Portal:Current events/2020 March 13

March 13, 2020 (Friday)

Arts and culture

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in France
  - The Louvre museum in Paris closes until further notice. (U.S. News & World Report)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal
  - The Nepalese government suspends climbing of Mount Everest for tourists and halts visas for visitors until April 30. (BBC News)

Business and economy

Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Delta Air Lines says it will cancel all flights to Europe for the next 30 days. (Forbes)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- Uzbekistan suspends flights to and from France, Spain, and the United Kingdom. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
  - Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton is diagnosed with COVID-19, after travelling to the United States earlier in the month. (Brisbane Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Kazakhstan
  - Kazakhstan reports its first two confirmed cases of COVID-19; both are Kazakh nationals who recently returned from Germany. (U.S. News & World Report)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Bulgaria
  - Bulgaria declares a state of emergency over the coronavirus. As part of the emergency measures, all schools and universities will be closed, all Bulgarian Football Union matches suspended and police will be given special powers for quarantine enforcement. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
  - Queen Letizia suspends her agenda and self-isolates for an expected two weeks after meeting with an infected Minister. Both the King and Queen have tested negative. (El País)
  - For second time in democratic history and the first time of such magnitude, the Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez decrees the Alarm Status in all the country, invoking article 116.1 of the Constitution, for 15 days. (Politico)
  - Catalan and Balearic Islands Governments implore national government help to lockdown both regions. (RTVE)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic
  - The Czech Republic declares a state of emergency and announces the closure of its borders to all foreigners starting from midnight on March 16, while Czech citizens will no longer be allowed to leave the country for at least 30 days. (Prague Morning)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
  - Iran's police, security council and interior ministry will empty the streets of people in the next 24 hours in an effort to contain the coronavirus. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Morocco
  - Morocco closes its border with Spain. (La Vanguardia)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
  - President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro tests negative for the disease, and decries news outlets that reported he had received an initial positive test result. (Time)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
  - Ukraine's Ministry of Healthcare reports the country's first death from COVID-19, a 71-year-old woman from Radomyshl. (Kyiv Post)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Guinea
  - Guinea confirms its first case of COVID-19, an EU employee traveling to Conakry. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Sudan
  - Sudan confirms its first case and death from COVID-19, a man in his 50s who had recently visited the United Arab Emirates. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia
  - Ethiopia confirms its first case of COVID-19, a 48-year-old Japanese woman coming from Burkina Faso. (Ethiopia Ministry of Health)
- COVID-19 pandemic in France
  - Guadeloupe confirms its first case of COVID-19, a 36-year-old woman returning from a cruise with relatives who recently visited Metropolitan France. (RCI)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya
  - Kenya confirms its first case of COVID-19, a 27-year-old Kenyan woman travelling from the United States through London. (Capital News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan
  - Pakistan closes all land borders, shuts down schools for three weeks, limits international flights, and discourages any large public gatherings in an attempt to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. (National Post)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Oman
  - Oman suspends tourist visas, sporting events, and non-class student activities to slow the spread of the coronavirus. (Gulf Business)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela
  - Venezuela suspends all incoming flights from Europe, supends all student activities and public gatherings to slow the spread of the coronavirus after the first two cases in the country were confirmed by the vice president. (Runrun.es)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Guatemala
  - Guatemala confirms its first case of COVID-19, is a Guatemalan who returned from Italy. (Prensa Libre)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
  - Quebec company Medicago announces it has found a COVID-19 vaccine candidate, and hopes to begin human testing this summer. (Global News)
  - Canada will suspend sessions of Parliament until at least April 20. (Politico)
  - Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau's symptoms remain "mild" after testing positive COVID-19. (People)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - U.S. President Donald Trump declares a national emergency in response to the pandemic. This will allow up to $50 billion of federal money for relief efforts. (CNBC)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Illinois
    - After 32 cases of COVID-19 are confirmed in Illinois, Governor J. B. Pritzker bans gatherings of 1,000 or more people for 30 days. (Chicago Tribune)
  - Four hundred United States National Guard and Air National Guard personnel are activated in six states to help contain the coronavirus: Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, New York, Rhode Island and Washington. (The Hill)
  - After 41 cases of COVID-19 are confirmed in Pennsylvania, Governor Tom Wolf orders all K–12 schools to close from March 16–29. (WPVI)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan
    - Michigan confirms it now has 25 cases of COVID-19, more than double than reported the previous day. (Michigan Radio)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado
    - 72 confirmed cases of COVID-19 are confirmed in Colorado, while the state's first death from the virus, identified as an 80-year-old woman, has been reported in El Paso County. (The Colorado Sun)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Connecticut
    - Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont orders the closing of all schools for at least two weeks, beginning March 16. (WVIT)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Delaware
    - Delaware Governor John Carney orders the closing of all public schools in the state due to coronavirus concerns. (WBOC)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Andorra
  - The Prime Minister Xavier Espot announces in a special public appearance that orders the closure of all public establishments except basic stores, pharmacies and gas stations during two weeks. (Diari d'Andorra) (Govern d'Andorra)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Romania
  - After Senator Vergil Chițac [ro] tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the first Romanian high-ranking official with the disease, interim government headed by Prime Minister Ludovic Orban self-isolates for 14 days. (Euronews)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Kosovo
  - Kosovo reports its first two cases of COVID-19. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Poland
  - Poland declares a state of epidemic emergency late on Friday, bans all foreigners from entering the country, and Polish citizens returning from abroad will be placed under a 14-day quarantine. The country closes all restaurants, pubs, clubs and casinos. From March 14, gatherings of more than 50 people will be banned. From March 15, international air and rail connections will be suspended. (Radio Poland)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Cyprus
  - President Nikos Anastasiadis, in a special televised appearance, announces the closing of all borders except for nationals for 15 days since 15 March. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, aftermath of the Christchurch mosque shootings
  - Ahead of the one-year anniversary of two far-right terror attacks on mosques in Christchurch that killed 51 people, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces the cancellation of a national remembrance service as a precaution due to the coronavirus. (The Guardian)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Iceland
  - Icelandic government orders the closure of all universities and secondary schools and ban public gathering of 100 or more people for four weeks. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Politics of Greece
- Katerina Sakellaropoulou is sworn in President of Greece in the Hellenic Parliament and becomes the first woman to hold the office, succeeding Prokopis Pavlopoulos. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece, she suspends the protocol ceremony for the inauguration scheduled for Saturday 14 and no handshakes are allowed. (ABC News) (U.S. News & World Report)
2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- 2020 Louisiana Democratic primary
  - After 36 cases of COVID-19 are confirmed in Louisiana, Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin postpones its primary elections from April 4 until June 20. (CNBC) (KATC)
- Florida, Arizona, Illinois, and Ohio will proceed having Democratic Party primaries despite the coronavirus outbreak. Ohio Democratic Party chairman David Pepper said that the Ohio primaries will go on as planned. (Straits Times) (The Hill)
United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement
- The USMCTA has passed the Canadian Senate after passing the third reading in the House of Commons earlier, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says. (Sputnik)

Science and technology

Planets beyond Neptune
- Astronomers discover 139 new "minor planets" in the Solar System that are beyond the orbit of Neptune, which helps boost odds of finding Planet Nine. (NBC News)

Sports

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports
- 2020 Formula 1 season
  - Formula 1 officially cancels the 2020 Australian Grand Prix, then later announces the postponement of the Bahrain and Vietnam Grands Prix. (RACER) (Formula 1)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
  - The Premier League holds an emergency meeting after Arsenal F.C. manager Mikel Arteta and Chelsea F.C. player Callum Hudson-Odoi both test positive for COVID-19. The current season is suspended until April 3, along with the English Football League and FA Women's Super League. (The Guardian) (TalkSPORT)
- 2020 Masters Tournament
  - Augusta National Golf Club postpones the 2020 Masters Tournament. (ESPN)
- 2020 IndyCar Series
  - IndyCar, the organizer of the IndyCar Series, cancels all events through the end of April. (Road & Track)
- 2020 Boston Marathon
  - Mayor Marty Walsh announces that the 124th annual running of the Boston Marathon, originally scheduled for April 20, will take place on Monday, September 14 instead. (New York Times)