WASHINGTON (JTA-RABBI SHMULY YANKLOWITZ) I am not a medical professional, an epidemiologist or an expert on pandemics. I leave the serious information in those important fields for the professionals who have the appropriate training to help us get through the coronavirus epidemic. Even though I do not possess medical knowledge, as a rabbi and social […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington health officials recommended on Wednesday that all “non-essential mass gatherings, including conferences and conventions,” be postponed or canceled through the end of March in light of the coronavirus outbreak, a move that could imperil the popular Cherry Blossom Festival. The announcement signals a major escalation in the District of Columbia’s response […]

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s senior vice president and two other Cabinet members have contracted the new coronavirus, a semiofficial news agency reported Wednesday as the death toll in the Islamic Republic from the outbreak rose by 62 to 354. The report by the Fars news agency, believed to be close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary […]

NEW YORK (AP) – Federal regulators waived a rule Wednesday that was causing airlines to fly nearly empty planes just to avoid losing takeoff and landing rights at major airports. The Federal Aviation Administration said it would suspend the rule through May 31 to help airlines that are canceling flights because of the new virus […]

ROME (AP) — Expressing alarm both about mounting infections and slow government responses, the World Health Organization declared Wednesday that the global coronavirus crisis is now a pandemic but also said it’s not too late for countries to act. By reversing course and using the charged word “pandemic” that it had previously shied away from, […]

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on the coronavirus outbreak sweeping the globe: World Health Organization officials are telling national governments it’s time for aggressive action now that the worldwide coronavirus outbreak has reached the level of a pandemic. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that with the U.N. health agency’s pandemic declaration on Wednesday, countries […]

BRUSSELS (AP) – Belgium’s health ministry has announced a first death related to the coronavirus. Health authorities said Wednesday the patient was a 90-year-old woman. Since the epidemic that emerged in China late last year began, 314 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Belgium but the ministry predicted that more cases would soon emerge, […]

NEW YORK (AP) – Alarming clusters of the coronavirus swelled on both coasts of the U.S. on Tuesday, with more than 70 cases now tied to a biotech conference in Boston and infections turning up at 10 nursing homes in the hard-hit Seattle area. Presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden abruptly canceled rallies because […]

ROME (AP) — Expanding clusters of the new coronavirus were eyed warily Wednesday as the outbreak upended daily life and reshaped everything from the United States presidential race to Pope Francis’ travel. In the U.S., the caseload passed 1,000, and outbreaks on both sides of the country were stirring alarm, while in Europe, an increasingly […]

NEW YORK – (THE CONVERSATION-AP) The other day I went into Costco to buy some toilet paper. It came as a small shock when I couldn’t find a single roll. The new coronavirus is inspiring panic buying of a variety of household products such as toilet paper in cities across the U.S. and world. While […]