The rapid spread of the coronavirus is causing cancellations and postponements of major conferences, festivals and sporting events around the globe. There have been travel restrictions, and the global economy is taking a hit.

As of Tuesday afternoon, there have been at least 116,000 coronavirus cases worldwide, according to CBS News. While 64,000 people have recovered, more than 4,000 have died.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) was first identified in Wuhan, China. It has infected tens of thousands of Chinese citizens with pneumonia-like symptoms and has now spread to dozens of countries across the globe with cases being reported across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, and North America.

A lot of shows have removed live audience – Ellen, Wendy, Jimmy Fallon, The View, etc

Here’s a look at some major updates on coronavirus around the world.

Coronavirus has been Declared a Pandemic by W.H.O.

According to the BBC, the World Health Organization has declared the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, which means the virus will likely spread to all countries on the globe.

The Director-General of W.H.O., Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said the situation will worsen.

“We expect to see the number of cases, the number of deaths, and the number of affected countries climb even higher.”

Tedros called on governments to change the course of the outbreak by taking:

“urgent and aggressive action”, because “several countries have demonstrated that this virus can be suppressed and controlled, the challenge for many countries who are now dealing with large clusters or community transmission is not whether they can do the same it’s whether they will.”

Until now, the W.H.O. had avoided using the term, for fear that people would think the outbreak was unstoppable and countries would give up on trying to contain it.

Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson have Tested Positive for Coronavirus

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 19: (L-R) Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson attend the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 19, 2020, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks has announced that he and his wife, Rita Wilson, tested positive for the coronavirus. Hanks is one of the most famous celebrities to contract the virus that has become a global pandemic.

Hanks, who is currently in Australia to film a movie about the life of Elvis Presley, took to his Instagram to announce that he and his wife had tested after feeling tired with body aches and feverish temperatures. The couple will remain isolated for as long as public health requires.

Hello, folks. Rita and I are down here in Australia. We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches. Rita had some chills that came and went. Slight fevers too. To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the Coronavirus, and were found to be positive.

Well, now. What to do next? The Medical Officials have protocols that must be followed. We Hanks’ will be tested, observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires. Not much more to it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no?

We’ll keep the world posted and updated.

Take care of yourselves!
Hanx!

Donald Trump Put a Travel Ban on Europe

Although President Donald Trump avoided declaring a national emergency over the coronavirus outbreak, he is shutting down all travel from Europe with the exception of the UK and Ireland and urging sick people to “stay home.”

Describing the disease as a “foreign virus,” Trump announced a halt on all travel from the 26 countries in the Schengen open borders area of the EU. Independent reports that the limits will take effect on March 20th at midnight and will exempt American citizens and permanent legal residents and their families.

The N.B.A. Suspends its Season after a Player Tests Positive for Coronavirus

The N.B.A. is the latest to bear the brunt of Coronavirus after a Utah Jazz player was found to have tested positive for the coronavirus, leading to the announcement of its season suspension. The league said the suspension would take effect after the completion of Wednesday’s schedule.

In Oklahoma City, a game between the Thunder and the Jazz was seconds away from starting when the Thunder’s head medical staffer sprinted onto the court to talk to referees. Players from both teams then left for their locker rooms.

Quite a Number of Entertainment Talk Shows will now Tape without a Live Audience

The Coronavirus outbreak is disrupting entertainment events in Hollywood and around the world, from the theatrical releases to filming on set to the launch of film festivals. The ripple effect of the coronavirus on the entertainment industry has reached late-night US television.

Starting in March, “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” and “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” will tape without live audiences, Variety reports.

The Tonight Show and other late-night talk shows in New York announced on Wednesday they will be recorded without studio audiences, while CBS said that production on the next season of Survivor was being postponed.

“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and “The Wendy Williams Show” also became the latest TV talk shows to tape upcoming shows without audiences as a coronavirus precaution. The show’s producing studio, Telepictures said in a statement.

With the rapidly changing nature of the COVID-19 outbreak, and out of concern for our audience attending ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show,’ Telepictures will suspend audience attendance during tapings effective Monday, March 16. This temporary measure will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and will not impact the production schedule of Ellen.

The Wendy Williams Show also said in a statement:

Wendy values her co-hosts and their daily participation but in light of the current health climate, The Wendy Williams Show will not have a live studio audience until further notice, we will continue to produce a daily live talk show and look forward to welcoming the studio audience back when the time is right.

As the virus continues to spread, its unprecedented effects do, too.