March 22 coronavirus news

This year's Ice Hockey World Championship has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced Saturday.

The tournament had been due to take place in Switzerland in May.

IIHF President René Fasel said it was a "harsh reality to face" for international ice hockey, but one that "we must accept.”

The refund policy for ticket holders will be clarified as soon as possible, the IIHF said.

The Australian state of New South Wales will shut down all "non-essential services" in an attempt to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Essential services and stores, such as petrol stations, convenience stores and pharmacies, will remain open. The shutdown will take place over the next 48 hours.

Sydney -- Australia's biggest city -- is the capital of New South Wales.

New South Wales has 469 confirmed novel coronavirus cases, the highest of all Australian states. Australia has more than 1,000 cases of coronavirus.

South Korea has confirmed 98 new cases of coronavirus, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said on Sunday.

This brings the number of cases in the country to 8,897, with 104 deaths due to the virus.

The coronavirus death toll in Italy has risen by 793 in the past 24 hours to 4,825, the Italian Civil Protection Agency said Saturday.

That was an almost 20% on Friday’s figure and was the biggest one-day spike since the outbreak began.

The worst-affected region is Lombardy, where 3,095 people have died from the virus.

Italy's confirmed cases total rose by 6,557 to 53,578.

Higher than China: Italy's death toll is now higher than that of China, where the outbreak started.

According to China's National Health Commission, the country has had 81,054 confirmed cases and 3,261 deaths. In mainland China, 72,244 people have recovered and been discharged from hospital.

New Zealand has temporarily closed its High Commission in Barbados and its Embassy in Myanmar due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced the moves on Sunday, saying the government had made the decision based on the increasing scarcity of air links in and out of Bridgetown in Barbados and Yangon in Myanmar.

The government was also concerned about the pressure Covid-19 was putting on local health systems, Peters said.

The staff and their families will be withdrawn from both posts. The closures will be reviewed in one month.

Could there be more closures? Peters did not rule out the possibility that more diplomatic posts could be shut.

What if New Zealanders in those countries need consular assistance? If you need consular help, you can still reach out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its helpline. Find out more details here.

Australia has announced a second support package worth $38 billion to help deal with the economic impacts of the coronavirus.

In a press conference Sunday, local time, Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the new package is designed to "cushion the blow to households as a result of the coronavirus and to support businesses."

He added that the government now "expects the economic shock to be deeper, wider and longer."

Who will it benefit? Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the "safety net package" includes support for "sole-trader, retirees and those on income support," as well as assistance for businesses to keep employees. The Prime Minister added that the government is providing up to $57,900 to eligible small and medium sized businesses to help them continue operations and pay rent, bills and staff. 

The Australian government has now injected $109 billion into the economy including the new $38 billion support package announced Sunday, local time. Treasurer Frydenberg said the sum of the support packages released so far is equivalent to 9.7% of Australia's GDP.

Australia has more than 1,070 confirmed cases of coronavirus.

During game time, the parking lot at FedExField would be used to, well, park cars.

But now, the parking lot of the stadium home of NFL’s Washington Redskins will be used as a coronavirus screening site, according to the team's website.

The Washington Redskins are working with the Prince George's and Maryland Health Department to turn the lots into a community screening station.

And they've already got started. On Friday, the Maryland National Guard put up 10 tents and hand-washing stations in the parking lot.

The top four leaders of Congress will meet with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, hours before a crucial procedural vote to advance the massive stimulus bill, according to three sources with knowledge of the plans.

The meeting is in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office, and also will include House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

While negotiators are close to a deal on the Senate side, it’s still uncertain whether Pelosi will get behind it or will seek to make changes to the measure when it gets to the House.

What's in the stimulus package?

It's not clear yet, but it looks like it will be big. People directly involved in the negotiations tell CNN it could top a cost of $1.5 trillion.

Larry Kudlow, a top economic adviser to Trump, went even further in estimating the overall scope of the package Saturday, telling reporters it could top $2 trillion.

"The package is coming in about 10% of GDP, it's a very large package," Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, said. Ten percent of gross domestic product is roughly $2 trillion.

Read more about the package here.

New York City has now recorded 8,115 coronavirus cases and 60 deaths.

About 1,450 people have been hospitalized -- and at least 370 of those are in intensive care.

New York State has 12,260 coronavirus confirmed cases and 70 deaths, making it the worst-affected state in the United States.