AFL READY TO CUT 2020 SEASON–

CHICAGO — Officials across the country curtailed many elements of American life to fight the coronavirus outbreak on Sunday, with health officials recommending that groups of 50 or more don’t get together and a government expert saying a 14-day national shutdown may be needed.

Governors and mayors closed restaurants, bars, and schools as the nation sank deeper into chaos. TravelLers returning home from abroad were stuck in line for hours at major airports for screenings, crammed into just the kind of crowded spaces that public health officials have urged people to avoid.

In a sign of impending economic gloom, the Federal Reserve slashed its benchmark interest rate to near zero. President Donald Trump sought to calm a jittery nation by declaring the government has “tremendous control” over the situation and urging people to stop the panic buying of grocery staples that has depleted store shelves nationwide.

Gun stores started seeing a similar run on weapons and ammunition as the panic intensified.

As Americans struggled with changing their daily habits, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a dramatic recommendation: Because large events can fuel the spread of the disease, it said gatherings of 50 people or more should be canceLled or postponed throughout the country for the next eight weeks. It added that, at any event, people should take proper precautions, including handwashing and keeping one’s distance.

But in a sign of the difficulty of striking the right balance, the CDC statement also said the recommendation does not apply to “the day to day operation of organiSations such as schools,

institutes of higher learning, or businesses”.

Even before the warning, parts of the country already looked like ghost towns, and others are about to follow as theme parks closed, beaches shooed away spring breakers and states and large cities ordered bars and restaurants shuttered.

“The time for persuasion and public appeals is over,” Illinois Gov J.B. Pritzker said.

“This is not a joke. No one is immune to this.”

New York City said eateries could only accept takeout and delivery orders. Mayor Bill de Blasio also ordered nightclubs, movie theatres and other entertainment venues closed.

“These places are part of the heart and soul of our city. They are part of what it means to be a New Yorker,” he said in a statement on Sunday night.

Picture: AP A patient in a biocontainment unit is carried on a stretcher at the Columbus Covid 2 Hospital in Rome on Monday. At the Gemelli University Polyclinic, 21 new ICU units and 32 new beds for infective disease were opened on Monday morning, as part of the new Columbus Covid 2 Hospital, an area fully dedicated to the COVID-19 cases in order to support the regional health authorities in containing the pandemic.

Picture: AP 1. A man who called the rescue team for a respiratory distress is being treated on Monday in Strasbourg, eastern France.

Picture: REUTERS/Jesse Winter 3. Airline crew members wearing face masks walk through Vancouver International Airport.

Picture: REUTERS/Jesse Winter 2. People wearing face masks and goggles wait to check in for an international flight at the Vancouver International Airport after Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced additional measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.

Picture: John Scalzi via AP A gate area at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport is crowded with travellers waiting Delta flight 1420 to Atlanta on Saturday.