Tesla will temporarily suspend production at its Fremont factory beginning March 23.
It will also temporarily suspend production at its New York factory except for operations to manufacture parts and supplies necessary for service, infrastructure and supply chains, the company said Thursday in a statement.
“Despite taking all known health precautions, continued operations in certain locations has caused challenges for our employees, their families and our suppliers,” the company said.
It will continue with basic operations at its Fremont factory to support our vehicle and energy services and charging infrastructure. Its factory in Nevada will remain open.
1.4 percent of people in Wuhan, China, with coronavirus died, study finds
About 1.4 percent of people in Wuhan, China, who became ill with the coronavirus died, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Nature.
The finding is consistent with a study from last month which also found the case fatality rate — or the number of deaths divided by the number of diagnosed cases — to be 1.4 percent, based on statistics across China.
The new paper focuses specifically on the city of Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have originated.
The death rate is much higher than that of the influenza, which infects millions of people each year but only kills about 0.1 percent of those who get it.
U.S. restricts visas for farmworkers, raising concerns about food supply
To reduce coronavirus transmission, the federal government has stopped conducting visa interviews for temporary farmworkers from Mexico who want to work in the United States — a move that could disrupt America’s supply of fresh fruit and vegetables, industry groups say.
“An interruption to the processing of agricultural worker visas will undoubtedly cause a significant disruption to the U.S. food supply,” a coalition of agriculture trade groups wrote in a letter Tuesday to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, urging the federal government to process all H-2A applications as emergency visas. Two House Republicans also sent a letter to Pompeo voicing concerns.
Despite empty shelves and panic-buying, there are not broad signs of disruption to America’s food supply chain because of the coronavirus; over half of all fresh fruit and a third of fresh vegetables are now imported, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
Richard Engel on China’s report of no new coronavirus cases
Trump again advises governors to acquire critical medical supplies themselves
President Donald Trump on Thursday once again urged governors to purchase critical medical supplies needed to help combat the coronavirus pandemic — like face masks — themselves, instead of only relying on the federal government to supply them.
On a lengthy conference call with multiple U.S. governors at the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Washington, D.C., Trump was told by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker that his state had tried to put in “three big orders” of masks “but lost” them to the federal government. Baker asked how states could best take advantage of the Defense Production Act — a 1950 law the president invoked on Wednesday that allows him to force American businesses to produce materials in the national defense, such as ventilators and medical supplies for health care workers.
Trump replied that “we like you going out and seeing if you can get it faster.” The president has in recent days repeatedly advised governors to try to acquire medical supplies themselves.
Vice President Mike Pence added that he would advise governors to “reach out to construction companies” for the masks, because “they’re in possession of a lot.”
New Yorkers believe they are at low-risk of contracting coronavirus, study shows
At least 60 percent of New Yorkers believe they are at no risk or low risk of contracting coronavirus, according to a study by the City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy.
The survey results, published Thursday, found that despite feeling that they are at no great threat of catching the virus, more than 68 percent support measures taken to stop the spread. Researchers at the city university plan to conduct more studies on the pandemic as time goes on.
“We conducted this survey and will update it regularly over the course of this public health crisis as part of our unique mission within the City’s largest public university,” CUNY SPH Dean Ayman El Mohandes said.
New York now leads the country in confirmed coronavirus patients with more than 4,000 people tested positive in the state.
Photo: Preparing for Sunday services in Sweden
Mark Zuckerberg to interview Dr. Anthony Fauci on Facebook
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. health official who has been lauded for his straightforward communication on the coronavirus outbreak, will make a public appearance Thursday, after all.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will speak live on Facebook with CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the tech executive wrote on his Facebook wall.
Facebook said the discussion would happen at 4 p.m. PT (7 p.m. ET).
“He’ll discuss the measures we can all take to fight the spread of the coronavirus and what the government is doing to respond to the pandemic. We’ll have time for some questions from the community, so if there’s a question you think I should ask, reply here in the comments,” Zuckerberg wrote.
The phrase “Where is Dr. Fauci?” was trending on Twitter in the afternoon after he did not appear at a White House news conference.
Cannes Film Festival cancels May dates due to coronavirus
The Cannes Film Festival, set to be held in May, has been postponed amid the rampant spread of the coronavirus.
“Several options are considered in order to preserve its running, the main one being a simple postponement, in Cannes, until the end of June-beginning of July, 2020,” organizers said on Thursday in a press release.
The team will be working with the French government and Cannes city hall to find alternative solutions to host the internationally acclaimed festival.
“In the meantime, the Festival de Cannes lends its vocal support to all of those who firmly call on everyone to respect the general lockdown, and ask to show solidarity in these difficult times for the entire world.”
Carnival Cruises offers ships as hospitals for non-coronavirus patients
Carnival Cruises said Thursday that it was offering its ships to serve as temporary hospitals for non-coronavirus patients in an effort to free up hospital beds.
“These temporary cruise ship hospital rooms can be quickly converted to install and connect remote patient monitoring devices over the ship’s high-speed network – providing cardiac, respiratory, oxygen saturation and video monitoring capabilities,” the company said.
President Donald Trump announced earlier Thursday that he had spoken with Carnival Corporation Chairman Micky Arison and that Arison offered his ships as “floating hospitals.”
The ships have seven intensive care units with ventilators and all of its rooms allow for self-isolation if necessary, the company added.