U.S. willing to give Turkey ammunition for Syria's Idlib - Reuters

REYHANLI, Turkey (Reuters) - The United States is willing to give NATO ally Turkey ammunition alongside humanitarian assistance in northwestern Syria where Ankara is in a deepening standoff with Russia, the U.S. special representative for the region said on Tuesday.

Addressing reporters in Turkey’s border province of Hatay, James Jeffrey said the United States will ensure that U.S.-made equipment is ready for the Turkish military.

The U.S. ambassador to Turkey, David Satterfield, said at the same briefing that Washington is examining a request for air defenses.

The supportive words come as fighting intensified across the border in Syria’s Idlib region where Turkey and allied rebels are battling Russia-backed Syrian government forces. Nearly a million people have been displaced there in recent months.

“We’re willing to provide - for example the President (Trump) mentioned this - ammunition,” Jeffrey said, adding Turkish counterparts had also “very much stressed” the need for humanitarian assistance.

“Turkey is a NATO ally. We have a very, very big foreign military sales program, much of the Turkish military uses American equipment,” he said. “We will make sure that the equipment is ready. As a NATO partner we share information intelligence...and we are going to ensure that they have what they need there.”

On Tuesday in Idlib, Turkey shot down a Syrian government warplane and edged close to direct conflict with Russia in the battle over the last swathe of Syria still held by rebels after that country’s nine-year-old war.

Ankara has asked for the use of U.S. Patriot surface-to-air defenses, even though it opted to buy the Russian-made S-400 alternatives last year in a move that enraged Washington and teed up U.S. sanctions.

Satterfield said alongside Jeffrey that Washington is considering the request in the context of the S-400 purchase, without elaborating.

The United States said separately on Tuesday it would send $108 million in humanitarian aid to people in Syria.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Thursday after weeks of talks between their delegations have so far failed to agree a ceasefire.

Jeffrey said the United States is “in close consultation with the Turks (and) we are seeing what kind of diplomatic positions they will be taking when President Erdogan goes to Moscow to see President Putin.”

He called Russian policy in Idlib “totally evil”, saying its main focus is “attacking and terrorizing civilians.”

Russia on Tuesday rejected claims about refugee flows and a humanitarian crisis in the region, despite evidence on the ground and data provided by the United Nations.

Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Writing by Jonathan Spicer, Editing by William Maclean

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2020-03-03 14:17:00Z
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Coronavirus live updates: US cases surpass 100 with 6 deaths; China sees 'coming victory' - USA TODAY

John Bacon USA TODAY

Published 9:39 AM EST Mar 3, 2020

The U.S. surgeon general urged calm Tuesday as the number of coronavirus cases across the nation surged to more than 100. Six deaths have been attributed to the outbreak.

"We should be cautious and take appropriate measures to prepare and protect ourselves, but we should not be afraid," Surgeon General Jerome Adams said. "We've been through this before, and no place in the world is better prepared to handle this challenge."

Adams also – again – urged healthy people not to create a shortage on masks by stocking up on them.

"They don’t provide you respiratory protection against diseases like coronavirus," he said. "They protect others from your cough."

On Monday, Vice President Mike Pence said the U.S. outbreak includes more than 40 "domestic cases," mostly in California and Washington state, and a greater number of cases involving people who came from other countries.

Here's the latest on the outbreak of COVID-19: 

Daily coronavirus updates: Get them in your email. Sign up here

• Some schools have closed for coronavirus: Are they overreacting?
• Your questions, answered by a doctor: What are the symptoms? What should I do if I think I have coronavirus? 
• Wuhan shuts makeshift hospital: Global death count about 3,000; 2 deaths in the US
• Think you have coronavirus? Call first! Here's what to expect at the doctor's office.
• 'This is not sustainable': Public health departments, decimated by funding cuts, scramble against coronavirus

Bungled test kits slowed testing in US

The CDC initially developed and mailed testing kits with three components, or reagents, to detect the COVID-19 virus. Some states had trouble validating one of three components in the kits. On Friday, a CDC official said the agency reviewed the glitch and determined using two components accurately detect coronavirus.

CDC officials said all state and local public health labs and qualified private labs should be able to test by the end of this week. Robert Murphy, executive director of the Institute for Global Health at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said more aggressive testing could have slowed the spread of the disease.

"The opportunity was missed," Murphy said. "There were delays, and now there are going to be more cases."

– Ken Alltucker

New York waives fees for coronavirus test

Gov. Andrew Cuomo a new directive requiring New York health insurers to waive costs associated with testing for coronavirus, including emergency room, urgent care and office visits.

"We can't let cost be a barrier to access to COVID-19 testing for any New Yorker," Cuomo said.

The state confirmed its second case Tuesday, a Westchester County man hospitalized with an "underlying respiratory illness," Cuomo said. The first case involves a health care worker from Manhattan quarantined in her apartment.

– Jon Campbell

US pitches in $37M toward global struggle

The U.S. will provide $37 million from an emergency infectious diseases fund to help 26 countries affected by COVID-19 or at high risk of its spread, the U.S. Agency for International Development announced. The money is going to the World Health Organization and other agencies, USAID said. It's the first funds from a pledge of up to $100 million announced Feb. 7 by the State Department.

"These funds will help build preparedness and response capacities in vulnerable countries," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO's director general. "WHO is grateful for your support to keep the world safe."

California Gov. Newsom wants $20M to fight virus

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is asking the state Legislature to provide $20 million from a disaster emergency account to help halt the spread of coronavirus. Newsom also activated the State Operations Center to its second highest level in support of the state Public Health department and first responders. Ten labs across the state are now testing, and another 10 should be online soon, public health officials said.

Georgia confirms first 2 cases

Georgia Department of Public Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey confirmed Georgia’s first cases of COVID-19 involving two Atlanta-area residents who live in the same household. One recently returned from Italy and both have mild symptoms, Toomey said. The patients were isolated at home with other relatives.

“Our team has been working around the clock to prepare for any scenario,” Gov. Kemp said. “They are confident that our efforts to prepare for this moment have enabled us to manage these cases appropriately and minimize any risks moving forward.”

South Korea at 'war against infectious disease'

South Korea President Moon Jae-in described the virus outbreak as "a grave situation."

More than 5,000 South Koreans had tested positive for coronavirus as of early Tuesday; 28 had died. South Korea is testing 10,000 people a day.

“The entire country has entered a war against an infectious disease,” he said.

Hoarding in Iran; 2,000 cases in Italy

Iran’s judiciary chief, Ebrahim Raisi, pleaded with prosecutors to show "no mercy" for people stockpiling medical supplies for profit in a country that has seen 66 deaths so far. Italy was reeling, too, with the count of confirmed cases over 2,000 early Tuesday and quarantines in effect in 11 northern towns. The coronavirus has killed 52 Italians so far.

How many people have died from coronavirus?

The death toll from confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide stood at 3,118 early Tuesday, according to a coronavirus dashboard run by Johns Hopkins University. More than 2,900 of them were in mainland China, and more than 2,800 of them were in Hubei Province, the epicenter of the outbreak. Iran has reported at least 66 deaths, Italy 52 and South Korea 28. 

How many coronavirus cases in the US?

Johns Hopkins University's coronavirus dashboard counted 105 U.S. cases early Tuesday, though officials have warned that the number is likely much higher. We will learn more as testing efforts expand. Test packets are being shipped to health centers across the country, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging more testing.

Common signs of infection include fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. If the infection worsens, it can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure or even death.

China sees 'coming victory' over coronavirus

China, where COVID-19 originated, remains the hardest-hit nation, with 80,151 cases and 2,943 deaths, but its ambassador to the United Nations said late Monday that it has turned a corner in battling the disease. 

"We are not far from the coming of the victory," said Zhang Jun, ahead of daily figures released Tuesday that showed new cases in China dropped to 125, a six-week low. But the optimism in China contrasts with a growing sense of alarm in other parts of Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. 

-- Kim Hjelmgaard

Contributing: David Jackson, USA TODAY; The Associated Press.

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2020-03-03 13:01:03Z
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Netanyahu claims ‘biggest win’ in Israeli elections, as partial results show short of majority - Fox News

Israeli’s embattled prime minister declared Monday’s general elections the “biggest win” of his life when he claimed victory with partial results  over main rival Benny Gantz.

With roughly 90 percent of votes already counted, Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party and its allies looked to maintaining its lead after capturing 59 seats out of the 120 in parliament.

Final results are expected later Tuesday and could swing Netanyahu over the top – two weeks before he goes on trial to face corruption charges.

ISRAELI ELECTION EXIT POLLS PUT NETANYAHU, ALLIES JUST SHORT OF MAJORITY

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accompanied by his wife Sara, addresses his supporters after first exit poll results for the Israeli elections at his party's headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Feb. 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

“This is a victory against all the odds because we stood against powerful forces,” he told a raucous crowd of supporters early Tuesday. “They already eulogized us. Our opponents said the Netanyahu era is over.”

Critically, Netanyahu’s party is just two seats shy of a 61-seat parliamentary majority, and if the final tally remains the same, he would be forced to form a government in the coming weeks by enticing rival politicians to join him. Monday marked the third general election in less than a year in Israel.

Gantz and his Blue and White party, who focused their campaign on Netanyahu’s alleged corruption and anti-democratic moves, took 32 seats, partial results showed.

Blue and White party supporters hold banners and flags during an election campaign rally in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. The Hebrew writing say " Must to advance ". (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

However, Gantz refused to concede defeat, telling his supporters: “We won’t let them destroy the country.”

“We won’t let anyone separate between us. We won’t let anyone dismantle Israeli society and crush democracy,” he said. “Even if it is difficult, we will win at its end.”

ISRAELI PM'S WIFE SUED BY FORMER HOUSEKEEPER OVER ALLEGED ABUSIVE BEHAVIOR

Maverick politician Avigdor Lieberman, whose party is projected to win seven seats, once again looms as a key player. Speaking Tuesday, he repeated his campaign pledge that there won't be a fourth election, but wouldn't indicate how he would act in case of a further deadlock.

At his victory rally, Netanyahu – who will serve his fourth consecutive term in office and fifth overall – vowed to immediately form a new coalition and press forward with a hardline agenda that includes annexing large parts of the West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's supporters celebrate first exit poll results for the Israeli elections at his party's headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Feb. 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Shaina Kaplan, a resident of Jerusalem, told Fox News after casting her vote that she believes they will have a working government whatever the outcome.

“We should finally have a government,” she said. “This is the third time. Without a government, the country can’t work right.”

NETANYAHU BLASTS RIVAL BENNY GANTZ, CITIES TWO ADVISERS WHO LIKENED TRUMP TO HITLER

She said her biggest desire is to get the government working amid continued security threats against the country.

“When bombs are going over, we should have a strong government to make the right decisions,” Kaplan said. “It makes me want to go and vote, and tell people to go and vote, so we can have a normal government working.”

The easiest way out of the impasse would be a unity government between Likud and Blue and White, which together command a solid parliamentary majority. They don't have major ideological differences, though Blue and White has staked its claim as the moral alternative to Netanyahu amid his corruption charges.

Supporter of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu displays his hand with BB written on it for Netanyahu's nickname "Bibi" as they celebrate after first exit poll results for Israeli elections in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Netanyahu was indicted in November on charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes, making him the first sitting prime minister to be charged with a crime. He denies any wrongdoing and says he is the victim of a witch hunt by police, prosecutors and a hostile media.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

During the campaign, Netanyahu failed in a bid to secure immunity from prosecution. As prime minister, he could still rally public opposition against prosecutors and judges in the case. He also could seek other avenues to delay or derail the proceedings against him.

Fox News' Stephen Sorace, Trey Yingst and Dana Karni and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2020-03-03 14:00:14Z
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Netanyahu moves closer to securing big win in Israeli election - The - The Washington Post

Amir Levy AFP/Getty Images Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu accept congratulations at a Likud party celebration on March 3, 2020, in Tel Aviv.

JERUSALEM — Over the past 11 months, many pundits had declared Benjamin Netanyahu politically dead, as the longest-serving leader in Israel’s history twice failed to achieve a majority in separate elections, hemorrhaging more support each time.

On Monday, the indomitable prime minister strode rejuvenated back to center stage in Israeli politics, reversing his party’s decline and positioning himself within two parliamentary seats of a record-breaking fifth term.

But the man known as Israel’s political magician will now have to pull off two final tricks to complete the comeback: finding those two seats, maybe by poaching them from opposing parties, and navigating his own upcoming corruption trial, something no sitting prime minister has ever faced.

One day after Israel’s third election in less than a year, with just over 90 percent of the vote officially tallied, Netanyahu’s Likud party held 36 parliamentary seats, erasing its previous losses and making it once again the country’s largest party. His bloc of right-wing parties commands 59 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, Israel’s parliament, placing it far closer to the majority threshold than the rival Blue and White party, which has 32 seats.

The results could change moderately as officials count a final batch of some 300,000 votes from military bases and special biohazard polling places set up for voters quarantined because of possible exposure to the coronavirus. (Senior election officials, unable to find workers willing to open the doubly-sealed ballots, were doing the count themselves in a tent outside the parliament, according to media reports.)

But Israel was well into dissecting Netanyahu’s feat, the latest in his escape-artist career of clinging to power. Polls for months had shown little change in the dynamics of the grinding stalemate that kept Israel from forming a new government for more than a year.

But in the final weeks, as Blue and White and its leader Benny Gantz worked down a list of what critics disparaged as overly staid hanger rallies around central Israel, Netanyahu worked tirelessly to electrify his base and reawaken thousands of Likud voters who had reportedly sat out the previous election.

Likud launched what political reporters described as an unprecedented voter-targeting operation. The 70-year-old prime minister appeared all across the country, beseeching supporters to personally lobby their fellow Likudniks and encouraging them to upload video of him to social media.

By the end, in a country exhausted by the nonstop politicking of three straight elections, Netanyahu appeared to dig deeper.

As a candidate, Netanyahu “has phenomenal power,” Topaz Luk, Netanyahu’s head media adviser and strategist said in an interview the morning after the election. “Netanyahu went out to the field this time and did so many rallies.”

Menahem Kahana

AFP/Getty Images

Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White party, greets supporters at his campaign headquarters in Tel Aviv early on March 3, 2020, after polls officially closed.

Gantz, a former Army chief of staff, based his campaign almost entirely on being a measured, ethical alternative to the controversial, divisive and criminally indicted prime minister. Although a majority votes cast Monday were not in support of Netanyahu, Gantz’s message and manner could not prevent his rival from shouldering past him.

“The generals are not good at politics, and Bibi is the expert,” said Jonathan Rynhold, a professor of political studies at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv.

Yet, while Netanyahu has seized the momentum, he still has to find two seats to create a new government. That has proved impossible for any candidate over the last two elections, but observers said Likud was now in the best position yet to pull it off. Politicians are desperate not to be blamed for pushing Israel to a fourth election.

“There will have to be maneuvering to reach that 61 seats, and the power that will come with being the 61st member of the coalition will be tremendously significant,” said Jason Pearlman, a communications strategist.

Already Tuesday, there were signs that some previously unthinkable deals were being weighed, most notably a merger of convenience between Likud and Blue and White. The two sides failed to reach a power-sharing agreement after previous elections, and Gantz has vowed never to partner with Likud as long as Netanyahu remains in charge.

But Netanyahu seemed to be leaving that door open in an election night speech that spared Gantz any criticism. And Blue and White may be calculating that Netanyahu’s trial on bribery, fraud and breach of trust, scheduled to begin in two weeks, might put him out of commission in any case.

The process of coalition building will begin formally when the vote is certified in a few days.

Read more

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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2020-03-03 12:26:00Z
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States bracing for coronavirus outbreaks as first deaths reported in US | Nightline - ABC News

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1. States bracing for coronavirus outbreaks as first deaths reported in US | Nightline  ABC News
2. U.S. Coronavirus Infections Rise as Cases Outside China Pass 10,000  The Wall Street Journal
3. WHO chief warns 'we are in uncharted territory' as number of coronavirus cases worldwide passes 90,000  CNN
4. U.S. coronavirus death toll climbs to 6 as viral crisis eases in China  AOL
5. Live updates: Trump calls for Fed rate cut as U.S. coronavirus deaths rise; finance chiefs plot economic rescue  The Washington Post
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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2020-03-03 12:00:06Z
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Coronavirus updates: U.S. preps for a pandemic as COVID-19 claims 6 lives in Washington - CBS News

The number of coronavirus cases continues to climb in the U.S.  The new disease has killed six people in the country, four from one nursing home near Seattle and two others in the same county. The cluster of deaths at the nursing facility in King County highlights the serious threat the disease poses to the elderly and infirm. There were just over 100 cases in 15 states as of Tuesday morning, with New Hampshire and Georgia being the most recent to join the battle against the virus.

One of the nation's top virus experts told CBS News Monday that the COVID-19 disease, which can be transmitted by people who don't even show symptoms, could spread to 70% of the world's population. Schools and hospitals across the U.S. have begun preparing for a potential pandemic.

While officials acknowledge the threat posed by the virus, both the Trump administration and the World Health Organization continue to say it's a manageable threat.

The top government economists from the U.S. and the world's six other biggest economies were to hold a conference call Tuesday to try and craft a unified response to the disease, which has already had a massive impact on stock markets and corporate financial outlooks.   

Globally, outbreaks in South Korea, Italy, Iran and Japan have continued growing fast, but draconian control measures in epicenter country China appeared to be paying off. China's daily rate of new infections continued to fall Tuesday, showing it is possible to contain the disease, even in the hardest-hit communities.

Coronavirus lab tests at CDC may be contaminated as Trump challenges drug companies to combat outbreak

But with more than 90,000 people infected and 3,100 killed by COVID-19, exactly what measures can and should be implemented to rein in the virus in societies less-strictly controlled than China remained unclear. As WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday, "we are in unchartered territory." 

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2020-03-03 11:22:00Z
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Coronavirus Updates: Chinese Cities Announce New Travel Restrictions - The New York Times

READ UPDATES IN CHINESE: 新冠病毒疫情最新消息

Here’s what you need to know:

• New travel restrictions announced in China.
• As China’s outbreak wanes, clusters boom around the world.
• Hong Kong residents to be evacuated from Hubei Province after weeks of waiting.
• Six people have died in the United States, including residents of a nursing care facility.
• Trump administration pledges to administer thousands of virus tests this week.

A passenger arriving at Beijing Capital International Airport on Monday.Credit...Roman Pilipey/EPA, via Shutterstock

New travel restrictions announced in China.

Major cities across China have announced new travel restrictions on people who have recently visited countries where coronavirus infections are on the rise.

On Tuesday, the authorities in Shanghai said that all travelers entering the city who have visited countries with significant outbreaks within the last two weeks must undergo a 14-day quarantine at home or at an approved isolation facility. Officials in Guangdong Province announced similar measures, the state media reported on Tuesday.

And a city official in Beijing announced on Tuesday that all arrivals into the capital from countries struggling with outbreaks — including South Korea, Italy, Iran and Japan — will be subject to a 14-day quarantine.

At least 13 people in China were found to be infected with the coronavirus after returning from countries such as Iran and Italy, two places that have seen some of the most severe outbreaks outside of Asia in recent days, according to the authorities.

A 31-year-old Chinese woman had worked in a restaurant in the Italian city of Bergamo before returning home to Qingtian County, in the southeastern province of Zhejiang, where she tested positive for the virus. Seven more people who worked at the same restaurant in Bergamo were later found to be infected after they returned to Zhejiang, according to the local authorities.

In recent days, county officials in Qingtian have urged overseas residents to reconsider any plans to return home, citing the challenges they could pose to China’s efforts to control the epidemic.

As China’s outbreak wanes, clusters boom around the world.

China reported its lowest number of new coronavirus cases in more than a month on Tuesday, but the epidemic showed little signs of waning elsewhere. Three countries — South Korea, Italy and Iran — each had at least 1,000 total cases and the number of infections in the United States topped 100.

Get an informed guide to the global outbreak with our daily Coronavirus newsletter.

China recorded 125 confirmed infections of the coronavirus and 31 deaths in the previous 24 hours. It is the lowest number of officially confirmed infections since Jan. 20, when China’s leader, Xi Jinping, issued his first public orders on the epidemic.

The country’s efforts to control the spread, included limiting the movements of 700 million people. In Hubei Province, where the epidemic erupted and where the overwhelming majority of cases have been identified, 2,410 patients were released from hospitals and emergency clinics.

Experts, however, cautioned that the real test will be when China lifts its lockdown orders and millions of people return to work.

But clusters outside of China showed troubling signs of growing. In South Korea, site of the second-largest outbreak, the number rose on Monday to more than 4,800, nearly double the caseload on Friday. The rate of increase was even faster in Europe, where officials warned residents to prepare for large outbreaks.

And in Iran, the scale of the largest outbreak in the Middle East remained unclear, with the government confirming 1,501 cases and public health experts expressing concern that the official numbers were unreliable.

The worldwide death toll topped 3,000, and the number of cases passed 90,000 in about 70 countries.

Asian markets followed Wall Street’s surge, though at a more modest pace, with stocks in Tokyo and Hong Kong up less than 1 percent by midday on Tuesday. Investors were betting that world leaders and central banks would unveil some sort of coordinated action to prevent the coronavirus from plunging the world into recession.

Australia provided an early taste. On Tuesday its central bank lowered a key lending rate by one-quarter of a percentage point, making it cheaper to borrow money from the country’s lenders.

Coronavirus Map: Tracking the Spread of the Outbreak

The virus has infected more than 91,300 people in at least 70 countries.

Hong Kong residents to be evacuated from Hubei Province after weeks of waiting.

More than 500 Hong Kong residents stranded in Hubei Province for over a month will be repatriated on charter flights in the coming days, Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s top official, announced Tuesday.

Those scheduled for repatriation include pregnant women, people requiring medical treatment or surgery, and 11 students scheduled to take university entrance exams, said Patrick Nip, the secretary for constitutional and mainland affairs.

The evacuation comes after weeks of planning and mounting pressure from lawmakers. The Hong Kong government had previously cited public health risks and logistical challenges, as well as inadequate quarantine facilities, as a reason for not acting sooner.

“We do not feel that we have delayed the return of Hong Kong people stranded in Hubei,” Mrs. Lam said. “As you are aware, even up to this point, Hubei Province, particularly the city of Wuhan, is still under a very challenging situation,” she added, referring to the region at the center of the outbreak in China.

The evacuated residents will be quarantined at a converted public housing estate in the New Territories district of Fo Tan.

Six people have died in the United States, including residents of a nursing care facility.

The coronavirus killed three more residents of a nursing care facility near Seattle on Monday, raising the death toll in the area to six. And as the number of new cases rose nationwide, officials around the United States raced to assess the risk to schools, medical centers and businesses.

All of the U.S. fatalities have been in Washington State, where leaders in the Seattle area said that they intend to open isolation centers. Four of those killed were residents of the Life Care Center nursing home in Kirkland, a Seattle suburb, that has become the focal point of fears that the virus may have been spreading for weeks undetected.

In Oregon, dozens of personnel at Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center in Hillsboro have been placed on paid furlough after coming in contact with coronavirus patients there. They have been asked to remain in self isolation at home for 14 days, officials with Kaiser Permanente said.

The number of cases nationwide climbed to 100, and infected patients have been treated in 14 states.

The new cases included a woman in Manhattan who contracted the virus while traveling in Iran, and a Florida man with no known contact with affected countries or people. After that man and another person tested positive, Florida declared a public health emergency.

Trump administration pledges to administer thousands of virus tests this week.

The Trump administration said on Monday that nearly a million tests could be administered for the coronavirus in the United States by the end of this week, a significant escalation of screening as the American death toll reached six and U.S. infections topped 100.

Private companies and academic laboratories have been pulled in to develop and validate their own coronavirus tests, a move to get around a government bottleneck after a halting start, and to widen the range and number of Americans screened for the virus, Dr. Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said Monday at a White House briefing.

The testing expansion comes as the world moves in a more coordinated fashion to confront the virus and its threat to health and the global economy. The Group of 7 industrialized nations is expected to hold an emergency call on Tuesday to synchronize a multinational effort to stimulate economic growth, the first such effort since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago.

President Trump says his job is to protect American patients.

President Trump spoke about his efforts to limit the spread of coronavirus in the United States during a rally on Monday evening in Charlotte, N.C.:

My administration is also taking the most aggressive action in modern history to protect Americans from the coronavirus. You know about this whole thing, horrible. Including sweeping travel restrictions. Today, we met with the big great pharmaceutical companies, and they’re really working hard and they’re working smart, and we had some — we had a great meeting today with a lot of the great companies and they could have vaccines I think relatively soon.

And they’re going to have something that makes you better, and that’s going to actually take place we think even sooner. So it’s — a lot of good things are happening. But we have strong borders and really are tough, and early actions have really been proven to be 100 percent right. We went out, we’re doing everything in our power to keep the sick and infected people from coming into our country. We’re working on that very hard.

He later added:

My job is to protect the health of American patients and Americans first. Washington Democrats are trying to politicize the coronavirus, denigrating the noble work of our public health professionals, but honestly not so much anymore. Everyone appreciates — these are the greatest professionals in the world at what they do.

And continued:

We’re going to reduce the severity of what’s happening. The duration of the virus, we discussed all of these things, we will bring these therapies to market as rapidly as possible. And I have to say with a thriving economy, the way it is, and the most advanced health system on Earth, America is so resilient, we know what we’re doing. We have the greatest people on Earth, the greatest health system on Earth.

Defense secretary warns commanders not to surprise Trump on coronavirus.

Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper has urged American military commanders overseas not to make any decisions related to the coronavirus that might surprise the White House or run afoul of President Trump’s messaging on the growing health challenge, American officials said.

Mr. Esper’s directive, delivered last week during a video teleconference call with combatant commanders around the world, is the latest iteration of Mr. Trump’s efforts to manage public fears over the disease, even as it continues to spread around the world.

Mr. Trump has said Democrats and the news media are stoking fear about the disease, even calling their concerns a “hoax” during one rally last week.

The president has since tempered his words.

Mr. Esper told commanders deployed overseas that they should check in before making decisions related to protecting their troops.

In one exchange during last Wednesday’s video teleconference, Gen. Robert B. Abrams, the commander of American forces in South Korea, where more than 4,000 coronavirus cases have been detected, discussed his options to protect American military personnel against the virus, said one American official briefed on the call.

In response, Mr. Esper said he wanted advance notice before General Abrams or any other commander made decisions related to protecting their troops.

Reporting was contributed by Noah Weiland, Emily Cochrane, Eric Schmitt, Helene Cooper, Roni Caryn Rabin, Russell Goldman, Paul Mozur, Raymond Zhong, Aaron Krolik, Claire Fu and Elaine Yu.

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2020-03-03 10:37:00Z
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