Summary:
- New Jersey confirms first presumptive case
- NYC reports 2 more cases, raising total to 4
- Italy postpones referendum vote
- New Delhi closes primary schools
- Beijing tells residents not to share food
- 30-year-old Chinese man dies in Wuhan 5 days after hospital discharge
- Cali authorities tell 'Grand Princess' cruise ship not to return to port until everyone is tested
- Global case total passes 95k
- Trump says he has a "hunch" true virus mortality rate is closer to 1%
- Switzerland reports 1st death
- UK chief medical officer confirms 'human-to-human' infections are happening in UK
- Google, Apple, Netflix cancel events
- HSBC sends research department and part of London trading floor home
- Facebook contract infected in Seattle
- Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Netflix cancel events and/or ask employees to work from home
- Netherlands cases double to 82
- Spain cases climb 40, 1 new death
- Belgium reports 27 new cases bringing total to 50
- Germany adds 87 cases bringing total to 349
* * *
Update (0920ET): Two Italian Red Crossvolunteers have tested positive while another 140 have been deemed "at risk" for infection. Trump "Iran whisperer" Brian Hook said Thursday that Iran had rejected the State Department's offer of assistance.
Meanwhile, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio has shared some more details about the two new cases confirmed in New York, including confirming that investigators haven't been able to trace the source of the infection, suggesting that an uncontained outbreak is already underway in NYC.
There are two new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New York City. One new patient is a man in his 40s, and one new patient is a woman in her 80s.
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) March 5, 2020
Neither patient has a connection to travel nor any of the other local individuals diagnosed with COVID-19.
* * *
Update (0850ET): Yesterday, we pointed out that the first fatality reported in California appeared to be the same patient - a 71-year-old man - whom state officials had said recently traveled aboard a cruise ship called the "Grand Princess". The ship, which was ironically on its way to dock in San Francisco at the time, was ordered to remain offshore. According to USA Today, officials confirmed on Wednesday that the ship will not return to port until testing of everyone on board can be carried out.
And just like that, the US has its own cruise ship emergency, though it appears authorities are learning from the mistakes made by Japanese health officials during the 'Diamond Princess' fiasco (to be sure, the US clearly violated quarantine by transporting sick passengers back to the US).
Gov. Newsom said the state would scramble to...