good evening we begin tonight with
breaking news about the corona virus
late today a stunning announcement
lockdowns planned for more than 10
million people in Italy as a disease
spreads here in the US states of
emergency coast to coast in California
questions about where this cruise ship
will go with coronavirus patients on
board and word of another cruise ship
the government is now tracking in
Washington state new fears as nursing
homes are hit hard it's disrupting
travel as well Amtrak now making a major
change and the government's mixed
messages on those testing kits will
there be enough we have it all covered
and begin in San Francisco with Steve
Patterson and the latest on that
quarantined crew ship tonight more than
3,500 passengers on the Grand Princess
wondering what's next the vice president
today saying the ship will dock at a non
commercial port new quarantine standards
will be coordinated with the CDC for all
ships 21 people on board were found
positive with the corona virus including
19 crew members the US Coast Guard
delivered kits last week but so far only
45 people have been tested certainly
that have we been exposed to you know do
we have it overnight crews forced to
remove a sick passenger transported off
the ship by the Coast Guard the cruise
line releasing a statement saying the
illness was not related to corona virus
not knowing the knot is the scariest
part Eva and John Weiss burger stuck on
board have filed a lawsuit against the
cruise liner
the couple worried about the virus
because of their age and Ron's heart
condition I know I'm medication by
Wednesday it's medication that's really
dangerous the u.s. death toll rising to
at least 19 impacting both coasts after
two deaths reported in Florida there are
now over 400 positive cases across the
country the epicenter Washington State
with more than a hundred confirmed cases
in at least 16 deaths two new nursing
homes in Seattle announced positive
patients after a week of misery at the
Life Care Center in Kirkland it's been a
very trying time for everybody involved
here
meanwhile the economy suffering in
Seattle some hotel bookings down 50% we
started to receive phone calls and it's
it's hitting our employees it's hitting
our our business and Amtrak today
announcing its canceling nonstop service
from New York to Washington because of
falling demand SC the vice president
says they're tracking another ship that
may have shared a crew what are they
worried about
yeah the vice president confirmed this
today they are tracking another ship
that may have shared a crew member with
either the Grand Princess or the diamond
princess and their so they're worried
about replicating the same situation
that we have off the coast of San
Francisco right now no additional
details on that ship except to say that
they want to test every crew member
onboard hose that Steve Patterson in San
Francisco thank you tonight president
Trump's coronavirus task force is making
changes that will impact the hard-hit
cruise industry oz Nichols is traveling
with the President and reports from
Florida tonight vice president pence
leading the White House's public
response to coronavirus calling for new
standards from the cruise line industry
enhance entry and exit screening and
also to establish shipboard testing for
the coronavirus new quarantine standards
will be coordinated with the CDC for all
ships and he urged the elderly and the
infirm to stay off cruises and this
would be a good time to practice common
sense and to avoid activities including
traveling on a cruise line hence
traveling to Fort Lauderdale Florida an
hour away from president Trump who spent
the morning at his Golf Club after his
visit to the CDC in Atlanta yesterday
where he asked Americans to remain calm
and insisted that there were enough
tests for the virus but at a White House
briefing today secretary alex a's are
forced to clarify the president's
remarks calling it shorthand adding that
what he meant to say is that you need a
doctor's order for a test as he
confronts the biggest health crisis of
his presidency Trump rousting his chief
of staff calling on congressman mark
Meadows to replace Mick Mulvaney meadows
long a front row member of team Trump
was a fierce defender of the President
on impeachment and will go on offense to
help him win a second term I mean you
know all the sudden what we have is the
strict constitutionalists on the other
side of the aisle listen this has
nothing to do with the Constitution it
has nothing to do with anything but raw
politics hons1 can Americans expect
these new standards from the cruise line
industry well tonight pence said that he
expects the industry to develop those
new standards over the next 72 hours he
also added that he hasn't been tested
himself for the coronavirus Jose Paz
Nichols in West Palm Beach Florida thank
you the impact of coronavirus around the
world is becoming more dire tonight
Italy's government is preparing to lock
down more than 10 million people to keep
the disease from spreading bill Neely
reports from Milan one of the areas that
will be impacted by this planned
lockdown Italy has seen nothing like
this hospitals overwhelmed deaths rising
fast with hundreds of new infections and
dozens of new deaths every day Italy has
now replaced China as the epicenter
health experts are most worried about
the scientists who identified the
italian strain says they're fighting a
fast-moving enemy viruses are always
changing so each strain of the virus is
changing all the time I think so that we
are facing aerial emergency
and tonight emergency measures the
Italian government preparing to lock
down a region of 10 million people
including Milan Italy's business center
where the streets were quiet today no
one would be allowed to leave or enter
for weeks
Pope Francis who was coughing earlier
this week with a cold will lead Sunday
prayers tomorrow not from this balcony
but by video link at a US military base
in Naples a junior officer became the
first u.s. servicemen in Europe to test
positive for the virus across the world
are now more than a hundred five
thousand cases of the virus in
at least 95 countries with more than
3,500 deaths in China
dozens of people who'd been quarantined
in a hotel were buried when the building
collapsed more than 30 including
children were pulled up
but scores are still trapped it's a
global battle against a virus spreading
fast bill neely NBC News Milan and while
we're still learning about the corona
virus I want to give you some important
context so far we know a fewer than two
dozen deaths from corona virus in the
u.s. by comparison between twelve and
sixty thousand Americans died of the flu
in an average year the big concern
there's no vaccine yet also it may be
easier to catch and appears to be
especially dangerous for the elderly and
anyone with underlying medical
conditions however current estimates
note about 80 percent of people who get
it will not need to go to the hospital