quote:

Family friend has her wedding coming up on April 4

quote:

we have a LOT of low income kids in our schools that receive breakfast and lunch at school. I worry how their families will handle this.

quote:

We have a LOT of low income kids in our schools that receive breakfast and lunch at schoQUOol. I worry how their families will handle this.

quote:

Apple today issued a letter responding to the growing coronavirus pandemic and outlining steps the company is taking to protect the safety of customers and employees. As part of the precautions, all Apple retail stores outside of Greater China will temporarily close until March 27, effective immediately.

Tim Cook:

We will be closing all of our retail stores outside of Greater China until March 27. We are committed to providing exceptional service to our customers. Our online stores are open at www.apple.com, or you can download the Apple Store app on the App Store. For service and support, customers can visit support.apple.com. I want to thank our extraordinary Retail teams for their dedication to enriching our customers’ lives. We are all so grateful to you.

Closing stores is just one of several steps Apple is taking to do its part in mitigating the effects of coronavirus. Apple says deep cleaning will continue at all of its sites. New health screenings and temperature checks are being added to all offices. Hourly workers will continue receiving pay.

We have expanded our leave policies to accommodate personal or family health circumstances created by COVID-19 — including recovering from an illness, caring for a sick loved one, mandatory quarantining, or childcare challenges due to school closures.

Apple says its donations to the global COVID-19 response have reached $15 million worldwide. The company will match employee donations two-to-one.

quote:

Originally posted by wtg:
UK and Ireland added to travel ban, effective Monday night.

quote:

Originally posted by Axtremus:

quote:

Originally posted by wtg:
UK and Ireland added to travel ban, effective Monday night.

Makes no sense why they were exempted in the first place.

quote:

How is France shutting down?

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the number of people in France in intensive care was growing and earlier guidelines for the public were being ignored.

The closure applies to restaurants, cafes, cinemas and nightclubs as well as non-essential businesses.

It will not, Mr Philippe said, affect essential businesses which he listed as food shops, chemists, banks, tobacco shops and petrol stations.

quote:

How will Spain be affected?

Under a state of emergency, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is banning Spanish citizens from leaving home, except for buying essential supplies and medicines, or for work.

All museums, cultural centres and sports venues will be closed. Restaurants and cafes may only do home deliveries. Essential services like banks and petrol stations will remain open. Schools are already shut across the country.

Mr Sánchez appealed for unity, calling on all regions to put ideological differences aside and put citizens first.

"I want to tell the workers, the self-employed and businesses that the government of Spain is going to do everything in its power to cushion the effects of this crisis," he said.

The state of emergency will last for two weeks - more if deemed necessary and parliament approves.

The authorities have recorded 1,800 more cases since Friday evening - many in the capital Madrid.

quote:

Originally posted by Axtremus:
Somewhat unexpected that France would exempt tobacco shops as “essential.”

quote:

Originally posted by jon-nyc:
You guys all realize these closures are really until the end of the year. They just don't know it yet. And those that do know it don't want to freak everyone out.

quote:

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said Sunday that schools may remain closed through the end of the year as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread.

Ohio is among a handful of states that announced it would be closing schools for a few weeks.

CNN's "State of the Union" host Brianna Keilar asked DeWine if he anticipates the state may close schools for the rest of the year.

"Absolutely," DeWine responded.

"Going by what medical experts are telling us, [the outbreak] may not peak until the latter part of April or May," he added. "We've informed superintendents while we've closed schools for three weeks, odds are we will go on a lot longer."

DeWine said it will "not surprise" him if schools don't open again this year.

He noted closing schools isn't the only measure Ohio needs to take in order to mitigate the spread of the virus.

"I have learned about talking to the experts, it's not just one thing, [we] have to do a lot of different things and do them early," DeWine said. "And that's what we're trying to do in Ohio."