Portal:Current events/2020 March 16

March 16, 2020 (Monday)

Arts and culture

COVID-19 pandemic
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema
  - Actors Idris Elba and Kristofer Hivju reveal they have both tested positive for COVID-19. (Fox News) (Variety)
Rock art in Iran
- An ancient petroglyph has been discovered in Central Iran. (Newsweek)

Business and economy

Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, 2020 stock market crash
  - Asian markets fall substantially and European markets open with huge losses. S&P futures fall 5%, triggering a trading halt in response to the Federal Reserve's emergency measures. (ABC News)
  - The Dow closes 2,997 points or 12.9% lower - its largest daily points movement. (AP via Mercury News)
- Renault announces that it is halting all production at its industrial sites in France until further notice because of the coronavirus pandemic. (Reuters)
- The 2020 Dayton Hamvention, the world's largest amateur radio convention, is cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. (The Shortwave Listening Post)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 vaccine
  - Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle begins testing a possible COVID-19 vaccine on 45 people. (KOMO-TV)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Spain, 2020 Spain coronavirus lockdown
    - Regional presidents of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, and Catalonia, Quim Torra, test positive for COVID-19, as both regions are the most affected by the pandemic in the country. (RTVE)
    - The Spanish government takes control of all private hospitals to help the country's healthcare system cope with the virus pandemic. (Business Insider)
    - Basque and Galician elections, both scheduled for 5 April are postponed until the crisis is overcome. (El País)
    - The Ministry of the Interior closes all borders. (El País)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Poland
    - Poland's Environment Minister Michał Woś tests positive for COVID-19. Other Cabinet ministers' workers self-isolate but later test negative. (Radio Poland)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Greenland
    - Greenland reports its first confirmed case of COVID-19, in Nuuk. (Ekstra Bladet)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Finland
    - Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin declares a state of emergency and closes all schools until April 13 in response to the coronavirus. (YLE)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - The first death from COVID-19 is confirmed in Wales. The 68-year-old patient was being treated at Wrexham Maelor Hospital. (BBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Armenia
    - Armenia declares a state of emergency lasting until April 14 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The emergency measures include the closure of all educational institutions, closing the borders with Georgia and Iran, banning gatherings with over 20 people, and postponing the 2020 Armenian constitutional referendum. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Malta
    - Prime Minister Robert Abela announces the closing of all public locals but refuses to order a lockdown. (Times of Malta)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Andorra
    - The COVID-19 cases in Andorra amount to 14 after a rise of 9 on the day with the highest cases registered. Prime Minister also announces the stoppage of construction and industry for 8 days. (Diari d'Andorra) (Diari d'Andorra)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Monaco
    - Head of the Monegasque government Serge Telle tests positive for COVID-19. (CNN)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Iceland
    - All schools including primary and preschool in the Reykjavík area closes. (RUV)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Bahrain
  - Bahrain reports the country's first death from COVID-19, a 65-year-old woman who returned from Iran last month. (Anadolu Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
  - Israel’s Health Ministry approves experimental treatment for COVID-19. (Jerusalem Post)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
  - Benin, Liberia, Somalia and Tanzania report their first confirmed cases of COVID-19. (National Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Sudan
    - Sudan declares the emergency status. (Anadolu Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
  - Grand Ayatollah Hashem Bathaie Golpayenagi dies two days after testing positive for COVID-19, as Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education reports 129 more deaths from the virus. (Al Jazeera)
  - Economist and social activist Fariborz Raisdana also dies from coronavirus. (Tehran Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
  - Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs imposes a nationwide ban on all prayer gatherings in mosques. (Daily Sabah)
  - Turkey's Ministry of Health confirms 29 new cases, totalling to 47. (Daily Sabah)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
  - Russian government has decided to provisionally limit the entry of foreigners into Russia to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The rules will come to force on Wednesday and will last until May 1. Diplomats, those "residing permanently in Russia", along with some other categories e.g. crews of aircraft, international truck drivers and people who attend funerals are exempted. (RT)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - The U.S. has 4,459 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of today, resulting in 86 deaths. West Virginia remains the only state with no confirmed cases. (CNN)
  - All K–12 schools are closed in 37 U.S. states as of today, affecting a total of 37.4 million students in 72,000 schools. (Education Week)
  - The San Francisco Bay Area orders a shelter in place for six counties. (San Francisco Chronicle)
  - The governors of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Michigan, Louisiana, Ohio, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Washington, and mayors of cities in other states, order the closure of all bars and restaurants and ban gatherings of 50 or more people in their states or cities in response to the pandemic. (CNBC) (WJBK) (Business Insider)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
  - Prime Minister Mark Rutte becomes the first Prime Minister since 1973 to hold a rare televised address to the nation concerning the coronavirus pandemic. (Politico)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
  - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces that Canada will close its borders to all foreign travelers due to the pandemic, effective on Wednesday. Exceptions will be made for air crews, diplomats, immediate family members and U.S. citizens. Only four airports will continue to receive international flights: Toronto Pearson, Vancouver, Montréal–Trudeau, and Calgary. Domestic flights and flights from the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean, as well as foreign commerce and trade, will not be affected. (Global News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
  - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declares a Luzon-wide "enhanced community quarantine" during the second day of the already community quarantined Metro Manila. (GMA News)
  - Philippine Senator Migz Zubiri becomes one of the 142 cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines after his test results return positive. (CNN Philippines)

Law and crime

Aftermath of the Sagamihara stabbings
- A court in Japan sentences Satoshi Uematsu to death for one of the country's worst mass murders, in which he killed 19 disabled people. (BBC News)
The Constitutional Court of Russia approves amendments to the Constitution proposed by President Vladimir Putin. (The Moscow Times)
Mass shootings in the United States
- A man shoots six people, killing four and himself, at a gas station in Springfield, Missouri. (The Hill)

Politics and elections

2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
- Joe Biden is declared winner of the Washington Democratic primary. (Politico)

Sports

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports
- 2020 Major League Baseball season
  - Major League Baseball announces that the season will be postponed indefinitely, after the recommendations from the CDC to restrict events of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks. (Major League Baseball)
- The National Junior College Athletic Association cancels the remainder of all winter seasons, plus the spring seasons, for all sports. (MLive.com)
- WrestleMania 36
  - WWE announces that this year's edition of its flagship event, WrestleMania, will be moved from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, without a live crowd. (Wrestling Observer)
- 2020 NFL Draft
  - The 2020 NFL draft will go ahead in April despite the coronavirus, but with new changes. (Boston Herald) (NBC Sports)