Now as a pandemic, coronavirus changes life indefinitely

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Trump's coronavirus plan raised doubts 4:20

(CNN) - Hours after the coronavirus was declared a global pandemic, Americans were inundated with warnings that seemed to come from every corner of the country.

President Donald Trump unveiled a radical ban on travel to the United States.

The NCAA banned the presence of fans at its annual tournament.

The NBA suspended its season entirely.

And last but not least, movie star Tom Hanks shared from Australia that he tested positive for the virus that has infected more than 124,000 people worldwide.

• READ: Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson have coronaviruses, announces actor

In addition, Anthony Fauci, one of the world's leading experts on infectious diseases and a member of the National Institute of Health, told a congressional commission that the test system to detect the virus is not geared towards the country's needs and " that's a failure. "

If it had been possible to ignore the coronavirus before, that is no longer the case.

"We have turned on the alarms"

With coronavirus cases in the United States above 1,290, Trump has suspended travel from Europe for a month, a ban that - his administration clarified later - will only be for foreigners and not for US citizens who have been evaluated before enter the US

"We are organizing all the power of the federal government and the private sector to protect the American people," the president said Wednesday night. "This is the most aggressive and comprehensive effort to deal with a foreign virus in modern history," he added.

• READ: Restriction of entry to the USA by coronavirus: we answer your questions

Trump's announcement came after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus pandemic and noted that the number of affected countries tripled in two weeks, with more than 118,000 cases and 4,290 deaths worldwide for that moment.

Health officials "have never seen a controllable pandemic before," said WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

"Every day we have asked countries to take urgent and aggressive measures," Ghebreyesus warned in a statement. "We have turned on the alarms loud and clear," he completed.

Meanwhile, updates on the situation are spreading across the country and flooding newsrooms - cruise lines have shut down. Starbucks is considering limiting seating in the store. A passenger on a Jet Blue flight that left New York for West Palm Beach told the crew upon landing that she received a positive result for coronavirus, authorities reported.

Two schools that share a location in the Bronx are closing after a student tested positive for coronavirus on a test. Jersey City is implementing a curfew in major nightclubs. The Mississippi Department of Corrections is suspending visits to inmates. Visits to the White House are temporarily suspended. And New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has warned residents to expect more restrictions that disrupt people's lives.

Cases continue to rise

With the exception of four states in the USA, all have reported confirmed cases of coronavirus. And at least 39 Americans have died from the disease: 30 in Washington state, 4 in California, 2 in Florida, 1 in Georgia, 1 in New Jersey, and 1 in South Dakota.

A laboratory technique begins semi-automated tests to detect COVID-19 on March 11 in Lake Success, New York. (Credit: Andrew Theodorakis / Getty Images)

Hundreds of public schools have suspended classes, universities have sent their students home after campus closings, and sporting events, concerts, and festivals have been on hiatus.

In Connecticut, New York, Washington State and Tennessee, the closure of public school districts will leave some 314,000 students without classes for at least the next two weeks.

Multiple cities - including Boston, New Orleans, and Savannah, Georgia - canceled their St. Patrick's Day parades. Chicago officials also suspended the city's parade and said the Chicago River will not be dyed green this year.

In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo deployed the National Guard to help clean up an 80,000-person suburb with more than 108 cases. Cuomo also announced a 1.6 kilometer containment area starting Thursday around New Rochelle. That means closed schools and places of worship, plus large meetings canceled until March 25, authorities said.

The group of outbreaks in the area started with an attorney and spread to dozens in a matter of days. Officials are working to prevent that from happening again.

On Thursday morning, National Guard troops were observed outside the containment zone, setting up tables and tents and distributing food for families who depend on school lunches.

NBA canceled and March Madness championship closed to the public

This Wednesday, the NBA canceled a game between the Utah Jazz and the Oklahoma City Thunder, and announced that it would suspend the rest of its season after a Jazz player tested positive for coronavirus.

The positive result came shortly before the start of the game in Oklahoma, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox said in a statement.

"We, together with the Utah Department of Health, are actively working to identify how long the patient has been experiencing symptoms, and we are working to identify people who have had close enough contact with the player to potentially be exposed." indicated the pronouncement.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James tweeted after the league announcement.

"Man, we are canceling sporting events, classes in schools, office work, etc. What we really need is to cancel 2020, ”he wrote on his Twitter account. Damn, it's been a difficult 3 months. God bless you and stay safe! ”He added in his message.

• READ: The festivals, concerts and films that have been canceled or postponed by the coronavirus

Major conferences have canceled their college basketball tournaments, which were already underway, and the NCAA has ruled that only family members and essential staff may attend games during the annual March Madness basketball championship.

"Although I understand how disappointing this is for fans of our sport, my decision is based on the current understanding of how COVID-19 is progressing in the United States," said NCAA President Mark Emmert.

MLS has also suspended its season for 30 days, and the U.S. Soccer Federation will cancel all men's and women's games until April. The Professional Golfers Association and NASCAR say they will hold their fan-less events in the near future.

States implement restrictions in response to the virus

Hoping to stem the spread in the United States, two states put restrictions on large gatherings and one more decided to isolate infected people in a state park. Miami-Dade County has suspended all mass gatherings, including a youth fair, a tennis tournament, a 5K race, events at the AmericanAirlines Arena and a NASCAR race, authorities said.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee banned events with more than 250 people in the state's three largest counties.

"This is an unprecedented public health situation and we cannot wait until we are in the middle of it to slow it down," the governor said in a statement. "We have to get ahead of the curve. A primary defense is to reduce the interaction of people in our lives, "he added.

In Georgia, where the number of cases nearly doubled in two days, authorities transferred a coronavirus patient to a state park to isolate him, CNN affiliate WSB reported. The patient "could not isolate himself in his main residence and was not in a critical condition that required hospital admission," the governor's office said in a statement sent to the news station on Wednesday.

State authorities announced that the park, which is closed to the public and will be monitored by state police, will house seven mobile units to help isolate patients, according to the WSB report. At least 31 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the state.

For their part, California health officials said all public meetings should be postponed or canceled until at least the end of March, the governor's office said in a statement.

Non-essential meetings should be limited to less than 250 people, and meetings that include the highest-risk population should be limited to up to 10 people, "while following the guidelines for social distancing," the statement said.

• READ: Millions of students receive food in schools in the US What will happen now with closures due to the coronavirus?

"Not performing at that community concert or event can have cascading effects: saving dozens of lives and preserving critical health care resources that their families may need within a month," said Governor Gavin Newsom.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown also announced that all meetings of 250 or more people will be canceled - as well as nonessential school-related meetings such as parent meetings and field trips - for four weeks in hopes of stopping the spread of the virus.

Universities give days off for students to leave

Meanwhile, an increasing number of universities have canceled study abroad programs, closed campuses, or switched to online classes.

Universities like Harvard, Yale, Duke, Princeton and Cornell reported that they would take the lessons online.

"These past few weeks have been a powerful reminder of how connected we are to each other, and how our decisions today determine our options tomorrow," Lawrence Bacow, Harvard president, wrote in a statement.

Harvard was also one of the universities that asked students to leave campus.

"Harvard College students were asked to leave their first-year homes and dormitories by Sunday, March 15, in an effort to reduce the density of our community," university spokeswoman Rachael told CNN Dane, in an email.

In a statement Tuesday, the president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), L. Rafael Reif, wrote that students must start moving out of their residences before Saturday and will be asked to leave the campus on Tuesday.

To the returning students, the president wrote, "Please pack your belongings and make plans to travel home or to another place off campus as if you don't expect to return here until the fall semester."

In a statement, Johns Hopkins University reported that the school was transitioning to online classes and that students living in university housing were "strongly encouraged not to return to campus after spring break."

CNN's Akanksha Sharma contributed to this report.

Contagion Quarantine Donald Trump NBANCAAOMS Disease Prevention