March 6 coronavirus news

By Jessie Yeung, James Griffiths, Adam Renton, Fernando Alfonso III, Mike Hayes and Meg Wagner, CNN

Updated 8:19 p.m. ET, March 6, 2020
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2:49 a.m. ET, March 6, 2020

We're about an hour into CNN's coronavirus town hall. Tune in here

CNN
CNN

CNN's town hall on the coronavirus, addressing facts, fears, and medical guidance, is about halfway through -- it will run until midnight ET.

We're covering the town hall here with live updates -- but you can also send in questions and stream it live.

How do I participate?

The experts will take questions from the studio audience and from viewers around the world. Submit them here or tweet them using the hashtag #CNNTownHall.

Where can I watch it?

The town hall will air exclusively on CNN, CNN International, across mobile devices via CNN's apps for iOS and Android, via CNNgo apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast and Android TV, SiriusXM Channels 116, 454, 795 and the Westwood One Radio Network.

2:49 a.m. ET, March 6, 2020

The US isn't ready for a massive outbreak, experts warn

CNN's town hall is now turning to the question of what an epidemic would look like in the United States.

A moderate scenario might be a million hospitalizations — meaning 200,000 people would need to be in the intensive care unit, and 64,000 people would need breathing machines, said CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta.

The question: "We don't have all that. We have maybe just barely that. And many of those ventilators and breathing machines are currently being used. What are we going to do if that many people actually need care like that?" Gupta said.

The answer: "It's one area where the response has been laggard," responded Ron Klein, President Barack Obama's Ebola response coordinator.

"Getting our health care system ready for the influx of cases is something we should be doing now. We saw in China they built temporary hospitals. They really flexed up their capacity," he said.

Klein went on to make this crucial point:

"It's not just the people who get coronavirus are going to be affected by this. If hospital emergency rooms are overwhelmed, if doctors and nurses treating those people get sick and staffing drops at our hospitals, if we don't have enough beds, people with other illnesses won't be able to get into the hospital and get treatment. People with routine medical conditions won't be able to get treatment. The possible impact on our health care system is something we should be using this time, as cases ramp up, to get ready for."

Watch:

2:49 a.m. ET, March 6, 2020

Town hall: Japan faces calls to cancel the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

People wear masks near the Olympics rings in Tokyo's Daiba waterfront area on Thursday, March 5.
People wear masks near the Olympics rings in Tokyo's Daiba waterfront area on Thursday, March 5. Kyodo News/Sipa USA

CNN Correspondent Will Ripley is joining the town hall to bring us the latest on the situation in Japan -- where a debate is ongoing on the future of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

"This has not been a great week for organizers of Tokyo 2020 and the International Olympic Committee because Japan saw the case numbers rise over 1,000," said Ripley. "You have infectious diseases experts saying that the number could be 10 times the official report because of the fact this country's testing so few people."

Will the Games be canceled? Not yet -- despite calls to do so.

"You have Olympics organizers saying that they're still proceeding as if they're going to deliver the games on schedule at the end of July. But a growing number of people are questioning whether it's going to be safe to do that, given that you have people from 200-plus countries scheduled to come from all over the world, living in close quarters for a period of weeks then going back to their countries," Ripley said.

The question of a pandemic: "The big concern is if this outbreak continues to intensify, if it becomes a pandemic by summer, will they be able to hold the Games? Right now, there isn't an answer to that question."

Watch:

10:52 p.m. ET, March 5, 2020

Maryland declares state of emergency over coronavirus

The northeastern US state of Maryland has joined California and Washington in declaring an emergency over the coronavirus, after the first cases were confirmed there Thursday.

"In order to further mobilize all available state resources in response to this threat to public health, I have issued a proclamation declaring a state of emergency in Maryland," Governor Larry Hogan said in a statement. "With this declaration, I am officially authorizing and directing the Maryland Department of Health and the Maryland Emergency Management Agency to ramp up coordination among all state and local agencies and enable them to fast-track coordination with our state and local health departments and emergency management teams."

Three positive cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Montgomery County on Thursday. The county is Maryland's most populous, and borders Washington, DC. The patients, who contracted the virus while traveling overseas, are in good condition and are in quarantine at their homes, the state government said.

"While today’s news may seem overwhelming, this is not a reason to panic," Hogan said. "Marylanders should go to work or go to school tomorrow just as they normally would. At the same time, I want to continue to remind everyone to prepare themselves and continue to stay informed. I am confident in our state’s ability to respond effectively to these three cases of coronavirus as well as to any future cases, and to be a national leader in responding to this situation and in developing treatments and perhaps even a vaccine."
2:48 a.m. ET, March 6, 2020

Without widespread coronavirus testing, it is unclear what the fatality rate may be in US

More testing is needed to determine what the fatality rate may be in the US from the coronavirus, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Fauci's answer was prompted by a question from CNN's Anderson Cooper tonight during its global town hall tonight.

"There is a segment of the group — we don't know how large it is — who are without symptoms and are not getting counted in the calculation. And that's why the point you make is very valid. Until we have a much more accurate determination of who is infected, including those who are asymptomatic, we will not get a more accurate determination of what the case fatality rate is," Fauci said.
2:48 a.m. ET, March 6, 2020

Town hall: More than 150,000 people have been tested in South Korea

Medical staff members wait for people with suspected symptoms of the novel coronavirus, at a testing facility in Seoul on Wednesday, March 4.
Medical staff members wait for people with suspected symptoms of the novel coronavirus, at a testing facility in Seoul on Wednesday, March 4. Jung Yeon-je/AFP/Getty Images

CNN Corespondent Ivan Watson is in Seoul, South Korea, bringing the latest developments there to the ongoing town hall.

"The confirmed number of infections has crossed the 6,200 mark with at least 42 people who have died as a result of the disease. More than 70% of the infections have originated around the southern Korean city of Daegu," Watson said.

Some context: Daegu is where the Shincheonji religious group is based -- more than half of all cases nationwide have links to the group. Daegu is also near where a US soldier, his wife, and child were infected.

Aggressive testing: "More than 150,000 tests have been conducted since the virus first appeared here, and the authorities are working so hard to expedite this. There are even drive-through testing facilities to speed up the process and to limit the exposure of doctors and nurses to potential carriers," Watson said.

To put that into perspective: About 1,500 people have been tested for coronavirus in the US so far, said CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta -- "a magnitude of difference."

10:53 p.m. ET, March 5, 2020

China reports 30 new coronavirus deaths, bringing global total to over 3,380

From CNN’s Shanshan Wang in Beijing

The death toll from the coronavirus has increased by 30 in mainland China, bringing the total number of fatalities in the country to 3,042, according to China’s National Health Commission.

Confirmed cases in mainland China increased by 143 on Thursday, 126 of which were in Hubei province -- ground zero for the outbreak. That means there were 17 new cases reported in China outside of Hubei, according to the NHC.

The total number of confirmed cases in mainland China is now 80,552, bringing the global total to 97,852, according to CNN's tally.

The NHC added that a total of 53,726 patients across mainland China have recovered and been discharged from hospital.

There have been at least 341 deaths reported outside of mainland China, raising the global death toll to 3,383.

Here's where those deaths have been reported:

  • Italy: 148 deaths
  • Iran: 107
  • South Korea: 42
  • Japan: 12
  • United States: 12
  • France: 7
  • Spain: 3
  • Hong Kong: 2
  • Iraq: 2

Taiwan, Australia, Thailand, the Philippines, Switzerland and the United Kingdom have each reported 1 death.

2:48 a.m. ET, March 6, 2020

Town hall: What's the situation in the UK?

CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour is tuning into the town hall from London, where she's been covering the outbreak in the UK.

"Here they were talking about containment. Now the chief medical officer says they are moving into the so-called second phase, which is control. And then there is research and mitigate. But that's what's happening right now," Amanpour said.

Shortages: "There is a national shortage of nurses," she said. "Testing kits are in short supply, not only here but around the world."

Preventative measures: "There is a sense that they might have to go into methods such as controlling how people work, keep them at home more. And it's called social mitigation. So also as you were talking about how do people deal with each other, social distancing, for instance. There is a huge amount of talk about should people shake hands, should they hug, kiss."

"The main advice that people here are being given is wash your hands, and wash them over and over again. And if you use sanitizer, use something that's at least 60% alcohol contained."

2:48 a.m. ET, March 6, 2020

Town hall: What's the situation in China right now?

David Culver, CNN's China correspondent speaks via video feed during the town hall.
David Culver, CNN's China correspondent speaks via video feed during the town hall. CNN

David Culver, CNN's China correspondent, is weighing in at the town hall on the situation in China. He is calling in from Shanghai.

"We've seen these fluctuations going up and down (in case numbers)," Culver said. "It seems in Shanghai things are under control. You look at the numbers in Hubei (province), it's rather intense. Tens of thousands of people have been impacted by this and thousands have died."

What it's like in Hubei: "We talked to folks an hour or so ago, I was on the phone with one resident checking in. They cannot leave their homes. They're sealed within their residential complexes. Basic necessities come to them. Outside of that, here in Shanghai, a lot more flexibility and freedom to move around," Culver said.

Is the data trustworthy? "We've been asking that question, too," Culver said.

"We were hearing on the ground from folks who said, 'We know we might have it because our loved ones have been confirmed. We're experienced the same symptoms, yet testing has been delayed. It's not coming through.'"

On testing: "We can say that the federal government here, the central government under President Xi Jinping, they have moved forward with getting a lot of those test kits to where they need to be and it seems as though they are coming to a place where they are being readily available," said Culver.