(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: 2,076,015
Global deaths: 138,101. The United States has now surpassed Italy as the country with the most deaths, with 26,708.
Number of countries/regions: at least 185
Total patients recovered globally: 525,316
Latest reported numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 639,664 diagnosed cases in 50 states + the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. This is more than in any other country.
U.S. deaths: at least 26,708. New York City has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 10,899.
U.S. total patients recovered: 52,738
U.S. total people tested: 3,261,611
U.S. total people hospitalized: 104,068
The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in New York, with 203,377 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 19.5 million. That is the most reported cases than in any other single region in the world. New Jersey is next, with 68,824 reported cases out of a total population of 8.88 million.
Latest reported deaths per state
Visit https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html for 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
More than 22 million people filed for unemployment in one month
The good news: unemployment claims last week were down from the week before. Nonetheless, some 5,245,000 people filed for unemployment in the week ending April 11, according to new figures this morning from the U.S. Department of Labor. That brings to over 22 million the number of American workers who filed for unemployment in the last four weeks. The weekly numbers, all of which were subsequently revised up by anywhere from 2,000 to 9,000 claims following their initial announcement, mean that the U.S. unemployment rate will hit 15 percent in April, according to an estimate by economists at Bank of America. That’s significantly higher than the high of 10 percent seen during the Great Recession. It also means that all of the job gains since the Great Recession ended in June 2009 have been wiped out in a month.
Trump expected to issue guidelines today on reopening the economy
President Trump today is expected to issue guidelines to governors on how to reopen the economy, after spending much of the previous day consulting with executives and industry groups on how to assess the financial damage wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. “The data suggest that nationwide we have passed the peak on new cases,” said the president, also saying “these encouraging developments have put us in a very strong position to finalize guidelines for states on reopening the country, which we’ll be announcing — we‘re going to be talking about that tomorrow (Thursday).” Infectious disease experts have repeatedly warned of dire consequences of easing COVID-19 restrictions, including a potential resurgence of the disease until a vaccine is available.
Navy could reinstate Capt. Crozier to command of Roosevelt
Capt. Brett E. Crozier, who was removed from command of the U.S. Navy carrier Theodore Roosevelt after his letter to superiors became public, pleading for assistance in fighting a COVID-19 outbreak on his ship, could be reinstated to his command. The New York Times reports Department of Defense officials said Wednesday that Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael M. Gilday is reviewing the findings of an investigation into the circumstances and events surrounding Crozier’s removal from command April 2 by former acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, who subsequently resigned in wake of widespread criticism of his behavior surrounding Crozier’s removal. As of Wednesday, 615 crew onboard the Roosevelt have tested positive for COVID-19, and one has died from it. Navy officials say Crozier was relieved of his command for not sending the letter expressing his concerns through the proper chain of command.
Good news!
New Jersey officials begin using saliva-based COVID-19 test
The Middlesex County Department of Emergency Management in New Jersey on Wednesday began using a saliva-base test for the COVID-18 virus at a testing site in the town of Edison, the first location in the nation to do so. WABC New York reports that the test, which was approved by the FDA, promises results in 24 to 48 hours. Test subjects spit some saliva into a tube, which is then sealed and shaken to mix it with a proprietary solution within the tube. It’s then sent to one of two state labs for processing. Between them, the labs say they can handle tens of thousands of samples daily. Residents can make an appointment online to be tested. A fast, accurate test for COVID-19 is essential to re-opening local and state economies shut down by the coronavirus.
Recovered COVID-19 patient finds & thanks nurse who “gave me hope”
Two weeks ago, Tonie Williams was hospitalized with COVID-19, struggling to breathe and thinking, “I’m here to die.” But she’s now home and recovering, and tells WWL in New Orleans that it’s thanks in no small part to a nurse at Tulane University Hospital whom she knew only as Stephanie, whose face she never saw because of the PPE she wore. “In walks, this little nurse…she looks at me and says ‘how you feeling?’ and I shook my head,” Williams tells WWL. “She walked over to me and put her hand on my forehead and said, ‘it’s going to be okay’ …She wasn’t giving me false hope, she was just giving hope.” Williams had been trying to track down Stephanie since her discharge, to thank her – and Wednesday, WWL did it for her, reuniting Toni and Nurse Stephanie Haiko via Zoom web chat. “To see you now like this, you are my touchstone,” Haiko told her former patient.
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