Maryland, Ohio & Houston Shutter Schools As Coronavirus Panic Intensifies Across US: Live Updates

Summary:

Scott Gottlieb says US can still avoid "Italy-like" outcome

Cuomo closes Broadway, bans all events in NY with over 500 ppl, reduces venue max capacity by 50%

NCAA cancels 'March Madness'

F1 Australia Grand Prix to be held without crowd

Trump Campaign tells employees to work from home through Monday

Maryland & Ohio cancel school

Dr. Fauci appears to endorse European travel ban

Spain, Italy ban short selling

Charles Barkley to self-quarantine

UK reports 2 more deaths

NYC declares state of emergency

Cali bans gatherings with more than 250 ppl

China sending a medical team and equipment to Italy

Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta tests positive for Covid-19

Disney closes park in Anaheim

American Air confirms pilot tested positive for Covid-19

Italy closes Catholic churches

NBA player apologizes for making light of virus

Trudeau and wife to self-quarantine after wife reports flu-like symptoms

France death toll climbs to 61

Houston closes schools until end of the month

Spain death toll climbs to 86

Ohio bans gatherings with more than 100 ppl after confirming 5th case

Gabon, Ghana confirm first cases of the virus

PA. Gov. Tom Wolf shuts down much of Montgomery County

2nd Utah Jazz player tests positive

Slovakia closes all borders, international airports

NJ cutting off nightclub liquor sales after 10pm

Deaths in Italy above 1,000

NHL "pauses" play

MLB will delay start to 2020 season by 2 weeks

Dr. Fauci says test shortage is major government 'failing'

Rick Scott 2nd Senator to self-quarantine over virus

Senate cancels recess, will stay open next week

Reporter claims Gobert was careless in the locker room

Premier league to hold emergency talks Friday as clubs push to suspend play

2020 champions league tournament postponed until next year

US Major League soccer suspends play

Trump says we may need to extend travel ban

Reports claim once again that Merkel is ready to whip out the checkbook

Goldman asks workers in NY to work from home in 'staggered shifts'

EU officials condemned Trump's travel ban

Trump says 'markets are going to be fine'

Spain has approved a €2.8 billion rescue package

Olympic torch lit in front of just 100 spectators

La Liga suspends season after Real Madrid player tests positive

3 F1 racers quarantined

Blackstone advises portfolio companies to draw down revolving credit lines

NHL rumored to be planning a league play suspension as playoffs begin

Passenger on JetBlue flight from NY to FLA tests positive for virus

Spanish cabinet being tested for coronavirus

Scandinavia begins shuttering schools

Iran reaches out to 3 million Iranians who may have been infected

Market participants wary of dissipating bond market liquidity

Global deaths pass 4,600

Update (2020ET): The Trump Campaign has asked workers to work from home through Monday.

In other news, Charles Barkley said he plans to self-quarantine after falling ill. He has been tested for the coronavirus, but is awaiting the results.

• • *

Update (2000ET): Like we mentioned earlier, Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta has tested positive, and as sports leagues around the world suspend play, the Premier League is reportedly holding emergency crisis talks on Friday, according to the Independent.

Many of the clubs owners want play to be shut down and disagree with the decision to continue so far. Some are even pushing for the entire season to be voided.

Also: In further bad news for the airline industry, American Air has confirmed that one of its pilots tested positive for the virus. And Disney has just announced a decision to close theme parks in Florida and Paris - rounding out most of its biggest parks around the world. They closed Disney Land in California earlier today.

• • *

Update (1930ET): Seattle became the first major US city to shutter its school system last night, and just a few hours ago, Maryland and Ohio announced state-wide shutdowns of their own.

Now, the Houston Independent School District, one of the largest in the US with more than 200,000 students, closes all schools until March 30 due to the outbreak.

At least 17 cases of the virus have been diagnosed in the Houston area, most of them directly related to a group who recently traveled to Egypt.

Across the US, the coronavirus panic is intensifying, as people continue to hoard supplies, even nonessentials like toilet paper, in a blind panic.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/eu-leaders-slam-trumps-unliteral-travel-ban-global-outbreak-death-toll-passes-4500

Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste: Democrats Cite Wuhan Virus to Push Longstanding Policy Priorities

As the nation braces for the effects of the Wuhan coronavirus, congressional Democrats and left-leaning groups have seized on the moment of crisis to push for the enactment of longstanding policy goals.

Legislation introduced by House and Senate Democrats has snuck in universal, employer-funded sick leave alongside temporary emergency measures, potentially shuttering employers and serving as a poison pill to slow congressional negotiations. Democratic electoral groups, meanwhile, have already included the coronavirus in their attack-ad messaging, while left-leaning policy organizations have called for substantial reductions in incarceration and enforcement, in alignment with their preexisting policy goals.

Such efforts to push through longstanding legislative priorities recall the attitude of former Obama White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel during the Great Recession, who is remembered for his now-infamous exhortation that "you never let a serious crisis go to waste."

House Democrats on Wednesday released their proposal for a comprehensive fiscal response to the impending pandemic. Much of the bill pertains to emergency-related funding, including an additional $500 million for SNAP and guaranteed sick leave for individuals quarantined with the disease.

But the bill's sick-leave section creates new obligations for employers to allow employees to accrue sick leave regardless of whether or not there is a national crisis, and which will persist after the pandemic is over. In effect, the bill would impose a paid-leave mandate on employers nationwide, independent of current emergency conditions—a longstanding legislative priority of Democrats, which Republicans have consistently opposed for fear of costs.

Sen. Patty Murray (D., Wash.) scored approving headlines for attempting and failing to pass a proposal for employer-funded sick leave through the Senate health committee. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.) blocked her efforts, saying that while universal sick leave would be "a good idea," the federal government should pay the costs, not small employers already facing an impending recession.

Although Murray and cosponsor Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D., Conn.) framed their bill as an emergency measure in response to the Wuhan coronavirus, the pair were, in fact, reintroducing a bill they have pushed before. As Samuel Hammond, director of poverty and welfare policy for the libertarian Niskanen Center, noted, "DeLauro and Murray have introduced versions of this bill in the past and will no doubt do so again in the future. For better or worse, Republicans are simply not about to pass a new and permanent paid leave mandate, but they may be open to something more temporary."

https://freebeacon.com/issues/never-let-a-crisis-go-to-waste-democrats-cite-wuhan-virus-to-push-longstanding-policy-priorities/

Canada’s Largest Stock Exchange Suffers Worst Loss Since 1940

Canada’s largest stock exchange plunged more than 12 percent in its worst loss since 1940 as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to pound global markets.

The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) has shed 30% since the high recorded on 20 February, falling deeper into bear territory on Thursday when it dropped 1,700 points.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the broadest equities gauge on the New York Stock Exchange, lost 2,353 points, or 10 percent. It was the second time in a week that the Dow had lost 2,000 points in a day.

The turbulence in the markets is another blow to Canada’s floundering resource sector, which has been beset by the continued blowback of the oil price crash in 2014 and disputes with the Indigenous community that led to blockades across the country.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled a $730 million package to address the medical and financial impacts the deadly virus is having on Canada.

According to the latest Government of Canada data, 138 Canadians have now been infected with the new strand of the coronavirus.

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus spread a pandemic. The number of cases of infection with the virus worldwide has surpassed 126,000 and more than 4,600 people have died from the disease. About 68,000 people have recovered from the novel coronavirus infection.

https://sputniknews.com/business/202003131078552853-canadas-largest-stock-exchange-suffers-worst-loss-since-1940/

Canada’s Largest Stock Exchange Suffers Worst Loss Since 1940

Canada’s largest stock exchange plunged more than 12 percent in its worst loss since 1940 as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to pound global markets.

The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) has shed 30% since the high recorded on 20 February, falling deeper into bear territory on Thursday when it dropped 1,700 points.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the broadest equities gauge on the New York Stock Exchange, lost 2,353 points, or 10 percent. It was the second time in a week that the Dow had lost 2,000 points in a day.

The turbulence in the markets is another blow to Canada’s floundering resource sector, which has been beset by the continued blowback of the oil price crash in 2014 and disputes with the Indigenous community that led to blockades across the country.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled a $730 million package to address the medical and financial impacts the deadly virus is having on Canada.

According to the latest Government of Canada data, 138 Canadians have now been infected with the new strand of the coronavirus.

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus spread a pandemic. The number of cases of infection with the virus worldwide has surpassed 126,000 and more than 4,600 people have died from the disease. About 68,000 people have recovered from the novel coronavirus infection.

https://sputniknews.com/business/202003131078552853-canadas-largest-stock-exchange-suffers-worst-loss-since-1940/>>8395397

U.S. Launches Strikes On Kata’ib Hezbollah In Response To Camp Taji Attack (Videos, Photos)

The U.S. Department of Defense announced early on March 13 that it had carried out “defensive precision strikes” against Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) in Iraq.

In an official statement, the DoD said the “defensive strikes” were carried out in direct response to the threat posed by Iranian-backed Shiite militia groups, holding these group responsible for recent attacks on its bases in Iraq.

The U.S. strikes targeted five weapons storage facilities of KH. The DoD claimed that the facilities contained weapons used to target U.S. and coalition troops in Iraq.

“The United States will not tolerate attacks against our people, our interests, or our allies,” Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark T. Esper said. “As we have demonstrated in recent months, we will take any action necessary to protect our forces in Iraq and the region.”

Iraq’s Security Media Cell said a “U.S. aggression” targeted position of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), the Iraqi military’s Emergency Regiments and 19th Division in the areas of Jurf Sakhar, Musayib, Alexandria and Najaf.

https://youtu.be/ZXK6HvTrEHs

https://youtu.be/HtZY6UtMP0k

Airstrikes were also reported near the eastern Syrian city of al-Bukamal on the border with Iraq. A wave of airstrikes targeted Iranian forces’ positions there a day earlier.

Some Iraqi sources claimed that British warplanes took part in the attack. However, this is yet to be confirmed by the UK.

Initial reports indicate that some of the U.S. strikes resulted in causalities. Several sources are talking about at least one civilian casualty in a strikes on an airport near Karbala city. These reports are yet to be verified.

. pic.twitter.com/UfrnB5QhMR

— Rand Musawi (@RandMusawi) March 12, 2020

The strikes were meant as response to the March 11 rocket attack on Camp Taji in central Iraq. The attack claimed the lives of three U.S.-led coalition service members, two Americans and a British.

Earlier today, KH released a statement praising the attack on Camp Taji without claiming responsibility for it. The group called on the perpetrators to reveal themselves, promising to support and protect them.

If the reports of human losses are true, the situation could escalate even further in the upcoming few hours. Iraqi Shiite groups had vowed to expel U.S. forces from Iraqi by all possible means.

https://sputniknews.com/business/202003131078552853-canadas-largest-stock-exchange-suffers-worst-loss-since-1940/

US Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro Steps Down

US Soccer (USSF) President Carlos Cordeiro apologized earlier this week for language in a court filing made by the federation in a legal dispute with its women's national team over pay equity.

According to media reports, citing Cordeiro's remarks in court filing, men's national team players had a greater level of responsibility than the women and that their job "requires a higher level of skill based on speed and strength".

On Thursday, Cordeiro stepped down as the president of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) in the fallout of gender discrimination lawsuit by women's team players, AP reported.

According to the media report, several USSF board members have issued extraordinary rebukes that raised questions over whether Cordeiro retains their support. Certain USSF sponsors have reportedly joined the protest and issued statements backing the players, including The Coca-Cola Co., Anheuser Busch Cos. Inc., The Procter & Gamble Co. and Volkswagen Group.

https://sputniknews.com/us/202003131078552810-us-soccer-president-carlos-cordeiro-steps-down/

Czechs Follow Trump’s Lead and Ban Entry of Foreigners from 13 Countries

The Czech Republic has followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s lead and banned the entry of foreigners from 13 countries that are considered high-risk coronavirus territories, including the United Kingdom, and has restricted borders with Austria and Germany.

Foreigners will not be able to enter the central European country who originate from China, South Korea, of Iran, but also those from the EU’s Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and France. Travellers from the UK and Switzerland are also banned.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš announced the measures on Thursday afternoon in the wake of President Trump banning travellers from 26 European Schengen Zone members from entering the United States for 30 days. The Czech Republic itself is one of the banned countries.

The nation also made the unusual move of barring their citizens from travel to those high-risk territories. The measures will be put in place from Saturday and will last for 30 days.

Movement from Austria and Germany will also be restricted, with travel between the countries only permissible via 11 border crossings, Radio Prague reports, and foreigners will not be able to enter the Czech territory from either Germany or Austria.

Czechs currently overseas will be able to return home, but those coming from high-risk countries will be automatically placed in quarantine. The Interior Ministry will also stop issuing all visas until further notice, the report adds.

The Czech prime minister announced restrictions on public gatherings, with pubs and restaurants closing by 8 pm and serving food at shopping malls will also be banned. Libraries, galleries, and sporting facilities will also be closed. Public gatherings of more than 30 people will be prohibited.

Police will be deployed to ensure that those ordered to self-isolate do so and do not risk infecting the rest of the population.

Prime Minister Babiš said in comments reported by Reuters: “It is clear there will be economic impacts. But now we have to do everything for the virus not to spread, to avoid having it here without control.”

“If we see the measures do not have sufficient effect, we will take more,” he added.

To date, there have been 96 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Czech Republic but no fatalities. Led by the populist Babiš, once dubbed the Czech Trump, the Czech Republic is the only European Union country to have banned entry of travellers from multiple high-risk countries on such a scale.

President Trump had announced his travel ban on Wednesday and criticised the EU for its response to the pandemic. He said: “The European Union failed to take the same precautions and restrict travel from China and other hotspots… As a result, a large number of new clusters in the United States were seeded by travelers from Europe.”

The European Union has criticised President Trump for his decision to prioritise the health of the American people, with a statement from the European Commission expressing that the bloc “disapproves of the fact that the U.S. decision to impose a travel ban was taken unilaterally and without consultation”.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/03/12/czech-republic-follows-trumps-lead-bans-entry-13-countries/

AT&T is suspending broadband data caps for home internet customers due to coronavirus

AT&T is suspending data caps for broadband internet customers on Thursday, as waves of employees face new work-from-home policies from US companies trying to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, according to Motherboard.

As it stands, some AT&T home internet customers, not to be confused with those who subscribe to an AT&T mobile data plan, have plans that cap the amount of monthly data they can use with devices like laptops, game consoles, smart TVs, and other devices. Those caps can range from 150GB to 1TB, Motherboard says. And going over the cap can result in fees as high as $10 for every 50GB over the limit

“Many of our AT&T Internet customers already have unlimited home internet access, and we are waiving internet data overage for the remaining customers,” a company spokesperson tells Motherboard. The decision came in response to inquiries from Motherboard regarding the telecom’s plans for dealing with surges in at-home internet use throughout the country, as offices close and people are being advised to avoid large gatherings and densely populated public spaces.

Earlier today, a group of 17 US Senators sent a letter to the chief executives of eight internet service providers — including AT&T, Comcast, T-Mobile, and Verizon — demanding they suspend broadband data caps (or the fees associated with going over the limit) and throttling due to the coronavirus crisis.

“As organizations around the country formulate their responses to the recent outbreak and spread of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, we write to discuss the steps that your company is taking to accommodate the unprecedented reliance we will likely see on telepresence services, including telework, online education, telehealth, and remote support services,” reads the letter. “Specifically, we ask that you temporarily suspend broadband caps and associated fees or throttling for all communities affected by COVID-19 and work with public school districts, colleges, and universities to provide free, or at-cost, broadband options for students whose schools close due to COVID-19 who don’t have access at home.”

https://governmentslaves.news/2020/03/12/att-is-suspending-broadband-data-caps-for-home-internet-customers-due-to-coronavirus/

EU top dogs slam coronavirus travel bans but can’t coordinate bloc’s response, as member states shut borders to defend themselves

Brussels had hoped to show a ‘united front’ against the growing coronavirus crisis but, with panic setting in, top EU leaders are already scolding their unruly neighbors as responses vary wildly across the 27-member bloc.

In a statement on Thursday, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen lashed out at the Donald Trump administration’s sudden decision to ban travel to the US from Europe, with the exception of from the UK and Ireland.

Yet, closer to home, some EU nations have implemented similar widespread restrictions in the past 24 hours – much to the disappointment of the union’s top dogs.

Austria was the first, on Tuesday, to break with the principle of ‘free movement’ and announce restrictions on travel from Italy, prompting others to follow suit. Slovakian PM Peter Pellegrini said Thursday that all international travel to and from that country would be stopped and stringent border checks would be implemented. Similarly, Czech PM Andrej Babiš shut his country’s borders to travelers from Austria and Germany, as well as foreign travelers from other high-risk countries – including the UK. Slovenia has also closed its border with neighboring Italy.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron, who is never one to shy away from preaching to other countries, wasted no time in telling those closing their borders with Italy that they were making “bad decisions.”

Meanwhile, France is one of the worst hit countries in Europe and Macron is expected to announce that it will move into the highest ‘Phase 3’ response level on Thursday. In a show of “confidence” on Tuesday, the president strolled the Champs Elysées, telling passersby: “I’m shaking hands using my heart.”

On Thursday, Macron used his televised address to remind the nation of “European freedoms” that need to be defended as he insisted the borders can’t be shut and the virus “has no passport” anyway.

Angela Merkel has also expressed characteristic unease with the idea of closing European borders. At a press conference on Wednesday, Merkel said border closures are “not appropriate” and that it makes more sense for people arriving from hard hit areas to simply quarantine themselves instead of stopping flights.

The same spirit of unity and solidarity was notably absent last week, however, when France and Germany, among others, refused to lift controls on the export of protective medical gear to avoid facing shortages at home – even after a desperate request to do so from Italy.

The refusal was criticized by EU crisis management commissioner Janez Lenarcic who said the ban risks “undermining” the bloc’s “collective approach” to handling the crisis.

Freed from the constraints of any collective decision-making, post-Brexit UK has still been criticized for what some have regarded as a slow response to the pandemic. A former public health chief, Professor John Ashton, slammed the government’s “complacent” response, saying it “wasted a month” before getting serious.

https://www.rt.com/news/482973-eu-response-coronavirus-travel-bans/

These People Are Sick - In Pursuit of Truth Presents

Denmark locks down ENTIRE COUNTRY in response to coronavirus pandemic

In a surprise announcement, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark said the country is imposing a lockdown to contain its rapidly rising number of coronavirus cases. Frederiksen made the announcement during a press conference on Wednesday.

According to Frederiksen, public sector employees who do not perform critical functions will be sent home on paid leave, while those who are employed in the private sector will be encouraged to work from home.

All schools and universities in the Scandinavian nation will also be shut down, Frederiksen said during her address.

In addition, Frederiksen also imposed restrictions on events, with local media reporting that events seen to attract more than 100 participants will be banned — a major decrease compared to the original limit of 1,000.

“We need to limit activity in society as much as possible, without letting our society grind to a halt,” Frederiksen said.

According to Frederiksen, their decision to enact strict impositions and tough measures will have a significant impact on their economy.

“We will not get through this as a country without a cost. Businesses will suffer losses and people will lose their jobs. The government will do what it can to help,” Frederiksen said, noting that their current situation necessitated the enactment of such measures.

“Under normal circumstances, a government would not present such far-reaching measures without having all the solutions ready for the many Danes concerned, but we are in an extraordinary situation,” Frederiksen stated.

“This will have huge consequences, but the alternative would be far worse,” she said, adding that those who are healthy have a shared responsibility to protect the more vulnerable members of their population.

“Everyone who is healthy, we have a great responsibility towards the vulnerable,” she added. (Related: Coronavirus isn’t the flu and it’s this response that makes the US unprepared, health expert warns)

Those seen to be at high risk for COVID-19 — the disease caused by the new coronavirus which originated from Wuhan in China before spreading across other parts of the world — are those who are aged 60 and above, as well as those with compromised immune systems and chronic illnesses.

Søren Brostrøm, director of The Danish Health Authority, said that he expects the number of cases to increase rapidly in the coming days and weeks.

As of press time, 514 people, of which two are in critical condition, have been confirmed to be infected with the deadly virus as of Wednesday—a ten-fold increase in the figures they posted Monday. According to Health Minister Magnus Heunicke this is the “most dramatic increase seen in Europe”.

Sweden, which is separated from Denmark by the Oresund strait, has around 460 confirmed cases, with its first death reported Wednesday. The country has banned public gatherings of more than 500 people to stop the spread of the disease.

Italy, which has 12,462 confirmed coronavirus infections and 827 deaths—the highest in Europe as of press time—enforced a lockdown, Tuesday. However, following the World Health Organization‘s (WHO) announcement declaring the COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has announced that the nation needed to “go another step” further.

Conte, through an announcement made on Facebook, said only pharmacies, groceries and other establishments selling “essential items” will remain open to the public for the entirety of the lockdown. This will be in addition to the existing measures, such as travel restrictions, enforced social distances and mandatory self-isolation for anyone who exhibits flu-like symptoms.

As of press time, the novel coronavirus has infected 126,136 and left 4,630 dead globally.

https://governmentslaves.news/2020/03/12/denmark-locks-down-entire-country-in-response-to-coronavirus-pandemic/

Spain’s Populist Opposition Leader Santiago Abascal Comes Down with Coronavirus 2 Weeks After Attending CPAC

Vox Party leader Santiago Abascal announced on Thursday that he has tested positive for coronavirus. Abascal attended the annual CPAC conference in Washington DC at the end of February.

Santiago Abascal is a very populor populist leader in Spain. He tweeted out today that he self quarantined after the Secretary-General of VOX Party Javier Ortega tested positive for coronavirus.

Santiago Abascal: This Tuesday, upon learning Javier Ortega’s positive, I quarantined myself and asked a private lab for a Covid-19 test. The test has also tested positive, so I’ll keep working from home. Thank you for your concern, although I am reasonably fine. I will ask the President of the Government that at the meeting he convened next Monday with the party leaders, we can participate by video conference or similar so that we can all provide our vision and proposals. We will continue to call on the government to be a unit of national action, decreing a state of alarm, and that all state resources be dedicated to alleviating this pandemic, which is already a brutal health, economic and social crisis.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/breaking-spains-populist-opposition-leader-santiago-abascal-comes-down-with-coronavirus-2-weeks-after-attending-cpac/

Barack Obama Pops Off About the Coronavirus, Praises Mass Hysteria and Cancellations of Sporting Events

Barack Obama popped off about the Coronavirus on Thursday.

Obama praised the cancellations of large gatherings and American sporting events.

First the NBA, then the NHL, MLB spring training cancellations and then March Madness.

The NCAA cancelled Division I men’s and women’s 2020 basketball tournaments and all remaining winter and spring NCAA championships due to Coronavirus concerns.

Obama praised the cancellations although there were no such measures taken when Swine Flu was sweeping the nation in 2009.

“If you’re wondering whether it’s an overreaction to cancel large gatherings and public events (and I love basketball), here’s a useful primer as to why these measures can slow the spread of the virus and save lives. We have to look out for each other,” Obama said linking to a Vox article.

Barack Obama is in no position to lecture Americans on pandemics.

In October 2009 Barack Obama declared the H1N1 a national emergency.

But this was not before millions of Americans were infected and 1,000 Americans were dead from the viral infection.

Obama waited MONTHS before declaring the H1N1 a national emergency.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/barack-obama-pops-off-about-the-coronavirus-praises-mass-hysteria-and-cancellations-of-sporting-events/

Trauma of teen abused by teachers' aid who had sex with him in classroom

A teenager sleeps with a knife because he's so traumatised by what his teacher's aide did to him in class when no one was watching.

Nicole Woods sexually abused the student repeatedly at a suburban Melbourne high school and sent him nude images.

The boy, now 19, says he's been left "broken and I don't know how to fix me".

"Dark days, anger pain, can't sleep properly, sleep with a knife, cutting myself," the young man said in a statement read to the County Court of Victoria on Friday.

"(I'm) not innocent anymore."

Woods, 55, performed sex acts on the boy in a teacher's aide "pod" at the back of the classroom.

This occurred between 13 and 25 times over about five months in 2016.

Woods also sent the boy, aged between 15 and 16, images of her breasts and at one point gave him $80 to repair his mobile phone.

The teacher's aide was found out after the child shared the explicit images in a Facebook chat and another teacher had wind of the abuse.

Woods has pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16.

Her lawyer Jonathan Barrera said the woman had been using drugs at the time and believed she had a special bond with her victim.

Woods remains in custody ahead of a further plea hearing on June 29.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/melbourne-teacher-nicole-woods–sexual-abuse-court/1fb74bbc-ad40-4449-9c24-42705e845cda