Portal:Current events/2020 March 15

March 15, 2020 (Sunday)

Arts and culture

COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico
- Fans attend the Vive Latino in Mexico City despite coronavirus concerns. (AP News)

Business and economy

COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- In an emergency move, less than two weeks after the previous unscheduled intervention, the Fed drops its benchmark rate a full percentage point. It announces a $700 billion quantitative easing program, sets reserve requirements for thousands of banks to zero and lowers other lending rates. The set of measures appears as its biggest ever in a single day. (CNBC)

Disasters and accidents

A pipeline explosion causes a fire and destroys dozens of buildings in Lagos, Nigeria, killing at least 15 people. (Reuters)
European migrant crisis
- Malta's Navy rescues 112 migrants from a sinking boat in the Mediterranean Sea. (New York Times)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Uzbekistan
  - Uzbekistan confirms the Central Asian country's first case of COVID-19, an Uzbek citizen who had recently returned from France. All schools, colleges and universities are ordered to close for three weeks, while all public events are cancelled. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
  - The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Italy jumps to 24,747, while the death toll rose to 1,809 people. (Corriere della Sera)
  - Noted Italian architect Vittorio Gregotti dies in Milan, at age 92, after contracting coronavirus. (Corriere della Sera)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
  - The Republic of the Congo reports its first case of coronavirus, a 50-year-old man who arrived in the country on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Paris. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
  - Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education reports 1,209 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 113 more deaths, the highest number of deaths in a single 24-hour period in the country to date, bringing the total to 13,938 confirmed cases and 724 deaths. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Kazakhstan
  - Kazakhstan declares a state of emergency over the coronavirus pandemic. The presidential decree from President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev imposes a national quarantine and restricts both entry and departures from the country to all except diplomats and individuals invited by the government. (RFE/RL)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
  - President Alberto Fernández reinforces security at the borders and bans all travelers from hard-hit countries that spent at least 14 days there. In addition, he says he is considering a national quarantine and suspension of school classes. (Buenos Aires Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Israel, COVID-19 pandemic in Palestine
  - The Jerusalem Islamic Waqf announces the closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock to upend contamination of the holy sites from COVID-19. (Al Jazeera)
  - The corruption trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, originally slated to open on March 17, has been delayed to May 24 due to restrictions on public gatherings enacted to stop coronavirus spread. (New York Post)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary
    - Hungary reports its first death from COVID-19, a 75-year-old man. (Index)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - The United Kingdom's Department of Health and Social Care reports 232 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 14 more deaths. The UK government says a "wartime-style" mobilisation will be enforced in the coming weeks to tackle the virus. (ITV)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Spain, 2020 Spain coronavirus lockdown
    - Spain's Ministry of Health reports 2,000 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 105 more deaths, as the country enters a nationwide lockdown. (Business Recorder)
    - Pere Aragonès, Vice President of Catalonia, confirms via Twitter he tested positive for the virus. (Europa Press)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
    - The Government closes down all schools and Horeca establishments, and the Royal Dutch Football Association suspends all football matches until April 6. (DutchNews)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Austria, 2020 Tyrol coronavirus lockdown
    - Günther Platter, the governor of the Austrian state of Tyrol, announces a statewide lockdown set to last for one week, out of concerns of the coronavirus. (The Boston Globe)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
    - Germany closes its borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark and Luxembourg. (BBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Slovenia
    - Slovenia closes all schools indefintely and suspends public transport effective midnight as COVID-19 cases rise to 219. (Total Slovenia News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Liechtenstein
    - The government announces a tightening of the measures: all the events with more than five people are banned, including religious services, entertainment and leisure businesses are suspended, in particular museums, libraries, sport facilities, casinos and the mountain railways. Restaurants, bars, discos and nightclubs are also closed, although take-away service will be allowed. (Government of Liechtenstein)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
  - Canada's public health agency posts an advert for nurses, citing "an urgent need". Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he does not rule out the possibility of closing the borders. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - The American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issues a recommendation to suspend gatherings of 50 or more people for the next two months. (NPR)
  - The governors of five states: California, Ohio, Illinois, Washington and Massachusetts, order bars and restaurants to close in response to the pandemic. (USA Today)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Ohio
    - The Ohio Department of Health reports it now has 37 cases of COVID-19 in the state. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state)
    - New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio orders the city's public schools close until April 20. (New York Daily News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan
    - Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer reports the state now has 20 more confirmed cases of COVID-19 than yesterday, for a total of 53. (WXYZ-TV)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Arkansas
    - Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson announces the closing of all public schools in the state beginning March 17 over coronavirus concerns. (The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
  - Turkey's Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun reports 12 new confirmed cases, totalling 18. (Daily Sabah)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Guatemala
  - Guatemala reports the country's first death from the coronavirus, an 85-year-old man who had recently returned from Spain. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2020 Democratic Party presidential debates
- The first one-on-one debate of the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries takes place between former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders in Washington, D.C., instead of Arizona as originally scheduled and without an audience as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. (Reuters)
2020 Georgia Democratic primary
- Georgia postpones its primary elections to May 19 after 66 cases of COVID-19 were reported in the state. (ABC News)
The Royal Household of Spain announces that the King has refused the heritage of his father after emeritus King Juan Carlos I had been involved in a tax haven scandal and money-laundering. His public fund is also withdrawn. (La Vanguardia)

Science and technology

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket aborts takeoff shortly after igniting its engines. (CBS News)

Sports

2020 NFL season
- National Football League players vote to ratify a proposed CBA rule that changes the NFL regular season to seventeen games and the playoff format to seven games. (USA Today)