The fast-spreading Covid-19 outbreak continued to cast a long shadow over the US on Monday as the number of confirmed cases passed 3,600 and the death toll reached 69.
US data trackers, including Johns Hopkins and The New York Times, showed the coronavirus spreading across all American states with the exception of West Virginia.
The highest number of cases has been recorded in New York, with 732 confirmed, followed by Washington state with 636, while Alaska, North Dakota and Virgin Islands recorded one case each.
The markets took a big hit on Monday, with the Dow plunging 2,000 points despite the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates to zero the day before.
WATCH: The Dow plunges more than 2,000 points at the open. Yesterday, the Fed cut interest rates to zero and launched a massive monetary stimulus campaign amid the coronavirus outbreak. https://t.co/OV2Wmnqeml
— CNBC (@CNBC) March 16, 2020
Across the US, schools, restaurants and bars were ordered to close in major cities including New York, Los Angeles, Houston, San Francisco and Seattle.
In Washington DC, nightclubs were ordered to close, and restrictions were put on bars and restaurant seating.
Disneyland and Disney World closed and the Vegas casino strip was also starting to shut down, after the Centres of Disease Control recommended that gatherings of 50 people or more should not take place for two months.
Meanwhile, a cyber-attack was reportedly launched on the US government health agency in charge of responding to Covid-19.
The Health and Human Services Department “suffered a cyber-attack on its computer system Sunday night”, Bloomberg reported on Monday night.
No data appears to have been stolen but the attack “intended to slow the agency’s systems down” and was able to spread disinformation alleging a “national lockdown”.
The National Security Council sent out a tweet on Sunday warning of the fake rumours.
Text message rumors of a national #quarantine are FAKE. There is no national lockdown. @CDCgov has and will continue to post the latest guidance on #COVID19. #coronavirus
— NSC 45 Archived (@WHNSC45) March 16, 2020
Also on Monday, US President Donald Trump’s resort in Florida, Mar-a-Lago, was undergoing a “deep clean” and closing for the day, CNN reported.
Three people with Mr Trump at Mar-a-Lago two weekends ago have tested positive for the virus.
Vaccine testing under way
US health agencies continued to expedite their work on developing a vaccine, with the first clinical trial taking place in Seattle on Monday.
The National Institutes of Health is funding the trial, which is taking place at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle.
But it will take a year to 18 months to fully validate any potential vaccine.
“Testing will begin with 45 young, healthy volunteers with different doses of shots co-developed by NIH and Moderna,” it said.
The spreading of the virus was a major topic in the Democratic debate between Senator Bernie Sanders and former vice president Joe Biden on Sunday night.
The two candidates touched elbows instead of shaking hands and criticised the Trump administration’s response to the crisis.
Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders share an elbow bump before the start of the #DemDebate, which is in a closed studio with no audience. https://t.co/BsboYY8h26 pic.twitter.com/XUiYCAgQhR
— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) March 16, 2020
A Quinnipiac poll released on Monday gave Mr Biden a double-digit lead over Mr Trump as far as the crisis was concerned.
