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Empty Streets, Economic Turmoil as Coronavirus Alters Daily Life

Associated Press

   TOKYO - The coronavirus claimed its first victim in the U.S. Saturday
   as the number of cases shot up in Iran, Italy and South Korea and the
   spreading outbreak continued to shake the global economy.
   The virus altered daily life around the world as governments moved to
   combat the contagion. Islam's holiest sites were closed to foreign
   pilgrims, while professional baseball teams played in deserted stadiums
   in Japan and officials in France advised residents to forgo customary
   greeting kisses.
   The list of countries touched by the virus climbed to nearly 60, with
   new cases reported Saturday in Lebanon, Mexico, France and Ecuador.
   More than 85,000 people worldwide have contracted the virus, with
   deaths topping 2,900.
   A man in his 50s with underlying health conditions became the first
   coronavirus death on U.S. soil. President Donald Trump initially said
   the victim was a woman, but the person's gender was later confirmed by
   state and federal health officials. Officials say they aren't sure how
   the man acquired the virus, as he had not traveled to any effected
   areas.
   "Additional cases in the United States are likely, but healthy
   individuals should be able to fully recover,'' Trump said Saturday at a
   briefing, where officials announced heightened warnings about travel to
   certain regions of Italy and South Korea as well as a ban on travel to
   Iran.
   Many cases of the virus have been relatively mild, and some of those
   infected are believed to show no symptoms at all. But that can allow
   for easier spread, and concern is mounting that prolonged quarantines,
   supply chain disruptions and a sharp reduction in tourism and business
   travel could weaken the global economy or even cause a recession.
   South Korea, the second hardest hit country after China, reported 813
   new cases Saturday - the highest daily jump since confirming its first
   patient in late January and raising its total to 3,150.
   Italian authorities say the country now has more than 1,100 coronavirus
   cases, with 29 deaths so far.
   Iran is preparing for the possibility of ``tens of thousands'' of
   people getting tested for the virus as the number of confirmed cases
   spiked again Saturday, an official said. So far, the virus and the
   COVID-19 illness it causes have killed 43 people out of 593 confirmed
   cases in Iran.
   As governments scrambled to control the spread and businesses wrestled
   with interruptions, researchers working to better understand the
   disease reported that the death rate may be lower than initially feared
   as more mild cases are counted.

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