Millions of American children were stuck at home, the stocks rollercoaster was poised to plunge once again and the fate of domestic travel hung in the balance Monday as the coronavirus pandemic gained momentum across the nation.

The CDC issued new recommendations late Sunday, saying that gatherings of 50 or more people should not take place in the U.S. for the next eight weeks. The recommendation does not apply to businesses or schools. 

There were slivers of light in the darkness – U.S. health officials on Sunday pledged to ramp up testing efforts by the tens of thousands. Vaccine testing was scheduled to begin.

But the U.S. death toll rose  to 69, with more than 3,770 confirmed cases as of Monday morning. The global death surged past 6,500. 

In an attempt to slow the virus, more than 30 states ordered the shuttering of all schools. Included in those closures are New York and Los Angeles public schools, the two largest districts in the nation that serve more than a combined 1.8 million K-12 children.

U.S. stock futures plunged Monday at the start of another turbulent week after the Federal Reserve took emergency action to cushion the economy from the pandemic that is shutting down global business and travel.

President Donald Trump and his administration promised to ramp up testing for the virus. “This is a very contagious virus, it’s incredible,’’ Trump said. “But it’s something we have tremendous control of.’’

Other important headlines on coronavirus: 

• Major hotels on the Las Vegas Strip are starting to close, including Wynn Resorts and MGM,  both of which will close their hotel-casinos starting Tuesday.  
• Roughly 2,000 labs are expected to come online across the nation in the coming weeks, and they will be able to process both drive-thru and walk up coronavirus tests quickly. 
• More than 30 states have closed schools, and there’s no guarantee they’ll re-open anytime soon. 

• The race to find a coronavirus treatment:One strategy might be just weeks away, scientists say, but no vaccine yet. Meanwhile, what we don’t know about COVID-19 is “epic.” Can you have influenza and coronavirus at the same time? We answer readers’ questions.

CDC: No large gatherings for 8 weeks; more guidelines coming today

The CDC issued new guidance recommending against gatherings of 50 or more people “for the next eight weeks,” saying those who have already planned events with that many people should cancel or postpone. 

“This recommendation is made in an attempt to reduce introduction of the virus into new communities and to slow the spread of infection in communities already affected by the virus,” the CDC wrote on its website. The guidance notes it “does not apply to the day to day operation of organizations such as schools, institutes of higher learning, or businesses.” Events of any size should stress protect vulnerable populations through hand hygiene and social distancing, the CDC wrote.

The CDC promised to release more detailed guidelines Monday. On Sunday, leaders of the federal coronavirus task force did not rule out some adjustments to domestic travel. Most flights carry more than 50 passengers.

– Jordan Culver and Dawn Gilbertson

Closed schools, Internet learning could widen education gap

Thousands of schools across the nation were closed Monday and will remain closed for weeks. Some school districts are trying to cope using online studies. But many students have no access to the Internet at home, and teachers and advocates worry the crisis will worsen the existing education gap for low-income households, even as they take steps to try to accommodate students with paper packets or loans of electronic devices.

In Paterson, New Jersey, where more than a quarter of the city lives below the poverty level, about 22% of households don’t own a computer, tablet or smartphone and 36% lack an internet subscription, according to 2019 Census data.

“Whenever possible, we will be using the district’s website and resources like Google Classroom,” said school district spokesman Paul Brubaker. “But we will still need to make resources available on paper for many of our students.”

– Hannan Adely and Ashley Balcerzak, Bergen Record

Coronavirus news: What to know

More important headlines from USA TODAY:

About coronavirus testing: Vice President Mike Pence, other health officials said Sunday they are planning to ramp up coronavirus testing by tens of thousands of additional people a week, beginning this week.

Worried you have symptoms of coronavirus?This is what you should do first.

Travelers are frustrated, angry, confused. Are domestic travel restrictions coming?

‘You can’t Netflix them all day.’ Coronavirus closed this school where the kids have special needs. Speaking of schools: Is online learning a realistic expectation for K-12 students? Well, not everyone has the internet.

People are buying guns. It’s not just toilet paper people are stocking up on. Related: Here’s where you can still buy toilet paper.

At the Grand Ole Opry, there was no audience.But a poignant show went on, as it always does.

Get more updates in your inbox.Sign up for our newsletter.

More: Ustedes nos hicieron muchas preguntas sobre el coronavirus, nosotros se las respondemos

Vaccine tests begin today, mass vaccinations a year away

The first participant in a clinical trial for a vaccine to protect against the new coronavirus will receive an experimental dose on Monday, according to a government official. The National Institutes of Health is funding the trial, which is taking place at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle. The official who disclosed plans for the first participant spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the move has not been publicly announced.

Public health officials say 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 Inc. There’s no chance participants could get infected from the shots, because they don’t contain the virus itself, the official said.

– Associated Press

Fauci: US should brace to ‘hunker down’ amid coronavirus pandemic

A top official in the coronavirus response says the U.S. should be prepared “to hunker down significantly more than we as a country are doing.” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on NBC’s “Meet The Press” that it is not clear whether the spread of the virus has been blunted.

Asked if he would prefer something like a 14-day national shutdown, Fauci told NBC: “You know, I would prefer as much as we possibly could. I think we should really be overly aggressive and get criticized for overreacting.”

Fauci, making the Sunday talk show rounds, told ABC’s “This Week” that domestic travel restrictions have not been seriously considered by the federal task force – yet.

“I do not see that right now in the immediate future,” Fauci said. “But, remember, we are very open minded about whatever it takes to preserve the health of the American public.”

– David Jackson

States start shuttering bars and restaurants, encourage takeout 

The governors in several states — California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio, New York and Washington among them — mandated the closings of bars, restaurants and wineries on Sunday in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Describing coronavirus as “incredibly contagious” at a Sunday news conference, Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker told reporters, “If we take decisive steps now and everyone plays their part by following the best medical guidance, we can slow down the spread.”

More: What is social distancing? When should I quarantine versus isolate?

Also Sunday, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf ordered all restaurants and bars across five counties (Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery) to close dine-in facilities to help control the spread of the virus, beginning Monday.

– Lindsay Schnell

Hotels on Las Vegas Strip start to close

Wynn Resorts will close its two luxury hotel-casinos on the Las Vegas Strip for two weeks starting Tuesday. MGM will cease casino operations on Monday and will completely close its properties on Tuesday. 

“It is now apparent that this is a public health crisis that requires major collective action if we are to slow its progression,” Jim Murren, Chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts, said in a statement. 

The companies announced the closures after Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak ordered that all K-12 public schools in the Clark County School District close.

After two weeks, the Wynn resorts will evaluate the situation, according to a release sent to investors. MGM will not take reservations for new arrivals prior to May 1. 

– Ed Komenda, Reno Gazette Journal 

Fed cuts rate to zero, launches more bond purchases in historic moves

The Federal Reserve unleashed much of its arsenal Sunday to combat the economic damage caused by the coronavirus, cutting short-term interest rates to zero, renewing its crisis-era bond purchases to lower long-term rates and encouraging more bank loans to households and businesses.

Central bank policymakers agreed to lower the Fed’s benchmark federal funds rate by a full percentage point to a range of zero to 0.25% — where it hovered for years during and after the 2008 financial crisis.

“The coronavirus outbreak has harmed communities and disrupted economic activity in many countries, including the United States,” the Fed said in a statement. “The effects of the coronavirus will weigh on economic activity in the near-term and pose risks to the economic outlook.”

The Fed already had cut its key rate by half percentage point earlier this month. Many economists expected the central bank to agree to a percentage point cut at a two-day meeting that ends Wednesday, but the Fed decided to move early in a historic show of force.

– Paul Davidson

Health care officials say tests will ramp up nationwide this week

Vice President Mike Pence and other health officials said two factors will allow them to increase testing capacity dramatically in coming days: Some 2,000 labs coming online across the nation to process tests and high throughput tests that can be used for drive-through or walk-up test centers. 

Admiral Brett P. Giroir, assistant secretary of health at the Department of Health and Human Services, said gear and federal health care workers would being shipping out Monday. 

Health officials said they were focusing those tests on two groups: Healthcare workers and first responders as well as those who are 65 and older with a respiratory symptom and a fever of at least 99.6 degrees. The officials implored Americans to help prioritize those two groups. 

– John Fritze and David Jackson

Parents brace for kids at home; thousands of schools close

Minnesota and South Carolina shut public schools effective Monday as the wave of widespread closings in the U.S. continued to grow. More than 20 states and a number of large urban school districts — including Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest — are shutting down all K-12 schools as part of a sweeping attempt to contain the spread of the coronavirus. 

Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington are among states shutting down schools. Major metropolitan districts such as Atlanta, Denver, San Francisco, San Diego, Washington, D.C. and Austin, Texas, have also shuttered. And a growing number of smaller districts around the country have also chosen to close.

How to help: Mister Rogers said to ‘look for the helpers.’ Here’s how to help amid coronavirus panic.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who closed school for three weeks, says he expects confirmed coronavirus cases to rise “dramatically,” suggesting 100,000 could be infected in his state. “While we have closed schools for three weeks, the odds are this is going to go on a lot longer,” DeWine told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “It would not surprise me at all if schools did not open again this year.”

– Erin Richards

Map: Which states have coronavirus cases?

Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/03/16/coronavirus-live-updates-us-death-toll-rises-cases-testing/5053816002/