March 10 coronavirus news

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Panama has reported its first coronavirus death, according to a statement from the Health Ministry. 

The patient that died was a 64-year-old male who had also suffered from diabetic complications and bacterial pneumonia.

The Big East Conference has announced that their plans to conduct the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden will proceed as scheduled this week. 

The Big East says that the New York City Department of Health and the New York City Office of Emergency Management are not recommending cancellation of large gatherings in New York City at this time, but that the Big East will remain in contact with those agencies.

The games are scheduled for March 11-14.

An Italian woman has been unable to leave her apartment where her husband’s dead body is being kept due to quarantine restrictions, Giancarlo Canepa, mayor of Borghetto Santo Spirito, told CNN Tuesday.

The husband, who had tested positive for coronavirus previously, died Monday at 2 a.m. local time. 

“Yes, it is true she is still there with the body and we won’t be able to remove it until Wednesday morning,“ the mayor said. Canepa said quarantine protocol states that no one is allowed to approach the body.

“Unfortunately, we have a security protocol we must follow,” he said. The mayor also said that the man refused to be taken to the local hospital for recovery, which led to this situation. “Otherwise, this wouldn’t have happened,” he said.

The story made headlines in Italy as stories emerged of the wife’s despair at remaining locked up with her husband’s dead body for hours on end.

Local television station IVG.IT posted video interviews with the woman’s neighbors who had just found out that their neighbor had passed away.

“Right now the most important thing is to think about this lady, alone with the body of her husband… No one can come close to help her nor comfort her. We hope this is quickly resolved. Our thoughts are with her and on what she is living through,” the neighbor said on video and whose name was not made public.

IVG.IT reported that the man’s family members are desperate and that his widow has been crying for help from her balcony.

Schools in the University of California (UC) system are canceling in-person classes and transitioning to online classes due to coronavirus, according to the universities’ websites.

The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) will suspend in-person classes and transition to online platforms through April 10, the end of the second week of spring quarter. Final exams will be offered remotely, and nonessential gatherings of more than 100 people will be canceled, the university announced. UCLA’s university housing will remain open through spring break for those who need it.

Final exams for winter quarter at the University of California Riverside will not be held in-person. Classes for spring quarter will be online through April 3, the university said. Instructors should prepare to continue online instruction through the remainder of the quarter as needed, UCR added.

The University of California Santa Barbara is transitioning to remote instruction for the remainder of winter quarter and the start of spring quarter through at least the end of April, the university said. They are also recommending students traveling for spring break to be prepared for possibly remaining away from campus through the month of April.

The University of California Davis is also canceling in-person final exams next week and is urging all events with more than 150 people to be canceled or postponed. While UC Davis has not officially canceled in-person classes this week, they strongly encouraged faculty to go online. 

CNN has previously reported changes made at UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley, and UC San Diego.

Portugal is suspending all flights to Italy for a period of 14 days, ANAC, Portugal’s Civil Aviation Regulator, said in a statement on Tuesday.

The order will become effective on March 11, ANAC said.

Chile announced a new measure to quarantine people entering the country from Spain and Italy, according to Health Minister Jaime Mañalich.

During a news conference in Santiago Tuesday, Mañalich said people coming to Chile from Spain and Italy would be required to complete a 14-day period of isolation from their home.

The health minister also confirmed that medical care will be provided to those in need during the isolation period.

The Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals have been postponed until October due to the threat of novel coronavirus, concert prompter Goldenvoice announced Tuesday evening.

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival will now take place on October 9, 10, 11 and October 16, 17 and 18.

Stagecoach will take place on October 23, 24 and 25.

Goldenvoice said all purchases for the April dates will be honored for the rescheduled October dates and purchasers will be notified by Friday on how to obtain a refund if they are unable to attend.

Nadine Dorries, the UK's junior health minister, has tested positive for coronavirus, UK Department of Health told CNN on Tuesday.

Dorries, who is an MP and health minister for patient safety and suicide prevention, is now in self-isolation and "the usual contract tracing has begun," a spokesperson for the health ministry told CNN. 

UK health minister Matt Hancock tweeted about Dorries, saying: "Really sorry to hear Nadine has tested positive for coronavirus. She has done the right thing by self isolating at home, and both NHS and PHE staff have been brilliant. We all wish her well as she recovers."