Italy Cases Top 10,000; N.Y. Aims for Containment: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) --

Controlling the coronavirus outbreak in some parts of the U.S. is now beyond containment efforts, said Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

New York became one of the first states to try to limit the movement of large groups of people to staunch the spread of the disease in a suburb of New York City. The annual New York auto show will be pushed back to August from April, while the city’s half marathon set for this weekend was canceled.

Italy cases topped 10,000 as it became the first country to attempt a nationwide lockdown.

Key Developments:

• Cases surpass 117,000 worldwide; deaths exceed 4,200
• Europe struggles to limit virus spread, led by Italian lockdown
• Why rational people are panic buying as coronavirus spreads
• Both leading candidates for the Democratic nomination canceled Tuesday events

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Turkey Has First Case, Puts Hospitals on Alert (6:30 a.m. Hong Kong)

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca confirmed the first case of the coronavirus in the country, saying a male citizen tested positive. Turkey has also canceled vacations for all health personnel as a precaution, Koca said.

Sanders, Biden Scrap Planned Rallies (4:56 p.m. NY)

Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden have canceled planned rallies in Cleveland Tuesday amid concerns about coronavirus spreading at public events and suggested the campaigns might suspend large gatherings.

Citi to Split Thousands of NYC Employees (4:47 p.m. NY)

Citigroup Inc. will begin splitting up its thousands of New York-based employees on Wednesday. About half of its workforce there will be sent to work from home or from redundancy sites. Bank branches will operate as usual, said the person.

Lagarde Asks EU Leaders For Rapid Action (3:10 p.m. NY)

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde demanded rapid fiscal action from EU leaders during an emergency call on the coronavirus outbreak, according to an official with knowledge of the discussion.

She repeated her pleas over the past months for governments to step up and help prop up growth. The call is becoming more urgent now as the viral outbreak deals a blow to the bloc’s economies.

But during the call, which was arranged to discuss the EU’s coordinated response to the virus, Germany and the Netherlands didn’t seem keen on having a discussion on stimulus, a separate official said.

FDA Suspends Inspections of Foreign Factories (1:59 p.m. NY)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is halting most inspections of foreign manufacturing facilities that make drugs and medical devices through April as a novel coronavirus spreads around the world.

The agency quit evaluating factories in China earlier in the outbreak. Commissioner Stephen Hahn said in a statement that the decision to expand the suspension is based on several factors, including federal restrictions prohibiting travel for government employees.

Many pharmaceuticals are produced overseas, and the FDA has come under scrutiny for failing to identify contaminants in some generic drug products.

N.Y. to Close Gathering Places in NYC Suburb (1:25 p.m. NY)

The National Guard will be sent to New Rochelle to help close large, public gathering spaces in an effort to slow down the spread of the coronavirus outbreak in the suburb of New York City, Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a press conference.

Referring to the one-mile square area as a containment zone, Cuomo said the effort would focus on places where large numbers of people congregate, such as social clubs or places of worship. It wouldn’t necessarily include restrictions on movement, he said.

“You’re not containing people; it’s facilities,” Cuomo said.

Gathering places such as schools and religious institutions within a one-mile radius of a highly impacted area of New Rochelle will be shut down, Cuomo said. The shutdown will permit National Guard troops to clean public spaces. They will also be used in Westchester County to deliver food to quarantined households, he said.

“We are closing the large gathering places, schools, around this cluster,” Cuomo told reporters in Albany. “This is a true geographic cluster.”

UN Closes New York Headquarters to Visitors (10:29 a.m. NY)

The United Nations said on Tuesday it will close its headquarters in New York to the general public, suspending all guided tours until further notice. There are no confirmed cases among staff. It follows the decision to reduce the number of staff present in the UN building.

Natixis-Backed Firm Delays $1 Billion Office Sale (9:55 a.m. NY)

Coronavirus-fueled market turmoil has led AEW SA, a real estate investment manager backed by Natixis SA, to push back a planned 900 million-euro European property sale. The fund manager is trying to assess the impact of the outbreak on real estate markets before moving ahead, according to four people with knowledge of the matter.

St. Peter’s Square, Basilica Closed to Tourists (9:30 a.m. NY)

St. Peter’s Square and Basilica are closed to tourists until April 3, according to Agence France-Presse.

Pope Francis had delivered his weekly blessing via video on Sunday to avoid attracting crowds to the square. Vatican City is home to about 600 people, including the pontiff. The Vatican has also closed its museums until April 3.

Harvard, MIT Move Classes Online (9 a.m. NY)

Harvard is asking students not to return to campus after spring break because of coronavirus concerns. The university is seeking to completely transition to virtual classes for all courses by March 23, when they were originally due to begin after the recess.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is also moving about 20 classes online, as it suspends in-person meetings of classes with more than 150 students. Earlier, Columbia suspended classes for two days after an individual linked to the school was exposed to the virus and Princeton is moving classes online starting March 23.

Spain Cases Top 1,600 (8:25 a.m. NY)

Confirmed cases in Spain jumped by about a third, to 1622 from 1204 the previous day. Deaths rose to 35 from 29. Spain’s national government and Madrid regional authorities agreed on Monday to shut all schools and universities in the country’s capital.

The country’s soccer league announced that all matches in the first and second divisions will be played behind closed doors for at least two weeks. The largest bank, Santander, said it has asked staff at its corporate centers to work remotely.

--With assistance from Selcan Hacaoglu.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Michelle Fay Cortez in Minneapolis at mcortez@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Drew Armstrong at darmstrong17@bloomberg.net

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