Portal:Current events/2020 March 10

March 10, 2020 (Tuesday)

Arts and culture

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, is postponed for the first time ever. The festival has been moved from April 2020 to October 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Los Angeles Times) (The New York Times)

Business and economy

Black Monday
- After a 2,000-point drop on Monday, the DJIA futures gain 1,100 points before the NYSE opening bell. (CNN)
Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
- The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announces a European 25 billion euro fund to face the coronavirus crisis. (Euronews)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
  - Roberto Stella, the president of the medical guild in Varese, Lombardy, dies at the age of 67 after contracting the virus. (Ansa)
  - President of the European Parliament David Sassoli self-isolates after visiting Italy. (Politico)
  - COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Italy
    - Italy enters the first day of the nationwide lockdown as the number of infected reaches 10,149. (BBC News)
    - Riots continue for the third day in Italian prisons after family visitations were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Four more inmates died in the incidents, bringing the death toll to 12. The 22 inmates that escaped in Foggia, Apulia, are still wanted. (Il Fatto Quotidiano)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
  - The Cabinet of Japan passes a bill that allows Prime Minister Shinzō Abe to declare a state of emergency over the coronavirus if necessary. (NHK)
- COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
  - Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping visits Wuhan, the epicentre and origin of the pandemic, after an unprecedented lockdown of the central city of 11 million people. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Moldova
  - Moldova bans all foreigners from entering the country via plane who have been to any country with confirmed cases of COVID-19. (The Straits Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
  - Member of the Congress of Deputies and Madrid's city councilor Javier Ortega Smith becomes the first of Spain's high profile infected by the coronavirus. He participated in a political event on Sunday with 9000 people. The Board of the Congress suspends this week's plenary activity after the 52 lawmakers of Vox are called to stay at home. (La Vanguardia) (El Periódico)
  - Community of La Rioja suspends all classes for two weeks. (el diario.es)
  - The Ministry of Transports announces the cancellation of all flights between Spain and Italy. (El Mundo)
  - Argentine saxophonist Marcelo Peralta has died in Madrid after contracting coronavirus. (Radio Mitre)
  - UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage of humanity of Les Falles of Valencia are postponed for the fifth time in its history. (El Periódico)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
  - Iran reports 881 new confirmed cases and 54 more COVID-19 deaths, the highest number of deaths in a single 24-hour period in the country to date, bringing the total to 8042 cases and 291 deaths. (TRT World)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic
  - The Czech Republic suspends all schools and bans all events hosting more than 100 people indefinitely in order to contain the virus, according to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. (U.S. News & World Report)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Morocco
  - The first death in Morocco is reported, an 89-year-old woman with pre-existing health conditions. (Hespress)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
  - Greek Minister of Health Vasilis Kikilias announces that the country's schools and universities will remain closed for two weeks. (The New York Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark
  - Denmark reports a sharp increase in COVID-19 patients, with 174 new cases in the past 24 hours, totaling 264 cases in the whole country. (BNO News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Austria
  - Head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine and former MEP Archduke Karl von Habsburg tests positive for COVID-19 becoming the first member of a royal family to test positive. (Salzburg24)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
  - The first COVID-19 case in Turkey is confirmed. (NTV)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Poland
  - Poland's Ministry of National Defence tweets that General Commander Jarosław Mika has tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from Germany, and becomes NATO's highest-ranking member of armed forces infected. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Paraguay
  - Paraguay suspends all school and university activities and large-scale public events for 15 days as a measure of control due to the coronavirus pandemic. (The New York Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Bolivia
  - Bolivia confirms its two first cases. (Brussels Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Vatican City
  - Saint Peter's Square and St. Peter's Basilica closes to tourists between 10 March and 3 April after Italy lockdown (The Guardian)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Pennsylvania
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Philadelphia
      - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania reports their first case of COVID-19. (WCAU)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado
    - Colorado Governor Jared Polis declares a state of emergency after a total of 17 presumptive cases of COVID-19 are reported in the state. (KRDO)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Connecticut
    - Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont declares a civil preparedness and public health emergency in response to the coronavirus. (WTNH)

Law and crime

The Canadian government presents a bill that would impose a nationwide ban on conversion therapy that would include minors. (BBC News)

Politics and elections

2020 amendments to the Constitution of Russia
- Vladimir Putin backs a constitutional amendment that would allow him to remain in power after 2024 and make a lifetime presidency possible. (NBC News)
2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
- Voters in six U.S. states cast their ballots in the primary elections. Former Vice President Joe Biden wins the Mississippi, Missouri, Michigan, and Idaho primaries and is ahead in Washington (which has not finished tallying votes), while U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders wins North Dakota. (The New York Times) (CNN)
Venezuelan protests (2014–present)
- Riot police repels Venezuela's opposition march downtown Caracas that aimed to regain control of the national legislature. (NBC News)