JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s schools and universities will close due to the spread of coronavirus, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Thursday. Netanyahu also called to form an emergency national unity government for a limited time, saying “We will deal with the current crisis together and continue later” with the business of politics. The number of […]

ITALY (JTA) – Rome’s Jewish community is in a “state of complete uncertainty” amid Italy’s coronavirus crisis, according to its president. “We are a proud and ancient community in the midst of the worst situation we have faced since World War II,” the president of Rome’s Jewish community, Ruth Durgello, said in a press release […]

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ (JTA) – The Rabbinical Council of Bergen County in New Jersey, in conjunction with local synagogues and day schools, just adopted sweeping regulations designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus locally. All schools are closed and playdates between families are barred. Community members have been told to work from home. Synagogues […]

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is quarantining himself at home after his wife exhibited flu-like symptoms. Trudeau’s office said Thursday that Sophie Grégoire Trudeau returned from a speaking engagement in Britain and had mild flu-like symptoms, including a low fever late, Wednesday night. She is being tested for the COVID-19 disease and […]

NEW YORK (AP) – Some Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada may become drive-thru only while others could limit the number of people allowed inside, the company said, one day after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of coronavirus a pandemic. “As a last resort, we will close a store if we feel […]

ROME (AP) — Italy, the center of Europe’s coronavirus pandemic, has hit the milestone of 1,000 deaths since it saw its first cases in mid-February. Italy’s positive cases continued their upward trend Thursday, registering 15,113 confirmed cases and the death toll hit 1,016. More than half of those who are in intensive care in Italy […]

ROME (AP) — Natalina De Santis’ three adult children come to her front door, bringing food to keep her healthy and books to relieve her boredom, but she doesn’t let them in any more. Widowed a few months ago and living alone, the 83-year-old resident of Rome is so afraid of catching the coronavirus that […]

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine president has suspended domestic travel to and from the Manila area for a month and authorized sweeping quarantines in the region to fight the new coronavirus. President Rodrigo Duterte also banned large gatherings in the metropolis, suspended most government work and extended the suspension of classes by a month […]

NEW YORK (AP) — Tom Hanks and his actress-singer wife Rita Wilson have tested positive for the coronavirus, the actor said in a statement Wednesday. Hanks said the couple were in Australia and felt tired, with colds, body aches and slight fevers. “To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we […]

MIAMI (AP) — The NBA has suspended its season “until further notice” after a Utah Jazz player tested positive Wednesday for the coronavirus, a move that came only hours after the majority of the league’s owners were leaning toward playing games without fans in arenas. Now there will be no games at all, at least […]