As a virus epidemic appeared to be subsiding in China, where it first emerged nearly three months ago, the outbreak has found a strong foothold in Italy and other countries.
With more than 10,000 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, Italy now has the highest national total behind China, which has reported over 80,000 confirmed infections. The Italian government has put the entire country on lockdown in an effort to contain the newly identified virus, known officially as COVID-19.
Tune into ABC News Live at noon ET every weekday for the latest news, context and analysis on the novel coronavirus, with the full ABC News team where we will try to answer your questions about the virus.
Today's biggest developments:
Here is how the news unfolded on Tuesday. All times eastern.
A person in their 90s with an underlying health condition and living in a nursing facility in Sacramento County, California, has died, according to county health officials.
"We will all work to protect our most vulnerable residents from exposure to communicable diseases,” Sacramento County Department of Health Services Director Dr. Peter Beilenson said in a statement.
"When a nursing home facility has an outbreak, regardless if it is flu, norovirus or COVID-19, Sacramento County Public Health immediately begins the investigation process to follow the communicable disease exposure of others, and will monitor or isolate those individuals until they are no longer contagious,” he added.
The death is the 30th in the United States, according to ABC News' count. It is the third death in California.
The U.K.'s health minister has tested positive for novel coronavirus after first showing symptoms Thursday.
Nadine Dorries, a Conservative Party MP from Liverpool, has been self-isolating since Friday, though she attended an event with Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the day she started feeling ill.
Thanks for so many good wishes. It’s been pretty rubbish but I hope I’m over the worst of it now. More worried about my 84yo mum who is staying with me and began with the cough today. She is being tested tomorrow. Keep safe and keep washing those hands, everyone.
— Nadine Dorries 🇬🇧 (@NadineDorries) March 10, 2020
Music festivals Coachella and Stagecoach will be rescheduled over coronavirus concerns, according to a statement from events company Goldenvoice.
Coachella will now take place from Oct. 9 to 11 and Oct. 16 to 18, while Stagecoach will take place from Oct. 23 to 25.
Ticket holders will be notified by Friday on how to obtain a refund if they are unable to attend.
There have been six diagnosed cases of coronavirus in Riverside County, California, where the festivals take place, according to health officials.
Google is asking employees in North America to work remotely amid the COVID-19 outbreak -- if their work allows.
The offices will remain open to those whose positions require them to come in, but the goal is to reduce the density of people in the office, according to a Google spokesperson.
Google's headquarters are in Mountain View, California, but they also have large offices in New York City and around the country.
Target is looking to prevent panic-buying during the coronavirus outbreak by limiting the number of items each customer can buy.
"As demand for cleaning products, medicine, pantry stock-up items and more remains high, we’re sending more products to our stores as quickly as possible," a statement from CEO Brian Cornell read. "And this weekend, we started to limit the number of key items per purchase, which will allow more guests to get what they need."
The statement did not detail what the limit for certain items would be.
The NCAA is assessing how the coronavirus outbreak will affect upcoming events.
A decision will be made in the coming days after the NCAA consults with public health officials and its COVID-19 advisory panel, according to a statement.
The men's basketball March Madness tournament is currently scheduled to begin on March 17.
The opening round games are played in Dayton, Ohio, where Gov. Mike DeWine said earlier Tuesday, "For indoor events, we are asking for no events with spectators other than the athletes, parents, and others essential to the game."
The Caribbean Princess, the cruise ship ordered to remain off the coast of Florida by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Department of Health & Human Services, has now been cleared to dock after two crew members tested negative for coronavirus.
The crew members previously served on the Grand Princess, the ship in which multiple U.S. citizens who have tested positive for the virus were staying on, according to a letter sent to passengers obtained by ABC News. However, the workers were past the 14-day incubation period and were not showing any symptoms, the letter stated.
Three guests were medically evacuated from the ship for reasons unrelated to COVID-19, according to Princess Cruises.
MGM Resorts will stop operating its buffet service at seven properties in Las Vegas to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The buffets at ARIA, Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Luxor and Excalibur will be closed starting Sunday, MGM Resorts Director of Media Relations Brian Ahern said in a statement.
"These changes are temporary and will be evaluated on a weekly basis," Ahern said.
Joe Biden's campaign joined Bernie Sanders in also canceling his rally scheduled in Cleveland Tuesday night.
"In accordance with guidance from public officials and out of an abundance of caution, our rally in Cleveland, Ohio tonight is cancelled," said Communications Director and Deputy Campaign Manager Kate Bedingfield. "We will continue to consult with public health officials and public health guidance and make announcements about future events."
In accordance with guidance from public officials and out of an abundance of caution, our rally in Cleveland, Ohio tonight is cancelled. We will continue to consult with public health officials and public health guidance and make announcements about future events 1/
— Kate Bedingfield (@KBeds) March 10, 2020
Six states hold primaries or caucuses on Tuesday, and Biden may still address the media despite canceling the rally.
A man in his 80s is the latest patient in Washington state to die after contracting COVID-19, according to state officials.
The patient was a resident of Ida Culver House, was hospitalized at University of Washington Medical Center and died on Monday.
Of the 29 people to die of the coronavirus in the U.S., 24 deaths have occurred in Washington state.
At least 70 cases of coronavirus in the state of Massachusetts are connected to the same employee conference, according to state officials.
The conference for biotechnology company Biogen took place last month.
State data lists one confirmed case and 92 presumptive positive cases in the state.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency Tuesday.
The Bernie Sanders campaign has canceled a rally scheduled in Cleveland for Tuesday night after receiving recommendations from officials.
"Out of concern for public health and safety, we are canceling tonight’s rally in Cleveland," campaign communications director Mike Casca said in a statement. "We are heeding the public warnings from Ohio state officials, who have communicated concern about holding large, indoor events during the coronavirus outbreak. Sen. Sanders would like to express his regret to the thousands of Ohioans who had planned to attend the event tonight."
All future events will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, according to Sanders campaign.
Primaries or caucuses are being held in Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota and Washington on Tuesday.
An employee of a Waffle House in Georgia has tested positive for the coronavirus.
The restaurant, located at 1849 Marietta Highway in Canton, has been temporarily closed, Waffle House said in a statement.
The employee has not worked since March 1 and has been released from the hospital under quarantine.
Other employees were instructed to self-quarantine at their homes. None have shown any signs of illnesses, according to Waffle House.
A Barclays trader has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the banking company.
The employee works on the New York trading floor and has been self-quarantined since March 3, a spokesperson for Barclays said.
The premises has been "thoroughly cleaned," and colleagues and clients who had had close contact with the employee have been identified, the company said.
The capacity to test a vast number of people for coronavirus does not yet exist, Dr. Todd Ellerin, chief of infectious diseases at South Shore Health in Weymouth, Massachusetts, told ABC News.
According to Ellerin, hundreds of thousands more people should be tested, but state labs don't have "the ability to process an unlimited number of tests."
"And the number of patients with flu-like illness who are testing negative for flu and negative for the respiratory virus panel far exceeds what that capacity is," Ellerin said.
This means those patients cannot be ruled out for coronavirus, but without a confirmation they’re left in limbo.
President Donald Trump said that while he "would" get tested for coronavirus, he doesn't think it's a "big deal" because he "feels extremely good" and hasn't exhibited any symptoms.
"I feel very good, but I guess it's not a big deal to get tested," Trump told reporters outside Capitol Hill Tuesday afternoon. "It is something I would do, but again, I spoke to the White House doctor -- terrific guy, talented guy. He said there is no reason to do it."
Trump said that he believes the U.S. has "done a very good job on testing."
"When people need a test, they can get a test," he said. "When the professionals need to test more people they can get the tests."
Nearly 5,000 Americans have been tested for the virus, according to an ABC News count
A total of 631 people in Italy have died from the coronavirus, 168 of whom succumbed to the illness in the last 24 hours, according to the country's civil protection department.
More than 10,000 people have tested positive for the virus in Italy.
The death tolls in Iran and South Korea stand at 291 and 54, respectively.
1:25 p.m. Another nursing home death occurs in Washington state
A second nursing home in Washington has announced an outbreak of COVID-19, which has resulted in a death.
The Issaquah Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in King County confirmed that a resident who tested positive for the virus last week has died. Five residents and two employees who tested positive are currently being quarantined.
Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee has announced new measures to protect vulnerable residents from coronavirus after an overwhelming majority of deaths in the U.S. have occurred in the state.
Residents of nursing homes and long-term health care facilities will be limited to one visitor a day, and the visits will be required to take place in a designated room, Inslee said. In addition, visitors must be screened for the virus, as well as employees and volunteers at the beginning and end of every shift.
Of the 28 people who have died in the U.S. from the virus, 23 of those deaths occurred in Washington, the majority of whom were residents of the Life Care Center in King County.
A 69-year-old man from Bergen County, New Jersey, has become the state's first patient to die from the coronavirus.
The man fell ill last week and has a history of diabetes, hypertension and emphysema, Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli told reporters at a news conference Tuesday. He suffered cardiac arrest on Monday, was successfully revived, but suffered another heart attack Tuesday morning and died.
The man did not have any recent travel outside the country but would travel to and from New York City, Persichilli said.
A 1-mile containment area has been set up in New Rochelle, New York, due to the cluster of coronavirus infections that have taken place in the city, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday.
The National Guard will deliver food and clean schools in the zone during the containment period, which will last two weeks, Cuomo said.
All schools in the area will close, and large gatherings have been canceled.
People can go in and out of the containment zone, and small businesses can remain open, Cuomo said.
Labs such as LabCorps and Quest Diagnostics are now ready to process samples for coronavirus tests, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield told lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday.
Anyone can now go to any health care provider that uses LabCorps or Quest Diagnostics and request a coronavirus test, Redfield said. Public health labs have tested 4,856 people so far.
The CDC hopes to aggregate data from all the labs to start tracking how many Americans have been tested, Redfield said.
U.S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral Daniel Abel told lawmakers on Tuesday the risk that the novel coronavirus poses to cargo entering American seaports remains low.
The Coast Guard is currently allowing cargo ships that may have been impacted by the virus outbreak to dock and unload goods, but crew members are required to stay on board.
"We have not seen a huge threat vector, disease wise, from cargo," Abel said in an hearing before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. "On the cargo side, we have not seen substantial risk."
The Coast Guard regularly tracks all maritime traffic bound for U.S. ports, and the vice admiral told lawmakers they are currently monitoring some 3,000 vessels.
“That’s the first line of defense,” Abel said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared by more than 700 points, or 3%, at the opening of Tuesday's trading session, a sign that investors are welcoming U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge to take "major" steps to ease concerns about the economy amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also each gained about 3%.
MORE: What experts say you should do as stocks stay volatile amid coronavirusThe rally comes after financial markets suffered major losses Monday, enough to trigger a rare automatic halt to trading that morning. By closing time, the Dow was down more than 2,000 points, or 7.8%. The S&P 500 slipped 6.63% and the Nasdaq fell 7.29%.
The United Nations announced Tuesday that it will close its New York City headquarters to the general public and will limit the number of staff working in the complex amid coronavirus fears.
MORE: Coronavirus forces cultural event cancelations, postponementsThe changes will take effect at 8 p.m. local time, according to Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the U.N. secretary general.
"Out of an abundance of caution and following the decision to reduce the number of staff present in the UN Secretariat, it has been decided to close the complex to the general public and to temporarily suspend all guided tours until further notice," Dujarric said in a statement Tuesday. "As the Secretary-General has said, the health and safety of staff is a matter of his utmost priority and concern. The United Nations will continue to monitor the situation closely and further measures may be taken as circumstances evolve."
There are currently no known cases of the novel coronavirus among U.N. staff in New York, according to Dujarric.
American Airlines announced Tuesday that it will cut flights "in response to decreased travel demand due to coronavirus."
The airline said in a statement that it will reduce its domestic capacity in April by 7.5% versus the current schedule.
The airline said it will also slash its international capacity for the "summer peak" by 10%, including a 55% reduction in trans-Pacific capacity.
Delta Air Lines also announced Tuesday that it will ax flights "to address the financial impact" of the virus outbreak.
The airline said in a statement that it will decrease its domestic capacity by 10 to 15% and its international capacity by 20 to 25%.
The airline said it will also undertake cost reduction initiatives, including instituting a company-wide hiring freeze, offering voluntary leave options, parking aircraft and evaluating early retirements of older aircraft.
Last week, United Airlines and JetBlue Airways became the first airlines to cut back on U.S. flights.
United said in a statement that it plans in April to reduce its domestic capacity by 10% and its international capacity by 20%. The company is also offering employees a voluntary unpaid leave of absence and has instituted a hiring freeze through June 30, excluding those who are "critical" to the airline's operation.
JetBlue said in a statement that it will decrease capacity by 5% "in the near term," citing a fall in demand due to COVID-19. The airline said it will take additional measures "aimed at preserving cash," including a reduction in hiring. The company is also considering voluntary time-off programs.
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned that Americans should be prepared for a large-scale outbreak of the novel coronavirus on home soil.
"But that doesn't mean that they should be afraid," Adams told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos in an interview Tuesday on "Good Morning America."
"We've been here before -- H1N1, SARS, MERS," he noted. "We know how to handle this and really what we're trying to communicate to people now is how they can prepare."
Adams advised people to "know your risk," "know your circumstances," and "know the steps that you can take to prepare," such as not touching your face, not shaking anyone's hands and washing your hands frequently with soap and water for 20 seconds.
"There are things that we can do to prepare and not panic," he added. "But people should know that this is going to likely get worse before it gets better."
MORE: 5 tips for managing stress around coronavirusOriginally, over 95% of the COVID-19 cases in the U.S. were imported from China, Now, most of the cases are coming from Europe, South Korea and Iran, according to Adams.
The surgeon general said the test for the novel coronavirus put out by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a much higher quality test than others around the world, although he did admit "there were problems scaling up." The CDC expects to have sent out four million tests by the end of the week, according to Adams.
"We want to get to a place where every American can rapidly get tested if their doctor says they should get tested and can get the results back," he said. "We expect that's the case now. Over 72 state public health labs are now putting out the test."
MORE: UNICEF warns of scam coronavirus messages circulating through social mediaAdams repeatedly urged Americans to visit the website coronavirus.gov for guidelines and advice.
"We don't want folks to put themselves at any undue risk and if they don't then we can prevent the spread of coronavirus, we can tamp down the fears," he said. "We will get through this."
Most of the Californians on board the Grand Princess cruise ship, as well as most or all of the Canadian passengers, have disembarked in the port of Oakland, according to officials at the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services as well as a spokesperson for the cruise line, Princess Cruises.
The cruise ship, carrying around 3,500 people, docked in Oakland on Monday after spending several days idling off California's coast while health officials tested dozens on board for the novel coronavirus. At least 21 people have tested positive, officials said.
The disembarkation process, which officials said could take multiple days, appeared to be on track Tuesday. All passengers could be offloaded by the end of Wednesday so long as there aren't any hitches.
All those who are infected will be transported to hospitals. Passengers who aren't sick will be taken to various designated sites in the country to complete a 14-day quarantine. Crew members who aren't infected will complete their 14-day quarantine on board the ship, which will leave the port as soon as the disembarkation process is complete, officials said.
The first person to test positive for the novel coronavirus in Italy has been moved out of intensive care, marking a small victory in the country's fight against the viral outbreak.
The 38-year-old man, who has become known in Italy as Patient No. 1, began breathing on his own on Monday with only a small amount of oxygen assistance at a hospital in Pavia, a town in the virus-hit Lombardy region in northern Italy. He was subsequently transferred out of the ICU to a sub-ICU unit, Dr. Francesco Mojoli, head of intensive care, told Italian news agency ANSA.
MORE: 27 killed by alcohol poisoning in Iran trying to protect themselves from coronavirusBefore his diagnosis, the man infected several people, including his wife, who is 8-months-pregnant. His wife has been discharged from the hospital, according to ANSA.
British Airways announced it is canceling all flights to and from Italy scheduled for Tuesday.
The move comes after the Italian government issued a decree on Monday directing all 60 million residents to stay at home and not travel unless required by their work due to the viral outbreak. The nationwide restrictions, which took effect Tuesday and remain until April 3, include extending the closures of schools and universities as well as shuttering restaurants, cafes and pubs at dusk.
The U.K. government has advised citizens against all but essential travel to Italy.
MORE: Why calling out sick won't be easy for minimum wage workers amid coronavirus outbreak"In light of the Italian government's announcement and the U.K. government's official travel advice, we have contacted all customers who are due to travel today," British Airways told ABC News in a statement Tuesday. "We have updated our policy to give customers more options and flexibility. Any travelers due to fly to or from Italy between now and April 4 can rebook to a later date up until the end of May, move their destination to Geneva or Zurich or receive a full refund."
Georgia authorities are preparing a state park for isolating and monitoring people who may have been exposed to the novel coronavirus.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday night that state officials have identified Hard Labor Creek State Park in Morgan County as a location for the isolation and monitoring of patients. Once established, authorities will provide security for the location.
"Officials have already delivered and installed seven emergency trailers at the park, and related materials are en route for future use," Kemp said in a statement. "Officials are utilizing an isolated section of Hard Labor Creek State Park were emergency trailers and operations will be separated from the rest of the property."
No patients are currently scheduled to be transferred to the site.
At least 755 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in 36 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and 26 of them have died. Georgia has 17 confirmed infections so far, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
A luxury Italian cruise liner that was turned away from ports in Malaysia and Thailand due to coronavirus fears has docked in Singapore.
The Costa Fortuna berthed at the Marina Bay Cruise Center Singapore on Tuesday morning as part of a scheduled call, a spokesperson for the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore told ABC News.
Italian cruise line Costa Crociere, which operates the ship, has said there were no suspected cases of COVID-19 on board.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday visited Wuhan, the city at the center of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Chinese state media reported that Xi arrived Tuesday morning to inspect the epidemic prevention and control efforts in Hubei province and its capital city, Wuhan, while also expressing regards to frontline workers, patients and residents.
MORE: Reporter's Notebook on covering coronavirus, then living in isolationIt's the first time the president has traveled to the outbreak's epicenter since Wuhan was placed under lockdown on Jan. 23. The bulk of the 80,754 confirmed cases and 3,136 deaths reported on mainland China have been in Wuhan.
China hosts the majority of the world's cases. But the epidemic there appears to be subsiding as China's National Health Commission recorded just 19 new cases of confirmed infections on Monday, 17 of them in Wuhan.
MORE: Timeline of how coronavirus got startedFourteen makeshift hospitals that were built in Wuhan to treat patients with mild symptoms of the virus have now wrapped up operations and closed down, after discharging their last patients, according to Chinese state media.
Meanwhile, the outbreak is expanding abroad, particularly in Italy and other European countries. Globally, more than 114,000 people have been infected with COVID-19 and more than 4,000 of them have died, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering. The newly identified virus has spread to every continent except Antartica.
"Now that the virus has a foothold in so many countries, the threat of a pandemic has become very real," World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing Monday. "The great advantage we have is the decisions we all make as governments, businesses, communities, families and individuals can influence the trajectory of this epidemic."
ABC News' Clark Bentson, Guy Davies, Taylor Dunn, Anne Flaherty, Ben Gittleson, Matt Gutman, Dragana Jovanovic, Mina Kaji, Aaron Katersky, Rachel Katz, Adam Kelsey, Michael Kriesel, Bonnie Mclean, Phoebe Natanson, Quinn Owen, Abby Shalawylo, Emily Shapiro, Ben Stein, Christine Theodorou, Catherine Thorbecke, Jennifer Watts and Karson Yiu contributed to this report.
