Daily Archives: March 15, 2020

And how is Warren Buffett faring during the coronavirus? Thankfully, like most of us hes coping for now.

Im doing great, he told me on Tuesday in Berkshire Hathaways offices in Omaha, which would be entirely consistent with what Buffett almost always says when I ask him how hes doing. (Never better, is another typical rejoinder.)

I was in Nebraska to interview Buffett as, among other things, he prepares for the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting on May 2which he announced on Friday will be greatly scaled down this year. It was a decision Buffett had been mulling for a while, but by this Thursday it became apparent that holding a meeting with tens of thousands of people would be unwise, never mind untenable given potential health advisories prohibiting large gatherings. Buffett told me on a call later in the week that it made him sad, but it was the responsible thing to do.

I have a fair amount of history with Buffetthaving first met him some 30 years agoand have been fortunate enough to speak with him numerous times over the years. People always ask me what hes like. First of all, and this may be blindingly obviousthere really is no one else like him on the planet. He truly is an American original.

[See Also: Warren Buffett reacts to the stock market rout and oil crash]

Buffett is fun and fun-loving, genuinely warm and happyand even charming in a folksy kind of way. Hes also the smartest person youll ever meet, and that makes it disarming because at first you might think hes just a hokey grandpa type (which he is), until he starts waxing on about some esoteric insurance product.

Obviously Buffetts perspective on recent events is invaluable. I told you many years ago, if you stick around long enough, you'll see everything in markets, Buffett begins with a chuckle. And it may have taken me to 89 years of age to throw this one into the experience. His tone soon turned more serious though: This is a terrible event that's occurring, he said. We don't know how terrible. It may not turn out to be that big a deal when we get through, but it may turn out to be a very big deal, and we just don't know.

I asked him to elaborate.

ANDY SERWER: How concerned are you about the coronavirus situation, Warren?

WARREN BUFFETT: Well, you've got to defer to the doctors on that, but you know...it is a pandemic. I don't know exactly what the dictionary definition is, but when you have something that's in China, and Korea, and Italy, and Iran I mean, it would meet my definition of a pandemic. No one knows the duration, or dimensions of it now. You can't know at this point. And what you do know is that the dimensions have changed since a few months ago, and haven't changed in terms of the possible worst case, but the best case is moving over in that it's spread. And, you know, Italy's a good example. I mean, it has really spread. So we've got something that we don't know how long it will be with us. We don't know how severe it'll be. But there will be uncertainty about that for a considerable period of time. There has to be.

[See Also: Warren Buffett: I wont be selling airline stocks]

We went on to talk about stocks, the price of oil, interest rates, banks, airlines and nearly everything else under the sun in the world of business for the better part of an hour.

But I still wanted to ask him a bit more about the coronavirus. What precautions is he taking right now so as not to catch the disease? Has he changed any of his habits or behavior?

Well, I'm drinking a little more Coca-Cola, actually. That seems to ward off everything else in life, he joked.

Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, drinks Cherry Coke while playing bridge outside Berkshire-owned Borsheims jewelry store in Omaha, Neb., Sunday, May 6, 2018. On Saturday, tens of thousands of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders attended the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

And he continued as he did so, he said something that may be of keen interest to Berkshire shareholders:

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I'm 89. I just had two different doctors tell me I'm in much better shape than I was a few years ago. I'm not sure what I'm doing to get in better shape. I had an annual heart check where I wear something around my waist [and] the guys said my it's never been better. (Theres that never been better line again.)

In terms of changing my life, I haven't really changed a lot. But I could work at home easily, and so could people in the office.

Has he considered working from home?

Well, not yet, no, no. But my doctor does tell me, don't do a lot of traveling into big crowds, and everything. But I have one trip scheduled now, and I'm not changing it.

OK Warren, hope your trip goes well.

[See Also: Warren Buffett: People arent driving as much amid the coronavirus outbreak]

Obviously though, the big takeaway here is that Buffett says doctors tell him: I'm in much better shape than I was a few years ago.

Barrons recently ran a piece suggesting that given Berkshires stock market underperformance as of late, the company might be better off without Buffett. CNBCs Becky Quick recently asked him about this, and Buffett essentially said that he hopes the company does better and better after hes gone. (Perhaps like Apple after Steve Jobs has done under Tim Cook.) Of course we have no idea how Berkshire will fare when Buffetts no longer in the picture. At the very least, Berkshire after Buffett wont be the same. And I think its safe to say that America without Buffett wont be the same either.

So, Barrons article aside, hearing that Buffetts in much better shape than he was a few years ago, is good news as far as Im concerned.

This article was featured in a Saturday edition of the Morning Brief on March 14, 2020. Get the Morning Brief sent directly to your inbox every Monday to Friday by 6:30 a.m. ET.Subscribe

Andy Serwer is editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter:@serwer.

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Nike (NKE) announced on Sunday that it will close all its Nike-owned stores in multiple countries around the world, including in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand from March 16 through March 27 to limit the spread of COVID-19.

The Oregon-based sportswear giant said in a statement that customers will still be able to shop on Nike.com and the Nike app.

We are taking additional steps in other Nike-managed facilities, including the option to work from home, staggered work schedules, social distancing, and additional safety and cleaning steps to help protect and support our teammates, the statement reads.

A Nike source tells Yahoo Finance that Nike store employees will continue to be paid during the closures.

Not all Nike stores in the world are close: Nikes company-owned stores in South Korea, Japan, most of China, and in some other countries are now open and will continue their normal hours of operations.

SHANGHAI, CHINA - 2019/09/07: Pedestrians walk past an American multinational sportswear corporation Nike store in Shanghai. (Photo by Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

There will be a temporary hit to sales, although some of it will transfer to Nike.com, Matt Powell, vice president and senior industry advisor at NPD Group, tells Yahoo Finance.Powell also tweeted that Nikes move is the right thing to do and predicted that other retail chains will follow suit.

Along with Nike, all the sports apparel giants are projecting a major hit from coronavirus. Adidas on Wednesday warned of a $1 billion hit to its China sales in Q1, a far bigger hit than it previously given.

Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Sam Poser recently told Yahoo Finance that Nike is still well-positioned to weather the economic effects of the coronavirus far better than its competitors.

Its one of the best companies out there, Poser said, and its got a balance sheet thats ridiculously good.

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Daniel Roberts is an editor-at-large at Yahoo Finance who focuses on sports business. Follow him on Twitter at @readDanwrite.

Reggie Wade is a writer at Yahoo Finance who focuses on the sneaker business. Follow him on Twitter at@ReggieWade.

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A word of caution after a violent week on Wall Street: Stocks tend to rally hard during bear markets like we are in currently.

So proceed with both eyes open even if it appears a bottom has formed, experts say.

I think too much damage has been done [to the market]. I think rallies for now should be viewed as potential selling opportunities, unless the government comes out with something so inspiring that it really changes that dynamic, Sevens Report Research founder Tom Essaye said on Yahoo Finances The First Trade.

Essaye couldnt have put it any better.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average exploded 1,110 points in pre-market trading Friday then gave back half of those gains by 10:00 a.m. ET on optimism regarding a U.S. fiscal stimulus plan to combat the aftershock of the coronavirus. Further firming up investor sentiment was fresh stimulus action from the European Central Bank on Thursday and from the German government Friday.

But to Essayes point, this is a damaged market staring the barrel of months of brutal economic data and profit warnings from Corporate America. Just consider how damaged in fact the market is at this juncture.

A board above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows the closing Dow Jones Industrial Average number, Thursday, March 12, 2020. The stock market had its biggest drop since the Black Monday crash of 1987 as fears of economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis deepened. The Dow industrials plunged more than 2,300 points, or 10%. The vast majority of people recover from the new coronavirus. According to the World Health Organization, most people recover in about two to six weeks, depending on the severity of the illness. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The Dow has plunged more than 4,000 points this week. Both the Dow and S&P 500 are in bear markets, pressured in the last five sessions by the likes of Disney shutting domestic parks and Gap warning of a $100 million first quarter sales hit from coronavirus. The coronavirus-rolling financial crisis has rolled right into corporate boardrooms.

The S&P 500 has seen daily average daily swings of 5.7% in the past five sessions, according to Bloomberg data. The CBOE Volatility Index aka Wall Streets fear gauge spiked to a record this week. There hasnt been two back-to-back up days for the S&P 500 in a month.

Meanwhile, most key international equity indices are in a bear market. And to top it all off, coronavirus infection cases in the U.S. and Europe remain on the rise.

Says Essaye, We have got to remember the economic fallout of this is just starting. Jobless claims last week were incredibly good. I doubt that will happen next week. Were at the beginning of the economic fallout of this. Our main hope is that it is short. If this is wrapped up by April or May, this economy can recover relatively quickly. If it goes beyond that we have got a bigger problem.

Looking for a positive amidst the carnage? Essaye is bullish on Apple stock because of its strong brand and cash flow.

Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and co-anchor of The First Trade at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

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Coronavirus has damaged the stock market and the bears are hungry - Yahoo Finance

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) issued an executive order on Thursday addressing the coronavirus pandemic, saying his goal is to "fully implement these procedures and protocols to slow down the spread, to get through a peak, and to get through the next few months, so we don't overwhelm our health care delivery system."

His executive order allows the state to take over hotels and medical facilities if necessary to treat coronavirus patients, and also gives government officials the ability to hold private teleconferences without violating open meeting laws.

In California, 198 people have tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus, Newsom said, a 10 percent increase from Wednesday. Earlier in the day, he called for the statewide cancellation of all gatherings of 250 or more people.

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The coronavirus pandemic has the entertainment industry at a standstill.

Disney (DIS) will reportedly halt the production of all live-action films and shows, according to CNBC. This comes after the media giant officially postponed the global release date of its live-action Mulan remake.

Paramounts A Quiet Place: Part II, along with other blockbusters like Fast and Furious 9, No Time to Die and The New Mutants also postponed release dates, as the pandemic continues to infect hundreds of thousands worldwide.

Blockbusters delayed due to coronavirus

China has shut down nearly 70,000 movie theaters, with no plans to re-open until at least April.

Overall, the global box office is expected to take a possible$5 billionhit due to theshift in production schedulesand theater closures, amid what JPMorgan Chase analysts called a softness in recent weeks in movie box office receipts.

The firm noted that weekend box office numbers were down about 20% from recent trends suggesting a 40% dip for the full week compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, Tom Hanks, along with his wife Rita Wilson tested positive for the coronavirus in Australia where Hanks is currently filming the new Elvis Presley biopic. The couple is currently in quarantine.

The outbreak has even crept into television from reality TV to late night comedy.

Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert all announced they will suspend production for two weeks as NYC works to contain the outbreak.

Late night shows go dark for two weeks amid coronavirus pandemic

Meanwhile, production has been halted for the popular CW series Riverdale after a crew member tested positive for COVID-19.

Other disruptions include CBS announcing that Survivor will begin filming in May rather than this month, while Apple TV+s The Morning Show took a two-week break from filming as a precautionary measure to assess the situation.

And The Big Apple officially shut down Broadway on Thursday night shuttering its doors through April 12th. The news comes after a volunteer usher tested positive for the coronavirus at two theater locations in Manhattan.

The decision threatens the existence of smaller productions that rely on international tourism and ticket revenue to survive. The New York Post reported that even Phantom of the Opera the longest-running show on Broadway could potentially shut down forever as a result of the closures.

Phantom of the Opera at risk to shut down as Broadway goes dark

Prior to the announcement, JPMorgan Chase analysts revealed that ticket sales were already down 10% compared to their average prices in recent years.

Alexandra Canal is a Producer at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter@alliecanal8193

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Coronavirus is costing Hollywood, TV and Broadway billions of dollars - Yahoo Finance

The coronavirus outbreak has forced many U.S. schools to move to close campuses and shift to online instruction. Universities and colleges across the nation are turning to tools like Zoom (ZM), Instructures (INST) Canvas, Cisco Systems (CSCO) WebEx and other platforms as online instruction becomes the new normal.

Technology and education professor at Teachers College at Columbia University, Dr. Lalitha Vasudevan, is one of the many educators who has made the switch to online coursework in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Vasudevan joined Yahoo Finance to discuss how the move to online instruction might play out.

Its not going to be smooth. And I think a lot of people are recognizing that what we need to do right now, first and foremost, is recognize that this bumpy time that were in is going to be bumpy for a while, she said.

I think universities are doing a really good job, or theyre trying to, communicating ... the need for really open communication that needs to be really clear about what is expected, what resources are available.

Vasudevan is also encouraged about the amount of peer resource sharing she is seeing within the academic community. However, Vasudevan points out that there are still many students who lack the resources to fully participate in online education.

I think thats the thing thats coming up, that a lot of people are coming up against. How do we continue to maintain quality of instruction while still attending to the many ways in which our students might be limited in the way that they can access the kinds of instruction that were able to offer, she said.

Vasudevan believes that the first steps schools should take is to make sure that the approach is simplicity over sophistication.

This is a reminder that what we need to do in this first hurdle is to just stay connected, to be clear and communicative with our students, with our colleagues, our institutions, and to do what we can to be supportive.

Reggie Wade is a writer for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at@ReggieWade.

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'It's not going to be smooth:' Professor on shift to online learning amid coronavirus - Yahoo Finance

Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert has caught a lot of flack in recent days after he tested positive for COVID-19.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Danny Green, however, doesnt think thats very fair.

I dont think he should be blamed or bashed as much as he is, Green said in a FaceTime with Bleacher Reports Taylor Rooks on Saturday. I mean, it could have happened to anybody.

Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday night. The NBA quickly suspended the season indefinitely just moments later, which sparked a domino effect in the sports world. Before long, nearly every other sports league in the country had postponed, canceled events or suspended operations.

Gobert has drawn a lot of criticism, too, as he was reportedly careless in the locker room in recent days and even made a point to touch every media members microphone and recorder on Monday to make a joke about the virus.

[ Coronavirus: How the sports world is responding to the pandemic ]

He has since apologized and attempted to make things right, even donating $500,000 to Jazz arena workers and other coronavirus-related services in Utah, Oklahoma and France.

I feel like people are blaming him for a lot of things when obviously he was a little careless at times, but who's to say thats necessarily the reason why thats happened? Green said, via Bleacher Report. He probably should have been more careful, but its not all his fault.

Danny Green stood up for Rudy Gobert on Saturday after the Jazz center was the first NBA player to test positive for the coronavirus. (Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)

While Green obviously doesnt want anyone to be infected, he actually thinks that Gobert catching the coronavirus ended up being a good thing not just for the sport, but for everyone in general.

If nothing else, Gobert becoming infected opened peoples eyes to how serious this pandemic actually is.

And even if Gobert hadnt have caught the coronavirus, somebody else would have.

This was going to happen regardless of whether it was going to happen to him or somebody else, Green said, via Bleacher Report. Somebody in the NBA was going to catch the virus and give us a wakeup call.

I think it was needed. It was necessary for us not just for the basketball world but for the rest of the world to take it seriously But this wouldnt have happened if Rudy [hadnt] caught it. So Im glad that things happened the way he did.

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Danny Green defends Rudy Gobert after coronavirus diagnosis: It could have happened to anybody - Yahoo Sports

As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States continues to rise and a flood of cases in other countries show the potential danger in a surge of infected patients, hospitals across the country are preparing for the worst.

Dr. Jeffrey Smith, chief operating officer for Cedars-Sinai, the esteemed Los Angeles medical center, told Yahoo News that his hospital is already starting to scale up its coronavirus response, although Los Angeles has only around 40 confirmed cases. That number is expected to increase rapidly in coming days, and Smith said Cedars-Sinai was sharing its best practices with other hospitals in the region.

He emphasizedthat containment measures including social distancing and cancellation of public events are crucial to avoiding a large spike in cases that could overwhelm the health care system.

Epidemiologists recognize that the coronavirus is likely to eventually infect a large swath of the population, and that older people in particular are likely to get sick, and some will die. The emphasis now is on slowing the spread to extend that outcome over weeks and months, giving hospitals and clinics time to prepare and avoiding a sudden surge in cases that could exceed their capacity.

The social engineering methods that were putting in place canceling schools, canceling large gatherings to decrease the rate of spread, thats really important to avoid a big rapid spike in cases, including critically ill cases that could tax our entire health system, including the availability of ventilators, patient rooms and critical-care resources, said Smith.

According to Centers for Disease Control projections from last month reviewed by the New York Times, 2.4 million to 21 million people in the United States could require hospitalization, with as many as 200,000 to 1.7 million people dying in an epidemic that could last for a few months or over a year.

On Thursday, Cedars-Sinai set up a screening area in the parking lot outside the emergency room. This is also when they started to see an increase in patients with respiratory problems coughing and shortness of breath that along with fever are the presenting symptoms of COVID-19. Smith said that that allows them to keep the infected away from the general intake of those dealing non-coronavirus-related illnesses.

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In order to protect staff members, patients who are suspected of having the virus are given masks to reduce the spread of droplets that could transmit the disease. Smith said that the mask supplies are an ongoing challenge.

Weve been working with local and federal officials to gain access to potential stockpiles to make sure we have an adequate supply, said Smith. One of the things that weve done is were managing the distribution of the personal protective equipment very tightly so that people arent hoarding or potentially stealing it. We make sure the people who need to have the equipment really do have it and we want to make sure that it is being used in the appropriate circumstances but not being overused by the patients where its not necessary.

The CDC has already allowed hospitals to relax their protocols for use of protective masks allowing medical personnel to use regular surgical masks in some situations, owing to a shortage of the more protective N95 masks. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said up to 5 million of the masks in the National Strategic Stockpile could be past their expiration dates.

The hospital is also keeping a log of every staff member who enters or exits the room of a suspected coronavirus patient, to ensure that quarantines are imposed when necessary, and only when necessary. Smith said theyre attempting to secure additional staffing, but there are problems outside the hospitals control, including school closures, which put pressure on staff members to find childcare.

At present, tests take 24 to 48 hours for results, and the hospital is only testing patients who are most at risk. To avoid its emergency department being overrun, Cedars-Sinai is screening patients by phone and if their symptoms suggest they are infected,they are referred to a central testing area at a clinic the hospital commandeered to further reduce the potential for transmission of the virus.

Experts warn that the U.S. needs to prepare for a worst-case scenario similar to the experience of Italy, where the health system is running out of hospital beds for patients sick with COVID-19. While most coronavirus infections are mild and do not require hospitalization, severely affected patients may require weeks on a ventilator in an intensive care unit. Care for patients with non-coronavirus-related ailments may suffer.

The Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins University estimated last month that the U.S. has a total of 160,000 ventilators deployed in health care facilities, with at least an additional 8,900 in the national stockpile. In an interview Thursday night, Seema Verma, administrator of the White House Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, refused to answer questions about whether the country had enough ventilators.

The stockpile is there and we hope that it is adequate, Verma told CNN on Friday. But I think it is important to know thats why were focusing so much on the prevention of this and trying to mitigate the spread so we dont create a situation where our whole health care system is unduly stressed.

Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, called Vermas comments stunning and nonsense.

We are so incredibly underprepared for a major onslaught to hospitals, which is basically now inevitable, Redlener said. We have to look at Italy and see what happened and I think were actually in worse shape. We dont have enough hospital beds, we dont have enough ICU beds. And by the way, even if we had the 100,000-plus ventilators that we actually need, we dont have the staff to operate them.

The potential deluge of patients is something that worries Smith, who said that social distancing and bans on large gatherings are critical in avoiding the breakdown of the health care system.

We are really concerned when we talk to colleagues in Italy or other European countries to hear about some of the hard choices theyve had to make in rationing care in certain circumstances, said Smith. Were working really hard to make sure were able to provide care for all patients and thats going to require a significant community-wide effort. Were not even close to that point yet and were working hard never to get there but that would be our concern: At some point, wed have to make some very difficult ethical decisions about who would benefit from care.

Some areas of the country could already be dealing with the worst: New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristoff said Friday night that a Seattle-area hospital sent out a note to staff that it was suspending elective surgery along with a warning that "our local COVID-19 trajectory is likely to be similar to that of Northern Italy. Kristoff added that the hospital is down to a four-day supply of gloves.

Smith said there are plans in place at Cedars-Sinai if the surge comes, including co-locating coronavirus patients in certain areas of the hospital, canceling elective surgeries that would free up staffers from departments and further reducing outpatient care not related to the virus. He said they have an adequate number of ventilators now and are working to make sure they have a line to governmental caches if necessary. Theyre also taking precautions with visitors, blocking anyone showing signs of coronavirus, which can be distressing for those wanting to spend time with loved ones, particularly those who are older or otherwise physically compromised.

Concerns of a systemic breakdown due to a spike in patients is shared widely. An analysis published by Harvards T.H. Chan School of Public Health on the potential demand faced by U.S. hospitals found that, in order to accommodate an outbreak similar to the one in Wuhan, the U.S. would likely need three times the number of unoccupied intensive care unit beds that are typically available here now.

Plans are urgently needed to mitigate the effect of COVID-19 outbreaks on the local health care system in U.S. cities, the authors of the analysis concluded.

I think cities need to act to reduce social distance, promptly isolate cases and/or quarantine contacts before hospital capacity is reached, because by the time maximum capacity is needed, it means in the next 5 to 7 days the hospitals are going to expect double the number of severe patients, Ruoran Li, a graduate student at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health and one of the authors of the analysis, said in an email to Yahoo News. So prepare now to avoid surprises.

According to the Wall Street Journal, some major health systems, such as the Ohio-based Cleveland Clinic, have contingency plans in place to increase bed capacity to accommodate a potential influx of coronavirus patients, including suspending elective procedures and using either a nearby hotel or field hospital to set up additional hospital beds.

On Thursday, the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics announced new measures to address growing numbers of coronavirus infections as an example of steps many hospitals may need to take. These include arranging video visits for patients with flu or coronavirus-like symptoms, and dedicated screening clinics in which patients can be tested after their video consultations. New visitor restrictions have also been put in place at all University of Iowa health care facilities, limiting visitors to two healthy adults per patient and prohibiting any visitors who exhibit flu-like symptoms and urging people with various other symptoms to postpone visits. Additional measures to conserve personal protective equipment for staff, such as face masks, gloves and hand sanitizer, have also been implemented.

Worst-case scenarios may be avoided, if government leaders, health care professionals and everyday citizens take appropriate measures. Joe DeRisi, professor of biochemistry and biophysics at University of California-San Francisco, told Yahoo News, The introduction of human behavior modifications [social distancing], possible drugs, and even vaccines may alter the course of this pandemic significantly, thus making any sort of predictions a constant moving target.

While Cedars-Sinai is financially stable, Smith said other hospitals are likely to need government intervention because the things they do to make money elective procedures and outpatient appointments are being cut to make time for the costly fight against the pandemic. Thats the reality for Cedars-Sinai and every other hospital treating this disease: If experts are correct and social distancing prevents a spike in cases that overwhelms the system obviously desirable the U.S. could still be dealing with coronavirus infections for months to come, as infections spread more gradually, but inexorably, through the population.

This certainly is very stressful for our caregivers, although were highly trained and skilled and take care of sick patients all the time, our staff is worried about their families, said Smith. Already, especially among our leadership and epidemiology staff and others who have been caring for these patients and making sure we have these systems in place, were getting exhausted already, so managing that energy level is really going to be important. Spreading that burden and taking care of each other is going to be really important throughout this.

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Hospitals prepare for the worst on coronavirus, and it's not a pretty picture - Yahoo News

While the world tries its best to fight the recent coronavirus outbreak, model and actress Brigitte Nielsen says shed be willing to get infected on purpose for a price.

Nielsen joined the panel of The Talk as a guest co-host on Tuesday and weighed in on the recent news that a medical testing company in London, Hvivo, is looking to pay volunteers around $4,500 to participate in a vaccine trial that would require them to be infected with a strain of coronavirus.

If I was in my 20s [and] feeling healthy I would definitely be a guinea pig, said Nielsen.

She continued, In my 20s I could need the money and I feel like if youve gotta get infected, do it when youre overlooked by doctors.

Panelist Marie Osmond echoed Nielsens sentiment.

I would have in my 20s, she said. I would do that just to help other people, I would.

Viewers headed to Twitter to weigh in on Nielsen and Osmonds willingness to take one for the team, with some saying they didnt exactly feel the same way:

But others wrote it didnt seem like a bad offer:

Watch Meghan McCain say the media treated Elizabeth Warren differently because she's a woman:

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Brigitte Nielsen says she would purposely be infected with coronavirus if she got paid: 'I would do it' - Yahoo Entertainment

The NCAA took the drastic step of closing the NCAA mens and womens basketball tournaments to the public.

The governing body made the announcement Wednesday afternoon as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus.

NCAA president Mark Emmert said in a statement:

The NCAA continues to assess the impact of COVID-19 in consultation with public health officials and our COVID-19 advisory panel. Based on their advice and my discussions with the NCAA board of governors, I have made the decision to conduct our upcoming championship events, including the Division I mens and womens basketball tournaments, with only essential staff and limited family attendance. While I understand how disappointing this is for all fans of our sports, my decision is based on the current understanding of how COVID-19 is progressing in the United States.

Emmerts statement came after the NCAA issued a statement saying that it recommended against sporting events being open to the public.

The mens Final Four is currently set to be held at Atlantas Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which seats over 70,000. The NCAA could move the games to a smaller venue because the stadium would be virtually empty. The first- and second-round games, which begin on March 19, are set to proceed as scheduled in the host cities.

CBS and Turner plan to broadcast the tournament as originally scheduled.

We support the NCAAs decision to proceed without fans at the tournament venues. We will continue with our plans to fully produce and cover the entire event, CBS Sports and Turner Sports said in a joint statement.

In the hours after the NCAA made its decision, the Big Ten and Big 12 both announced that they will limit access to their tournaments starting Thursday. Both conference basketball tournaments began with fans in the stands on Wednesday evening.

The Big Ten specified that attendance will be limited to student-athletes, coaches, event staff, essential team and conference staff, TV network partners, credentialed media, and immediate family members of the participating teams.

The Big 12 will take a similar approach, commissioner Bob Bowlsby told reporters.

The ACC, AAC, SEC, Big East and Pac-12 followed suit hours later.

The Big West and MAC made the decision to hold their tournaments without fans Tuesday. The Ivy League opted to cancel its mens and womens postseason basketball tournaments altogether. The move meant the Yale mens team, the regular-season winner of the league, will represent the Ivy League in the NCAA tournament. Princeton will represent the womens side.

Emmerts statement also came hours after Ohio banned gatherings of large groups. The NCAAs first four games of the mens tournament are scheduled to be held in Dayton on Tuesday and March 18, and would have been played under a state decree for no general fan attendance without a move by the NCAA.

The city of Houston canceled the remainder of the Houston Rodeo and Livestock Show on Wednesday after a man who tested positive for the coronavirus attended a barbecue at the event. The city is set to host the South Regional finals of the mens tournament on March 27 and 29.

The NIT will also be held without fans. The consolation tournament for the mens basketball teams who missed out on the Big Dance is run by the NCAA.

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The NCAA is the first sports governing body to make a widespread decree to play games without fans. While local government orders will impact NBA games in San Francisco and MLB games in Seattle, the college governing body could be the first of many entities to institute its own rules to help contain the virus as it spreads across the country.

A view of the March Madness logo on center court before of an NCAA Midwest Regional Sweet Sixteen game in 2019. (Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Nick Brombergis a writer for Yahoo Sports.

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NCAA tournament games will be played with no fans in the stands, just 'essential staff' and select family members - Yahoo Sports