COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, was officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11.
The virus has killed more than 21,000 people worldwide and continues to spread at a rapid pace. Efforts to curb the outbreak have led to the global disruption of daily life and the economy, as schools and workplaces shutter in hopes of slowing transmission.
HuffPost reporters around the world are tracking the pandemic and the measures being taken to flatten the curve of transmission.
Read the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic below. (To see the latest updates, you may need to refresh the page. All times are Eastern. For earlier updates on the pandemic, go here.)
Federal Reserve Chair: Control Virus Before Reopening Economy — 3/26/20, 8 a.m. ET
Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell said Thursday the federal government should heed the advice of medical experts and focus on curbing the spread of the coronavirus before reopening the economy.
“We would tend to listen to the experts,” Powell told NBC’s “Today.” “I think the first order of business will be to get the spread of the virus under control and then resume economic activity.”
Powell’s statement throws cold water on Trump’s recent push to ease social distancing measures potentially in the next few weeks to boost the economy. “We can’t have the cure be worse than the problem,” the president has said.
Meanwhile, public health experts have warned that lifting coronavirus restrictions now would overwhelm the health care system and could kill millions of people
