(NEW YORK) — Here’s the latest information on the COVID-19 coronavirus as of 9:45 a.m. ET.
Latest reported numbers globally per Johns Hopkins University
Global diagnosed cases: 952,171. This number is likely to surpass one million before day’s end.
Global deaths: 48,320
Number of countries/regions: at least 180
Total patients recovered globally: 202,541
Latest reported numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
At least 216,722 diagnosed cases in 50 states + the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam. This is now more than any other country.
U.S. deaths: at least 5,137
Total U.S. patients recovered: 8,672
Latest reported deaths per state
Visit https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.htmlfor the latest numbers.
School closures
For a state-by-state interactive map of current school closures, please visit the Education Week website, where numbers are updated once daily.
There are 98,277 public schools and 34,576 private schools in the U.S., according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Those schools educate almost 50.8 million public school students and 5.8 million private school students.
The latest headlines
A record 6.6 million additional people apply for unemployment in a single week
As the COVID-19 virus shutters business and cities, the numbers of people out of work because of it continues to explode. A record 6,648,000 people applied for unemployment in one week, the largest weekly jobless claims report ever documented by the Labor Department. That number surpasses not only the most dire predictions, but also is double the prior record, set just last week when 3.3 million new people applied for unemployment. The number for the last two weeks is larger than the population of New York City. The $2 trillion stimulus recently passed by Congress has yet to get to people, and how long that takes will certainly effect any support it may offer the foundering economy. Economists warn that among the worst-case scenarios is tens of thousands of bankrupt small businesses, which in turn will lead to longer-term job losses and the unemployment rate rising to 10% or higher.
Dr. Anthony Fauci’s security increased because of threats
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Institutes of Health, has become the nation’s face of expert COVID-19 medical and scientific information. But that has also made him the public target of threats from some right-wing commentators and bloggers, many of whom believe the COVID-19 threat is being exaggerated, who question Fauci’s expertise and who are pushing for President Trump to ease pandemic restrictions. In response, the government has increased security around Dr. Fauci and his family. A Department of Justice official confirmed to ABC News, “upon the recommendation of the U.S. Marshals Service, the Department approved the special deputization request from H.H.S. for more than a half dozen H.H.S.-O.I.G. special agents to provide protective services for Dr. Fauci.”
University of Texas spring breakers test positive for COVID-19
Remember all of those images two weeks ago of college kids enjoying spring break, ignoring social distancing advice? Here’s the result. KVUE in Austin, Texas reports that 44 students from University of Texas at Austin so far have tested positive for COVID-19, all of them among a group of 77 students who flew to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico March 14, returning five days later. Twenty-eight students had tested positive as of Tuesday. Though the 77 students flew to Mexico on a chartered jet, many returned to the U.S. aboard separate commercial flights, potentially further spreading the virus.
Good news!
New England Patriots team plane bringing PPE from China to US
The New England Patriots’ team plane is scheduled to arrive in Boston, Massachusetts today, carrying a cargo of personal protective equipment from China. Politico reports Patriots owner Bob Kraft, as well as Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, will be among those greeting the plane this afternoon when it lands at Logan Airport. The National Guard will then help distribute the supplies to a strategic stockpile. Massachusetts has 7,738 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Thursday morning, the seventh-highest total in the nation. The exact type and quantity of PPE arriving today wasn’t specified.
Israeli researchers say COVID-19 vaccine will be ready to test by June 1
Researchers at Israel’s Galilee Research Institute (MIGAL) say in just a few days, they’ll have a potential COVID-19 oral vaccine that will be ready for human trials as early as June 1. The Jerusalem Post reports MIGAL researchers got a head start because for the past four years, they’ve been working on a vaccine for the infectious bronchitis virus, or IBV, which affects poultry, and had chosen coronavirus, of which there are many types, “as a model for our system just as a proof of concept for our technology,” according to research group leader Dr. Chen Katz. They subsequently discovered that the COVID-19 coronavirus had many genetic similarities to IBV, which gave them a substantial head start in their vaccine research.
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