March 3 coronavirus news

By Joshua Berlinger, Jessie Yeung, Adam Renton, Mike Hayes, Meg Wagner and Amir Vera, CNN

Updated 9:23 p.m. ET, March 2, 2020

12 Posts

Sort by

12:02 a.m. ET, March 2, 2020

Seoul city government files homicide complaint against religious group's leaders

From CNN's Yoonjung Seo and Jessie Yeung

Workers spray disinfectant in front of a branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu, South Korea, on March 1. Lee Moo-ryul/Newsis via AP

The Seoul city government has filed a legal complaint against the leaders of a religious group at the heart of the South Korean coronavirus outbreak, on charges including homicide, the city announced in a news release today.

About 60% of all cases nationwide have links to the Shincheonji religious group and its branch in the southern city of Daegu. Many have accused the group of withholding information, hampering official investigations, or discouraging preventative measures like wearing masks -- allegations the group and its leaders have denied.

The legal complaint specifically focused on the group's founder, Lee Man-hee, and 12 other leaders, on charges of homicide, resulting injuries, and violating the Infectious Disease and Control Act. The Seoul government filed the complaint to South Korea’s prosecutors’ office on Sunday evening local time, the release said.

The news release claims that the leaders are "refusing to be tested," and that they omitted members' names in a list of attendees submitted to health authorities, which equated submitting "false information and hampering the government's work."
"These acts justify homicide and resulting injury according to the criminal laws," said the release.

What Shincheonji has said: The group and its leaders have denied obstructing government investigations, insisting they have been transparent and cooperative.

The group said it had submitted a full list of attendees to the government, and that any delays or omissions were due to administrative difficulties as everyone was working from home to avoid possible infection.

11:42 p.m. ET, March 1, 2020

Korea reports 476 new coronavirus cases, raising total to 4,212

From CNN's Yoonjung Seo in Seoul and Akanksha Sharma in Hong Kong

A worker sprays disinfectant at a department store in Seoul, South Korea on March 2. Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

South Korea has reported another 476 cases of the novel coronavirus, raising the national total to 4,212, the South Korean Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said today.

The death toll in the country now stands at 22.

Among the additional cases, 377 are from the southern city Daegu, and 68 are from North Gyeongsang province surrounding Daegu.

Daegu city accounts for 73% of all cases nationwide. When combined, North Gyeongsang and Daegu make up 88% of all cases.

The youngest confirmed patient is a 45-day-old baby, the KCDC said on Sunday.

More than half of the cases in the country are linked to a branch of the Shincheonji religious group in Daegu.

11:27 p.m. ET, March 1, 2020

89 coronavirus patients have been identified in the United States

From CNN's Hollie Silverman

A total of 89 cases of the novel coronavirus have been reported in the United States, as of Sunday night Eastern time. Two have been killed by the virus, both in Washington state.

Here's the breakdown:

44 passengers repatriated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.
3 repatriated from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak.
42 who were detected and tested on US soil:
19 travel-related
19 person-to-person
4 undetermined (1 in Illinois, 1 in California and 2 in Washington)

Here's a state-by-state breakdown of the cases identified within the US:

California: 16
Washington: 13, including 2 deaths
Illinois: 3
Florida: 2
Oregon: 2
Rhode Island: 2
Arizona: 1
Massachusetts: 1
New York: 1
Wisconsin: 1

Read more about the US cases here.

11:18 p.m. ET, March 1, 2020

Italy reports a 50% increase in confirmed coronavirus cases

From CNN's Jay Croft

People stand outside of La Scala theatre, which was closed for coronavirus concerns, in Milan on February 24. Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images

Italy reported a 50% increase in coronavirus cases Sunday, as the US further restricted travel and the famed La Scala opera house closed its doors until March 8.

Italy's Civil Protection Authority reported the country now has 1,694 confirmed coronavirus cases, up from 1,128 confirmed cases on Saturday. Thirty-four people have died.

Italy has the most coronavirus cases of any country outside of Asia.

Delta Air Lines is suspending its US flights to Milan, the carrier announced Sunday. The last flight out will be depart New York on Monday. The last return flight will be on Tuesday.

Delta said it will resume flights to Milan on May 1. Rome flights are not affected.

Read more:

Italy reports a 50% increase in confirmed coronavirus cases

10:56 p.m. ET, March 1, 2020

Religious group at center of South Korea outbreak denies responsibility for spike in infections

From CNN's Paula Hancocks and Yoonjung Seo in Seoul and Jessie Yeung in Hong Kong

Kim Shin-chang, the director of international missions for the Shincheonji religious group, told CNN Sunday that members had been fully transparent and cooperative with authorities in trying to contain the outbreak.

Kim has denied responsibility for the recent spike in infections, saying authorities were trying to "exaggerate" its involvement to shift blame.

Kim told CNN there were 357 Shincheonji members based in Wuhan. He said that while the group didn't have official travel records for all its members, "we have no record" of any coming from Wuhan into South Korea since November.

He said the outbreak began in December -- so there was no need to check members' travel history from July.

"It makes me wonder if they are trying to exaggerate the link or possibly move the responsibility to Shincheonji," he said. "I would like to ask the Ministry of Justice why they did not check all Chinese and Korean citizens (traveling) from Wuhan since July, and why they only released the number of 42 (Shincheonji) members."

The Ministry of Justice said it had pulled the immigration records from July on request of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). CNN has reached out to KCDC for comment.

Read more:

Shincheonji director denies responsibility for South Korea coronavirus infections

10:42 p.m. ET, March 1, 2020

Florida, Oregon and Rhode Island identify new presumptive positive coronavirus cases

From CNN's Rosa Flores, Devon Sayers and Hollie Silverman

Florida, Oregon and Rhode Island have identified new presumptive positive coronavirus cases, health authorities in those states said.

The case in Oregon is the second presumptive positive in that state. It involves a Washington County resident who is an adult household contact of the first presumptive positive case.

"My thoughts are with the Oregonians who have contracted this virus, as well as their families. The developments of the last 48 hours in Oregon and across the globe are concerning, and we are taking this extremely seriously," Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said in a statement.

The patient in Rhode Island is a female teenager who is at home with mild symptoms. She is the second case identified in the state. The first is a man in his 40s.

Both of them went on a trip to Europe organized by Saint Raphael Academy, a school in the city of Pawtucket.

All 38 people who attended the trip will self-monitor for symptoms at home for 14 days with public health supervision. They have been instructed to not go to school or work and to remain at home for the two-week period.

The school will be closed for the remainder of this week.

Florida's Department of Health announced that state's two new presumptive positive cases on Twitter. The governor, Ron DeSantis has declared a public health emergency to combat the virus' spread.

"The dedicated professionals at our county health departments, as well as those working at local medical providers, are well equipped to address these and future cases. State Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees has taken appropriate, decisive action to help affect the best possible outcomes, and I will continue directing our state agencies to do whatever is necessary to prioritize the health and well-being of Florida residents,” DeSantis said.

10:25 p.m. ET, March 1, 2020

Asian markets are rebounding as coronavirus cases mount

From CNN's Clare Duffy in New York and Jill Disis in Hong Kong

An electric board shows Nikkei Stock Average in Chuo, Tokyo on March 2.

Global markets are rebounding a little on Monday after the novel coronavirus outbreak sent stocks into a downward spiral last week.

Markets in the Asia Pacific region mostly started the day lower, but almost all major indexes are starting to trend positive. Japan's Nikkei 225 (N225) was last up 0.6%, reversing earlier losses. South Korea's Kospi (KOSPI) inched up 0.3%, also creeping out of negative territory.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (HSI) and China's Shanghai Composite (SHCOM) were each higher in early trading. The Hang Seng climbed 0.5%, while the Shanghai Composite was last up more than 1%.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 1.8% by early afternoon in Sydney. The index had been down roughly 3% in the morning, though.

US stock futures also began trending higher as Asia started trading. Dow (INDU) futures, which at one point plunged more than 500 points Sunay night, were last up 122 points, or 0.5%. S&P 500 (INX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were also slightly higher, reversing losses.

Read more:

Asian markets are rebounding as coronavirus cases mount

10:16 p.m. ET, March 1, 2020

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio says city is ready after first coronavirus case confirmed

In this file photo, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at a press conference on January 3 in New York City. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said his city is "ready to respond" as a first coronavirus case was identified in Manhattan.

De Blasio tweeted the announcement Sunday, shortly after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that New York had identified its first novel coronavirus patient. The patient is a woman in her late 30s, who contracted the virus while traveling in Iran. She is currently isolated in her Manhattan home, according to the New York State Department of Health.

"From the beginning, we have said it was a matter of when, not if, there would be a positive case of coronavirus in New York," de Blasio said. "Our health authorities have been in a state of high alert for weeks, and are fully prepared to respond."

10:07 p.m. ET, March 1, 2020

4 new coronavirus cases in Washington state are connected to a nursing home linked to two previous infections

From CNN's Hollie Silverman

Medical workers take a stretcher into the Life Care Center of Kirkland in Washington on February 29.

Four new presumptive positive cases of the novel coronavirus were detected in a single facility in Washington state's King County, authorities said.

The four patients are residents of Life Care Center nursing home in the city of Kirkland, the county public health authority said in a news release. Of those four patients, one has died. All were being held at the same hospital, EvergreenHealth, in Kirkland.

The county identified the four cases as:

A woman in her 80s with underlying health conditions and in critical condition
A woman in her 90s with underlying health conditions and in critical condition
A man in his 70s with underlying health conditions and in critical condition
A man in his 70s who had underlying health conditions and died on Saturday

Two previous cases, one resident and one associate were reported at that facility Saturday.

To date, 10 coronavirus cases have been identified in King County and 12 total cases in Washington.

US deaths: Two deaths linked to the coronavirus have now been reported in the United States, both in Washington state. The first patient to die was a man in his 50s with underlying health conditions.