Trump says he’s considering quarantine for parts of NY, NJ, Conn.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Saturday that he had spoken with some governors and was considering some type of an enforceable quarantine to prevent people in New York and parts of New Jersey and Connecticut from traveling.

Trump told reporters at the White House that it would be for a “short period of time, if we do it at all.” He said he had spoken with Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., and Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y., the country’s epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.

But Cuomo said he did not talk about any quarantine with Trump.

“I don’t even know what that means,” Cuomo said during a briefing in New York. “I don’t know how that could be legally enforceable, and from a medical point of view, I don’t know what you would be accomplishing. … I don’t like the sound of it.”

It isn’t clear whether the federal government has the power to impose such restrictions on states. Under the country’s constitutional system, states have the power and responsibility for maintaining public order and safety. The federal government is empowered under the law to take measures to prevent the spread of communicable diseases between states, but it’s not clear that means Trump can order state residents to stay put.

Trump made the comments on his way to Norfolk, Virginia, to see off a U.S. Navy medical ship en route to New York City to help with pandemic response there.

Trump will send off a naval hospital ship Saturday before it heads to New York City, as he aims to highlight the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The USNS Comfort, a 1,000-bed hospital ship, had been undergoing planned maintenance, but was rushed back into service to aid the city which is now the epicenter of the nation’s outbreak. It is scheduled to arrive Monday at a Manhattan pier a week after its sister ship, the USNS Mercy arrived in Los Angeles to preform similar duty on the West Coast.

The president acknowledged that making the 140-mile trip to Naval Station Norfolk wasn’t necessary, but said he was doing it to recognize the work of sailors and medical professionals who worked to get the ship out of maintenance more than a week ahead of schedule.

“I think it’s a good thing when I go over there and I say ‘thank you,’” Trump told reporters Friday. He added he wanted to make the trip to show “spirit for the country.”

Canadians showing symptoms to be kept off aircraft

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says anyone showing symptoms of COVID-19 will not be allowed to board domestic flights or intercity trains.

Trudeau says the new requirement will begin Monday at noon. Canadians returning to the country already can’t board planes if they are showing symptoms.

Trudeau says it will up to the train and plane operators to ensure people with symptoms don’t board. He says all those showing symptoms should be in self-isolation.

Trudeau made the announcement outside this residence where he is self-isolating after his wife tested positive for the virus.

Canada has more than 4,700 cases and more than 50 deaths.

World caseload tops 600K

The number of confirmed coronavirus infections worldwide topped 600,000 on Saturday as new cases stacked up quickly in Europe and the United States and officials dug in for a long fight against the pandemic.

The latest landmark came only two days after the world passed half a million infections, according to a tally by John Hopkins University, showing that much work remains to be done to slow the spread of the virus. It showed more than 615,000 cases and over 28,000 deaths.

While the U.S. now leads the world in reported infections — with more than 104,000 cases — five countries exceed its roughly 1,700 deaths: Italy, Spain, China, Iran and France.

Russia closing all borders

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has ordered the country’s borders be fully closed as of Monday.

The order issued Saturday follows increasingly stringent restrictions imposed over the past several weeks to limit the spread of coronavirus.

International passenger flights were halted on Friday. The order exempts diplomats as well as residents of the Kaliningrad exclave, who must cross through another country to enter the rest of Russia.

The latest on the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.

Trump OKs disaster aid for Michigan

President Donald Trump has approved a major disaster declaration for Michigan, providing additional money to help the state address the COVID-19 pandemic.

The declaration announced by the White House on Saturday follows a back-and-forth between Trump and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has criticized the Trump administration for its slow response to the pandemic, saying “we cannot weather this alone.”

The U.S. surgeon general said Friday that Detroit, a national “hot spot” for cases of the new coronavirus, will worsen next week. More than 3,600 people in Michigan were confirmed to have COVID-19 Friday. At least 92 have died, most from the three counties in the Detroit area, according to state officials.

Detroit has recorded 28 deaths and 1,166 cases, according to the city’s health department.

Virus makes child welfare work tougher

Child welfare agencies across the U.S., often beleaguered in the best of times, are scrambling to confront new challenges that the coronavirus is posing for caseworkers, kids and parents.

For caseworkers, the potential toll is physical and emotional. Child welfare workers in several states, including Michigan, Massachusetts, New York and Washington, have tested positive for COVID-19.

Many agencies, seeking to limit the virus’s spread, have cut back on in-person inspections at homes of children considered at risk of abuse and neglect. Parents of children already in foster care are missing out on weekly visits. Slowdowns at family courts are burdening some of those parents with agonizing delays in getting back their children.

“There are real sad consequences for folks who’ve been making progress toward reunifying,” said Boston social worker Adriana Zwick, who represents unionized caseworkers with Massachusetts’ Department of Children and Families.

Indonesia extends emergency

Authorities in Indonesia’s capital have extended a state of emergency for the next two weeks.

Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan says the decision was made because the COVID-19 death toll increased to 62 in the last week, along with 603 positive tests in Jakarta.

Baswedan says the current two-week long state of emergency in the capital will be extended to April 19. It would also lengthen the closure of tourism spots, entertainment venues, schools and offices.

He urged all corporations to remain closed and for their employees to work from home, and social organizations and religious groups to help prevent the spread of the disease.

He said at least 61 health workers exposed to coronavirus while helping patients in 26 hospitals in Jakarta.

Indonesia has reported 102 deaths and 1,155 infections.

Pentagon: No decision yet on reservists

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon says it’s made no decisions yet about calling up reservists following President Donald Trump’s order authorizing the call-up of an unspecified number to help with the coronavirus response.

The Pentagon’s chief spokesman says the Defense Department anticipates tapping people mainly for administrative duties and “high-demand medical capabilities whose call-up would not adversely affect their civilian communities.”

Spokesman Jonathan Hoffman says before calling up any members of the National Guard, the department would consult with state officials. Hoffman says its “a dynamic situation” and the Pentagon currently doesn’t have “a projected number of expected activations.”

Trump said in a letter to Congress on Friday that he had authorized Defense Secretary Mark Esper to order units and individual members of the Selected Reserve, as well as certain Individual Ready Reserve members, to active duty.

The reserve call-up likely will assist the military as it deploys field hospitals to cities hard hit by COVID-19 and provide medical support to state and local authorities.

Discrimination remider issued

WASHINGTON — The civil rights office at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is issuing a reminder that discrimination during COVID-19 care is prohibited.

Civil Rights office director Roger Severino says Health Human Services is committed to leaving no one behind during the crisis. Discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex and religion is prohibited.

Officials say they’re particularly focused on making sure medical professionals don’t discriminate against people with disabilities.

Albania sends medics to Italy

Albania will send doctors and nurses to nearby Italy, lending a hand to the country at the epicenter of the COVID-19 in Europe.

The government decision published at the Official Gazette on Saturday sets aside a budget reserve for doctors and nurses, who will be paid per month.

The Dita newspaper says 30 doctors and nurses will serve in Bergamo, Italy, which is hard hit by the virus.

Albania has reported 197 cases of the coronavirus, with 10 deaths.

Japan at ‘critical’ stage

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the country is at a critical stage in dealing with coronavirus infections but not at a point to declare a state of emergency.

Abe says Japan has managed to keep clusters under control by carefully following infection routes. But the initial strategy is now having a difficulty, with a rise of infections that are no longer traceable — an early sign of infection explosion.

He says once there is infection overshoot, “our strategy of slowing down the peak of the infections will instantly fall apart.” He adds “under the current situation, we are just barely holding up. But I understand we are standing on the edge.”

Abe convened a taskforce Thursday, the day after Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike made a stay-at-home request to its 14 million residents after seeing a spike in the number of new cases of the COVID-19 to 41.

Japan has 2,180 confirmed cases, including 712 from a cruise ship, with 59 deaths, according to the health ministry.

French find undercover mask business

French police are uncovering an underground business in protective face masks, locating more than 23,000 masks stuffed in a small truck in a chic neighborhood of western Paris.

Stocks of masks have turned up in other surprising places. The masks, in short supply in France and other countries, are needed by health workers amid the coronavirus pandemic. The French government requisitioned all masks in early March.

Police found 20,000 illegally held masks in a tourist agency in southern Paris and 15,000 masks in a natural foods shop in an eastern neighborhood of the French capital, the newspaper Le Monde reported on Saturday.

Chartered flights rescue hundreds

German and French government-chartered flights picked up hundreds of passengers stranded in the Himalayan nation since the country imposed a complete lockdown.

Two Qatar Airways jets flew 303 Germans and 305 French nationals out of Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport. On Friday, another flight had rescued 305 German tourists.

Nepal’s government has halted all flights and ground transportation, shutting down offices and shuttering businesses to control the spread of the coronavirus.

Nepal has five confirmed cases, including one person who has recovered. Nepal’s health ministry spokesman Bikash Devkota says the latest case confirmed is a Nepali woman who had traveled back from Belgium.

Spain reports 832 deaths

MADRID — Spain had its deadliest day yet during the coronavirus crisis with 832 deaths reported on Saturday for a total of 5,690 fatalities. Infections have increased by over 8,000 in 24 hours to reach a national total of 72,248.

Spain is approaching two weeks of its stay-at-home restrictions and store closings, but its infections and deaths keep rising. On Friday, Spain reported a total of 64,059 cases and 4,858 deaths.

The medical system is pushed to the limits in the hot spots in Madrid and northeast Catalonia. Doctors, nurses and ambulance drivers are falling ill at an alarming rate and working non-stop.

Pablo Rojo, an ambulance medic at Barcelona’s Dos de Maig hospital, says: “They’re not 80 years old anymore, they are now 30 and 40 years old.”

Germany keeping restrictions to April 20

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff says Germany won’t loosen its restrictions on public life before April 20.

German authorities closed non-essential shops and banned gatherings of more than two people in public at the beginning of the week. Schools, bars, restaurants and clubs are also closed.

Merkel’s chief of staff, Helge Braun, told Saturday’s edition of the daily Tagesspiegel that “we are not going to talk about any easing before April 20 — until then, all measures will remain in place.” He says officials will say “in a timely manner before then” what will happen after that date.

Braun says “the older and the sick will have to reduce their contacts for significantly longer.”

Germany has recorded more than 50,000 cases of the new coronavirus, according to a tally by John Hopkins University, with 351 deaths — a lower death rate than many other countries.