Trump met Brazilian official with coronavirus, but says 'not concerned'
US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he was not concerned about the possibility of being exposed to the coronavirus after dining last week with a Brazilian government official who has since tested positive for the disease.
The day after announcing curbs on travel to the United States by European Union residents, Trump brushed off concerns about his possible exposure to the virus, which has sickened more than 126,000 people in a worldwide pandemic.
"Let's put it this way: I'm not concerned," Trump told reporters while meeting with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in the Oval Office.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who had been at the dinner with Trump in Palm Beach, Florida, has been tested for coronavirus and is awaiting the result, his son Eduardo wrote on Twitter, adding that the president was not showing any symptoms.
Dow ends 10% lower in worst session since 1987
The Dow suffered its worst session since 1987 on Thursday, plunging 10 per cent as emergency measures by central banks failed to douse mounting recession fears due to the coronavirus.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down around 2,350 points, or 10 per cent, at 21,200.62.
The broad-based S&P 500 plunged 9.5 per cent to 2,480.64, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 9.4 per cent to 7,201.80.
Coronavirus: Global airlines call for government aid as new US travel curbs bite
Airlines on Thursday appealed for urgent government financial support as transatlantic carriers rushed to cut flights in the wake of new US travel restrictions on Europeans aimed at combating the coronavirus outbreak.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), a global industry group representing airlines, called on governments to consider extending lines of credit, reducing infrastructure costs and cutting taxes.
US travel curbs on much of continental Europe announced by President Donald Trump on Wednesday evening deepened the sector's misery that began after the virus emerged in China late last year and reduced traffic.
Coronavirus: 'Don't panic' says US woman who recovered
An American woman who has recovered from the novel coronavirus has a simple message for people who are worried: Don't panic - but do think about high-risk individuals and stay home if you feel ill.
Elizabeth Schneider lives in Seattle, the biggest city of Washington state, which has the most deaths in the United States from the disease sweeping the globe.
The 37-year-old, who has a PhD in bioengineering, said she was sharing her story "to give people a little bit of hope" through her own relatively mild experience with the infection, which she treated herself from home.
Mulan, Fast And Furious delayed as Hollywood adapts to coronavirus
The release of Walt Disney's epic action movie Mulan and Universal Pictures' ninth Fast And Furious film were postponed on Thursday (March 12) as Hollywood scrambled to adjust to the worldwide spread of coronavirus.
Disney had held a red-carpet premiere on Monday to promote Mulan and said at the time that the film would be released in the United States as planned on March 27.
But on Thursday, as US authorities urged against large gatherings and took other steps to stop coronavirus spread, Disney said it had decided "out of an abundance of caution" to postpone the debut of Mulan as well as April releases The New Mutants and Antlers.
