Air Force evacuates 89 Americans from Honduras after coronavirus travel advisory; states increase restrictions

If your state is under a stay-at-home order, can you flee to another state to avoid the restrictions?

In California, the answer is no.

California. New York. Illinois. More than 70 million people have been told to stay at home in these three states — effectively ordering one in five of all Americans to socially distance themselves to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

The orders essentially close three of the nation’s largest cities: New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. They come as Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Friday that Americans will need to stay at home as much as possible and maintain social distance from other people for at least several weeks.

CARACAS, Venezuela — Inside one of Venezuela’s largest hospitals, doctors wearing gloves and masks but no protective gowns tended to a suspected coronavirus patient.

HIV patients languished in a room a few feet away. The door was left open, to allow air to circulate — the unit here at Caracas University Hospital has no working air conditioning. Running water, albeit with dark contaminants, came back three days ago. But doctors say it’s unlikely to last for long.

The Air Force is evacuating 89 U.S. citizens who had been unable to return home from Honduras, according to the U.S. Southern Command.

The Air Force conducted two flights Friday that helped bring the Americans to Joint Base Charleston in South Carolina. The flights out of Honduras’ Soto Cano Air Base carried mainly the entire U.S. women’s football team, which had traveled to Honduras on March 11 to play in a tournament and do charity work.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Friday said President Trump had approved a major disaster declaration for the state; a move that will allow the federal government to provide even more resources and relief.

No president has ever declared a major disaster in response to a public health issue before, according to E&E news. The designation is typically reserved for major natural events, including hurricanes, storms, drought and volcanic eruptions — or any other disaster “that the president believes has caused damage of such severity that it is beyond the combined capabilities of the state and local governments to respond,” according to FEMA.

Florida, New Jersey, Nevada and Connecticut all moved Friday to curb large swaths of business as states take economic hits to combat the coronavirus.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) issued an executive order Friday afternoon that all on-premises restaurant sales must cease and all gyms and fitness centers must close. Restaurants can keep their kitchens open for takeout and delivery services only, a dramatic escalation from DeSantis’s announcement earlier this week that restaurants were permitted to stay open at 50 percent capacity.

The Food and Drug Administration said on Friday that consumers should avoid fraudulent and unauthorized products sold as at-home test kits for the coronavirus.

The agency said it hasn’t approved any such at-home tests. Some firms are beginning to offer them, in an effort to capitalize on the public’s continued frustration in not being able to get tested.

Medical associations and unions pushed back Friday against new federal guidelines for conserving and reusing masks, saying it will leave them unprotected against a dangerous infection carried by waves of patients already at their doors.

“Needless to say, this is frightening for our staff,” Katie Oppenheim, chair of the union for University of Michigan nurses, said on a conference call with reporters.