March 12 coronavirus news

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has announced that the annual Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments have been canceled due to coronavirus concerns.

Here's what the NCAA said in a statement:

The announcement also means sports like golf, lacrosse, tennis and the College World Series would also be canceled.

US stocks recorded their worst day since the 1987 crash Thursday, on rising fears about the coronavirus pandemic. 

Wall Street officially fell into a bear market with the S&P 500 dropping more than 20% from its February 19 peak. The Dow, a smaller index than the S&P, fell into a bear market Wednesday.

The S&P 500 closed down 9.5%. It was its worst day since October 19, 1987, known as “Black Monday.”

The index dropped 7% in the first minutes of trading, which triggered a circuit breaker and led the New York Stocks Exchange to suspend trading for 15 minutes.

The Dow finished 2,352 points, or nearly 10%, lower in its biggest one-day percentage drop since “Black Monday.” The index is now at a level not seen since summer 2017.

The Nasdaq Composite closed down 9.4%. It is now also in a bear market.

New York City has declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak, Mayor Bill de Blasio said moments ago at a news conference.

“The last 24-hours have been very very sobering,” de Blasio said.

The city of Miami Beach has declared a state of emergency, Mayor Dan Gelber said at a news conference.

Gelber said restaurants will remain open but that he is discouraging people from visiting Miami Beach and encouraging social-distancing guidelines issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

President Trump is telling people close to him that he is indeed concerned about coming into contact with people who have contracted coronavirus, including a Brazilian official who tested positive after coming face-to-face with him at Mar-a-Lago, a source close to the President said.

“He is very concerned about all the people he met who have it including the Brazilian,” the source said.

Earlier today in the Oval Office the President insisted he is not concerned about being exposed. 

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham later issued a statement saying, "Both the President and Vice President had almost no interactions with the individual who tested positive and do not require being tested at this time."

The source did not know whether the President has been tested or not. 

Israeli airline El Al announced that it is suspending most of its operations beginning this Sunday, the company said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

The airline will maintain connections to New York, Newark, Toronto, London, Paris and Johannesburg, but flights to other locations, such as Moscow, Mumbai, and most destinations in Europe will be suspended.

The statement made no mention of when flights may resume.

Greece will close all of its courts and entertainment venues for at least two weeks, the health ministry said today.

This includes:

There were 18 new cases diagnosed today, bringing the total number to 117 cases. 

There are at least 1,459 cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States, according to the state and local health agencies, governments and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the CDC, there are 70 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 1,389 cases in 46 states and the District of Columbia, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases to 1,459. In total, 39 people have died. 

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

Live entertainment organizers are collectively postponing concerts and other events through the end of March. This includes concerts presented by Live Nation, AEG and talent agency Elite.

A task force with representatives from the top executives managing the events and the star performers is working to ensure a unified response to the coronavirus outbreak, according to a statement from Live Nation.