March 7 coronavirus news

As of Friday at 6 p.m. ET, roughly 5,861 tests for coronavirus have been completed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health labs, US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn said at off-camera briefing at the White House on Saturday.

Trump administration health officials had not released specific figures until today.

This does not mean that 5,861 people have been tested. Currently each person tested typically has two swabs taken – one from the nose and one from the throat.

The 5,861 number also does not include tests performed at private or commercial labs.

Right now Hahn said there is an ability to perform 75,000 tests. Officials, however, expect that number to jump dramatically next week with the additional production by private manufacturers of coronavirus testing kits.

France’s General Director of Health Jerome Salomon has confirmed 16 dead and 949 confirmed coronavirus cases nationwide, according to a press conference he held on Saturday.

Salomon said 45 people infected with the virus are being treated in intensive care.

Iraq’s health ministry announced eight new coronavirus cases; seven in Baghdad and one in Najaf. Today's news brings the country’s total number of confirmed cases to 54.

So far, four people have died from the virus in Iraq, according to the health ministry.

Five new infections of novel coronavirus were identified in Iceland on Saturday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 50, the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency said in statement. 

According to an update posted on their social media, three of the five new coronavirus infections, also known as COVID-19, occurred in-country and could be traced to “two individuals who were in danger areas abroad.”

Two of the newly infected are in their 30s, one in his 40s, one in his 50s and one in his 80s. All the infected patients live in the capital, Reykjavik.

On Friday, Iceland called for an "emergency" response after the first cases of in-country COVID-19 transmission were identified.

Italy saw a dramatic increase in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases today with a rise of 1,247 in a single day, the Civil Protection Department said in a statement.

The country now has a total of 5,883 cases.

The death toll also continues to climb with 36 fatalities reported on Saturday. The country has reported the most deaths outside of China, a total of 233.

Silvio Brusaferro, head of the Health Institute, said in a press conference that the majority of the deceased are male, over 80-years-old and suffered from other diseases. 

There are 377 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 49 cases from repatriated citizens from Wuhan (3) and the Diamond Princess (46). Twenty-one are from the Grand Princess.

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 307 cases in 29 states, bringing the total of coronavirus cases to 377.

This figure 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.

The Saudi Ministry of Health announced on Saturday that two female citizens have tested positive for novel coronavirus, according to the state-run Saudi News Agency, SPA.

One woman had recently returned from Iran and the other from Iraq, which was not disclosed to authorities at first. 

These latest two confirmed cases bring the total number in the country to seven. 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus in order to have “a more expedited purchasing and testing protocol,” according to a press conference held this afternoon.

Cuomo added: "We have a more expedited purchasing and testing protocol and we’re going to be doing that."

Dr. Simon Paul, of Madera County Public Health, reported one confirmed case of novel coronavirus in Madera County, California, today.

The case is the spouse of a couple that returned from a Princess Cruise voyage and whom California Department of Public Health contacted. The Madera County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) began monitoring the patient on March 5, according to a release from MCDPH.

When the individual developed symptoms, MCPDH coordinated with Madera Community Hospital for medical care and testing, the release said.

According to the release, the patient is currently in stable condition.

By the numbers: This latest case brings the number of people confirmed and presumed to have coronavirus in the state of California to 66.