases include one woman in her late 60s, with a travel history to Egypt; one woman in her 70s, with a travel history to Egypt; and one male in his 60s with a travel history to Iran, Dr. Williams said.

“We are learning more and more about how this virus transmits, so that's important,” Dr. Williams said during today’s news conference.

Here's where the coronavirus has been confirmed in Canada:

Today, Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, also announced that Ontario is implementing an enhanced response structure that “formally brings together a wide range of partners to review, strengthen and implement provincial and regional plans and ensure their responsiveness to the specifics of COVID-19.”

There are at least 48 schools closed for cleaning in Washington state over fears of the spread of novel coronavirus.  

Here a list of the school closings in the state:

 Closed today:  

 Closed today and tomorrow: 

  Closed tomorrow: 

Hear more:

Six people have now died in Washington state from the novel coronavirus, according to health officials. 

A person has died from coronavirus in Snohomish County, according to Heather Thomas, spokesperson with the Snohomish Health District. No additional details were immediately available from the health district. 

Five other people have died in King County, according to Jeffrey Duchin, a public health official with the county.

Learn more:

Amazon says it has pulled more than 1 million products for price gouging or falsely advertising effectiveness against the coronavirus. 

This action comes after Wired found sellers gouging the prices of coronavirus-related products, like face masks, or charging people "exorbitant shipping costs," according to the magazine.

The company said in a statement that it has "always required sellers provide accurate information" on product pages and removes those that violates its policies. Amazon said that third-party sellers must follow its Fair Pricing Policy, which states companies can't set a price "significantly higher" then seen in other places or sell an item that "misleads customers." 

There have been five deaths the novel coronavirus in Seattle and King County, according to Jeffrey Duchin, a public health official with the county.