Coronavirus Timeline + What is the Coronavirus?

Coronavirus News Today + Timeline of Events + What is the Coronavirus

Coronavirus News Today Updated 4/15 @ 7:00 am

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COVID-19 Worldwide Statistics:

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Confirmed cases of COVID-19: 2,014,042
Total Deaths:  127,595
Total Recovered:  491,841

Confirmed cases in the U.S.:  614,246
Deaths in the USA:  26,064

Outside of Asia:   Italy
Total confirmed cases in Italy: 162,488
Deaths in Italy:  21,067

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TIMELINE of Coronavirus COVID-19

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April 15

-NYC:  Most New York city children “probably” already have had the coronavirus, according to a New York pediatrician.

Dr. Dyan Hes at New York City’s Gramercy Pediatrics advised parents to assume their children have the virus if they contract even mild symptoms consistent with the disease.

“I think that probably 80 percent of the children have had coronavirus. We are not testing children. I’m in New York City. I can’t get my patients tested,” Hes said during an interview at CBS News.

“And we have to assume, if they are sick, they have coronavirus. Most of them, probably 80 to 90 percent of them, are asymptomatic.”

But the number of infected children is unknown because so many children don’t display any symptoms, she said — and that could alter COVID-19’s mortality rate.

“So, these numbers are so skewed. I think that the mortality rate is way, way less than 0.5 percent for children who have it because it is so prevalent,” Hes said.

The bigger risk lies in those infected children passing the virus to much more vulnerable populations, like the elderly or those with pre-existing health conditions.

“The problem with children is that they are so asymptomatic and that they are spreading it. And our biggest mistake was that we didn’t close the public schools when we should have,” said Hes.

Children rarely contract severe illness from the coronavirus — and might not even display a fever or a cough, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from April 6.

Children make up a small fraction of confirmed US coronavirus cases — 2,572 of the 149,082 cases reported as of April 6, or about 1.7 percent.  But Hes says the true number of pediatric cases are not known because of the limited testing available and the relatively minor threat to kids.  “We have zero tests for children. We have zero swabs,” she said.  (NYPost)

 

 

 

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April 14

-New Saliva Test:  Rutgers University researchers have received U.S. government clearance for the first saliva test to help diagnose COVID-19, a new approach that could help expand testing options and reduce risks of infection for health care workers.  (NYPost)

With the new saliva-based test, patients are given a plastic tube into which they spit several times. They then hand the tube back to the health care worker for laboratory processing.

“This prevents health care professionals from having to actually be in the face of somebody that is symptomatic,” said Andrew Brooks, who directs the Rutgers lab that developed the test.

An infectious disease expert not involved with the new test said it would help overcome some of the patient discomfort and difficulties in taking swab samples.   (Associated Press)

 

–Amazon plans to hire 75,000 more workers to meet increased demand for household essentials and other goods spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.

–New York preparing for what’s next:  Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday that “the worst is over” in his state, but that people need to continue to be smart going forward and practice social distancing. Cuomo said the state is looking at a plan to reopen after the shutdown that is in coordination with other surrounding states.  (CNN)

Cuomo says until there is a COVID-19 vaccine — which experts say is 12-18 months away on a mass scale — there is no way to guarantee safety for all New Yorkers.

Cuomo is working with governors in New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Massachusetts to develop the regional plan to eventually reopening the economy.

-New York Numbers:  As of Monday night, health officials have confirmed:  (NY.health.gov)

–Florida:   Professional sports in Florida are getting the green light to resume production after the Florida Governor’s Office deemed them “essential services.”

This is being added to the same list that includes services such as grocery stores, hospitals, banks, utility companies and restaurants.

The order that was signed on Thursday states that employees at professional sports and media production with a national audience can continue only if the location is closed to the general public. This essential service was added because it is critical to Florida’s economy, officials told CNN.

World Wrestling Entertainment resumed live televised shows on Monday after weeks of taped matches, including their biggest event of the year, WrestleMania. The organization is producing new content for fans with the use of their training facility in Orlando.  (CNN)

 

–UK:  The number of coronavirus-related deaths in England is significantly higher than the British Government has reported in its daily updates, according to new data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

The daily updates from the Department of Health and Social Care only include people who have died with coronavirus in hospitals, and not those who have died in nursing homes or other locations. They are also affected by a lag in reporting times.

The number of coronavirus-related deaths that occurred up to April 3 in England was 5,979. The comparative daily number released the following day by the UK Government reported 3,939 deaths in England.

The ONS number represents an increase of 52% on the figures initially reported for that period.  (CNN)

–UK:  A total of 1.4 million people in the UK have claimed welfare support since the coronavirus pandemic began, the country’s Work and Pensions Secretary Thérèse Coffey said.

“We are capable of processing and managing those claims,” Coffey told Sky News. She also said that the country’s welfare safety net is “properly functioning.”  “People will start to receive financial support — if they haven’t already had an advance,” said Coffey.

–UK:   One-third of National Health Service staff and other key workers who’ve been tested for coronavirus have returned positive results, according to data released by the British government.

According to the figures released Monday, 16,888 people who fall into the category of “key workers and their households” have been tested. So far, 5,733 – or 34% — are confirmed to have the virus.  (CNN)

 

–Italy:  Some shops in Italy will be allowed to reopen on Tuesday, according to a government decree signed by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, as the country tentatively seeks to emerge from its coronavirus lockdown.

Among the stores permitted to reopen are book shops, laundries, stationery shops and clothing stores for babies and children. However, some regions have decided to delay lifting restrictions.  In Lombardy and Veneto, the regions hardest hit by the pandemic, book stores and stationery shops are not allowed to reopen.

The measures will be in place until May 3, according to the government decree.

The government has also expanded the list of permitted production activities to allow some forestry, landscape care and maintenance and hydraulic works to resume. Computer manufacturers and wholesalers of paper and cardboard products can restart production.

These openings are in effect a preview of the larger scale openings expected to take place during “Phase 2” of Italy’s three-phase plan to bring the country back to normal.

Phase 2 will only start sometime after other lockdown measures are lifted, at some point after May 3.  (CNN)

 

–China:  In a normal year, China would have sold more than 6 million new cars by now. This year, the number is closer to 3.7 million, and now the Chinese government is handing out cash to help the world’s biggest auto market get back on its feet after the coronavirus outbreak.   More than 40 million people in China rely on the auto sector for jobs, either directly or indirectly.  (CNN)

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April 13

–New York:  Of the 20,389 deaths in the United States, 9,385, or 42%, have occurred in New York. Its mortality rate is 4.7%, compared with 3.4% in the rest of the country.

–NYC Babies:  Nearly 200 babies have arrived since the beginning of March, according to [Dr. Erroll Byer Jr., chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the Brooklyn Hospital Center]. 29 pregnant women have had suspected or confirmed cases of Covid-19. They have been kept separate from other patients, and medical workers wear protective clothing when attending to them.

But [Dr. Byer] is grateful: So far, not one mother or baby has been lost. There have been no confirmed cases among newborns, though doctors are awaiting results for one. (NYMag)

–NYC Schools:  Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Saturday morning that New York City public school buildings would not reopen again during the current school year. He also said that he thought it was unlikely the schools would be able to open for a summer session, either, meaning the city’s 1.1 million public school students will not be able to return to their classrooms until September.

–Long Island, NY:  Dr. Ryan Saadi, of Quantaira Health, partnered with Dr. Muhammad Alam and Dr. Imtiaz Ahmad at Plainview Hospital using the much-talked-about hydroxychloroquine combined with the antibiotic doxycycline.

The combination therapy was administered to 54 high-risk COVID-19 patients at three long term care facilities on Long Island. They say most of those patients have now fully recovered.

“I’ll be honest with you, this was not something I was expecting to see,” Dr. Saadi said.

Out of 54 patients with a median age of 67, nine of them did not complete the six-day therapy due to side effects, a hospital transfer, and 3 of them died.

The results of the small group study were submitted to a major medical journal for review. A total of 45 COVID-19 patients did complete the combination therapy successfully and clinically recovered.

“45 patients, and these are high risk, and they completely recover?” Dr. Saadi said. “I mean, that number is powerful.  We have to look into that.”

The FDA has not approved the combination therapy for use against COVID-19 and urges the public to avoid using the drugs at home.

ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jen Ashton says the therapy still needs to undergo a clinical trial.  Dr. Saadi agrees and said this is an urgent situation, and a clinical trial can happen in two to three weeks. (ABC7)

–Long Island, NY:  Congregants parked outside the Church of St. Patrick during the parish’s drive-thru confession service on Saturday — proof you can still keep the faith during a global pandemic.

The Huntington church has been offering the sacrament in the school’s parking lot as a way to complement virtual masses and is one of many religious institutions finding creative ways to offer services in the time of the coronavirus.

Msgr. Steven Camp called this coming Easter the “strangest … we have experienced in our lives” in the church’s weekly bulletin, but noted that the parish was founded in 1840 and persevered through the Spanish flu.

“We have defined ourselves by how we meet the crises of our lives,” he wrote. “Always remember we are a people of the Resurrection – He is our hope.”  (NYPost)

–Italy:  recorded its lowest number of new coronavirus deaths in 3 weeks, sparking hope that the pandemic’s decline could be beginning.

Italian officials reported Sunday a total of 431 deaths over the past 24 hours, the lowest number since March 19.

For the 9th consecutive day, admissions at ICUs and hospitalizations were down, relieving pressure on Italy’s health care system.

Around a week ago, data suggested that Italy had begun to flatten its curve, and that trend appears to have continued. (FOX)

–Florida:  Gov. Ron DeSantis on Saturday announced that the state has ordered antibody tests that have been approved by the U.S. FDA to detect whether a person has ever had COVID-19.

 

-The Republic of Ireland extended its Covid-19 restrictions for 3 more weeks until 5 May.  Taoiseach (Irish PM) Leo Varadkar made the announcement on Friday afternoon.  (BBC)

Gardaí (Irish police) have set up more than 1,000 checkpoints in recent days to stop people breaking restrictions.

There have been 288 Covid-19 related deaths in the country, while the deaths in Northern Ireland is 92.

More than half of the country’s deaths – 156 – had been in nursing homes, Irish broadcaster RTÉ has reported.

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April 11

–New York City:  Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Saturday the closing of New York City public schools for the rest of the year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (ABC7)

NYC: As of Friday, 87,028 people have tested positive in NYC.

Deaths from coronavirus in NYC rose to 5,820 in New York City. Borough by borough, the deaths were reported as follows: Bronx 1,216; Brooklyn 1,781; Manhattan 731; Queens 1,819; Staten Island 273.  (ABC7)

–New York:  Public health experts hope that mass screening with antibody tests could help identify who might have built up immunity to COVID-19.  Cuomo said the state’s Health Department is developing an antibody test.

The governor said that while the state lab will soon be able to process about 2,000 tests a day, New York has 9 million people needing to get back to work.

“It’s not enough if you want to reopen on a meaningful scale and reopen quickly,” Cuomo told a state Capitol news briefing. “We need an unprecedented mobilization where government can produce these tests in the millions.” (Fox 5)

–New Jersey:  New Jersey’s hospitals and other health care facilities are receiving $919 million from the federal government, part of the stimulus money earmarked for those on the frontlines of treating the coronavirus. (NJ.com)

 

–Florida:   Latest numbers from Florida Department of Health  (Floridatoday.com)

Total number of confirmed cases:  17,968

-Italy reported a decrease in new coronavirus cases and deaths on Friday, as the government prepares to extend the country’s lockdown. from April 13 to May 3.

There were 3,951 new cases of the disease, compared with 4,204 a day earlier, officials said.   Italy registered 570 deaths linked to the virus in the last 24 hours, compared with 610 the day before.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is set to extend the country’s lockdown to May 3, according to a draft decree cited by news agency Ansa. The restrictions currently include a ban on all non-essential economic activity and the closure of most shops.

The new draft for the extended lock down, would allow some businesses to reopen including bookshops and stationery stores, and sellers of baby clothes. (Bloomberg)

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April 10

-New York – New Jersey – Connecticut:

As of Thursday morning, tri-state area lab-confirmed cases: 

–New York: The number of new coronavirus-related hospitalizations in the entire state increased by only 200 in the past day, the lowest jump since March 18.

 

–NY:  There are currently 18,000 COVID-19 patients in NY hospitals, and the state has the capacity for 90,000.  (NYMag)

–NYC: Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, former CDC chief and NYC health commissioner, told the paper that the death toll from the outbreak could have been reduced by 50 to 80 percent if social-distancing measures were implemented even a week earlier than they were. (NYMag)

–Testing:  Antibody tests that would verify whether a person recently had the novel coronavirus could be available within a week, according to Dr. Fauci.

 

–UK:   Boris Johnson is out of intensive care after 3 days in the ICU.

The British prime minister’s office announced Thursday that medical workers have moved him to the regular ward at St. Thomas’ Hospital in central London, where he continues to receive treatment for persistent symptoms linked with COVID-19.

The announcement represents some bright news for a country badly beset by the coronavirus in recent weeks. The U.K. has reported more than 65,000 confirmed cases of the virus, more than 7,100 of which have ended in the patient’s death, as of Thursday afternoon, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Boris Johnson is believed to be the 1st major world leader to test positive. Prince Charles, the 71-year-old heir apparent to the British throne, also tested positive last month but has recovered and emerged from self-isolation after displaying only mild symptoms.

The 55-year-old prime minister, however, has had a much more difficult fight with the virus since his diagnosis late last month. He was admitted to the hospital Sunday after his cough and fever failed to loosen their hold.  Johnson’s condition appeared to take a much more serious turn with his placement in the ICU.   (NPR)

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April 9

-Americans could start receiving stimulus checks starting on April 9: 

Much-awaited stimulus cash will begin next week in the first wave of payouts. Millions of taxpayers will begin receiving the extra money to pay rent, groceries and other bills next week, or possibly as early as Thursday or Friday. The first group – estimated to cover 50 million to 60 million Americans – would include people who have already given their bank account information to the Internal Revenue Service. (USA Today)

–New York:  The coronavirus was likely spreading in New York City as early as February, weeks before NY’s first confirmed case, according to a report citing new research.

Dr. Adriana Heguy, a member of an NYU Grossman School of Medicine team studying the genomes of coronaviruses from city patients, told The New York Times that early findings indicate that the virus was in the city well before a Manhattan woman in her 30s became the city’s first official patient on March 1.

Heguy and her team learned of the discrepancy by analyzing the different viral mutations between the city cases, according to the report.  Certain viruses, Heguy told the paper, shared mutations not seen elsewhere.

“That’s when you know you’ve had a silent transmission for a while,” she said. (NY Post)

–New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says ventilator use is lower than projected and new hospitalizations are stabilizing but cautioned that the city is not out of the woods and guidelines must continue.

The number of deaths from the coronavirus was 4,260 in New York City on Tuesday.  More than 80,200 people have tested positive. (ABC 7 News)

–NYPD sick report:  On Wednesday, April 8, 2020, 7,130 uniformed members of the NYPD were on sick report which accounts for 19.7% of the Department’s uniformed workforce. Currently, 2,103 uniformed members and 373 civilian members tested positive for the coronavirus.  (ABC7)

–NYC MTA officials say 41 employees have now died of coronavirus, and another 1,500 have tested positive. The staffing crunch has posed a challenge for the MTA to keep even diminished subway, bus, and commuter rail service going. Overall subway ridership is down 92%, the MTA said.  (ABC7)

 

–Florida:   15,698 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Florida, and 2,082 were hospitalized as of Wednesday evening, according to figures from the Florida Department of Health. (Sun Sentinel)

–New Jersey:  47,437 total cases and 1,504 deaths from the coronavirus to date.  NJ has the 2nd highest number of cases after NY.  (NJ.com)

–UK:  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson remained in intensive care at a London hospital Thursday, four days after being admitted due to a persistent fever and cough from COVID-19. “The Prime Minister continues to make steady progress,” 10 Downing Street said in a statement. “He remains in intensive care.” Johnson, 55, has handed over day-to-day operations of his government Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

Johnson’s wife, Carrie Symonds, is pregnant and also suffered symptoms consistent with the coronavirus. Earlier this week, Symonds tweeted that she was feeling stronger and “on the mend.” (USA Today)

–Ireland:  Gardaí (Irish police) have been granted powers to enforce restrictions on public life in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus.  Health Minister Simon Harris has signed regulations which will enable officers to enforce the rules. (BBC)

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April 8

–New York: As of Tuesday, New York had 5,489 deaths and 138,836 total cases.

New York City itself had 76,876 total cases and 4,111 fatalities. The five boroughs account for more than a third of the nation’s deaths.

–New Jersey is the nation’s 2nd most-impacted state, reporting 44,416 cases and 1,232 deaths. (NBC)

-A New Jersey nursing home is being closed to new admissions after at least a dozen deaths there were linked to the coronavirus.  8 staff members and another 16 residents at the Elizabeth Nursing and Rehabilitation Center have tested positive for the virus.  5 others are waiting for test results.

Approximately 10% of the virus deaths in New Jersey have been linked to nursing homes. (ABC 7)

–Connecticut could be an emerging hot spot, standing at 7,781 cases with 277 dead as of Tuesday. (NBC)

–NY Gov Cuomo says more rapid testing is needed. Abbott Laboratories’ rapid test, delivering positive results in 5 minutes and negative results in up to 13, has come to a trio of urgent care centers on Long Island. But it’s not yet widely available. (NBC)

–Antibody testing. Cuomo says antibody testing, which New York has developed a protocol for and is working with the FDA to bring to scale, will hasten a return to the work-force, identifying people who have had COVID-19 and recovered for it. He, along with some of the nation’s top experts, say it’s unlikely someone who has had the novel coronavirus will get re-infected. (NBC)

–Florida:  According to health department data, 296 people have died in the state thus far.

The state now has 14,747 cases, up more than 1,000 from Monday night.

Statewide, 1,893 people have been hospitalized with the illness.

–China:  The Chinese city of Wuhan, the original epicenter of the outbreak, ended its 11-week lockdown early Wednesday. The city celebrated with a colorful light show. Residents will be tracked by smartphone apps to prove they are healthy and haven’t mixed with anyone infected with the coronavirus. (NBC News)

–UK:  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spends his 2nd night in the intensive care.

Johnson, 55, is not on a ventilator and does not have pneumonia, but he has needed oxygen support while in the intensive care ward, a government spokesman told reporters Tuesday.

The prime minister is conscious and in “good spirits,” he said.

Johnson is not known to have any serious underlying health conditions, but he has in the past admitted struggles with his weight. (NBC)

 

–Italy:  As Italy entered its fifth week of lockdown, businesses and academics have called on the government to come up with an exit strategy, warning that continued restrictions would inflict further social and economic damage to the country.

The National Institute of Statistics described the severity of the crisis for households and businesses as “unprecedented,” saying it was even worse than the 2008 financial crisis.

 

–European Union:  The president of the European Union’s main scientific body has resigned over frustration with the bloc’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. (NBC)

In a statement first made to the London-based Financial Times, European Research Council (ERC) president Mauro Ferrari said that though he “arrived at the ERC a fervent supporter of the EU…the Covid-19 crisis completely changed” his views. He cited concerns of bureaucratic infighting and resistance.

“The commission regrets the resignation of Professor Ferrari at this early stage in his mandate as ERC President,” an ERC spokesman said. Italian-American Ferrari was only appointed to the four-year position in January. 

–Polish priest takes ‘drive-through’ confessions:

As Easter approaches on Friday, a priest in Poland has found a creative way to continue taking confessions during the coronavirus crisis.

Wearing a protective mask, Father Mateusz Kielarski sits on a chair in a church parking lot in Warsaw and listens to the faithful, granting them absolution as they lean out of their car windows.

Confessions are particularly important for Roman Catholics in the time before Easter. “From the safety of their car, they can take care of their soul while protecting their bodies from germs in this special time,” he told Reuters.

–France:  Good Friday service to be broadcast live from inside fire-ravaged Notre-Dame Cathedral.

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April 7

-President Trump approved Gov. Cuomo’s request that the Navy ship USNS Comfort starts treating coronavirus patients. The governor says it will add an additional 1,000 beds staffed by federal personnel to provide much-needed relief to the over-stressed hospitals in New York and New Jersey.  The Javits Center was already approved last week for coronavirus patients.(ABC 7)

-New York:  There are 130,689 positive cases of coronavirus in New York. 16,837 are hospitalized, and 4,758 have died.

NY PAUSE is extended to April 29th. That means non-essential businesses and schools will remain closed. Governor Cuomo is increasing the fine from $500 to $1,000 for violating gathering and social distancing orders.

NY reported 594 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday – a small decrease compared to the 630 new fatalities announced the day before. ICU admissions and intubations were also down, the governor said, while the discharge rate from hospitals was rising. (ABC)

–Long Island:  The island’s two counties, Nassau and Suffolk, have about 3 million residents combined and more than 30,000 COVID-19 cases, according to the governor.

Cuomo on Monday warned again that COVID-19 cases on Long Island were continuing to spike. Long Island has become the latest “hot spot” in NY.

Nassau has a total of 15,616 cases. Farther east in Suffolk County has a total of 14,487.

North Shore Hospital: Three large blue and white tunnel-shaped tents sit ready in a parking lot of North Shore Medical Center in Manhasset, Long Island.

Set up in the past few days, the makeshift hospital in Nassau County has about 60 beds for COVID-19 patients.

“We’re well beyond capacity,” said Dr. Michael Gitman, medical director at North Shore, where an auditorium, a conference room, and every other available space have been turned into hospital rooms.  (NBC)

 

–New Jersey:  Gov. Phil Murphy says that the state is looking for volunteers with skills that can be used to help in the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.

 

–New Jersey:  “There’s been a decline in the growth rate of new cases from 24% day over day on March 30th to roughly 12% day-over-day today,” the governor said.

New Jersey’s deaths from the coronavirus are at 1,003, while the state’s total COVID-19 positive tests jumped to at least 41,090. (NJ.com)

–Florida:  The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Florida is now 13,629, with nearly 1,280 cases added in the past 24 hours.  Overall, the total number of confirmed coronavirus-related deaths is 254.  So far, 124,726 people have been tested statewide. (Tampa Bay.com)

–Connecticut:  The total number of cases is 6,906 and the total deaths are 206 in CT. (NBC CT)

More than 3,400 people were tested since Sunday, Gov Lamont said. Of those tests, 36-percent were positive.

Here is a breakdown of the cases by county:

• • Fairfield County: 3,719
  • New Haven County: 1,468
  • Hartford County: 882
  • Litchfield County: 230
  • Middlesex County: 135

–Massachusetts:  A “remarkable” drug known to relax blood vessels could help coronavirus patients with severely damaged lungs and will be tested at Massachusetts General Hospital, making it among the first centers in the nation to participate in the study.

Nitric oxide, a colorless gas that can improve the delivery of oxygen to injured tissues saved many newborn babies with heart defects and was even named “molecule of the year” in 1992 in the journal Science.

“It’s a pretty remarkable drug,” said Dr. Lorenzo Berra, the critical-care specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital who is leading the new trial. “It has a risk profile that is minimal.”

The international study taking place in Massachusetts, Alabama, Louisiana, Sweden, and Austria tests inhaled nitric oxide in patients with mild to moderate cases of the coronavirus and is delivered through a CPAP breathing machine for 20-30 minutes twice a day for two weeks.

The trial will also test if the treatment could cut down on the number of patients who need a ventilator to breathe.  (Boston Herald)

-Other Treatments:

A combination of hydroxychloroquine and zinc is showing promise at a California Hospital, Mend Urgent Care CEO Dr. Anthony Cardillo said in an interview with ABC7 Los Angeles.

“Every patient I have prescribed it to has been very, very ill and within eight to 12 hours, they were basically symptom-free,” said Cardillo. (Boston Herald)

Remdesivir is another experimental drug that has worked against other coronaviruses.  The drug is given intravenously and could prevent infection and reduce the severity of symptoms when given early enough in the course of illness.

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April 6

–New York’s Gov Cuomo being interviewed by his younger brother Chris Cuomo on CNN.  Just to start your day with a laugh.

LINK to Interview Video

–US:  President Trump and Vice President Pence spoke on Sunday.  The president said that by Tuesday, 3,000 military and public health workers will have been deployed across the country. He said the U.S. has conducted and received results of more than 1.6 million coronavirus tests. He also said that treatments for coronavirus — including erythromycin — be looked at closely. Mr. Trump said the U.S. has stockpiled some 29 million doses of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug, a possible treatment for the coronavirus.

“It would be a shame if we didn’t turn to these drugs early if it turns out they are helpful,” he said during the briefing.

Mr. Trump said the FEMA has delivered ventilators to several states battling COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus:

• • 500 to New Jersey
  • 200 to Louisiana
  • 600 to Illinois
  • 100 to Massachusetts
  • 300 to Michigan

New Jersey has become a hot zone, Mr. Trump said, and said the news that the fatality rate in New York has dropped is “maybe a good sign.”

On Monday, the government is sending some 600,000 N95 masks to medical personnel in New York state, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. The U.S. will also send some 200,000 N95 masks to Suffolk County, Long Island.  (CBS News)

–Washington Governor Jay Inslee said Sunday that the state will return 400 ventilators it received from the U.S. stockpile to help states hard-hit by coronavirus.

“These ventilators are going to New York and other states hardest hit by this virus,” Inslee said. (CBS News)

–New York:  NY Governor Andrew Cuomo said Sunday that the number of deaths in the state has been decreasing over the past few days. Although he said it’s too early to tell whether the pattern will hold, he said “we could be very near the apex, or the apex could be a plateau, and we’re on it right now.”

At his daily press briefing, Cuomo noted an “interesting blip” in the data: the total number of new hospitalizations over the past 24 hours stood at 574, which was “obviously much lower than previous numbers.”

More than 302,280 people in the state have been tested for the coronavirus and at least 122,031 were positive, Cuomo said. There are 16,479 patients currently hospitalized and 4,376 people in intensive care. At least 12,187 patients have been discharged. (CBS News)

–Ireland:   Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, the former doctor re-registered as a medical practitioner last month to help the country’s healthcare system as it deals with the coronavirus epidemic, his office said Sunday.

Varadkar will work for the health service for one session a week “in areas that are within his scope of practice,” a statement from his office said.

“He wanted to help out even in a small way,” the statement added. According to a report in the Irish Times, Varadkar is helping out with phone assessments of coronavirus patients.  (NBC News)

 

–American Medical Association Releases Guidance on Medical Student Participation in COVID-19 Response

April 5, 11:45 a.m. Medical students across the country, are being permitted to graduate early to aid in the fight against COVID-19. Other students may be asked to help in patient care as part of their studies. The American Medical Association has now released guidance for medical schools and health systems on the involvement of medical students and early graduates.

“There are many opportunities for students to contribute to the clinical care of patients without engaging in direct physical contact with patients,” an introduction to the guidance reads. “However, in some institutions, the workforce demands may be great enough that it is appropriate to consider including medical students in direct patient care.”

Among other recommendations, the AMA advises institutions to allow students to freely choose whether they would like to be involved in direct patient care, without incentives or coercion. Medical students should be given proper personal protective equipment and training on how to use it. Medical students should not be financially responsible for their own diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 should they become sick from school-approved activities, the association said.  (InsideHired.com)

–UK: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was hospitalized Sunday, 10 days after testing positive for coronavirus. Johnson was admitted “for tests” after displaying “persistent symptoms,” according to a press release from his office.

 

Johnson tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, on March 26 and has dealt with lingering symptoms, including a high fever, since then. Johnson is the first known world leader to contract the disease. Since then, the 55-year-old prime minister had been quarantined at his residence at 10 Downing Street.  (CBS News)

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April 5

–Mount Sinai Hospital, NYC:  Staff said they could not get coronavirus tests even after a nurse (Kious Kelly, RN) died of the disease has now told workers that starting Tuesday Mount Sinai will provide tests to all employees who have developed symptoms consistent with COVID-19.

“Starting on Tuesday, April 7, if you develop symptoms consistent with COVID-19, we would like to test you for this viral infection using the PCR test with a nasopharyngeal swab within a few days of the onset of your symptoms,” said the Saturday email from Senior Vice President Vicki R. LoPachin to all staffers of the New York City area’s Mount Sinai hospital network. “This will provide guidance to you and to Employee Health Services regarding your clinical status and return to work.”

“If you were symptomatic prior to April 7, we would like to test you for COVID-19 infection using the serum antibody test. This will provide guidance to you on whether you did have COVID-19 infection as well as whether you are a candidate to provide a plasma donation to help others.”  (NBC News)

–New York State: Gov Cuomo Update:

Long Island will be the next big coronavirus hotspot, according to projections shared by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in his daily COVID-19 briefing.

The concern comes as New York saw 10,841 new coronavirus cases since Friday, a record jump to the state’s total of 113,704 confirmed infections, but new help is on its way.

“We finally got some good news today,” said Cuomo said Saturday. “The Chinese government helped facilitate a donation of 1,000 ventilators that will arrive in JFK today.

The 1,000 ventilators will supplement the main U.S. federal support to New York City through the emergency hospital set-up in the Javits Center and three additional field hospitals across the outer boroughs.

In addition, Cuomo said Gov. Kate Brown of the State of Oregon is lending 140 ventilators to New York, a move the governor called “an astonishing and unexpected” gesture.  (CBS News)

Governor Andrew Cuomo said Saturday that state health officials were predicting that New York’s outbreak would reach its peak in about 7 days.

In terms of numbers in New York on Sunday:

• • 122,031 positive cases
  • 15,905 hospitalizations
  • 4,126 people in the ICU
  • 10,478 patients discharged
  • 4,159 coronavirus-related deaths
  • New York City has seen 67,551 of the total novel coronavirus cases

“Long Island is the area that is growing,” he said. “You see Long Island goes from 16% to 17% to 18% and 19% to 20% to 22%. New York City is actually dropping as the number of cases in New York City, and in Long Island increases as a percentage of cases within the state. For us, this is about tracking the virus tracking the spread of the virus, and then deploying as the numbers suggest, in terms of beds.”

-President Trump on Saturday issued the order to dispatch an additional 1,000 medical military personnel in an effort to assist in the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic in New York City. (NBC News)

–Burglaries of New York City businesses have gone up 75 percent since Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency on March 12, according to the Wall Street Journal. 254 commercial establishments have been robbed during that time, up from 145 the same period last year. 30 of the burglaries targeted bodegas and supermarkets (up from six last year) and 51 targeted restaurants (up from 28). NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael LiPetri told the Journal that thieves have taken everything from money to food to retail goods, and the threat of crime has prompted some stores, including major corporate chains, to board up amid the pandemic.

 

 

– Vatican:  For the first time in living memory, a pope celebrated a Palm Sunday liturgy without the participation of the people, as Pope Francis did this morning in a virtually empty St. Peter’s Basilica.  He said should focus people’s attention on what’s most important, despite heavy hearts — using one’s life to serve others.  (Fox News)

 

–Cardinal Dolan to hold virtual Palm Sunday mass
Timothy Cardinal Dolan will hold a virtual mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York on Palm Sunday, April 5 at 10 a.m.

–New Jersey saw a jump of 200 newly-reported dead from coronavirus-related illness on Saturday, raising the state’s total of 846 dead.

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April 4

–New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced that 846 residents have died from the coronavirus, up 200 from Friday. Murphy also said there were 4,331 new cases in the state, bringing the total above 34,000.

The most starkly affected counties continue to be those in the northeast corner of the state, including Bergen, Essex, and Hudson, all with more than 400 cases each as of Saturday. (NPR)

–SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The suspected mismanagement of essential supplies during Hurricane Maria turned out to be a boon for Puerto Rico as it fights a rise in coronavirus cases.

Health Secretary Lorenzo González said Saturday that officials discovered a cache of urgently needed personal protective equipment at a hospital in the nearby island of Vieques that remains closed since the Category 4 storm hit the U.S. territory in September 2017.

He said the equipment includes face masks, gloves, gowns and face shields that were in good condition and would be distributed to health institutions.

Puerto Rico has reported 18 deaths related to COVID-19, including that of a nurse, and more than 450 confirmed cases, including several police officers who join health workers in demanding more personal protective equipment.

The discovery in Vieques outraged many on an island still struggling to recover from Maria and from a series of strong earthquakes that hit Puerto Rico’s southern region in recent months. González said he has ordered an investigation into why those supplies were abandoned in Vieques. (CBS News)

-An evangelical Christian relief organization called Samaritan’s Purse has set up a massive field hospital in Central Park to help New York City cope with the crush of patients sickened by the deadly coronavirus.  The hospital opened on Tuesday.

Samaritan’s Purse — which is led by Franklin Graham, son of the late televangelist Billy Graham — trucked in four trailers of gear, including tents, beds, personal protective equipment and 10 ventilators for the most seriously ill.

A team of 70 health care workers from around the US will be led by Dr. Elliott Tenpenny, who’s previously treated Ebola patients in West Africa, Syrian refugees in Iraq and earthquake victims in Ecuador.

The tents will accommodate 68 patients, including 10 in makeshift intensive care units that will have a ventilator for each patient.

The field hospital will not take walk-ins, but will instead treat patients transferred there by the Mount Sinai hospital network, including its nearby, flagship hospital on Fifth Avenue.

-All New Yorkers can get 3 free meals a day at hundreds of sites across the five boroughs starting Friday.

-The CDC is finally recommending Americans wear cloth face coverings in public to help slow the spread of the virus.

“The cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators,” the CDC says. “Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders.” (CBS News)

–New York: The governor on Friday signed an executive order giving him the power to take ventilators from private health institutions to redistribute to those in the worst need via the National Guard.

The total NYS deaths rose to 2,935 Friday, continuing on a pace of about half the nationwide number of coronavirus deaths. The number of positive cases rose to 102,863 as the state recorded a daily record 10,482 new cases. (NY Daily News)

–Florida: By Friday at 6 p.m., COVID-19 cases had reached 10,268. The state is also reporting additional deaths due to the virus, bringing the new deaths to 170 across the state. More than 1,330 people with coronavirus are hospitalized, according to the DOH.

Two cruise ships with dozens of possible coronavirus cases on board were given permission to dock in Fort Lauderdale Thursday after waiting offshore for more than a week. Holland America made an agreement with Broward County officials to bring in its Rotterdam and Zaandam cruise ships.

“Guests who still have symptoms will remain on board and disembark at a later date to be finalized after they have fully recovered and meet the CDC guidelines for being fit to travel,” according to Holland America. “They will continue to be well cared for onboard by the ships’ medical staff.”  (Click Orlando)

–Spain:  recorded 809 deaths from coronavirus over the past 24 hours, down from 932 in the previous period and the second day in succession that the figure has fallen.  (The Guardian)

–Italy:  The 4-week lockdown, which was originally scheduled to end Friday, April 3, has now been extended to beyond Easter, and Italians from north to south are nearing a breaking point just as the strong measures have begun to show signs of stopping the spread of Covid-19.

But the southern regions are struggling, too. The so-called “mezzogiorno” is where organized crime syndicate hubs are based and where unemployment hovers around 20% for adults and up to 50% for those under 24 during the best of times,. Even with the outbreak in some southern communities affecting “only” a few thousand, the facilities are stretched and care for non-Covid patients has been severely compromised.

-A Kenya Airways pilot has died from coronavirus days after flying a group of Kenyans who were stranded in New York City, according to a report.  Capt. Daudi Kimuyu Kibati, 61, performed the last flight from New York to Nairobi before the African country’s ban on international travel went into effect. (NY Daily News)

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April 3

-Even though some early data out of Wuhan, China, and case reports in the US suggest that the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine could “significantly” shorten the time it takes for Covid-19 patients to recover from illness, US infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that more research is needed to determine that drug’s effectiveness against Covid-19. (CNN)

-To Mask or Not to Mask:

-US CDC: The organization recommends that if you are not sick, “you do not need to wear a facemask unless you are caring for someone who is sick.” However, if you are sick, “You should wear a facemask when you are around other people (e.g., sharing a room or vehicle) and before you enter a healthcare provider’s office,” the CDC said.

-The World Health Organization: WHO is standing by its recommendation to only wear a mask if you are sick or caring for someone who is sick. “Mask wearing by the general public is not among the WHO’s recommendations,” the organization said.

-Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy: Moments ago, he said masks should not be used as a substitute for social distancing, but rather can be used as a supplement. “Because of some recent information that the virus can actually be spread even when people just speak as opposed to coughing and sneezing, the better part of valor is that when you’re out and you can’t maintain that six-foot distance to wear some sort of facial covering.”

–New York City:  is eerily quiet and calm across a city that is typically unaccustomed to life without the noise and chaos that makes up the very fabric of New York. Now between the intermittent sirens as ambulances rush new patients to overwhelmed hospitals, the only noise one might hear are the sounds of birds singing.

 

 

–New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday on CNN’s coronavirus town hall that the city has about six days at “the current burn rate of ventilators.”

Cuomo said the state has purchased 17,000 ventilators but they haven’t been delivered because they are coming from China and there are 50 states and the federal government all competing for the equipment. New York only has 4,000 ventilators in the state, Cuomo said.

President Donald Trump’s effort to work with General Motors and Ford to manufacture more ventilators comes too late for the apex of the disease in New York, Cuomo said.

The governor said while the President has been critical of him during this pandemic, that they have a “very honest relationship.” Trump helped New York convert the Javits Center into a 2,500-bed Covid-19 facility.

“I called him this morning. He got it done by the afternoon, so kudos the President,” Cuomo said. (CNN)

 

–NYC:  The US Navy Hospital Ship Comfort is “actively working to refine the process,” as the ships takes on more patients, a Navy official on the ship tells CNN.  As of Thursday night, there were only about 20 non-Covid-19 patients on board.

The Navy official said:

 

–NYC:  The Bronx Zoo is now home to a fleet of out-of-state ambulances that arrived this week to join the NY’s war against COVID-19.  The 265-acre park, which closed to the public on March 16 opened its gates to rescue crews from across the country Wednesday.

“250 ambulances from around the country arrived to help NYC during the COVID-19 crisis and are currently staged in our parking lot,” the zoo wrote on its Facebook page.

“We’re extremely proud and happy to help in this effort and provide a base for this critical operation,” the zoo wrote.

Zookeepers, deemed essential workers, remain on-site to care for the animals.

Ambulances also parked at Fort Totten Park in Queens Thursday.

–Disney:  Facing a complete standstill across its entertainment empire due to the coronavirus crisis, the Walt Disney Company notified its employees that it would furlough employees “whose jobs aren’t necessary at this time” starting on April 19.

Disney has been crippled by the coronavirus pandemic. Its theme parks around the world have shuttered, its cruise line is suspended and many of its biggest films of the year have been delayed. Live sporting events, the lifeblood of the Disney-owned ESPN, have also been suspended.

Shares of Disney have plummeted more than 30% year to date.

The impact is hitting Disney’s theme park employees especially hard. All of Disney’s 12 theme parks have been shuttered since March 12, after which the company committed to paying salaries through April 18.

In the statement, the company said there was “no clear indication of when we can restart our businesses,” and that it was “forced to make the difficult decision to take the next step and furlough employees.”

Among those impacted would be the Disney Parks’ storied “Imagineers,” the designers of the parks, rides, and hotels.

The furloughed workers would remain employees of the company and keep their health benefits, while also being able to access federal and state aid like unemployment benefits. (CNN)

–UK: Prince Charles has officially opened the UK’s first huge temporary hospital for coronavirus patients, describing its rapid construction as a “spectacular and almost unbelievable feat.”  London’s ExCeL conference center has been transformed into a massive health care facility, named the Nightingale Hospital, in under two weeks.

“(It’s) an example – if ever one was needed – of how the impossible could be made possible,” Charles, the heir to the British throne, said via video-link from Scotland.

The hospital will initially provide up to 500 beds equipped with ventilators and oxygen, though thousands more will soon be ready.

“In this dark time, this place will be a shining light,” Prince Charles said. (CNN)

 

-UK:  Nearly 8% of staff working for the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) are currently off sick, health minister Matt Hancock said in an interview with Sky News Friday.

The British government has been under intense pressure to provide more support to frontline medical workers as they struggle to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

Part of that involves ramping up testing for NHS staff. Hancock said that as of Thursday morning, about 5,000 NHS staff had been tested.

He also said that testing in the broader community will be ramped up and promised that the government would be able to carry out 100,000 tests per day by the end of April. (CNN)

–Spain:  Friday’s figures mean that 10,935 Covid-19 deaths have been recorded in Spain. It is the second-highest daily number since the pandemic began in Spain, but slightly smaller than the increase announced Thursday.

For several days, however, Spanish health officials have spoken optimistically of reaching the peak of infection.

The Ministry’s data shows there are now 76,262 active cases in Spain, an increase of 2,770 from Thursday – but also the smallest daily rise since March 20.

The Spanish Health Ministry also reports that 30,513 have now recovered from the virus – nearly 4,000 more than the number reported Thursday. (CNN)

A total of 6,416 people have been admitted to intensive care units since the pandemic began, but the rate of new infections has slowed dramatically compared to the dire situation the country was facing in the middle of March.

-Spain:   The fortress town of Zahara de la Sierra in southern Spain is used to fending off enemies.  Its formidable position high above the Andalusian countryside has suddenly become an invaluable asset once more.

On March 14, Zahara cut itself off from the outside world as the coronavirus spread its tentacles across Spain. The mayor, 40-year-old Santiago Galván, decided to block all but one of the town’s five entrances. Galván acted the day that Spain’s “state of alarm” came into force.

In Zahara, however, there has not been a single recorded case of Covid-19 among its 1,400 inhabitants. “It has been more than two weeks, and I think that’s a good sign,” Galván told CNN.

The mayor’s drastic steps have the full support of the townspeople, and especially the elderly. Nearly a quarter of Zahara’s inhabitants are older than 65; there are more than 30 residents in an old people’s home. (CNN)

 

–Germany:  Chancellor Angela Merkel has ended her self-quarantine and returned to work at the chancellery, her spokesman Steffen Seibert says.  Merkel went into quarantine two weeks ago after she came into contact with a doctor who later tested positive to coronavirus.  Her third test for the virus came back negative. (CNN)

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April 2

–Companies that are hiring right now including CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Target, all food stores, Amazon and many more. LINK to stores hiring

-More than 6.65 million people filed for unemployment benefits in the US last week, the latest official figures to highlight the devastating economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the American economy. (The Guardian News)

–MLBaseball has been exploring ways to play as many games as possible in 2020 after losing a chunk of the season to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.   A source told Chicago sports radio host Matt Speigel that MLB is discussing a 100-game regular season that would begin July 1, include no All-Star Game and end with a November World Series at Dodger Stadium.  (Sporting News)

-The first group of USS Theodore Roosevelt sailors who tested negative for COVID-19 will be shuttled to a hotel off-base to be quarantined within hours, Rear Adm. John Menoni, commander of Joint Region Marianas, said Thursday. About 1,000 sailors from the ship are already on Naval Base Guam, and up to 2,000 more should be moved to hotels by Friday. (USA Today)

–Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s public health face of the coronavirus pandemic, has been the target of online threats and has been issued an armed security detail, multiple media sources were reporting Thursday. Fauci, 79, declined to discuss his security at a recent news conference of the White House coronavirus task force. (USA Today)

–In the US, an estimated 25% of coronavirus carriers have no symptoms, said the director of the CDC.

–Florida: Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order telling Floridians to stay at home. That order begins Friday at 12:01 a.m. Florida was among a handful of states that did not have a statewide order.  Florida has 7,773 COVID-19 cases including 101 deaths statewide.  Nearly 1,000 people across the state are hospitalized.  (ClickOrlando)

–Russia sent the United States medical equipment on Wednesday to help fight the coronavirus pandemic, a public relations coup for Russian President Vladimir Putin after he discussed the crisis with U.S. President Donald Trump on the phone.

Trump, struggling to fill shortages of ventilators and personal protective equipment, accepted Putin’s offer in a phone call on Monday. A Russian military transport plane left an airfield outside Moscow and arrived at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport in the late afternoon on Wednesday.

Emergency aid to Washington was a striking development. Usually, the United States donates supplies to embattled countries rather than accepting them. The origin of the gift was bound to revive criticism from Democrats that Trump has been too cozy with the Russian leader.

“Trump gratefully accepted this humanitarian aid,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was cited as saying by the Interfax news agency on Tuesday. Trump himself spoke enthusiastically about the Russian help after his call with Putin.

A U.S. official in Washington confirmed the shipment was a direct result of Trump’s phone conversation with Putin. The official said it carried 60 tons of ventilators, masks, respirators, and other items. (NBC News)

 

-The 146th Kentucky Derby will be rescheduled from May 2, 2020, to September 5, 2020. (Twitter)

-AELTC has decided that The Wimbledon Championships 2020 will be canceled due to public health concerns linked to the coronavirus epidemic.  The 134th Championships will instead be staged from 28 June to 11 July 2021.  (Twitter)

-A CNN analysis shows the day-to-day average of case increases in the past week was 17% — a major decrease from 58% for the previous seven-day period.

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April 1

–NYC:   1,095 people have died from COVID-19 in New York City.

41,771 people had been infected in the five boroughs as of 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

Queens remained the hardest-hit borough with 13,869 cases, followed by Brooklyn at 11,160 and The Bronx with 7,814. Manhattan had 6,539 and Staten Island 2,354.

At least 8,549 people have been hospitalized.  164 people died in one day bringing this morning’s death count of 932 to 1,096.  (NY Post)

 

-More than 1,400 NYPD employees have tested positive for coronavirus as of Wednesday morning, a law enforcement source tells CNN.

6,172 uniformed officers — about 17% of the police department — are out sick.

“It has been clearly a difficult time for New York City as a whole. The message is to all New Yorkers that we’re all in this together,” NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said to CNN’s Jim Sciutto.  (CNN)

 

–Westchester County:  13% of New York’s cases are in Westchester County, officials reported Tuesday. The county announced there are 9,967 positive cases and 25 dead, up 10 since Friday. (ABC News)

–New York State: There are 75,795 positive cases of COVID-19 in New York state and 1,550 deaths. One bright note, the number of people starting to get released from the hospital has increased. (ABC News)

 

–Rockland County, NY now has a total of 1,789 confirmed positive cases and 18 deaths. More than half of the positive cases are in the Town of Rampo.  (ABC News)

–CDC guidance that front-line MTA workers shouldn’t wear face masks to contain the spread of coronavirus isn’t working for New York City’s top transit boss — who has tested positive for the disease himself.

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March 31

–CNN anchor Chris Cuomo (brother of NY Governor Andrew Cuomo) said Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with Covid-19.

 

-A Navy hospital ship with 1,000 beds arrived Monday morning in New York Harbor to help relieve the coronavirus crisis gripping the city’s hospitals. The USNS Comfort, which was sent to New York City after 9/11, will be used to treat non-coronavirus patients while hospitals treat people with COVID-19.

In addition to the 1,000 beds, the Comfort has 12 operating rooms that could be up and running within 24 hours.

On the other side of the country, the U.S. Navy’s only other full-fledged hospital ship, the USNS Mercy, was “open for business” on a virtually identical mission and with a very similar capacity.  (CBS)

 

 

-The U.S. Department of Defense has now confirmed more than 1,000 cases of the new coronavirus among military personnel, staff and family members.

Among those infected are 569 active duty service members, 220 civilian staff, 64 contract workers employed by the Pentagon and 190 military family dependents. (CBS)

–The NCAA on Monday voted to allow Division I spring-sport athletes who had their seasons shortened by the coronavirus pandemic to have an additional year of eligibility. The extra year of eligibility will be granted to all spring-sport athletes, regardless of their current class.

The decision does not guarantee current seniors will still receive financial aid if they return for the extra year, according to The Associated Press.

Winter sports, such as basketball, were not included in the decision. (CBS News)

-A Dutch museum that is currently closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus said Monday a painting by Vincent van Gogh on loan for an exhibition was stolen in a raid overnight. The Singer Laren museum east of Amsterdam says “Spring Garden” by the Dutch master was taken in the early hours of Monday.

-Dr. Anthony Fauci said that he “would anticipate” the coronavirus will return in the fall — but that it will be a “totally different ballgame” if that happens.

“There will be several things that would be different,” Dr. Fauci said. “Our ability to be able to go out and test, identify, isolate and contact trace will be orders of magnitude better than what it was just a couple of months ago.”

“In addition, we have a number of clinical trials that are looking at a variety of therapeutic interventions…” Dr. Fauci added. “And importantly, as I’ve mentioned to you many times at these briefings, is that we have a vaccine that’s on track and multiple other candidates.”  (CBS)

-President Trump announced Monday that the FDA has approved a sterilization kit from the company Battelle that can disinfect N95 masks, which many hospitals have said are in short supply.

“Each machine can disinfect 120,000 masks per day,” Mr. Trump said. “It will be just like a new one. It can go up to about 20 times for each mask.”

He continued: “So each mask can go through this process 20 times. And they have two in Ohio, one in New York, and one will soon be shipped to Seattle, Washington. And also to Washington, D.C. (CBS)

–New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority announced Monday that 5 of its employees have died from complications due to coronavirus. The MTA identified the five workers as track worker Scott Elijah, cleaner Caridad Santiago, bus operator Ernesto Hernandez, supervisor Victor Zapana, and bus mechanic Warren Tucker.  (CBS)

–NYC: More than 5,000 uniformed NYPD members — 14.4% of the uniformed workforce — called in sick on Monday, according to the department. More than 800 uniformed members and 100 civilian members have tested positive for the virus. (CBS)

-Last week, some New York hospitals said they would ban spouses, partners, birthing coaches and other visitors from labor and delivery rooms as a coronavirus safety measure — sparking fear and outrage from expectant mothers and their families.

At least 2 New York hospital systems planned to implement the restriction, but on Saturday, the state government stepped in to ensure that hospitals could not force women to give birth alone. “In no hospital in New York will a woman be forced to be alone when she gives birth.” (CBS)

-A New Jersey member of the National Guard died of coronavirus on Saturday, according to a Monday release from the Department of Defense, becoming the first known U.S. service member to die of the virus. The patient had been hospitalized since March 21. (CBS)

–New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on Monday said his state is receiving 300 ventilators from the national stockpile.

–Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, Pope Francis’ vicar for the archdiocese of Rome, has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the Reuters news agency. De Donatis is now the highest-ranking Catholic official to announce a positive diagnosis for the virus.  The 66-year-old has not had contact with Pope Francis recently.  (CBS)

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March 30

-President Trump has extended the nationwide shutdown of thousands of businesses until April 30, prolonging social distancing measures in a bid to curtail the fast-spreading coronavirus epidemic. Mr. Trump says the rate of new infections in the country is expected to “peak” in about two weeks, but he believes the U.S. will be “well on its way to recovery” by June 1. (CBS News)

-The Navy hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, with 1,000 beds is due to arrive today in New York Harbor to help relieve the coronavirus crisis gripping the city’s hospitals. The USNS Comfort, which was sent to New York City after 9/11, will be used to treat non-coronavirus patients while hospitals treat people with COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo was expected to greet the vessel when it reaches the harbor and docks at a Manhattan cruise ship terminal. In addition to the 1,000 beds, the Comfort has 12 operating rooms that could be up and running within 24 hours.  (CBS)

 

-The United States Army is opening the first field hospital for civilians in New York City today. The new medical facility at the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan is designed to handle non-COVID-19 patients, freeing existing New York hospitals to expand their fight against the coronavirus.

Starting Monday, the hospital will be running can help save about 1,000 lives at a time. By next week, there will be 3,000 beds. (CBS)

-Last week, the IOC and Japanese organizers postponed the Tokoyo Olympics until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Tokyo Olympics will open next year in the same time slot scheduled for this year’s games.

Tokyo organizers said Monday the opening ceremony will take place on July 23, 2021 — almost exactly one year after the games were due to start this year. (CBS)

–The Navy is the U.S. military service hit hardest by the coronavirus crisis.  The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt was docked in Guam after being hit by a wave of infections following a port visit in Vietnam. The carrier has a crew of more than 5,000 sailors and Marines. At least two dozen have tested positive for the virus. (CBS)

 

–Spain:  has become the third country to surpass China in coronavirus infections after the United States and Italy. With a population of 47 million, the country’s tally of infections reached 85,195 on Monday, a rise of 8% from a previous day.

Monday also saw 812 new fatalities confirmed, bringing the country’s toll to 7,300 since the outbreak started in earnest in early March, Spain’s Health Ministry said in a statement.

Despite the grim milestone, it was the first decline in deaths that Spain had seen in several days. Even the 8% rise in new infections represented a slower growth rate and brought hope that the peak of Spain’s outbreak could be approaching.

At least six of Spain’s 17 regions are at their limit of ICU beds and three more were close to it, authorities said, while frantic construction of field hospitals continues.  (CBS)

–NYC: A field hospital is being erected in New York City’s famed Central Park to help meet the demand of extra hospital beds during the coronavirus outbreak that has ripped through the city.  Mt. Sini Hospital said in a statement that it is partnering with Samaritan’ Purse and other government agencies and will be located in the East Meadow. It will enable doctors to “provide care for patients seriously ill with COVID-19.” (FOX)

The hospital is expected to be running by Tuesday, the report said. The makeshift hospital will have 68 beds, Fox5NY.com reported. The report said that Samaritan’s Purse, the nondenominational evangelical Christian organization, has been operating a similar facility in Cremona, Italy. The organization is led by Franklin Graham, the son of the late televangelist Billy Graham, the New York Post reported.

 

-Long Island:  As the coronavirus crisis evolves, hot spots, or areas where the virus is most prevalent, are popping up all over Long Island.  In Nassau County, the most cases have been recorded in Woodmere, which is part of the Five Towns. The Nassau Department of Health says 192 people have tested positive there.  In Suffolk, the highest number of positive coronavirus tests have been recorded in Huntington Station, with 178 cases alone.  Other hot spots in Nassau have been identified in Valley Steam, Elmont, Hempstead, East Meadow, Hicksville, and Levittown. Each of these communities have more than 100 cases. (News 12 Long Island)

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March 29

–NYC:  New York City is setting up temporary morgues and deploying refrigerated trucks outside of hospitals in case an expected surge of coronavirus deaths overwhelm the city morgues.

One such trailer was seen outside of a Lenox Health in the West Village of Manhattan on Friday.

 

-The World Health Organization says the virus that causes COVID-19 doesn’t seem to linger in the air or be capable of spreading through the air over distances more than about three feet.

But at least one expert in virus transmission said it’s way too soon to know that.  The WHO says that “according to current evidence,” the virus is transmitted through “respiratory droplets and contact routes.” By that, the agency means the virus is found in the kind of big droplets of mucus or saliva created through coughing and sneezing.

These droplets can only travel short distances through the air and either land on people or land on surfaces that people later touch. Stopping this kind of transmission is why public health officials urge people to wash hands frequently and not touch the face because that could bring the virus into contact with the nose or mouth.

If someone in a house is sick, it makes sense to have them wear a mask and to increase the ventilation in the room, if possible, by cracking open a window.  (NPR)

 

–Vatican:  Pope Francis called for the world to stop “all forms of war” and act as “one human family” against the Covid-19 pandemic.

After delivering his weekly angelus, the Pope said, “the joint commitment against the pandemic can lead everyone to recognize our need to strengthen fraternal ties as members of the one human family.” Francis said he accepted an appeal from the Secretary-General of the United Nations calling for a global ceasefire in light of the coronavirus crisis which “knows no borders.” (CNN)

–UK:  The UK public should prepare for a “significant period” where lockdown measures are in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Cabinet minister Michael Gove has said.  In the UK people are banned from leaving their homes apart from for a few limited reasons after Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed the most stringent restrictions seen in Britain since the end of World War II.

Police will break up public gatherings and fine people flouting rules, Johnson said in a televised statement on Monday evening, dramatically ramping up the country’s response to the growing coronavirus pandemic.

Johnson, who has himself tested positive for the coronavirus, will write letters to 30 million households across the UK urging people to stay home, and telling the public: “We know things will get worse before they get better.”

Increased testing: Gove told Sky News this morning that 10,000 people were being tested for coronavirus daily, with the government hoping to increase this to 25,000 a day. Healthcare and social care workers are “first in line” for those tests, Gove added.  (CNN)

–Norway:  Patients in Norway will be the first to take part in a major international research study for a promising treatment for Covid-19, initiated by the World Health Organization.

The WHO study, named Solidarity, is starting to treat its first patient at Oslo University Hospital, the Norwegian government said in a statement.

The plan is for the study to be extended to 22 hospitals throughout Norway. Among treatments to be tested are the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine/plaquenil, the Ebola drug remdesivir and an HIV treatment (lopinavir/ritonavir) either alone or together with a drug for hepatitis (interferon-β1a). (CNN)

–Russia:  under President Vladimir Putin has pioneered authoritarian tech: Last year, the Kremlin leader approved measures that would enable the creation of a “sovereign” Russian internet, able to be firewalled from the rest of the world.

The Covid-19 pandemic is now giving Russian authorities an opportunity to test new powers and technology, and the country’s privacy and free-speech advocates worry the government is building sweeping new surveillance capabilities.

Perhaps the most well-publicized tech tool in Russia’s arsenal for fighting coronavirus is Moscow’s massive facial-recognition system. Rolled out earlier this year, the surveillance system had originally prompted an unusual public backlash, with privacy advocates filing lawsuits over unlawful surveillance.

Coronavirus, however, has given an unexpected public-relations boost to the system.

Last week, Moscow police claimed to have caught and fined 200 people who violated quarantine and self-isolation using facial recognition and a 170,000-camera system. According to a Russian media report, some of the alleged violators who were fined had been outside for less than half a minute before they were picked up by a camera. (CNN)

–Testing: The U.S. FDA approved Illinois-based medical device maker Abbott Labs on Friday for a coronavirus test that delivers positive results in as little as five minutes and negative results in 13 minutes, the company said.  The company expects the tests to be available next week and expects to ramp up manufacturing to deliver 50,000 tests per day.  The new test comes in the form of a small cartridge that fits in the palm of your hand.  (USA Today)

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March 28

-Evening Update:

–NYC:  696 members of the New York Police Department have tested positive for coronavirus.  There are 608 uniformed members and 88 civilian members who have tested positive.  About 12% of the department’s uniformed workforce – or 4,342 employees — were out sick on Saturday, the report said. (CNN)

The first New York Police Department detective has died from coronavirus, according to multiple law enforcement officials.  The detective was in his 40s and worked in the 32nd precinct which serves the northeastern portion of Harlem, the officials said.

–New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center physicians have developed and implemented a strategy to enable a single mechanical ventilator to fully support two patients simultaneously in carefully selected patients under the right conditions, according to a statement from a spokesperson. (CNN)

-There are now 7,328 people currently hospitalized across New York with Covid-19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a press conference Saturday.  There are now 52,318 people confirmed to have Covid-19 in New York, Cuomo said.  There are at least 1,755 people in ICU in New York.  (CNN)

-USNS Comfort will be in New York City by Monday and will bring 1,000 beds to help with the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday during a press conference. (CNN)

 

–UK: On 25 March, a UK government official said that the country had ordered 3.5 million ‘finger-prick’ tests and planned to order millions more.

The test will analyze drops of blood for antibodies that show whether a person has previously been infected with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. This will show who might now be immune and aid researchers in understanding the virus’s spread. These ‘serological tests’ should become available to the public in days rather than weeks or months, said Sharon Peacock, director of the national infection service at Public Health England (PHE), a UK health agency. Peacock suggested that the bulk of the UK tests, which will be available to buy from Amazon and pharmacies to perform at home, had not yet arrived.

Most tests to diagnose coronavirus infection have involved laboratory-based testing using the technique known as PCR, which checks for active viral infection. (Nature.com)

–US:  The FDA on Friday approved a coronavirus test that can provide results in less than 15 minutes, using the same technology that powers some rapid flu tests.

 

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March 27

–Evening Update:

–Defense Production Act implemented: President Donald Trump has invoked the Defense Production Act, to compel General Motors to produce more ventilators due to increased hospitalizations. (CNN)

– $2 trillion stimulus package approved: Trump has signed the historic legislation on Friday. Its key elements include sending checks directly to individuals and families, a major expansion of unemployment benefits and financial assistance for small businesses.

–Navy hospital ships: The USNS Mercy, a 1,000-bed Navy hospital ship, arrived Friday at the Port of Los Angeles to treat non-coronavirus patients from area hospitals. A second Navy hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, is expected to reach the New York area next week for the same purpose. (NBC)

–LA, Southern California, infamous for its clogged freeways and smoggy skies, is experiencing excellent air quality because of spring rains and business closures triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, experts are saying.

The freeways are not only nearly empty, but the lack of cars is contributing to the clear skies, said Philip Fine with the South Coast Air Quality District. (NBC)

–Vatican:  Pope Francis delivered a special “Urbi et Orbi” blessing to an empty St. Peter’s Square on Friday, praying for an end to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Urbi et Orbi,” which means “to the city and to the world,” is a prayer that can be led only by the pope and is reserved for solemn occasions, such as Easter, Christmas or the installation of a new pope.

“You ask us not to be afraid, but our faith is weak, and we are fearful. But Lord, do not leave us to the mercy of the storm,” Francis said during the prayer. “Tell us again, ‘Do not be afraid.’ And we together with Peter will cast all our anxieties to you, because we know that you care for us.” (NBC)

 

-NYC:  The de Blasio administration also confirmed 1,239 new COVID-19 cases, bringing citywide totals to 23,112 infected people and 365 deaths as of Thursday evening.

The virus has hospitalized 4,720 patients, 20 percent of all cases, with at least 850 of those being treated in ICUs.

Queens leads the boroughs with the most number of cases at 7,362; followed by Brooklyn with 6,095; the Bronx with 4,243; Manhattan with 4,046 and then Staten Island with 1,330.

Queens also has the most infected residents per capita, with about .32 percent of the borough’s residents having come down with the virus. (NY Post)

–New Jersey:  Gov Murphy said nearly 2,500 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to nearly 6,900 and deaths in NJ are at 81. (ABC News)

-The New Jersey Department of Labor said Thursday that it received 155,815 new claims for unemployment insurance for the week ending March 21. That’s an increase of over 1,500% from the prior week.

State officials said it is the largest spike they can recall. Initial claims exceeded 46,000 in a single week after Superstorm Sandy in November 2012, and shot up to over 25,000 for a week in July 2010, the low point of the last recession.

New Jersey has temporarily suspended a requirement that applicants look for other jobs. It also created a jobs portal – jobs.covid19.nj.gov – to match those who are looking for work with immediate openings in industries fighting the pandemic.

-State Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said at least 43 of New Jersey’s 375 long term care facilities have a case of the virus.

St. Joseph’s in Woodbridge, where residents were moved this week to a facility in Whippany, has at least 24 cases, including five of its 78 staff members. Three residents there have died.

-Gov Murphy said that Saturday, testing centers in Bergen County and at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel will only test health care workers and first responders who are showing symptoms of the disease. Starting April 4, only health care workers and first responders will be tested at the Holmdel site on Saturdays.

-Ansell, a company with a corporate hub in Iselin, New Jersey, said it had resolved a dispute over whether the gloves had been manufactured using forced labor in Malaysia.  More than 40 million medical-grade gloves that have been held at customs warehouses since last fall are going to be delivered to health care facilities.  (ABC News)

–Italy:  45 doctors who tested positive for coronavirus have died in Italy, the Italian Association of Doctors said Friday.

Since the beginning of the epidemic, more than 6,000 Italian health workers have been infected by coronavirus as of Thursday, according to the Italian National Institute of Health. (CNN)

–A 101-year-old man who tested positive for coronavirus has been released from the hospital, Gloria Lisi, the deputy mayor of Rimini, Italy, said in a statement Thursday. (CNN)

The man, referred to as “Mr. P” in the statement, was born in 1919 — in the middle of another tragic world pandemic.

–UK:  Prime Minister Boris Johnson will isolate for 7 days after testing positive for the coronavirus, but 10 Downing Street has given no indication that he plans to hand control to Raab in light of his diagnosis.  Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab would stand in if UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was too unwell to govern the country. (CNN)

–The Queen remains in good health, Buckingham Palace said Friday.  Prince Charles tested positive earlier this week.  Charles, Queen Elizabeth II’s son and the heir to the British throne, is now self-isolating in Scotland. (CNN)

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March 26

-US: The Senate passed a $2 trillion coronavirus aid bill late Wednesday evening, the largest relief package in the country’s history.  The bill authorizes a direct payment of $1,200 to every U.S. resident with a social security number who makes up to $75,000 per year, plus $500 per child. People who earn more than $75,000 will receive a smaller payment and the checks are phased out completely for people who make over $99,000.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is authorized to dole out $500 billion in loans to distressed businesses, including up to $29 billion earmarked for the airline industry. Another $350 billion in loans will go to providing 8 weeks of cash flow for small businesses. The loans will be forgiven if the businesses maintain their payroll.

The most contentious provision ended up being offering $600 per week, over four months, in federal unemployment assistance to laid-off employees.

$100 billion for hospitals and health care providers.

A $150 billion relief fund for the states.

$16 billion to acquire ventilators and other medical equipment.

-New York City:  Mayor Bill de Blasio has picked one street to be converted to pedestrian-only corridors in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, for a pilot running from Friday, March 27, to Monday, March 30.  Each of the following streets will be closed to cars from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the four-day test.

• Manhattan: Park Avenue, between 28th Street and 34th Street
• Brooklyn: Bushwick Avenue, between Johnson Avenue and Flushing Avenue
• Queens: 34th Avenue, 73rd Street to 80th Street
• The Bronx: Grand Concourse, between East Burnside Avenue and 184th Street
  Staten Island was not included in the original pilot (NY Post)

–New York:  As of Wednesday night, nearly 33,000 cases had been confirmed in New York, an increase of more than 7,000 from the day before.  366 people have died. NYC, impaired by the density that makes it one of the world’s most vibrant places, bears the brunt of the impact, with more than 20,000 cases across the five boroughs as of Wednesday night.

One hospital in the city, Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, had 13 patients being treated for COVID-19 die over the span of 24 hours, according to NYC Health & Hospitals. In a statement, the hospital group said the number was “consistent with the number of ICU patients being treated there,” with Elmhurst being “at the center of this crisis.” Before the sun even rose Thursday, the line to get tested at Elmhurst stretched a full city block.

 

 

At Mount Sinai, where social media photos show nurses wearing 33-gallon garbage bags as makeshift gowns amid a supply shortage, a nursing manager was listed among the recent fatalities. He was in his 40s.

 A makeshift morgue is being set up at Manhattan’s Bellevue Hospital to manage the wave of fatalities, the same location that was used for the mass casualties of 9/11.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that actual hospitalizations from COVID-19 were rising faster than initially projected in New York.

Cuomo says he has 11,000 ventilators, thousands of which have been sent by the federal government just this week. He says he needs 19,000 more, calling the race to acquire the life-saving machines “our single biggest challenge.”

There is a glimmer of hope. Cuomo said Wednesday that it was taking more time for the number of hospitalizations to double – from every 2 days on Sunday to nearly every 5 days by Tuesday. (NBC News)

–New Jersey:  is working with FEMA on field hospitals in 4 locations, including at the sprawling Meadowlands sports complex.  Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday the state had a new high: 18 deaths in one day, bringing its total to 62. New Jersey now has the second-highest case total (4,402) in America.  New York is the only state with more. (NBC News)

-Private companies are stepping up, donating millions of masks and thousands of bottles of hand sanitizer.

Jet Blue is flying volunteer medical workers to New York state for free.

The Four Seasons in New York City — has opened its rooms to healthcare workers free of charge.

The city has been providing childcare for essential workers, and Murphy announced Wednesday that he was ordering any daycare center in his state still in operation to certify it would only care for the kids of essential workers. If they do not agree to that, they must close by April 1. “A lack of childcare cannot be a barrier for them or our response,” Murphy said.  (NBC)

–New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut:  All three states are scrambling to develop their own mobile testing centers and drive-thrus. But there have been bumps, as the number of people desperate to get tested flood the capacity of the new facilities. New Jersey’s largest testing center in Paramus has had to shut down within minutes of opening each day because it hits capacity; newly opened stations face similar plights.

Governors are working to accelerate action on the drug front as well. New York launched a clinical trial for an experimental treatment Tuesday and plans to be the nation’s first state to try to heal critically ill patients using recovered people’s plasma — a process called convalescent plasma that was used during the flu epidemic of 1918.

Mount Sinai’s chief medical officer urgently called for those who recovered from COVID-19 to donate antibody-rich plasma to give to the sick. In a letter to staff that he posted to Twitter this week, he said the COVID-19 crisis is “the humanitarian mission of our lifetimes.” (NBC)

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March 25

–New York is seeing the first real hints that its dramatic strategy of social distancing and crowd density reduction is starting to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today.

New projections indicate the rate of hospitalizations associated with the virus doubling has slowed in recent days from every two days to every 4.7 days, Cuomo said during a press briefing in Albany.

Those are just projections and they’re almost too good to be true, Cuomo said, but they’re evidence New York’s strategy can be effective. (Syracuse.com)

–New York Governor Andrew Cuomo at a news conference today, said confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to increase in New York State.

He says the hospitalization rate is higher than models had initially projected.

Currently, there are 30,811 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in NYS.  Of those cases, 3,805 (12%) are currently hospitalized and 888 of those in the hospital are in the ICU.  (NBC)

-NY: Gov Cuomo “God bless them: 40,000 people have signed up as a surge health care force,” he said.

He said that number is a “big, big deal. Because you can create beds. You can find the equipment. You have to have the staff.”

The 40,000 sign-ups include over 2,200 physicians, more than 16,000 registered nurses and more than 2,600 nurse practitioners.

As of Wednesday there were more than 30,000 COVID-19 cases in the state, and 12% are currently hospitalized.

-Read Dr Craig Spenser’s tweets about his day as a NYC ER doc.  LINK Dr Spencer

-New Rochelle, Westchester:  The 1st coronavirus case was discovered in New Rochelle and rapidly spread initially.  Officials set up a one-mile “containment zone” inside of which schools, religious events, and large gatherings were closed. The National Guard was called in to help coordinate delivering meals to those in quarantine. A drive-thru coronavirus testing site was opened. (CNN)

–UK:  Prince Charles tests positive for coronavirus  He has been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual. (ABC News)

–Italy:  The number of new confirmed cases of coronavirus in Italy slowed down for a third consecutive day.  The total number of infections in the country now stands at 69,176, of which 8,326 people have recovered from the illness. (CNBC)

–Spain: is the second-worst hit country in Europe.  There have been 42,058 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Spain, with the country’s capital, Madrid, home to the highest number of infections.

Given the unprecedented pressure on hospitals, funeral homes and crematoriums around Madrid, an ice rink in the city has been transformed into a temporary morgue. Palacio de Hielo, as it is known, received the first coffins on Monday. The freezing temperatures are expected to protect the bodies until funeral homes have the capacity to bury or cremate them. (CNBC)

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March 24

Evening Update

-The FDA will allow doctors across the country to begin using plasma donated by coronavirus survivors to treat patients who are critically ill with the virus, under new emergency protocols approved Tuesday.

The treatment, known as convalescent plasma, dates back centuries and was used during the flu pandemic of 1918.

“Just based on its track record with a number of other viruses, I think it has a very good chance of working,” Dr. Jeffrey Henderson, of the Washington University School of Medicine, said. (NBC)

–New York state:  25,665 cases of coronavirus were confirmed as of Tuesday morning, with 210 deaths – far higher numbers than elsewhere in the US – as 14,776 cases and 131 fatalities were concentrated in New York City. New York is conducting more testing per capita than countries such as South Korea, which may partially explain the spike in numbers. (The Guardian)

–NY:  Mike Pence, said (Fema) had sent New York 2,000 ventilators and plans to send 2,000 more on Wednesday.  Cuomo says NY needs 30,000.

-The White House seems to have new guidance for people who have already left New York to self-quarantine for two weeks.  56% of all the cases in the United States, as well as 60% of all new cases, are coming from the New York metro area.

“We are asking anyone who has traveled out of the New York City metropolitan area to anywhere else in the country to self-isolate for 14 days,” Mike Pence said during the briefing. “We have to deal with the New York City metropolitan area as a high-risk area.”

Antony Fauci emphasized that 1 out of every 1000 New Yorkers may be infected. (The Guardian)

–US:  Top negotiators signaled on Tuesday that a bipartisan deal on a massive $2 trillion economic stimulus package to respond to the coronavirus crisis is imminent.  Leaders in Congress and the Trump administration have been working for days to pass as quickly as possible an economic stimulus package, which would include direct payments to taxpayers among hundreds of billions of dollars in other stimulus measures. (CNN)

–Fact-checking website Snopes told readers that the “magnitude of misinformation spreading in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is overwhelming our small team,” and is demanding social media companies Facebook and Google “do more right now to shut down misinformation on their platforms.”  (NBC)

–Wall Street roared back on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging by over 2,000 points for its biggest daily points gain ever.  It was a strong day for all three major averages, with the Dow ending the day up by more than 11 percent. The S&P 500 rallied by over 9 percent, while the Nasdaq notched up gains of just over 8 percent.  (NBC)

–Poland:  The Polish government has deployed confiscated black market vodka, known locally as “bimber,” which will be used as a disinfectant, the National Office of the Public Prosecutor said. It’s worth noting, however, that vodka is generally not considered an effective killer of microbes.  Vodka was invented in Poland, and the authorities crack down routinely on the hundreds of illegal distilleries operating in the countryside. (NBC)

–Italy is considering raising the fines for violation of the nationwide lockdown to 3,000 euros ($3,246), the country’s Corriere della Sera newspaper reported. The current fine stands at 206 euros ($222).

–Israel, which is on partial lockdown, police are fining those breaking the quarantine 5,000 shekels ($1,365). Israel has had 1,656 confirmed coronavirus cases and one death so far.  (NBC)

Morning News

–UK:  The morning after the U.K. government announced a three-week lockdown and asked the British public to limit their movements to curb the spread of coronavirus, London’s Underground was still full.   Videos shared by commuters on social media show train cars and platforms rammed with people standing in close proximity to each other.  (NBC News)

 

–China:  The province in China where the coronavirus outbreak originated in December will lift travel restrictions on people leaving the region, China’s authorities said Tuesday. Hubei’s two-month lockdown ends at midnight, although people will only be able to leave the area if they are coronavirus-free and have been given a clean bill of health.   Wuhan, Hubei’s provincial capital, will remain locked down until April 8. (USA Today)

–New York City:  is looking to hire taxi and ride-share drivers who are out of work due to the coronavirus shutdown.  The city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission needs TLC-licensed drivers to perform necessary tasks, like delivering meals to homebound senior citizens.  Drivers will be paid $15 an hour and reimbursed for gas and tolls. (CBS News)

–New York City:  The city said the number of positive cases was at 13,119 as of Monday at 6 p.m., including 125 deaths.  (CBS News) The breakdown by borough:

• 3,848 in Queens
• 3,742 in Brooklyn
• 2,646 in Manhattan
• 1,999 in the Bronx
• 877 on Staten Island

There are at least 2,213 people hospitalized. Of those individuals, at least 525 are in the ICU, NYC officials said.

–New York testing  Gov. Cuomo says New York testing 16,000 people a day for COVID-19.

–New Jersey:  Supermarkets are installing plastic shields at cash registers and making other changes — including more cash to attract workers — to help protect employees and customers who are all trying to stay safe during the coronavirus pandemic.  Acme has completed installing the plastic guards. Stop & Shop and Saker ShopRites, which owns 33 ShopRite stores around the Jersey Shore and Central Jersey, have begun the work too. Besides plastic shields, supermarkets also have agreed to put tape on the floor in check-out aisles to separate customers so they can keep a safe distance while they are waiting to pay (APP.com)

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March 23

Evening Update:

–US:  The FDA has given fast-track approval to a clinical trial involving a rheumatoid arthritis drug thought to help patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, Genentech announced Monday.  The drug, Tocilizumab (Actemra), already is showing promising results in Italy, the ANSA news agency reported earlier this month.  (Daily News)

–New York City Department of Health:

Outpatient testing must not be encouraged, promoted or advertised

• • Instruct people with COVID-like illness not requiring hospitalization to stay home.

    • Minimize risk of transmission to others, especially healthcare workers (HCWs).
    • Testing does not currently change treatment.
    • Preserve personal protective equipment (PPE) (masks, gloves, gowns) for HCWs providing medically necessary care for hospitalized patients.

• There is a critical shortage of masks, gloves and gowns, collection swabs and viral transport media supplies.

  • Prioritize testing for hospitalized patients.

-New York City:  Gov. Cuomo toured the 1.8 million square foot Jacob Javits Center on Monday as the FEMA works to transform the site into four, 250-bed temporary hospitals.  Growing stacks of pallets containing medical supplies filled the cavernous space as FEMA and National Guard members began setting up the makeshift infirmaries in the Javits’ main showroom. (NY Daily News)

The hospitals, each of which will cover about 40,000 square feet, will be staffed by about 320 federal medical professionals.

“All systems are go here. The material has already started to arrive. We are erecting the equipment upstairs,” the governor said during a brief press conference at the venue.

–UK:  The UK is going into lockdown for at least 3 weeks, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson enacted strict limits on Monday that govern where people can go and when they can leave their homes. (Daily News)

Morning News:

-Musician Neil Diamond reached out on Twitter Sunday singing an acoustic version of his famous hit “Sweet Caroline” with new lyrics that some would call guidelines for social distancing.

“Hands … washing hands,” he crooned while strumming a guitar. “Reaching out … don’t touch me, I won’t touch you!”

LINK to Neil’s Twitter account to hear him sing the new version of Sweet Caroline

–New York City:  Mayor Bill de Blasio has blamed President Trump for the city’s severe shortage of COVID-19 supplies even though City Hall didn’t secure its first order for emergency protective gear until March 6, The Post has learned. (NY Post)

“Our city is the epicenter of this outbreak in the United States, and we are lacking supplies because the mayor didn’t notice until two weeks ago?” fumed City Councilman Chaim Deutsch.

“We ought to have been prepared for this. Blaming Trump is an easy way to avoid hard questions, but it exposes a distinct lack of management on the part of this administration,” the Brooklyn Democrat said.

 

–President Trump is sending supplies to help out an ill-prepared New York City

 Supplies sent to New York as of March 19:

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March 22

–Evening

-President Donald Trump outlined on Sunday the aid being sent to New York, Washington and California, the three major hot spots of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States.

He announced federal medical stations that will be delivered within the next 48 hours:

• Four large federal medical stations with 1,000 beds to New York
• Eight large federal medical stations with 2,000 beds to California
• Three large and four small federal medical stations with 1,000 beds total to Washington

 Trump outlined the specific number of items being sent to New York and Washington.

 Supplies sent to New York as of March 19:

• 186,416 N95 respirators
• 444,000 O-78 surgical masks
• 84,560 face shields
• 68,944 surgical masks
• 352 coveralls
• 245,486 gloves

 Supplies sent to Washington as of “about 3 days ago:”

• 369,000 N-95 respirators
• 575,406 surgical masks
• 63,788 face shields
• 107,850 surgical gowns
• 240,376 gloves

-Morning Update:

–COVID-19 Testing:   Cepheid, a diagnostics company based in Northern California, announced Saturday that the FDA has approved a test that can deliver COVID-19 results in under an hour. Current coronavirus test results can take up to 5 days. (CBS News)

The FDA said the company intends to roll out the test by March 30.

The FDA granted Cepheid Emergency Use Authorization for Xpert® Xpress SARS-CoV-2, “a rapid molecular diagnostic test for the qualitative detection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19,” the company said in a press release Saturday.

According to Cepheid, the test has a “detection time of approximately 45 minutes.”

According to the company, the test will begin shipping “next week” and can be used on their more than 23,000 systems worldwide, nearly 5,000 of which are located in the United States.

“Our automated systems do not require users to have specialty training to perform testing — they are capable of running 24/7, with many systems already doing so today,” said Cepheid president Warren Kocmond.

–New York City: confirmed cases jumped by 1,800 individuals to 6,211 total cases.

“This virus spreads in density and that’s what we’re seeing in New York City,” said Cuomo.

By Saturday night, New York State’s total number of confirmed cases had grown to 11,710, with 60 deaths.

The Javits Convention center – home to auto shows, trade conventions, comic cons and more – offers 1.8 million square feet of space within Hell’s Kitchen. Cuomo said he hopes four 250-bed units could be put there for a total capacity of 1,000.

Other locations Cuomo put on his list as possible field hospital sites included the campuses at SUNY Stony Brook and SUNY Westbury and the Westchester Convention Center. The governor said he would be reviewing the sites on Saturday. Each of those would have one 250-bed unit under the management of FEMA. (CBS News)

–New York City Buses:  Regular bus service in the city becomes free to ride starting Monday. As part of a plan designed to help protect drivers, everyone will board from the back and sit away from the driver to help them stay safe. (CBS)

–New Jersey:  The governor said on Twitter that people should not attempt to ride out the coronavirus outbreak at their vacation homes.

“I urge those who have homes at the Jersey Shore to NOT go to them at this time,” Murphy tweeted on Saturday. “The local infrastructure, especially the health care infrastructure, is not prepared for the influx of part-time residents. Please stay at your primary residence.” (APP.com)

–Italy:  Russia is flying doctors and supplies to Italy to help with its coronavirus response.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said Sunday it has sent 100 doctors and virologists, along with disinfection equipment, to Italy.  Nine Il-76 transport aircraft, with military doctors, special vehicles for disinfecting and other medical equipment on board, will land today. (CNN)

-Why the coronavirus has been so successful? An interesting detailed article in The Atlantic if you are curious as to how the virus spreads so easily.  The Atlantic: Why the coronavirus has been so successful.

–Spain has been locked down and placed in a state of emergency since Friday, March 13. The period was initially expected to last 15 days, but cases in the country continue to soar as that deadline approaches.  Emergency hospitals have been set up across the country, while residents have been urged to stay indoors and normally busy streets are deserted. (CNN)

Almost 25,000 cases have been reported in total, with a drastic spike of 5,000 new cases reported on Saturday.

 

–Ireland:  There are about 40,000 people in Ireland waiting for a test for the coronavirus, the HSE said at a briefing on Sunday.  The HSE’s chief operations officer Anne O’Connor said the average waiting period for a test was now between four and five days.  However, Ms. O’Connor said the HSE had accelerated the provision of testing sites and was looking to reduce the waiting period in the coming days. (Irish Times)

The HSE said at the moment there were 35 testing sites operating in Ireland and said by Tuesday this would increase to 41 centers.

It said the largest of these was opening on Sunday at Cork’s Páirc Uí Chaoimh and this center can provide 1,000 tests per day.

-Overall Ms O’Connor said there were now 177 people in Irish hospitals with the coronavirus/ Covid-19.

–Ireland:  The Government is set to announce a rescue flight to bring home more than 100 Irish people stranded in Peru.  (Irish Times)

–UK: Government considering financial support for the self-employed:  Further economic measures to protect the self-employed from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak are being considered by the government, according to community secretary Robert Jenrick.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s £330bn bailout, which plans to underwrite the wages of millions of workers who face being laid off as activity dries up, has been criticized for its lack of support for the country’s five million freelancers, contractors, and other self-employed workers.

Mr Jenrick said other emergency measures put in place by the government will help these individuals, but he added ministers are now looking to see what more can be done.  (Independent.co.uk)

–UK: London mayor Sadiq Khan has warned that police may need to forcibly stop those people breaking social distancing rules, as the UK coronavirus number of deaths rose to 240 on Sunday morning.

The UK has yet to be placed in enforced shutdown, though all pubs, restaurants, cinemas, and gyms have been shut as part of efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19. (Independent.co.ie)

–Amazon: Posting on his Instagram account Saturday night, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos wrote a letter to all Amazon employees announcing that Amazon will be hiring for 100,000 new roles and raising wages for hourly workers while also detailing how the company plans on working through the crisis. (ABC News)

–Disney:  How have you been keeping your kids occupied at home amid the coronavirus outbreak?  Here is a cute article from WTHR.com that has links to YouTube videos made by park guests at Disney so you feel like you are on the rides.

–Audible: On Saturday night, Audible started offering free streaming of children’s stories in 6 different languages to help parents as long schools are closed. (ABC)

–Starbucks announced Friday it will transition all of its United States and Canada stores to drive-through only for at least two weeks. Some stores located near hospitals and healthcare centers will remain open for walk-in service. (CBS News)

The company also said it will pay all employees for the next 30 days, “whether they choose to come to work or not.”

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March 21

-Evening Update:

–New Jersey:  Nearly all of New Jersey’s 9 million residents should stay at home and all “nonessential” businesses in New Jersey were ordered to close indefinitely starting Saturday at 9 p.m., Gov. Phil Murphy ordered Saturday to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Gatherings of any size are banned, Murphy said.

These essential businesses include:

• Hospitals, health care facilities, and stores within the facilities
• Grocery stores and liquor stores
• Farmer’s markets and farms that sell directly to customers
• Food banks
• Pharmacies
• Medical supply stores
• Gas stations and convenience stores
• Banks and other financial institutions
• Pet supply stores
• Hardware and home improvement stores
• Laundromats and dry-cleaning services
• Car dealerships, but only for auto maintenance and repair and auto mechanics
• Mail and delivery stores
• Stores that principally sell supplies for children under 5 years old
• Physical therapy offices
• Restaurants and bars can offer takeout and delivery services only.
• Liquor stores

New Jersey currently has 1,327 positive cases of COVID-19 (393 in Bergen county) and 16 deaths. (NorthJersey News)

-Gas hits its lowest average price since December 2016 as the coronavirus outbreak continues to restrict transportation and travel.  As of Saturday, the national average price for gas is $2.15, which is 44 cents cheaper than the average a year ago, according to AAA.  (USA Today)

–US:

-Evidence that a malaria drug, Hydroxychloroquine, will work as an effective treatment for COVID-19 is “anecdotal” and needs more research, leading infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said during a Coronavirus Task Force briefing after President Trump expressed hope on Thursday that the drug could be a solution.

Health officials have pointed to the need for more thorough, clinical studies of the drug on coronavirus patients. (CBS)

–Trump temporarily suspends federal student loans and standardized testing requirements. (CBS)

-There are 276 deaths linked to coronavirus in the U.S., and more than 19,775 confirmed cases.

Here’s a breakdown of the states where the most deaths have occurred (CBS News):

83 – Washington State
46 – New York
24 – California
14 – Louisiana
13 – Georgia
11 – New Jersey
10 – Florida
5 – Illinois
5 – Texas
4 – Colorado
3 – Michigan
3 – Oregon
3 – Connecticut
3 – Wisconsin
3 – Indiana
2 – Virginia
2 – Missouri
2 – Kentucky
2 – Ohio

–Connecticut, Illinois, New York, and California directed all non-essential workers to sequester or “stay home”.  This amounts to about 75 million people. (CNN)

–New York:  Governor Andrew Cuomo’s executive order mandates 100% of the state’s workforce “must stay home, excluding essential services” until further notice. That order does not apply to liquor stores, the New York State Liquor Store Association clarified later Friday.

“Liquor stores have been deemed an essential business and may remain open.” (CBS)

–NYC:  On Friday, the city’s positive cases also climbed from 5,151 to 5,683. (NY Post)

Brooklyn has the most COVID-19 cases at 1,750 followed by 1,514 in Queens, 1,402 in Manhattan, 736 in the Bronx, and 285 in Staten Island.

-14 people in New York City died from the virus on Friday, pushing NYC’s total deaths to 43 from 29.

– The majority of New York City residents who have tested positive for the coronavirus are men between the ages of 18 and 49, according to newly released public health data.

Even though experts say the elderly are the hardest hit by the virus, just 46% of the city’s COVID-19 patients are over 50 while 54% are 18-49.  (NY Post)

-In 24 hours, 1,000 retired health care workers in New York City volunteered to join the fight against coronavirus, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. (CBS News)

–Andrew Yang’s nonprofit is donating $1 million to families in the Bronx.

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March 20

-The federal tax-filing deadline has moved to July 15, and the IRS will waive penalties and interest on tax payments. (Business Insider)

-The Senate has unveiled a plan to send direct cash payment to help Americans hurt by the coronavirus pandemic. Under the plan, individuals making up to $75,000 annually would be eligible for a $1,200 check from the federal government. (NBC)  Here is more information on the 2020 Stimulus Plan: Forbes: Stimulus Checks

–New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told CNN in an interview Thursday morning that 8,000 tests were done in his state overnight. Later in the evening, officials reported New York state had 5,298 positive coronavirus cases — an increase of about 2,300 since late Wednesday.  “When you do 8,000 tests,” the Governor said, “the numbers are going to go up.” (CNN) 

 

–California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide order Thursday, telling residents in the most populous state to stay at home.  It is the most restrictive order by a governor so far during the novel coronavirus outbreak.  It applies to most of the state’s 40 million residents. There are exceptions for workers in “16 critical infrastructure sections.”  The order takes effect Thursday night. (CNN)

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March 19

–US:  President Trump signed into law a relief package passed by the House last week and approved by the Senate earlier Wednesday. The bill provides free testing, expanded funding for food security programs and paid sick, family and medical leave for workers at companies with 500 employees or fewer.

-The White House is also solidifying plans for a third phase of the response, which would include two rounds of direct cash payments to taxpayers. (CBS News)

-As the coronavirus shuts down business across the county, a surge in newly laid-off workers is crashing states’ unemployment websites.  In Pennsylvania alone, about 70,000 people sought unemployment aid in a single day (CBS)

–General Motors and Toyota both announced Wednesday that they will be temporarily suspending manufacturing operations in North America (CBS)

-The New York Stock Exchange will temporarily switch to fully electronic trading on Monday, March 23.

–New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced that 162 new positive cases of the coronavirus have been reported since Tuesday. The jump in cases brings the state’s total to 427.  The first confirmed coronavirus case in New Jersey was reported on March 4.  The governor announced 2 additional deaths due to the virus bringing the total to 5 deaths in New Jersey. (CBS)

–New York: President Trump is sending a “floating hospital” to New York Harbor (CBS News).  New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that President Trump has agreed to send a ship to New York City that will function as a hospital.  The ship, USNS Comfort, holds about 1,000 rooms, including operating rooms, according to the governor. It will dock in New York Harbor.

 

–California: The president confirmed the news at a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing Wednesday that a second “floating hospital”, the USNS Mercy, would be headed to the West Coast.

– Vaccines / Treatments: Many companies are working on vaccines, but these are the three that experts say are closest to being tested, approved and available to the U.S. public.

–Moderna’s mRNA-1273:  of Cambridge, Massachusetts, has already begun Phase I human testing of its mRNA-1273 vaccine at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle. The test has enrolled 45 healthy adults ages 18 to 55. Phase I will continue over the next six weeks. Subjects get an injection on days 1 and 29 and will be followed for 12 months after the second injection.

–Inovio Pharmaceuticals of Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, has already developed a vaccine for MERS, a different type of coronavirus, that is in Phase II of testing.  The company has begun preclinical testing of its COVID-19 vaccine in animals that have shown the desired immune response. It hopes to begin human trials in April starting with testing in 30 healthy people.

-Regeneron Pharmaceuticals of Tarrytown, New York is working on a drug that could be used as a treatment for those who are already infected.  Regeneron used the same technology to develop a drug for the Ebola virus, which is under review by the FDA.  The company hopes to have doses of its coronavirus drug available for human testing by the beginning of the summer. (NBC)

-The UK government has turned to a wartime solution, enlisting manufacturers including luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce and vacuum company Dyson to produce essential medical equipment like ventilators. (CNN)

–UK: Schools across the UK will close until further notice.  Northern Ireland’s schools will close starting Monday. Dozens of London Underground stations will close after the government advised to stop non-essential social contact.

-China has reported no new locally transmitted coronavirus cases for the first time since the COVID-19 virus began in December, marking a major turning point in the global battle to contain Covid-19. (CNN)

–Russia and Mexico have reported their first coronavirus-related deaths. Russia now has 147 cases of coronavirus and Mexico reports 93 cases. (CNN)

–Ireland: First Minister Arlene Foster said it was a “sad day for Northern Ireland” as the 1st death was announced in Northern Ireland. (BBC)

-There are currently 366 confirmed cases in the Republic of Ireland after 74 new cases were announced on Wednesday, with two deaths being recorded.

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March 18

–Evening Update

-The Senate approved a multibillion-dollar emergency aid package that will provide paid sick and family leave for many Americans while also offering free testing for the coronavirus and bolstering unemployment insurance. The bill now goes to Trump for signing.  (USA Today)

-You can still get together even though you are social distancing thanks to a Google Chrome extension called Netflix Party, groups of friends can get together virtually and watch their favorite Netflix titles on their computers at the same time. The extension also comes with a chat room, so you can share your reactions to the programs as you watch.

In order to participate, all you need is a Google Chrome browser, the extension and a Netflix subscription.  Go to netflixparty.com on a Google Chrome browser and click “Get Netflix Party for free!” (USA Today)

–New York City’s coronavirus cases double to 1,871 confirmed cases; mayor mulling call to ‘shelter-in-place’ as death toll reaches 11.

–Italy:  is still waiting for the cases to begin to level off since the lockdown took effect. (CNN)

Morning News:

–New York State (from NY.gov)

• The Governor and Legislature have an agreement on a bill guaranteeing job protection and pay for New Yorkers who have been quarantined as a result of the novel coronavirus.
• The bill also includes comprehensive paid sick leave policy
• Governor Cuomo signed an executive order directing all schools in New York to close by Wednesday, March 18 for two weeks ending April 1.
• Casinos, gyms, theaters are closed until further notice.
• Bars and restaurants are closed, but takeout can be ordered during the period of closure.
• Strongly advise only services and businesses that are essential stay open after 8:00 PM
  • Groceries
  • Gas stations
  • Pharmacies
  • Medical facilities
• All local governments must reduce their workforce by at least 50%. Non-essential state workers are working from home.
• New York State is waiving all park fees in state, local and county parks.
• Testing is free for all eligible New Yorkers as ordered by a health care provider.
• Call 311 for COVID-19 concerns

–New York state: 10,049 people have been tested in the state as per Gov. Cuomo

-New York State:  1,374 positive cases. (432 new) and 12 deaths.
264 of the cases are hospitalized, 19% rate.

Breakdown of positive COVID-19 cases in New York state:
– NYC 923 (109 new)
– Westchester 380 (157 new)
– Nassau 131 (24 new)
– Suffolk 84 (21 new)
– Rockland 22 (9 new)
– Dutchess 16 (6 new)
– Orange 15 (4 new)
– Monroe 10 (1 new)
– Saratoga 9 (4 new)

–New York City: There are currently at least 923 confirmed COVID-19 patients in the city, up from 814 reported cases earlier on Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on MSNBC, and 10 people have died.  “The idea of shelter in place has to be considered now. It has to be with between in our case the city and state working together,” the mayor added.

-An NYPD officer has tested positive for COVID-19 and 17 colleagues are out sick in relation to the coronavirus, according to department officials. (NYPost)

-The Brooklyn Nets announced Tuesday that 4 players have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, though they declined to identify them.  Of the four, they say one player is exhibiting symptoms while three are asymptomatic. All four players are presently isolated and under the care of team physicians. (ABC7)

–Alternate side of the street parking is suspended in New York through March 24.

–New Jersey:  A 5-year-old child and the child’s parents have tested positive for the coronavirus in Patterson.

The Patterson couple — a man in his 40s, his wife in her 30s and the 5-year-old child  (the Garden State’s first pediatric coronavirus case) — all tested positive for the virus, the city’s mayor, Andre Sayegh, said in a statement.  The 3 cases are the first in the city of Patterson.  Though the family lives in Patterson, neither child attends school there.

The family has been in self-quarantine since last week when the father tested positive for the virus, NJ.com reported. The 5-year-old has very mild symptoms and has remained at home.  The child’s father works in Teaneck in Bergen County, which has become the center of the state’s COVID-19 outbreak, with 61 cases, according to NJ.com.

At least 178 coronavirus cases have been reported in New Jersey — including 80 new ones announced on Monday.  New Jersey also reported its third coronavirus-related death Monday, a man in his 90s who was being treated at Hackensack University Medical Center in Bergen County. (NY Post)

–New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday urged residents to stay home after 8 p.m., activated the National Guard, and issued an executive order limiting some business operations to fight the spread of coronavirus.

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March 17

–Evening Update:

–New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy issued the order for all indoor shopping malls and amusement parks to close tonight until further notice.  In Hoboken, one of the nation’s most densely packed cities, the mayor has imposed a form of a citywide self-isolation, instructing people to only leave home when absolutely necessary. (ABC)

–New York City:  – there are 814 confirmed COVID-19 cases in NYC – a shelter-in-place order has not been ruled out as an option, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday.  New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, “There’s not going to be any quarantine. … There’s not going to be any ‘you-have-to-stay-in-your-house’ rule.”  NYC needs the Governor’s approval in order to pass the rule. (ABC)

–New York State has 1,374 cases of coronavirus. and 12 people have died.

–Governor Cuomo said he’s worried the rising number of cases will crash the health care system, noting the 19% hospitalization rate among those infected.  “We have to get down that rate of spread.”  Social distancing is very important.  NY state is working to create more space in hospitals and temporarily build other facilities to house the sick. (ABC)

 

–Florida: All bars and nightclubs in Florida will close for the next 30 days, but unlike other states, Florida will keep restaurants open. (ABC)

-Some law enforcement agencies are limiting police runs to only violent or serious incidents and are opting to handle other reports via citations, phone calls or online reports. The measures are designed to cut back on person-to-person contacts, like the number of people going through police stations and jails.

–Belgium has issued confinement orders beginning at noon Wednesday, Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes said.  All gatherings are forbidden.  Citizens must stay home except to go to work, the bank, the grocery store, the pharmacy, doctors’ appointments or to help others. (ABC)

–France: French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the borders at the entrance to the EU and the Schengen area are closed beginning Tuesday at noon.  All trips between non-European and European countries will be suspended for 30 days, but French nationals will be allowed to return to France.

–US Morning Update:

–Two emergency room (ER) doctors have tested positive for COVID-19 and are in critical condition, Dr. William Jaquis, the president of the American College of Emergency Physicians announced on Saturday. One is a man in his 40s in Washington state; another is a 70-year-old physician, James Pruden, in Paterson, New Jersey, who was leading the emergency preparedness plan at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center.

The New Jersey doctor came down with respiratory symptoms several days ago and is now in an isolation unit in the ICU. (Live Science)

–AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas announced Monday they will close their doors this week everywhere.

–Beverly Hill’s iconic Rodeo Drive and the rest of the city’s “non-essential” retail stores are being ordered closed

-More than 100 municipal water and utility companies across 34 states said they won’t shut off water service for late payments, and utility companies from Duke Energy in North Carolina to regional utility companies in California have all suspended shut-offs for nonpayment as the virus continues to disrupt daily life.

-Credit card companies said they are offering relief programs, and a group of telecommunications companies has pledged to postpone the termination of services for the next 60 days for customers unable to pay their bills.

–California Gov. Gavin Newsom halted evictions and foreclosures statewide.

–New York the usually busy city is very quiet now as tourist areas, city agencies, bars, restaurants, and theaters all close.

 

-Many European nations that have enacted severe countrywide lockdowns and the European Union has suggested blocking all travel to the 26-nation bloc for 30 days. (NBC News)

–UK:  A total of 1,543 cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in the UK.  Most confirmed cases are in England, which has more than 1,100. But Scotland has 223 confirmed cases, Wales has 110 and Northern Ireland has 52. (BBC)

–Ireland:   The Irish government has confirmed 54 new cases of coronavirus in the Republic of Ireland.  Monday’s figures bring the total number of confirmed cases to 223.

-Trinity College Dublin announced on Monday night that almost all students living on campus would have to leave by 20:00 local time on Tuesday.  It said it was aware of at least eight cases of coronavirus at the university.

–Japan: The Olympic torch relay will kick off in Japan on March 26 according to plan, the head of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee said Tuesday, but all accompanying celebrations and events will be canceled. (NBC)

–Israel:  Israeli security forces will track coronavirus patients and people in self-isolation using technology used to locate terrorists to make sure they stay isolated.  They will also use this information to track people who were in proximity to the coronavirus patients and notify them of the need to self-isolate.  (NBC)

Israel has so far recorded 304 cases of the coronavirus, with no recorded deaths.

Israel’s military force, IDF, also confirmed to NBC News Tuesday that it’s taking over two hotels – each able to hold 500 people – and transforming them into facilities to house patients with mild symptoms.

–Italy: Still on lockdown, Italians find ways to cope.

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March 16

Evening Update:

–New Jersey residents were told on Monday that they should not leave their homes from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. as Gov. Phil Murphy recommended a statewide curfew on Monday, according to USA Today.

-McDonald’s said that it is closing seating areas and playgrounds in an effort to stem the spread of coronavirus.

–SoulCycle and Equinox will close locations worldwide until the end of April as the world attempts to stop the spread of coronavirus.

–Amazon announced today that it was opening 100,000 full and part-time positions as delivery demands increase and people begin to limit their movements to slow the spread of coronavirus.

-The “Saturday Night Live” episode slated for March 28 will not air and the show has halted production until further notice, an NBCUniversal spokesperson said Monday. (NBC News)

–Coronavirus vaccine 1st test doses given  SEATTLE — U.S. researchers gave the first shot to the first person in a test of an experimental coronavirus vaccine Monday.  Scientists at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Research Institute in Seattle begin an anxiously awaited first-stage study of a potential COVID-19 vaccine developed in record time (NBC News)

 

–Universal Pictures has said it will stream some newly released movies and one upcoming title, as many people are staying home and scores of movie theaters are closed due to the coronavirus outbreak. They will let customers watch “Trolls World Tour” on-demand rather than a movie theater release.

–Disney released “Frozen 2” on its streaming service, Disney+, on Sunday — three months earlier than scheduled.

-Major League Baseball said today that the start of its season will be pushed back 8 weeks, citing guidance from the CDC.

-The 2020 Met Gala, which was scheduled to take place May 4, has been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today. (CBS News)

-The College Board announced today that it has canceled both the May SAT and makeup exams for the March 14 test. (CBS News)

-Nearly 1,700 members of the National Guard have been mobilized in 16 states.  Most of the National Guard troops are currently assigned to providing transport for health-care workers, providing support at drive-through testing facilities, collecting and delivering samples and delivering food and supplies.

-Drive-thru testing in Maryland (NBC)

 

–Canada: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced today that Canada will be closing its borders to noncitizens.  Trudeau said there will be exceptions for aircrews, diplomats, immediate family members of Canadian citizens and, U.S. citizens.  (NBC News)

–Ireland: The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has confirmed there are 54 new cases of coronavirus in Ireland, bringing the total number in the Republic to 223, up from 169 yesterday.

Seven new cases were confirmed in the North earlier today, bringing the total number there to 52.

This means there are 275 confirmed cases on the island of Ireland.  (TheJournal.ie)

–France: Restoration work on Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has stopped because of fears for the safety of workers on the site. The spokesman for the cathedral confirmed to CBS News that it was impossible to guarantee that workers could stick to a new rule that people stay at least three feet away from each other because of the coronavirus outbreak.

–US:

• Google’s parent company Alphabet’s Verily launched a limited coronavirus testing website.

–NYC: Starting Monday, all schools, bars, clubs, and restaurants will be shut down.  It will be take-out only. Some schools in the city will remain open to provide grab and go lunches for kids, and some schools will become “learning centers” for kids to stay while their parents go to work.  Essential city workers still have to report to work: FDNY, NYPD and healthcare workers.  (NBC)

–NY now has 729 cases with 6 deaths.  329 in NYC, 196 in Westchester, 204 in the rest of the state.

–NJ is expected to follow NYs lead by also closing all schools and Governor Murphy is considering imposing a curfew to follow Hoboken’s lead (curfew from 10 pm-5 am).

–NJ has 98 cases with 2 deaths.

-36 states have now closed all schools.

–Massachusetts, Ohio, Puerto Rico, and Washington state have also ordered the closure of schools, bars, and restaurants. (NYTimes)

–Florida has 149 cases with 5 deaths.   Interesting way of looking at the data from News4Jax:
21.5M people living in Florida.
149 cases of the virus
0.0007% chance of contracting it

-The U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest move cuts interest rates to zero.

“I think recessionary conditions are definitely a risk and we’re dealing with so much uncertainty now on how this virus situation unfolds and what the economic impact turns out to be, nobody really knows,” Dennis Lockhart, Atlanta Fed president from 2007 to 2017, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Monday.

The Fed on Sunday announced a suite of measures aimed at cushioning the U.S. economy from the virus outbreak. — (Yen Nee Lee @ CNBC)

–Ireland:  The Irish government ordered all pubs to close beginning March 15 through March 29 in an attempt to curb the coronavirus outbreak.  Health officials also warned against holding house parties, saying that doing so “would put other peoples’ health at risk.”  (NY Post)

 

–France: French luxury conglomerate LVMH said factories that produce perfume and makeup for brands like Christian Dior and Givenchy will be making hand sanitizer starting Monday. (CNN)

–Germany: As of Monday morning, Germany had shut its borders with Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, and Denmark. Only German citizens, those that reside in the country and work in a neighboring nation and vice-versa, and physical goods, can cross the German border. (Amaro News)

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March 15

–US:

-Vice President Mike Pence said the travel ban between the United States and Europe would be expanded to the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, effective after the stroke of midnight on Monday.

–President Trump tested negative on his COVID-19 test.

–New York City: has a total of 183 cases and has its first death identified as an 82-year-old woman with advanced emphysema who was being treated at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center.  She was one of the first confirmed cases in the city. (NYPost)

–New York State has a total of 524 cases and 2 deaths from COVID-19: an 82-year-old woman who died in New York City and a 64-year-old in Rockland County.

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Saturday that 2 members of the New York State Assembly have tested positive for coronavirus. Charles Barron and Helene Weinstein were both diagnosed with COVID-19. (ABC News)

New York has the most cases of any state across the country, with hot spots in Manhattan and Westchester County, but officials are working to contain the spread of the virus through more testing.

-The Archdiocese of New York announced Saturday that it is canceling all Masses beginning this weekend, March 14-15, 2020.  Churches will, however, remain open for private prayer.

-Despite the growing number of cases and the fact that school districts across the country are being closed, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was holding firm in keeping public schools open as of Thursday, then late Friday night under pressure, he gave in and agreed to close the school system.

–Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader, said that NYC would get $1 billion in coronavirus relief, and the other counties of New York would get $400 million distributed from the $5.2 billion in federal aid.

Three months of sick leave at two-thirds pay would be available for families affected by the coronavirus, the senator said.

“There’s a lot of money there and it will be used to help our states and localities that are on the front line with all of their other expenses. It’ll probably help the state solve some of their Medicaid problems that we’ve talked about previously as well,” Schumer said at a press conference with de Blasio at City Hall.

According to Schumer, President Donald Trump has said he would sign the bill once it’s passed.

–New Jersey:  As of Saturday night, NJ has 69 cases of coronavirus.  (The Patch news)
-Gov. Phil Murphy announced New Jersey’s second death due to the coronavirus on Saturday evening.  “Sad to announce our second death of an individual with #COVID19 – a female in her 50s who was being treated at @CentraState Medical Center in Monmouth County,” Murphy announced on Twitter.
-NJ schools and colleges across the state already canceled classes and move classes online.
-New Jersey’s courts suspended all new jury trials
-Bayer has closed its Morristown and Whippany locations until further notice.
-Governor Murphy has declared a state of emergency in NJ to release federal funds.

–Florida: has 106 confirmed cases and 4 deaths. This includes the 39 new coronavirus cases announced on Saturday, with 16 new cases in Broward and 5 new cases in Miami-Dade.
-Drivers license and registration renewals have been suspended for at least the next 30 days,
-Weight limits for trucks on highways are suspended as needed supplies continue to be shipped into the state.
–3 people in Palm Beach county test positive for the coronavirus.  All are travel related. (NBC News)

–Spain:  The new figures raise Spain’s number of Covid-19 infections to 7,753 and its death toll to 288.  The government there has imposed a near-total nationwide lockdown, banning people from leaving home except to go to work, get medical care or buy food. (RTE News)

–Ireland:  The total number of confirmed cases in the Republic is now 129 with 2 deaths. (BBC)

-There are 5 new cases in Northern Ireland, bringing the total number of cases to 34.
–Northern Ireland schools will be closed for at least 16 weeks, but they will not be shutting immediately, the region’s first minister, Arlene Foster said. (The Guardian)
–Jet2 and EasyJet have canceled all flights to Spain.
-A number of passengers have been left abroad after a number of Aer Lingus flights from the Canary Islands to Dublin, Shannon and Cork’s airports were canceled.
-The USA has now added Ireland and the UK to its travel ban.

–Italy:  Italy’s fatality rate of 7.1% compared with most other countries at 0.5-3% is perplexingly high for a first-world developed nation where healthcare spending accounts for around 9% of GDP. The World Health Organization ranked Italy’s healthcare system second best in the world in 2000.

Some speculate that the high death rate is caused by Italy’s elderly population. 23% of Italians are age 65 or older — a population known to be more susceptible to COVID-19. But this theory doesn’t explain the low death rate in Germany. Germany has a median age of 47.1 years compared to Italy’s median age of 45.5 years.

Others say it is because 21% of Italians smoke; but South Korea and China both have higher smoking rates and lower coronavirus death rates.

For whatever reason, the caseload of illness in the country grew so fast that it overwhelmed the Italian healthcare systems. This resulted in an abnormally large number of deaths. (Live Science.com)

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March 14

–US:

–Colleges and universities largely have decided on their own to halt in-person classes.  Many are also making students move out of their dorms.   Hundreds of schools suspending face-to-face instruction and moving most of their classes online in an attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Spring break starts next week in most colleges, but many schools are not bringing the kids back after the break.  The students in many schools are told to pack everything up and stay home indefinitely. For international students, this is a big hardship. (USAToday)

-The Pentagon is imposing new travel restrictions on employees, including service members and their families. The limits will start Monday, the Department of Defense announced Friday night.  All domestic travel will be stopped as of next week to limit the spread of the coronavirus. (NBC)

–US: House Democrats and Trump administration have reached a deal on a coronavirus aid package that includes free testing, paid emergency leave and other resources intended to help stem the crisis and stabilize the financial markets.

–HBO, Netflix, and Disney announced Friday that production will pause on several shows and films starting next week.  A spokesperson for Netflix said all scripted TV and movie production in the U.S. and Canada will be postponed for 2 weeks to comply with travel and other coronavirus-related restrictions imposed by the two countries (NBC)

–Boston public schools will close starting Tuesday until April 27.  School will be in session Monday, according to the school district.

-At least 46,000 schools across the United States have closed or are scheduled to close, because of the virus outbreak. Many other k-12 schools throughout the country will also close including all of Utah and Washington.  A total of 18 US states have closed schools over coronavirus concerns to date. (CNN)

–Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, archbishop of Boston, suspended all weekend masses in the city until further notice.  The directive is effective as of 4 p.m. Saturday and applies to all archdiocesan parishes, missions and campus ministries.  Baptisms, confirmations, weddings, and funerals will be allowed to go on as planned with attendance limited to only immediate family, according to the Archdiocese of Boston.  People are encouraged to participate in daily mass via broadcast using the Catholic TV channel. (NBC)

–Movie theaters across North America are remaining open while Broadway theaters, sports arenas, and museums close their doors to help curtail the spread of the coronavirus.  However, they will try to limit the movie goers to half capacity.

-West Virginia the only state in the US without a reported case of coronavirus.

–NJ:  The NJ Motor Vehicle Commission will extend expiration dates for driver licenses, registrations, and inspection stickers because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Effective immediately, the NJ MVC will grant a two-month extension for
-Driver licenses expiring in March, April, and May
-Registrations expiring in March, April, and May
-Inspection stickers expiring in March, April, and May

“All residents who have their driver’s licenses, auto registration, or vehicle inspection due for renewal by May 31 will receive an automatic two-month extension,” said Governor Murphy. “Keeping New Jerseyans out of crowded Motor Vehicle agencies protects everyone.” (Patch.com)

–Apple is closing all its retail stores outside China until March 27 in order to protect workers and help stop the spread of the coronavirus

-Norwegian Cruise Line announced Friday it is suspending all cruise voyages embarking through April 11 across its three cruise brands to help contain the spread of coronavirus. The company has not experienced any confirmed cases of the novel virus. (NBC)

–Puerto Rico announced its first 3 cases of coronavirus, including a 68-year-old woman and her 70-year-old husband.   A 71-year-old man not related to the couple also tested positive for COVID-19.

–Aruba announces its first 2 coronavirus cases.  One patient is an Aruban national who recently entered the island from New York, and the other is an American national. Both patients have been isolated. (CNN)

–Australia:  Coronavirus test kits have run out in parts of Australia – and supplies elsewhere are running low, the government’s chief medical officer has warned. (CNN)

-Dr. Brendan Murphy addressed fellow healthcare professionals in an open letter:

-To address the issue, he urged medical staff to only refer patients for a coronavirus pathology test if they meet stringer criteria: Travel in the last 14 days or contact with a known COVID-19 patient, or fever, or cough and shortness of breath.

–Vietnam suspends entry for travelers coming from 26 European countries, as well as the UK. (CNN)

–South Korea:  Confirmed 107 new coronavirus cases Friday, bringing the national total to 8,086.  It was the lowest daily increase since February 22, and followed a week-long trend of diminishing case numbers.

–Italy: Italians have been singing from their balconies across the country, in an effort to boost morale during its nationwide lockdown that began this week. (The Guardian News)

-Videos of Italian neighbors singing together have been appearing on social media after Italy’s prime minister Giuseppe Conte announced the restrictions that shut down virtually all daily life, and left only grocery stores, banks, and pharmacies open.

LINK to see the video

–Ireland: Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill called for Northern Ireland’s schools to close on Friday, in line with measures announced in the Republic of Ireland on Thursday.  There have been 90 confirmed cases in the Republic of Ireland and 29 in NI.  Twenty new cases of Covid-19 were reported in the Republic on Friday evening. Of the new Irish cases, six are associated with travel, and 12 with contacts of confirmed cases. Four of the latter involve healthcare workers. (Irish Times)

-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the virus “did not recognize borders.”  (RTE news)

-Chief Pharmaceutical Officer Cathy Harrison said:  “Stockpiling or purchasing medication that you do not need is completely unnecessary and could disadvantage other patients.  There are no prescription medicine shortages as a result of Covid-19.” (BBC)

–UK:  Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Thursday that his government has decided to escalate the UK’s response to the crisis from contain to delay.  This would involve banning large gatherings.

-The UK’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said the advice the Government is following is not looking to “suppress” the disease entirely but to help create a “herd immunity in the UK” while protecting the most vulnerable from it. (The Mirror)

–All Jet2 flights to Spain are canceled and some that were in mid-air were forced to turn back. (The Mirror)

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March 13

–US:  41 people in the US have died from the coronavirus: 31 in Washington state, 4 in California, 2 in Florida, and 1 each in New Jersey, South Dakota, Georgia,(March 12) and Kansas (March 12).  (Business Insider)

-President Trump declared a national emergency Friday to provide disaster funding. The move would free up $50 billion in additional disaster funding and would also allow the Department of Health and Human Services to waive regulations and laws to deliver coronavirus testing quicker.

-President Trump said he was waiving all federal student loan interest due to the coronavirus outbreak. The waiver will last “until further notice.”

–Stocks recovered Friday following a brutal week of selling after Trump declared a national emergency to free up about $50 billion in federal aid. The Dow Jones industrial average finished the day up 1,985 points, or 9.4%, a day after plunging 2,352 points, for its worst loss since its nearly 23% drop on Oct. 19, 1987

-A drive-thru coronavirus testing site opened Friday in New Rochelle. It will be by appointment only.

-Oregon, Michigan, and Maryland’s governors ordered the closure of K-12 schools statewide until the end of month, to slow the spread of the coronavirus illness COVID-19. (NBC)

–JetBlue said Thursday that a passenger who arrived at a Florida airport reportedly as a positive coronavirus case didn’t tell anyone at the airline that a coronavirus test was pending. That passenger is now banned from flying Jetblue.

–PGA (golf) cancels of THE PLAYERS Championship and all events through the Valero Texas Open.

–Alaska has identified the state’s 1st presumptive positive case of the coronavirus illness COVID-19 and said that the person is a foreign national “transiting through” the state.

-New York has reported 325 cases as of March 12. New York City (all 5 boroughs) has reported 95 cases — 42 of which are new as of Thursday.

–New Jersey has reported 31 cases and one death.  Phil Murphy and Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver announced New Jersey’s first COVID-19 death on Tuesday. The man was a Bergen County resident in his 60s. “Our prayers are with the family during this difficult time,” Murphy and Oliver said. (Business Insider)

-California has confirmed 243 cases and 4 deaths.

–Massachusetts had reported 108 coronavirus cases as of Thursday.

–Florida health officials have confirmed 50 cases and 2 deaths. The majority of the cases were travel-related.

–Ireland closes schools and colleges to halt the coronavirus spread. The closures will also apply to cultural institutions and daycare and will remain in place until March 29.

Health Minister Simon Harris said people coming back from Spain and Italy are being asked to restrict their movements for the next two weeks.  The advice includes not going to work and to lessen social interactions.

As of Friday morning, the number of confirmed infections in the Republic was 70, after 27 new diagnoses on Thursday. (BBC)

–UK:  All professional football leagues in England, including the Premier League, have suspended matches until at least 3 April.

There have been 596 confirmed cases across the country.  In total, 10 people have died in the UK from the virus.

–Italy:  The whole of Italy is in lockdown as the country copes with the world’s worst coronavirus outbreak outside of China.  All gatherings and ceremonies, including masses and funerals, are banned – meaning victims’ families cannot even bid farewell to their loved ones. All Churches are closed. (Sky News)

–Bergamo, in the Lombardy region near Milan, is among the Italian towns worst affected by coronavirus. The Chapel of All Saints, next to the city’s cemetery, has been transformed into a mortuary chamber, Milan newspaper Corriere della Sera report. Doctors in the area have said they cannot cope with the rate of infected patients.

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March 12

-A message from Dr. Abdu Sharkawy, an infectious disease specialist.

I am not scared of Covid-19. I am concerned about the implications of a novel infectious agent that has spread the world over….   I am rightly concerned for the welfare of those who are elderly, in frail health or disenfranchised who stand to suffer mostly, and disproportionately, at the hands of this new scourge. But I am not scared of Covid-19.

What I am scared about is the loss of reason and wave of fear that has induced the masses of society into a spellbinding spiral of panic, stockpiling obscene quantities of anything that could fill a bomb shelter adequately in a post-apocalyptic world. I am scared of the N95 masks that are stolen from hospitals and urgent care clinics where they are actually needed for front line healthcare providers and instead are being donned in airports, malls, and coffee lounges, perpetuating even more fear and suspicion of others. I am scared that our hospitals will be overwhelmed with anyone who thinks they ” probably don’t have it but may as well get checked out no matter what because you just never know…” and those with heart failure, emphysema, pneumonia and strokes will pay the price for overfilled ER waiting rooms with only so many doctors and nurses to assess.

I am scared that travel restrictions will become so far reaching that weddings will be canceled, graduations missed and family reunions will not materialize. And well, even that big party called the Olympic Games…that could be kyboshed too. Can you even imagine?

I’m scared those same epidemic fears will limit trade, harm partnerships in multiple sectors, business and otherwise and ultimately culminate in a global recession.

But mostly, I’m scared about what message we are telling our kids when faced with a threat. Instead of reason, rationality, openmindedness and altruism, we are telling them to panic, be fearful, suspicious, reactionary and self-interested.

I implore you all. Temper fear with reason, panic with patience and uncertainty with education. We have an opportunity to learn a great deal about health hygiene and limiting the spread of innumerable transmissible diseases in our society. Let’s meet this challenge together in the best spirit of compassion for others, patience, and above all, an unfailing effort to seek truth, facts and knowledge as opposed to conjecture, speculation and catastrophizing.

Facts not fear. Clean hands. Open hearts.

Our children will thank us for it.

LINK for full text from Dr Abdu

–US:

-The White House announced Wednesday that non-U.S. citizens won’t be allowed to travel from Europe to the U.S. for 30 days, in an unprecedented attempt to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. The travel suspension won’t apply to the United Kingdom.  This travel ban takes effect Saturday night at midnight and will last for 30 days.

American citizens would be exempt from the restrictions and would be directed to “limited airports” for screening.

–NY: Governor Cuomo canceled NYC’s St Patricks Day Parade.  New York has held a St. Patrick’s Day Parade for almost 260 Years.  This is the first time it has ever been canceled or postponed.  The New York City parade has been held every year since 1762.

–St. Patrick’s Day parades in Chicago, Boston, and Dublin have been canceled in the last few days also.

–White House has suspended public tours of the presidential residence amid the outbreak of the coronavirus.

-The NBA suspended its season after a player on the Utah Jazz tested positive for the coronavirus.  The test result was reported before the cancellation of Wednesday night’s game between the Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder.

–Tom Hanks announced Wednesday night that he and his wife Rita Wilson were diagnosed with the coronavirus while traveling in Australia.

“We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches,” Hanks wrote on Twitter. “Rita had some chills that came and went. Slight fevers too.”   They are in isolation for 14 days.

–NJ:  The number of cases in the state has increased by 8, bringing the statewide total to 23 positive tests with one death. (NJ.com)  The new cases are:
66-year-old woman from Hazlet Township
17-year-old girl from Little Silver
58-year-old woman from East Brunswick
74-year-old man from Edison Township
33-year-old man from Teaneck
30-year-old man from Teaneck
29-year-old man from Bergenfield
35-year-old man from Bergenfield

–Florida: 6 new cases of coronavirus have been discovered in Florida, and two have attended events in Tampa and Daytona Beach.  One of the cases is a 70-year-old Broward County man who attended a conference for first-responders in downtown Tampa last week.  Another case is a New York man who attended Daytona Bike Week last week.

–Twitter has ordered all employees worldwide to work from home in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

–China:  There is mounting evidence that strict control measures pay off. Premier Xi Jinping has declared the disease “basically curbed,” and with only about 10 new domestic infections reported in China on Wednesday, other countries were adopting similar tactics.  (CBS)

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March 11

–US:

–New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that New York state universities, SUNY and CUNY, will soon allow students to leave campus for the remainder of the semester. Cuomo said the decision is an effort to “reduce density” on campuses. “Campuses will be releasing students to the best of their ability starting March 19.”

The measure is not mandatory, and exceptions will be made for students who would be burdened by the release or need to be on campus for class.

Dorms will stay open to accommodate students who need housing, Cuomo said.

Official decisions about graduation ceremonies have not been made, but the “expectation” is that many graduation ceremonies will not take place in person.

-The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus rose to 38 on Wednesday, as California and Washington reported additional deaths.   30 people have died in Washington, 23 of whom have been linked to the Life Care Center in Kirkland. The death toll in California now stands at 4. There have also been deaths in New Jersey, Florida, and South Dakota.

-The upcoming NCAA Men’s and Women’s Division 1 basketball tournaments will be played without fans in attendance, NCAA president Mark Emmert announced in a statement Wednesday. Attendance will be limited to staff and family members.

–NY / NJ: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo deployed National Guard troops to a health department command post in New Rochelle, a suburb of New York City where health officials have reported at least 108 cases of COVID-19 in the area. While there have been no reported deaths in New York, neighboring New Jersey announced its first death: a man in his 60s in Bergen County. (NBC)

–California:  3 TSA officers at Mineta San Jose International Airport, which is in Santa Clara County, test positive for the coronavirus. “The officers are receiving medical care and all TSA employees they have come in contact with over the past 14 days are quarantined at home,” The Transportation Security Administration said.

-UK: British lawmaker, junior health minister and former nurse Nadine Dorries has tested positive for coronavirus. “It’s been pretty rubbish but I hope I’m over the worst of it now,” tweeted Dorries, a Conservative lawmaker in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government.  “More worried about my 84yo mum who is staying with me and began with the cough today,” she added. There are currently 383 people in the U.K. diagnosed with coronavirus and six people have died. (NBC)

–UK:  Manchester City & Arsenal soccer clubs postpone their Wednesday game because players on one of the teams were in contact with someone who had contracted the coronavirus. The Arsenal players had met with Evangelos Marinakis, the owner of Greek club Olympiakos Piraeus, and Marinakis tested positive for the virus on Tuesday.  (NBC)

-Great graphs from Information Is Beautiful:

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March 10

–NJ: A man in his 60s is the first New Jersey patient to die from coronavirus.  New Jersey Lt. Gov. Shelia Oliver also announced today that there are 4 new presumptive positive cases in the state, bringing the total number of cases to 15 statewide.

–Google is recommending all employees in North America work from home for the next month, according to an email shown to CNN.

All 11 offices in the US and Canada are affected, with the Bay Area and New York offices upgrading from a voluntary work from home status to recommended. (CNN)

–Italy on lockdown: All 60 million residents are under restrictions, including travel checks, school closures and bans on public events. (CNN)

–UK: A 6th person who tested positive for coronavirus has died in the UK.  The patient, who was being treated by West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, was in their 80s and had underlying health conditions. (CNN)

–Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals postponed until October.

-Two more people in Washington state died from coronavirus bringing the county total to 22, which brings the US death toll to 29.  Of the 22 deaths reported in King County, 19 are associated with Life Care Center. (CNN)

–Stock futures rallied early Tuesday morning after the S&P 500′s worst day since the financial crisis on Monday.  Around 5:30 a.m. ET Tuesday, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average indicated an opening surged of more than 1,000 points on Tuesday.  S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures also pointed to a sharply higher open for the two indexes on Tuesday.

–Israel: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday Israel will force anyone entering the country to quarantine for 14 days as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus. (NBC)

-Game shows “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” will not tape in front of studio audiences due to the coronavirus.

–China:  President Xi Jinping visited China’s virus epicenter: Wuhan on Tuesday for the first time since the coronavirus emerged in the city of Wuhan in December.  China only had 28 new cases diagnosed yesterday. (NBC)

–China is closing field hospitals: The last of several temporary Hubei hospitals built in January and February to deal with the outbreak will close today, due to a decline in new daily cases. (CNN)

–South Korea is launching an app that will allow the public to check if stores have masks in stock.

–US:

–Florida: The state of Florida has now identified 15 coronavirus patients.  The one new diagnosis today is a 69-year-old woman in South Florida’s Broward County. She is in isolation and will remain so “until cleared by public health officials,” according to a news release from the state’s health department. (NBC)

–NJ now has 11 confirmed cases (up from 6). Gov. Phil Murphy announced the public health emergency on Monday evening which gives them extra federal funds. (ABC7)  Another 24 people are under investigation and awaiting test results from the state lab.  Here is a link to all schools that have temporary closures in NJ. LINK NJ School Closures.

–NY:  As of Monday night, health officials have confirmed:

143 cases in New York State in total
21 cases in New York City
105 cases in Westchester County
17 cases in Nassau County, 4 in Rockland, 2 in Saratoga, and 1 each in Suffolk and Ulster Counties.

–NY states that any school with a confirmed COVID-19 case must close for 24 hours to asses what needs to be done.

–NY: On Saturday, 23,000 test kits arrived from the CDC to the city’s public health laboratory, according to a HHS spokesperson. (NYMag)

-March for college basketball fans means a month full of roaring crowds, dramatic upsets, buzzer-beaters, blood, sweat, and tears. But in the shadow of the coronavirus outbreak, there could be a new meaning to the phrase March Madness.  The NCAA is prepared to play the games in empty areas and televising the games instead if the coronavirus continues to spread in the US. (CNN)

–Trump announces economic assistance: President Donald Trump said yesterday he would press lawmakers to enact a payroll tax cut and ensure assistance is available to hourly workers.

–Officials ask shoppers not to stockpile.  Fear has led some people to load up on hand sanitizers and other products, depleting supplies available to others. “We hope … they will not consider stockpiling,” said the NJ commissioner.  She noted hand-washing with soap and warm water for 20 seconds is “just as good” as using hand sanitizer.   (Courier Post)

–Ireland:  A number of Ireland’s St. Patrick’s Day parades are being canceled over fears the mass gatherings would contribute to the spread of the coronavirus, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Monday.  The St. Patrick’s Day festival in Ireland takes place annually from March 13-17.  One of the biggest parades, in Dublin, has now been canceled over coronavirus fears. More than 500,000 people from around the world flood the city every year for the parade. (CNN)

–Ireland: 3 more cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the Republic of Ireland, bringing the total number to 24.  The new cases involve a female in the south of the country and a female in the west, both of whom were in close contact with a confirmed case.  The third is a female healthcare worker in the south who was also in close contact with a confirmed case. (RTE.ie)

–Spain now has a total of 1,204 coronavirus infections.  In Madrid and the cities of Vitoria and Labastida in the Basque Country, additional measures will be imposed, including the “suspension of all classes in schools and universities, as well as all the extra-curricular activities.”  These suspensions will go into effect from tomorrow, for 15 days.  Sevilla’s Europa League soccer clash with Roma on Thursday will be played without fans. (CNN)

–UK:  5 people with the virus have died. There were 321 confirmed cases on Monday.  Dr Harries, Chief Medical Officer, said the vast majority of those diagnosed with coronavirus in Britain are “pretty well” but that they may “feel a bit rough for a few days”.  She added that people with flu-like symptoms will be advised to self-isolate within 10 to 14 days

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March 9

–President Trump on Twitter: “So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!”

–Italy:  Italian Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte announced Monday that the containment measures introduced Sunday for the Lombardy region in the country’s north would be applied to the whole nation.  More than 9,000 people have been confirmed to have the virus in Italy.

–US: Washington state: Of the 20 coronavirus-related deaths in Washington, 19 have come from the Life Care Senior Center with 3 more deaths reported today.

–NJ now has 6 confirmed cases (up from 4).  The 2 new cases are: a 70-year-old male health care worker from Teaneck is in stable condition in a hospital intensive care unit, and a 32-year-old man from West New York was also hospitalized but a condition report wasn’t available. (NBC News)

–Hofstra University in New York is the latest school to cancel classes due to the threat of the novel coronavirus.

–California: officials announced the cancelation of the 2020 BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament.

–New York: the Eastern College Athletic Conference men’s hockey quarterfinals between Harvard and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) will be held without spectators.

-The Scarsdale Public School District in Westchester, New York, announced that all schools will be closed between March 9-18 after a faculty member tested positive

–Columbia University in New York City canceled classes Monday and Tuesday after a member of the Columbia University community went into self-quarantine after exposure to the virus.

-The U.S. State Department is cautioning Americans, especially those with existing health conditions, to not travel by cruise ship.

–Florida: There are 18 positive cases of coronavirus and 2 deaths, according to the Florida Department of Health.  Since Friday, the department reported 5 new cases: 2 in Broward County, 1 in Charlotte County, and 1 in Lee County. The patient in Lee County passed away and one in Santa Rosa County also passed. (Fox News)

–Ireland:  5 more cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Northern Ireland and 2 more cases in the Republic of Ireland,  bringing the total number to 21. One of the patients has an underlying condition and is seriously ill. (BBC)

–UK:  On Sunday the number of  UK cases rose to 278 – up from 209 on Saturday.  Tesco has begun rationing essential food and household items as a result of coronavirus stockpiling.

–Japan’s professional baseball league decided to postpone the season opener due to the coronavirus outbreak. (NBC)

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March 8

–US:  The first case has been confirmed in the capital Washington D.C.  U.S. coronavirus cases surpass 500, and the death toll rises to 21.  There are 2 more COVID-19 deaths in Washington state. (NBC News)

–Uber and Lyft promise to compensate drivers diagnosed with coronavirus.

–NY:  There are 16 new confirmed coronavirus cases in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Sunday, bringing the total in the state to 105.
Westchester: 82
NYC: 12
Nassau: 5
Rockland: 2
Saratoga: 2
Suffolk: 1
Ulster: 1

–NJ:  More than 800 people in New Jersey have been asked to quarantine themselves because of possible exposure to the coronavirus, which as of Saturday had affected 4 people in NJ.  The 4th known case — a 55-year-old Englewood man who was admitted to Englewood Hospital on March 4, is in stable condition.

–Florida: No new changes in the numbers of either state at this point.

–Vatican:  Pope Francis did not appear at his palazzo window in the Vatican to deliver his Sunday blessing amid the growing coronavirus epidemic in Italy.  Instead, a live stream of him was broadcast on screens set up in St. Peter’s Square After he read his speech from the Vatican’s apostolic library, he made a brief appearance at the window of the Apostolic Palace to greet the worshipers.  (NBC News)

–Ireland:  3 more cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Northern Ireland bringing the total cases to 7 .  They 3 cases are all adults who had recently traveled from Italy. Meanwhile, a number of football teams are taking precautions after a player recently tested positive, with training set to be canceled. (BBC)  The 3 new cases in Northern Ireland come as another case was confirmed in the Republic of Ireland, bringing the total there to 19.  The new Republic case involves a male in the east of the country who had returned from Italy. (BBC)

–Italy:  The Italian government has placed a lockdown on the entire Lombardy region of Italy in an attempt to stop the virus from spreading.  Italy has seen its largest daily increase in new cases, with 7,375 confirmed up from 4,636 the previous day.  The lockdown area includes Milan and Venice and marks one of the toughest actions yet taken by a European country to stop the virus spreading.  Around 16 million people are affected by the lockdown.  Under a draft decree published by the Italian government, citizens will be unable to leave or enter the Lombardy region, while similar restrictions are extended in established “red zones” including Venice, Parma, and Modena. (Independent.ie)

–China: 4 people have died in China after the collapse of a hotel that was repurposed as a quarantine site for people who are suspected of having coronavirus. (Financial Times)

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March 7

–NJ: State health officials Friday evening said they’d identified a 4th presumptive positive case of coronavirus in New Jersey.  The latest case involves a man in his 50s, hospitalized at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in Bergen County since March 5.

–Florida:  2 Florida residents have died of coronavirus, making a total of 17 deaths in the US.  One person died in Santa Rosa County and one in Lee County.

–US: The 2 deaths in Florida are the first on the U.S.’s East Coast. The other 15 deaths were in: Washington (14) and California (1). (ABC News)

–NY:  Gov. Cuomo declared a state of emergency today to deal with the increased number of cases that jumped to 76 in NY state today.  A state of emergency frees up $30 million that will be used to expand testing and purchase items such as masks and protective gear for healthcare workers.

A taxi driver in Queens was just diagnosed.  He showed up at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway on Tuesday.  Now about 40 doctors and nurses from that hospital are in self-quarantine, and the patient is in isolation in the hospital, officials said.  There are now 4,000 people in precautionary quarantine for coronavirus in New York. Of those quarantines, 2,700 are in New York City, and 44 people in mandatory quarantine.

There are now 4 positive coronavirus cases in Nassau County, 2 in Saratoga County, 57 cases in Westchester County, and 2 in Rockland County.  Of the 76 cases of coronavirus in NY, only 6 of the 76 are currently hospitalized.

–Indiana reported the state’s 1st case of the coronavirus. Gov. Eric Holcomb declared it a public health emergency.  The patient is a Marion County resident who recently traveled to Boston.  The person is in isolation, and officials are working to ensure that anyone who had contact with him or her, including those on the person’s flight from Boston, is identified and monitored.

–Google tells employees in Washington State (Seattle) to work from home.–Seattle Comic-Con postponed until summer 2020 in light of novel coronavirus, organizers announced.

–Austin’s SXSW has been canceled due to coronavirus.  “We are devastated to share this news with you. This is the first time in 34 years that the March event will not take place. Event organizers said they are exploring options to reschedule and working to “provide a virtual SXSW online experience as soon as possible.”  An estimated 417,400 attended the festival last year.  Last year, it brought in an estimated $355.9 million dollars of revenue.  The South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference & Festivals is a 10-day celebration of the interactive, film, and music industries. (ABC News)

–Ireland:  Another case of coronavirus has been diagnosed in Northern Ireland, taking the total to 4.  This latest person is an adult who recently returned from Italy and is linked to a previous case.  5 more cases were also confirmed in the Republic of Ireland on Friday evening, taking the total on the island to 22.   A health worker at a hospital in Cork was among the 5 new cases in the Republic.  Sixty medical staff at the hospital in Cork are now being isolated.  (BBC)

–UK: A man in his 80s became the second person in the UK to die from the coronavirus.

–China only had 99 new cases diagnosed yesterday.

–Switzerland reported 130 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, bringing the national total to 210.  More than 3,500 people have been tested for the virus in Switzerland so far.  The vast majority of the positive cases were people who had recently traveled to Italy.

–Airlines:  Travelers calling to change or cancel flight reservations due to the coronavirus outbreak might find themselves having to wait a long time as some major U.S. airlines’ phone lines are jammed.  Delta and some other airlines also offer an option for callers to leave a message with their phone numbers for a callback. (ABCNews)

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March 6

–NY: Now has 44 confirmed coronavirus cases statewide – 11 new positive tests yesterday, 22 more positives today.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said early Friday: “The more you test, the more you will find.”
Of the new cases:
-8 are in Westchester, all mild or no symptoms
-2 are in NYC, both individuals hospitalized
-1 is in Nassau County, a 42yo man, also hospitalized

–New Jersey’s 3rd case is a Camden County man in his 60s hospitalized since Tuesday.  The two North Jersey cases have one thing in common: both patients visited the same Bergen County health care facility before they were admitted to different hospitals earlier this week.  Other patients at the facility will be tested also. (NorthJersey.com)

–New Jersey‘s 2nd presumed coronavirus patient works in the same office as a Manhattan lawyer from Westchester who was the 2nd New York State resident hospitalized with the virus.  The 30-year-old Englewood lawyer was examined at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center for “minor symptoms” and released, state officials said Thursday.  She was asked to self-quarantine until the New Jersey Department of Health determines that she has passed the infectious stage. (Daily Voice)

–Florida:  Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed another presumptive positive case of the coronavirus, bringing Florida’s total to 4 patients, along with 5 other Floridians who are recovering in Washington state.  DeSantis said the 4th patient is a Santa Rosa County man is in his 70s who had recently traveled internationally.  The Florida resident tested positive for the virus in a local test. The CDC still needs to confirm the case. The other 3 cases are in Hillsborough and Manatee counties.  According to the Florida Department of Health, there are 69 patients awaiting test results in Florida. (AP News, ClickOrlando.com)

–Washington State:  2 more people have died from coronavirus in Kirkland, according to EvergreenHealth CEO Jeff Tomlin. That brings the death toll to 14 people in Washington state. Most of the cases are connected to the outbreak at Life Care Senior Center in Kirkland.

–Ireland:  7 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the Republic of Ireland.  It brings the total number of diagnoses on the island of Ireland to 16, with 3 of those in Northern Ireland.  Four of the new cases are males who had returned to Ireland from northern Italy, 2 cases are women who are believed to have been in close contact with someone who had the virus.  Another male contracted it through “community transmission” in Cork city.  Late on Thursday night, Trinity College in Dublin told its students it had been informed of a case of coronavirus within the university. The College is still open. (BBC)

–UK:  A man in his early 80s has become the 2nd person in the UK to die after testing positive for coronavirus.  Milton Keynes Hospital said the man, who had underlying health conditions, tested positive for the virus and died shortly after on Thursday.  The hospital has isolated any patients or staff who were in contact with him.

–UK:  According to MailOnline.com, 45 people diagnosed with the coronavirus have been ordered to self-isolate at home rather than in a hospital.  It’s thought the move towards home monitoring – where patients chat with a health official over the phone daily – points to health officials bracing for a surge in cases.  Chris Whitty, the UK’s chief medical officer admitted the NHS is bracing for a larger outbreak and is holding hospital beds for those that are sicker.  Many of the people infected with the virus show very mild symptoms. (BBC)

–Vatican: The 1st patient tested positive with the Covid-19 coronavirus on Thursday at the Vatican’s healthcare services. The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, told reporters on Friday morning that the Vatican’s healthcare services have been temporarily shuttered to disinfect facilities used for outpatient services. The Emergency Department remains open.  Earlier, on Thursday, Mr. Bruni briefed the media on Pope Francis’ health, as he continues to recover from a common cold.  “The cold with which the Holy Father was diagnosed is running its due course. He continues to celebrate Holy Mass daily and follow the Spiritual Exercises, as we have reported in recent days.”  The Pope tested negative for the coronavirus. (Vatican News)

–Poland:  4 new coronavirus cases have been diagnosed in Poland today. The 1st confirmed case was diagnosed in the city of Zielona Góra in the western province of Lubuskie on Wednesday. The infected individual was travelling back from Germany by bus.  Among the newly diagnosed cases, 2 patients had returned from Italy and are now hospitalized in Szczecin. Another had traveled with “patient zero” and is recovering in Ostróda, while the last one, most likely, became infected in the UK and is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Wrocław. (Polandin)

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March 5

-The US Senate passed an $8.3 billion measure Thursday to help tackle the coronavirus outbreak.  Rand Paul was the sole dissenting vote.

-The Louvre Museum in Paris is open again after management eased workers’ fears about catching the coronavirus.  Louvre Museum employees who had stayed off the job since Sunday for fear of coronavirus infection. Management promised a wider distribution of disinfectant gels and more frequent staff rotations so employees can wash their hands.

–NY:  11 more cases were diagnosed today in NY bringing the state total to 22 cases. Two of the new cases are from New York City, 8 are from Westchester County and one case is from Long Island.  All of the new cases in Westchester are connected to a lawyer already hospitalized with the disease. (ABC)

-The 2 NYC cases bring the total cases in New York City to 4.  The 2 new patients are a man in his 40s and a woman in her 80s.  “Neither patient has a connection to travel nor any of the other local individuals diagnosed with COVID-19.  Both are currently hospitalized and in the intensive care unit.”  (NYPost)

-The case on Long Island is a 42-year-old man in Nassau County who is hospitalized.

–New Jersey now has its 1st presumptive positive case of the coronavirus, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced Wednesday night.  The patient is a 32-year-old man from Fort Lee who is hospitalized in isolation at Hackensack University Medical Center in Bergen County.  He is thought to have some connection with the Westchester family in NY who have the coronavirus also. State officials are labeling the case “presumptive” because the positive state test results need to be confirmed with the CDC. (NBCNY)

–Ireland: 7th case confirmed.  A man in Cork has contracted the virus, but unlike the other Irish cases, he has no recent travel history.  It is also believed that he was not in contact with any of the existing known cases.  Cork University Hospital (CUH) has now displayed ‘infection outbreak’ signs and warned that visitors are not allowed within specific sections of the hospital.

–Ireland: The other 6 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the Republic are:  2 in Dublin and 4 in Clare.  All 4 in Clare involve members of the same family.  An adult in the family worked within the health sector.  All Irish cases up until now had been linked to travel to northern Italy.
In all Irish cases, the patients are responding well to treatment. (Independent.ie)

-As Italy tries to contain the coronavirus outbreak, the government has ordered all schools, universities and daycare facilities nationwide to close for 10 days, starting Thursday.  The government is aware of the problems for parents that will arise from the closures and said they are working to ensure parents can stay home from work to care for their kids. Italy also called for the closure of theaters and is also prohibiting fans from attending all sporting events — including all soccer games — until at least April 3.  Sporting events will continue to take place, but with no fans present for at least a month. (CBS)

-A claim that it will cost patients in the USA more than $3,000 to test for COVID-19 circulated online.  The claim originated on Twitter, where it amassed more than 250,000 likes and retweets. It also became a meme that spread on Facebook.  The U.S. FDA has authorized the use of 2 tests, one from the CDC and one from the New York State Department of Public Health.  Neither agency charges patients for the test. The test is free (for now).

-The release date for Daniel Craig’s final James Bond film “No Time to Die” has been postponed until November amid the global coronavirus outbreak. (USAToday)

-An experimental antiviral drug, remdesivir, developed to fight the Ebola virus is among those drugs that are being rapidly tested against the coronavirus.  There are currently no approved treatments for coronaviruses. But hundreds of clinical trials of drug candidates are planned or underway.  The drugs work by trying to prevent the replication of the virus.

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March 4

–US stocks rallied back to life today.  The Dow recorded its second-best point-gain in history.  It is believed that investors reacted positively to former Vice President Joe Biden’s wins on Super Tuesday, as he is viewed as a more market-friendly candidate than Senator Bernie Sanders.  All three indexes are now less than 10% below their most recent peaks.

–NY now has 6 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

-The 50-year old NY man diagnosed as case #2 in NY lives in New Rochelle but works as an attorney at Lewis and Garbuz, P.C. in Manhattan. He’s a member of Young Israel of New Rochelle. 500 people who attended services there this weekend must quarantine themselves at home.  The man sought treatment at Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville for respiratory complaints on Feb. 27 and was transferred to New York Presbyterian-Columbia, where the coronavirus diagnosis was confirmed. He is currently in serious condition.

The NY man is married with 4 children, 2 of whom are in Israel. One son, age 20, who attends Yeshiva University in New York City, tested positive for the coronavirus today (case #3), and one daughter, age 14, a student at SAR High School in Riverdale which closed Tuesday, also tested positive (case #4).  The man’s wife and the neighbor who drove him to the hospital are all also positive (case #5 and #6).

-NY Governor Cuomo said that CUNY and SUNY students who were participating in study abroad programs in China, Italy, Japan, Iran, and South Korea were being recalled. They’ll return on a chartered plane and be quarantined in dormitories for 14 days.

-The coronavirus death toll in Washington state now stands at 10, with a total of 39 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.  The newly revised tally includes 2 people who died in Seattle last week and have since been found to have been infected with the novel coronavirus. (CNN)

-The 11th US death was reported today in California, near Sacramento. This is the first fatality outside of Washington state. County officials referred to the victim as “an elderly adult with underlying health conditions.” They said he was in isolation at a local hospital and was probably exposed to the virus on a trip aboard a Princess cruise ship that traveled from San Francisco to Mexico.

-The 2nd case of coronavirus has been confirmed in the Republic of Ireland.  RTÉ News is reporting it involves a female in the east of Ireland who traveled from northern Italy, which has become a major center of infection. (BBC)

–Poland announced yesterday its 1st case of coronavirus while adding that nearly 70 people were being tested for the disease. The man, who had visited Germany, is not elderly and his life is not in danger, Health Minister Lukasz Szumowski told a news conference. (Jakarta Press)

-In the UK, there are now 53 confirmed cases of the virus.  However, the famed British stiff upper lip seems to be prevailing in terms of people’s fears over contracting the coronavirus – 7 out of 10 of those polled said they were either not very scared or not at all scared about contracting the virus.  Unsurprisingly, 99 percent of those polled in China said they had changed their behavior and were worried. (The Telegraph)

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Initially, testing for the virus in the US had to take place at the CDC and took 2-4 days, but now the CDC has sent testing kits to certain labs around the country.

LINK CDC Coronavirus

TIMELINE is continued at the end of the article.

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What are Coronaviruses?

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause respiratory illness in people and animals.

The illness caused by the coronavirus range from a mild common cold to severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they can be transmitted between animals and people. This happened with MERS in 2002 (transmitted from camels to humans) and SARS in 2012 (transmitted from cats to humans).

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What is the New Coronavirus COVID-19 from China?

A new strain / type of coronavirus was diagnosed in Wuhan, China on 12/31/19.
The new disease has been named: COVID-19.

Alternate names for the new coronavirus are:

–SARS-CoV-2 (actual name of the new virus)
–nCoV
–2019-nCoV virus
–novel coronavirus
-Wuhan coronavirus
-coronavirus 2019

The new coronavirus is related to two other coronaviruses that have caused major outbreaks in recent years: Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS in 2002) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS in 2012).

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What are the Symptoms of the new coronavirus?

The symptoms reported are fever, cough, shortness of breath, and possibly difficulty breathing.

In severe cases, the infection can cause severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), kidney failure and even death.

Chest X-rays show invasive pneumonic infiltrates in both lungs (fluid in the lungs).

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What is the Treatment for the coronavirus?

There is currently no special treatment recommended for coronavirus infections except supportive care (rest, fluids).

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What is the Incubation Time for COVID-19?

The incubation period for COVID-19 is about 14 days.  This means that a person exposed to the virus can develop symptoms up to 14 days later.

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How is the new Coronavirus Spread?

-Direct contact between humans and infected animals.

–Human-to-human transmission: Initially, doctors thought the virus could not spread between humans, but new cases of infection across China, proved that it could be passed from person to person.

In cases of human-to-human transmission, the disease can spread through respiratory droplets emitted by coughing and sneezing, personal contact with an infected person, touching an infected surface and then your mouth, nose or eyes.

There’s currently no evidence that the virus is airborne — meaning it doesn’t travel across a large room.

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How to Protect Yourself from the coronavirus

To protect against infection, the CDC recommends basic hygiene like washing hands for at least 20 seconds, staying hydrated, face mask, and coughing into one’s arm or a tissue. If there’s a fear of animal transmission, CDC officials urge people to wash hands after contact with animals and thoroughly cook any meat before consumption.

Household disinfectants are thought to be effective against the novel coronavirus. Cleaning products like Lysol and Clorox list the human coronavirus as one of the 99.9% of bacteria it can kill.

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Is there a Coronavirus Vaccine?

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What are SARS and MERS (also coronaviruses)?

In November 2002, the SARS epidemic spread through China: Over 8 months it killed 774 people and infected more than 8,000 people (9.6% fatality rate). Health authorities say that ‘Patient Zero’ came in contact with an infected cat in China’s Guangdong province, which borders Hong Kong.

The virus was finally contained in the summer of 2003. There’s still no cure for the disease, but the initial outbreak was contained by isolating suspected patients and screening passengers traveling from infected areas.

One factor hindering initial efforts to contain the virus were the limits on coverage of the epidemic implemented by Chinese authorities.

MERS started spreading in the Middle East in 2012. Scientists say the first infection moved from a camel to human in Saudi Arabia. The disease is associated with the death of 790 people since 2012 (35% fatality rate). The outbreak was similarly contained by isolating patients. Health officials also warned against contact with camels and camel meat during the scare.

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Coronavirus Fatality Rate Comparison with other viruses

The mortality rate for SARS was 9.6% and for MERS 35%.

The 2019-coronavirus fatality rate is estimated to be between about 2% based on current estimates to date.

The fatality rate with seasonal flu is about 0.01% (1 death per every 10,000 cases).

So the 2019-coronavirus has a higher fatality rate than the flu but much less than SARS or MERS.

However, the seasonal flu is much more common and is the greater danger in the US  than COVID-19.

The CDC estimates that as of Feb 1, 2020, there have been up to 30,000 people who have died from the flu this 2019-2020 flu season.

The flu can be prevented with a flu vaccine.

LINK The 15 Most Common Flu Questions Answered

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Timeline of the Movement of the Coronavirus

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DECEMBER 2019

–12/31/2019: The World Health Organization (WHO) China Office was notified of an outbreak of respiratory illnesses in Wuhan, China.

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JANUARY 2020

-1/1/20: The evidence suggested that the outbreak is associated with an animal & seafood market in Wuhan. The market was then closed for cleaning.

-1/7:  Chinese authorities identified a new type of coronavirus (novel coronavirus, nCoV, 2019-nCoV virus).

-1/8: CDC gives advisory on screening patients from Wuhan, China

-1/10: WHO published guidance for all countries on how they can screen, test and treat patients with the virus

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-1/13: By this time, the outbreak included 41 cases in China, of whom 7 had severe illness, and 1 patient had died

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-1/15: Symptomatic patient from Wuhan, China goes to US hospital in Washington state for treatment

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-1/17: Federal authorities in the US announced that they’ll immediately begin screening airline passengers for the virus that are flying into 3 international airports popular with Chinese travelers — Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York’s John F. Kennedy.

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-1/21: First case of the coronavirus is diagnosed  in Washington State, USA

–1/21: Officials in China now say that 6 people have died from the virus and 298 people have confirmed infections.

–1/21: Chinese health authorities imposed a quarantine on Wuhan, which is home to 11 million people. They did so because of the upcoming Lunar New Year when people often travel to their hometowns. Chinese authorities are already screening people at airports for coronavirus symptoms.

-1/21: Deaths in China from the virus have risen to 17 with 540 confirmed cases

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-1/22: Large cities like Beijing have canceled large Lunar New Year celebrations

-1/22: Hospitals in Wuhan are struggling to take care of all the people presenting for treatment

-1/22: Chinese state says it will erect 3 temporary pop-up 1,000-bed facilities to expand hospital capacity by 3,000 beds.

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-1/24: Hong Kong announced that its schools would be closed until Feb. 17 to try to limit the possibility of transmission.

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-1/25: The virus has now landed in Europe: France confirmed 2 cases of the coronavirus today.

-1/25: Infections have now been confirmed in France, USA, South Korea, Japan, Nepal, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Australia.

-1/25: Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park, two of Hong Kong’s biggest theme parks, have closed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

-1/25: Ontario, Canada has diagnosed its first case of coronavirus.  A man in his 50s who traveled to Wuhan, China, became “quite ill” within a day of his return.

–1/25:  Second confirmed case of Wuhan Coronavirus in the US diagnosed in Chicago. A 60-year-old woman who flew back from Wuhan on Jan 13.

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-1/26: Arizona confirmed the 5th coronavirus case in the US.

-1/26: The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed a case of coronavirus.

-1/26: The 3rd case of coronavirus has been confirmed in the United States in Orange County, Southern California.

-1/26: Manufacturers are reporting an international shortage of face masks

-1/26: France now has 3 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

-1/26: China bans the sale of wild animals for the duration of the crisis.

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-1/27: Beijing has broadened the quarantine to more than 50 million people, but the mayor of Wuhan said 5 million people have already left his city.

-1/27 New research argues that the deadly Wuhan coronavirus may not have originated at a food market in Wuhan as previously thought.  A report published in the medical journal The Lancet found that of the first 41 cases of the virus in Wuhan, China, only 13 were linked to the market, Science magazine reported.  The researchers also found that the first hospitalized case was not linked to the market.

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-1/28: There have been 132 deaths to date, but most fatalities were older or had additional health problems. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which is related to the coronavirus, killed nearly 800 people, about 1 in 10 of those infected, in 2002 and 2003. At this early stage, the coronavirus’ fatality rate is much smaller than SARS.

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-1/29:  A plane chartered by the U.S. government to evacuate 201 Americans from Wuhan city is on its way to Southern California. It is carrying diplomats from the U.S. Consulate in Wuhan and other U.S. citizens. All the evacuees cleared initial health checks during a refueling stop in Alaska.

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-1/30: In the USA, there are 165 people are under investigation for the coronavirus, according to the CDC

-1/30: President Donald Trump announced the formation of the “president’s coronavirus task force,” which will lead the U.S. government’s response to the coronavirus.  The task force is led by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar.

-1/30: Finland confirms its first case

-1/30:  British Airways halts flights to and from China

-1/30: The CDC today confirmed the 1st U.S. case of person-to-person spread of coronavirus, among a married couple in Illinois.  There are now 6 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S., two are in Chicago. The 6th case is the husband of the 1st case in Illinois, a woman in her 60s. He did not travel to Wuhan and only recently began to show symptoms of the virus.

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-1/31 The World Health Organization’s (WHO) declared the outbreak of 2019-nCoV a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

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FEBRUARY 2020

-2/1 The World Health Organization (WHO) is trying to correct misinformation spreading about the coronavirus. WHO told people it was safe to receive packages from China. “From the previous analysis, we know coronaviruses do not survive long on objects, such as letters or packages.  Also, no vaccines exist yet to prevent coronavirus.  The pneumonia vaccine does not work for the coronavirus.

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-2/2: 8th case confirmed in the U.S in Massachusetts

-2/2: First death outside China reported in the Philippines

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-2/3 Foreign nationals who have traveled to China in the last 2 weeks and aren’t immediate family members of U.S. citizens or permanent residents will be temporarily banned from entering the U.S. Also, anyone entering the U.S. who has been in China’s Hubei province in the last 2 weeks will be subject to a 2-week quarantine.

-2/3 The first 195 Americans evacuated from Wuhan last week are under federal quarantine and will remain at a military base in Southern California until mid-February. The government hasn’t issued such a quarantine order in more than 50 years.

-2/3 Three people in New York City are being tested for coronavirus, according to the Department of Health.  All 3 recently traveled to China. One person is in NYHQ, one is in Flushing Hospital.  The third person is under 40 years old, arrived from China on Thursday, called 911 on Friday, and is currently in Bellevue Hospital.

-2/3 Three more cases confirmed in California bringing the USA total cases to 11.

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-2/4 Twenty-five countries have confirmed cases of coronavirus

-2/4 Macao, one of the world’s top gambling centers, is planning to close its casinos for 2 weeks.

-2/5 Britain will send a second and final plane to evacuate UK nationals from Wuhan province in China.

-2/5 Around 3,700 people are being held on a cruise ship in Japan, including 400 Americans, after a passenger who had departed the vessel tested positive for the virus.

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-2/6 There are now 12 cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. across 6 different states.

-2/6 Several more U.S. government-chartered evacuation flights are expected to depart Wuhan today. All passengers will spend up to 2 weeks in quarantine while they are monitored for symptoms of the virus.

-2/6 Twelve more people confirmed to have the coronavirus on the Japanese cruise ship. Two of the 12 are Americans.

-2/6 Dr Li Wenliang, a 34-year-old Chinese eye doctor, who was threatened by the Chinese government after he publicly voiced concerns about the coronavirus in December has died from the coronavirus, the hospital treating him said on social media today.

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-2/7  The NYC health department confirmed that all 3 people being observed for the coronavirus in NYC have tested NEGATIVE for the virus.   There are still 2 more people awaiting test results in NYC, both are under 40, one is hospitalized, the other is only mildly ill.

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-2/8 A U.S. citizen diagnosed with novel coronavirus has died in China in what appears to be the first death of an American from the virus

-2/8 Four passengers on a cruise ship that docked Friday morning at a New Jersey port were taken to a hospital for further evaluation for the coronavirus. The Governor of NJ says they are considered low risk.

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-2/9 Chen Qiushi, a citizen journalist who had been doing critical reporting from Wuhan, went missing Thursday evening, as hundreds of thousands of people in China began demanding freedom of speech online.

-2/9 The 4 people from the cruise ship docked in NJ do NOT have the Coronavirus.

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-2/10 SARs is a coronavirus that was discovered in China in 2002.  It killed 774 0f the 8,100 people who were infected with it before it was brought under control.  That is almost a 10% mortality rate.  The 2019-coronavirus-nCoV has killed 904 people to date, but the mortality rate is estimated to be about 2%. (meaning 2 people out of every 100 infected dies.)

-2/10  The cruise ship quarantined off Japan’s coast said Monday that 66 more passengers had tested positive for a total of 136 people on the ship who have tested positive for the coronavirus. Princess Cruises said in a statement Monday morning that 11 of the newly-confirmed cases were Americans.

-2/10 Millions of people in China went back to work after the Lunar New Years’ break.  Many companies have urged people to work from home if possible.

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-2/11 An evacuee, who was one of 232 American citizens flown from Wuhan to the US on a charter flight arranged by the State Department last week, was confirmed to have coronavirus on Monday evening in San Diego, California.  This is the 13th confirmed case of coronavirus in the US.  The patient, whose age and gender have not been revealed, is being treated at the San Diego UC San Diego Medical Center.  The hospital said the patient is ‘doing well and has minimal symptoms’.

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-2/12 The coronavirus disease is now officially named COVID-19.

-2/12 China said the number of new cases confirmed inside China has declined for two days in a row.

-2/12 The U.S. Postal Service said it was “experiencing significant difficulties” in dispatching letters, parcels and express mail to China, including Hong Kong and Macau due to the cancellation of many flights to China.

-2/12  An additional 39 people on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship off the coast of Japan have tested positive for the new coronavirus, which brings the total number of infected patients onboard to 174.

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-2/13 The CDC confirmed the 15th case of COVID-19 in the United States. The person had been under quarantine in Texas after being flown on a State Department-chartered plane from Wuhan on Feb. 7.

-2/13 There is a sharp increase of 15,512 new cases of COVID-19 in China as a result of doctors in Hubei province starting to use lung imaging to diagnose the disease, in addition to the standard nucleic acid tests they had been using.  This brings the worldwide cases to over 60,000.

-2/13 There are now 218 cases confirmed from the Diamond Princess cruise docked in Japan.

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-2/14 The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 has dropped down after Thursday’s spike in cases due to a new way to diagnose the disease.

-2/14 Many trade shows have had to cancel due to the coronavirus.  The most high-profile cancellation so far has been the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which was due to take place at the end of this month.  The event usually attracts more than 100,000 people, with an estimated 6,000 of them traveling from China.  Earlier this month Switzerland’s largest watchmaker Swatch canceled its “Time to Move” summit.  Cisco Live, set to take place in Melbourne at the beginning of March, with more than 8,500 people expected to attend, has also been called off.  Kingpins denim trade fair in Hong Kong has been called off.

-2/14 Tradeshows still on: The Singapore Airshow and the Geneva International Motor Show.

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February 17

–Fourteen U.S. passengers evacuated from a cruise ship in Japan and flown to military bases in California and Texas have tested positive for the new coronavirus, U.S. officials confirm.

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February 16

–U.S. evacuates Diamond Princess cruise passengers; 70 more cases were confirmed on board the Diamond Princess cruise, bringing total infections to 356.

–First death in Europe: A Chinese tourist who tested positive for the virus died in France on Saturday.

-The 6th and 7th suspected coronavirus cases in New York City came back negative, the city’s Health Department reported Wednesday.  Despite concerns about the virus in NY, every single suspected case reported in the city turned out to be false alarms.

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February 11

-The incubation period for COVID-19 is about 14 days.  This means that a person exposed to the virus can develop symptoms up to 14 days later.

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February 18

–Apple shares slumped on Wall Street Tuesday after the U.S. tech giant warned of a financial hit from the coronavirus epidemic which will affect its iPhone supply.

-U.K. health officials turned the Holiday Inn Hotel at Heathrow Airport into a quarantine center.  As of Monday, of the 4,501 people tested in the U.K., only 9 have been confirmed. with COVID-19.

-Liu Zhiming, the director of Wuchang Hospital in Wuhan, died today in Wuhan.

-The State Department reported that 13 “high-risk patients” evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship have been transported to The University of Nebraska Medical Center.  12 of them are in the quarantine unit, and one is in the biocontainment unit.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center, in collaboration with Emory University and Bellevue Hospital Center in New York City, partner with the HHS Office for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and the CDC to support the training of health care providers and facilities on strategies to manage Ebola and other emerging infectious diseases.

–Charles Lieber, the chair of Harvard University’s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, has been arrested and criminally charged with making “false, fictitious and fraudulent statements” to the U.S. Defense Department about his ties to a Chinese government program.

The Justice Department says Lieber, 60, is accused of lying about a lucrative contract he signed with China’s Wuhan University of Technology.  In an affidavit, FBI Agent Robert Plumb said Lieber, who led a Harvard research group focusing on nanoscience, had established a research lab at the Wuhan university — apparently unbeknownst to Harvard.  (reported 1/28/2020)  The arrangement between Lieber and the Chinese spanned periods of time between at least 2012 and 2017, according to the affidavit. It says the deal called for Lieber to be paid up to $50,000 a month, in addition to $150,000 per year “for living and personal expenses.”

– Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) repeated a theory that suggests the coronavirus is connected to research in the Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory.  He said the lab was near the Wuhan market that is thought to be the starting point for the virus.  Cotton said. “We also know that [it] is China’s only biosafety level 4 super laboratory that researches human infectious diseases.” (reported in the Washington Post 2/18)

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February 19

-As per the CDC, the following are the numbers of coronavirus tests being done in the US to date.

      CDC tests in the US for the COVID-19

      -Positive tests     15
      -Negative tests   412
      -Tests awaiting results   52

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February 20

-In the first study of pregnant women infected with the coronavirus virus in Hubei Province, China, researchers report “no evidence for intrauterine infection caused by maternal transmission in late pregnancy,” according to study results published in the Lancet.  This means that pregnant women who got the coronavirus in the 3rd trimester still delivered healthy babies.

-There is cautious optimism as the daily rate of new infections in China has declined for two days in a row.

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February 21

–Japan says a two-week quarantine of passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship is over.

–Six people in Italy tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday in the first known cases of local transmission of the disease in Italy, the Reuters news agency reported.  Residents of 3 towns in Italy’s Lombardy region were told to stay home as doctors tested people who may have come in contact with the 6 patients, none of whom were believed to have traveled to China.  A 38-year-old man was the first person infected with the coronavirus after meeting a friend who had been to China. He is now in intensive care.

–Amazon has told sellers it will remove listings from its e-commerce platform that make false claims about their ability to cure the coronavirus (source CNBC)

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–Two people died in Northern Italy from COVID—19 on Saturday.  A 77-year-old woman who lived in Milan’s Lombardy region and a 78-year-old man died overnight in the nearby city of Padua.  As the outbreak spread in the north of the country, a dozen northern Italian towns were on lockdown on Saturday as local authorities ordered schools, businesses and restaurants closed, and to cancel sporting events and Masses. The mayor of Milan shuttered public offices.  At least 50 cases have been reported so far in the region. — Claudio Lavanga and the Associated Press

-A 70-year-old man in China’s Hubei Province was exposed to the coronavirus but did not show symptoms until 27 days later, the local government said, suggesting the virus’ incubation period could be longer than the 14 days.  Scientists say definitive evidence is still lacking. The infection is long-lasting and some patients may initially experience mild, unrecognized symptoms, which can confuse the time frame estimates. Also, there could have been a 2nd exposure causing the illness.

–COVID-19 is a new name for the new coronavirus disease, but not for the virus that causes it, which until now had a temporary name, 2019-nCoV.  The Coronavirus Study Group (CSG) of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses named the new virus: severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2.  But that’s not a name the WHO is happy with, and the agency isn’t planning on adopting it.

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February 23
-Italian authorities have announced sweeping closures in the country’s north as they scramble to contain Europe’s biggest outbreak of the new coronavirus.  Italy’s cases went from 3 to 132 in just 2 days.  Officials have yet to track down the first carrier of the virus into the country. “We still cannot identify patient zero, so it’s difficult to forecast possible new cases.”

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February 24
–Italy reports a total of 5 deaths from the coronavirus so far.  Nearly 100 people have been hospitalized and 23 are in intensive care.  The hardest-hit regions of Lombardy and Veneto recorded 167 and 27 cases respectively.  As the number of cases in Italy spiked, the country’s stock exchange recorded massive losses, dropping more than four percent at one point. At least 10 towns in northern Italy, with a population of around 50,000, were locked down Sunday to help stop the spread of the virus. (NBC)

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–Italy initially tested anyone who came into contact with a known infected person. But with the numbers growing and supply issues with test kits, masks and protective gear, Italy’s national health system revised its containment strategies.  So now, people who live or have visited the quarantined areas, or who have been in contact with positive cases, are advised to self-quarantine for two weeks. They are instructed to take their temperatures twice a day and call if symptoms develop.

-The U.K. government has launched mass testing on the population to check whether the spread of coronavirus is greater than first feared.  People with flu-like symptoms will be tested in 11 hospitals and 100 doctors’ surgeries around the U.K.

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February 27

-A resident of Solano County, California, who has has been diagnosed with the coronavirus did not have “relevant travel history or exposure to another known patient,” the CDC said Wednesday.  The person’s “exposure is unknown,” the CDC said in a news release.  “It’s possible, that the patient may have been exposed to a returned traveler who was infected,” the CDC added.  The agency revealed the case was detected through California’s public health system and that the patient is undergoing treatment in Sacramento.

-The US now has 60 confirmed coronavirus cases. According to the CDC, 12 of those cases are travel-related, two are the result of person-to-person spread in the U.S., and 45 cases are in individuals evacuated from either Wuhan, China or the Diamond Princess cruise ship. The source of one case is unclear.

-US President Trump has appointed his Vice-President Mike Pence to coordinate the US government response to the coronavirus outbreak.

–Iran has 26 deaths out of 245 cases. It is the highest death rate of any country with the coronavirus at 10% where most other countries are less than 2% mortality rate.

-Italy: Authorities report a total of 470 cases.  The worst-affected areas are in the industrial north of the country – Lombardy,  Milan, and Veneto near Venice.  The outbreak has killed 12 people in the country so far.  11 towns at the center of the outbreak – home to a total of 55,000 people – have been quarantined.  There are fears that the outbreak may tip Italy into an economic recession with the city’s empty cafes and many hotel cancellations.

-In the past two days, Austria, Croatia, Greece, Norway, Switzerland, Georgia, and North Macedonia reported their first coronavirus cases. Many of them involved people who had been to Italy.

–China appears to be getting on top of the virus with the number of new cases each day reducing.  This suggests that efforts to contain the virus by telling people to stay at home, stopping large public gatherings and preventing travel are working.

–US stock markets fall again due to coronavirus fears (CNN):  US stocks opened lower today, as the selloff over coronavirus fears picked up steam again. The Dow and the Nasdaq Composite fell into correction territory, defined as 10% below their most recent highs.  Many believe this correction was long overdue because stocks were overpriced.

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February 28

-Authorities in Italy have decided to re-open schools and museums in some of the areas less hard-hit by the coronavirus outbreak, as Italians seek to return to a life of normality.

-Anheuser-Busch Inc which owns Corona beer is facing its worst quarter in 10 years following the coronavirus outbreak. While Corona beer has nothing to do with the actual coronavirus, the company still suffered a $170m (£132m) loss in earnings in China, at a time when they were expecting strong sales because of the lunar new year.  The losses have forced it to cut its chief executive’s bonus.

 

-People who sat within two rows of the person from Northern Ireland infected with Covid-19 on the plane from northern Italy to Dublin have been contacted by health authorities.

-According to official figures, the coronavirus death rate is at its highest in Iran at 9.6%.  South Korea has a 0.6% death rate.  The US has 60 infected people with zero reported deaths.

-The Swiss government announced that it will be banning all “public and private” events with more than 1,000 people as part of continuing measures to contain the virus.

-Mainland China, where the virus originated, reported 327 new cases on Friday, the lowest since 23 January.

-Researchers at the Sacco hospital in Milan say they have isolated the Italian strain of the coronavirus, reports Lorenzo Tondo in The Guardian News.  The scientists say the discovery will help to develop a vaccine and new treatments to contain the virus.  Early in February, Italian researchers from the Spallanzani hospital in Rome successfully isolated Covid-19, which allowed the country to immediately activate tests on patients.

-Many individuals who get coronavirus will experience nothing worse than seasonal flu symptoms, but the overall profile of the disease, including its mortality rate, looks more serious.  This week, a WHO expert Bruce Aylward, who led an international mission to China to learn about the virus, said the evidence did not suggest that we were only seeing the tip of the iceberg.  If true, this could mean that current estimates of a roughly 1% fatality rate are accurate. This would still make Covid-19 about 10 times more deadly than seasonal flu (mortality rate of 0.1%), but it is less than half the mortality rate of the original estimate of 2-3%.

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February 29

-Health officials just confirmed the first person to die of the coronavirus in the US in Washington state. The only details released are that he was a man in his 50’s with other health issues.

-Washington state is currently testing more than 50 people for coronavirus who may have been infected in an outbreak linked to a nursing facility in Kirkland.  Two people linked to the facility, LifeCare, have tested positive: a health care worker in her 40s and a resident of the facility in her 70s.

-Officials are investigating a new suspected case of the coronavirus in New York City.  According to Mayor Bill de Blasio, the individual had traveled to Italy recently and began exhibiting symptoms such as fever, cough, and shortness of breath. “We’ll have the result hopefully in the next 24 hours, could be a little longer, but we’ll make that public at the time,” de Blasio said.

–4 new cases in the US on the west coast:  Authorities said 3 of the cases – an older Northern California woman with chronic health conditions, a high school student in Everett, Washington, and an employee at a Portland school, had not recently traveled overseas or had any known close contact with a traveler or an infected person.  The 4th person is a woman in her 50s in Washington who tested positive for the virus after traveling to Daegu, South Korea.

-The U.S. CDC has expanded the criteria for coronavirus testing and fixed a testing glitch to allow every state and local health department to begin testing next week. “Our goal is to have every state and local health department online, doing their own testing by the end of next week,” Messonnier of the CDC said Friday.

–New York State will begin using its own tests for the coronavirus, after getting approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to a statement from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

-The University of Connecticut (UConn) suspended all its study abroad programs in Italy and notified its 88 students there to return to the U.S. immediately. (USA News)  UConn said that it was responding to new guidance by the CDC, which issued a Warning Level 3 on Friday, that recommends Americans avoid all non-essential travel to China, South Korea, Italy, and Iran because of the coronavirus outbreaks.

-Many other colleges have also recalled their students from study abroad in the affected countries.  USC, Gonzaga, Syracuse, ELON, Fairfield, Sacred Heart, UNH, Towson, and the University of Notre Dame are just a few.  Italy is the second most popular destination for American students studying abroad.

–New cases in mainland China have held steady at under 500 for the past 4 days, with almost all of them in Wuhan and Hubei province.  With the number of discharged patients now greatly exceeding those of new arrivals, Wuhan now has more than 5,000 spare hospital beds.

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March 1

-12 more cases have just been confirmed in the UK bringing the total to 35 confirmed cases with no deaths.  Six of the cases had recently traveled from Italy and two from Iran.  Ireland has 1 confirmed case. (CNN)

–Retired doctors and nurses in the UK could be deployed if the coronavirus becomes widespread across the country, the British health secretary said.  The plan to recruit retired healthcare professionals – dubbed “Dad’s Army” by UK media — is one of the broader measures included in a “battle plan” for coronavirus.

-President Trump said in a tweet that people will be screened for coronavirus upon arriving in the US if they are traveling from high-risk countries, which includes Italy, South Korea, and Iran in addition to China.

-A French official has advised against a long-time French tradition – cheek kissing – over coronavirus fears. “Reduction of physical social contact is recommended. This includes “la bise,” French health minister Olivier Véran told reporters on Saturday in Paris.  Véran also said people should avoid handshakes as well.

-With less than 4 months until the opening ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokoyo, fears over coronavirus are casting doubts about the biggest sporting event on the planet.  Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Program, said: “No decision has or will be taken in the near term regarding the future of the Olympics.” (CNN)

–Pope Francis said today that a cold will prevent him from participating in a week-long spiritual retreat outside of Rome.   Sunday was the first time the Pope was seen in public since last Wednesday.

-There are usually 35,000 runners in the Tokyo Marathon. Today there were 300.  The streets were empty and quiet, devoid of the cheering crowds that would typically pack the sidewalks.

-More than 50 residents and staff from the Life Care Senior Center in Kirkland, Washington are experiencing symptoms like cough and or fever.  They are all being tested for the coronavirus because 2 people there have already tested positive: a 70-year-old resident and a 40-year-old employee with no travel history.  The facility has stopped visitors and admissions temporarily.

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March 2

-Four more people have died of the coronavirus in Washington state, raising the death toll Washington state to 6, health officials said.  These are the first US deaths.

-The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,293.96 points, or 5.1%, to end at 26,703.32 — its largest one-day percentage rise since March 23, 2009. The S&P 500 rebounded 136 points, or 4.6%, to end at 3,090, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 384 points, or 4.5%, to finish at 8,952.16 — marking the biggest one-day percentage gain for both indexes since Dec. 26, 2018. Today point gains were the largest on record for all three major indexes.

-The 1st case of coronavirus in New York City was confirmed.  It is a 39-year old woman healthcare worker who recently traveled to Iran, a state official said.  She lives in Manhattan. “The patient, a woman in her late thirties, contracted the virus while traveling abroad in Iran, and is currently isolated in her home.”

-3 US states announced their first coronavirus cases on Sunday: Florida, NY, and Rhode Island. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declaring a public health emergency after two ”presumptively positive” cases were reported in Manatee and Hillsborough counties.  The Rhode Island Department of Health announced the state’s first “presumptive positive” cases, a man in his 40s and a teenage girl who traveled to Italy in mid-February, the department said.  Hours later, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that a woman “in her late thirties” from the Empire State had contracted the virus while traveling in Iran.

-There are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in NJ.  On Saturday, a patient at Bayshore Community Medical Center in Holmdel, NJ tested Negative for the virus.

–American Airlines announced Sunday that it would waive change fees for any plane ticket purchased through March 16 as long as the changes were made at least 14 days before the scheduled travel date.

–Ireland had its 1st case of the coronavirus now confirmed.  The male student, who is being treated in a Dublin hospital, had returned from northern Italy after being in an at-risk area. The secondary school in the east of the country is beginning a two-week shutdown as a precaution against the spread of Covid-19. The National Public Health Emergency Team said all pupils and teachers were being asked to restrict their movements until the end of the incubation period. The Department of Health is not releasing the name of the school to protect the patient, his family, and the community.

-The Louvre Museum in Paris remains closed as France scrambles to contain the outbreak, which has at least 100 confirmed cases.

–China closed one of its makeshift hospitals on Monday as new coronavirus cases dropped in the country.  It was originally one of 16 rapidly constructed hospitals in the city of Wuhan. It closed after discharging its last group of 34 recovered patients.  China’s recorded just 202 new cases since yesterday, the lowest number since Jan. 22, according to Reuters.

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March 3

-The coronavirus has killed 79 people in Italy, all aged between 63 and 95 with underlying serious illnesses.  Twenty-three percent of the Italian population is over 65, making it the oldest in the world after Japan.  There are more than 2,500 people infected in Italy. Health workers have carried out 25,856 swab tests, significantly dwarfing the number of tests done in other European countries.  Those tested include Pope Francis, 83, after he was forced to cancel engagements this week because of a cold. The Pope tested negative, Il Messaggero newspaper reported on Tuesday. (The Guardian News)

Paramedics working in a medical tenet outside a hospital in Cremona, Italy. AP News

-Governor DeSantis of Florida announced at 9:39 p.m. on 3/2 that two people from Hillsborough and Manatee counties tested positive for the coronavirus and declared a state of emergency in Florida.  The Manatee County man in his 60s had no known record of travel to affected countries. The 20-year-old Hillsborough County woman had traveled to Italy.

-An attorney who lives in New Rochelle, Westchester County and works in Manhattan is New York state’s 2nd confirmed coronavirus case.  The 50-year-old man does not have a travel history.  He was tested with NYS new coronavirus tests.  His family and close contacts will now also be tested.

-The 1st case in NYC is a 39-year-old woman, healthcare worker, who tested positive for the coronavirus after going to Mount Sinai Hospital with mild respiratory symptoms.  The woman had recently returned from Iran with her husband and it was assumed that her husband was also infected.  The couple has been staying in their home in Manhattan under self-quarantine.

-Officials in King County, Washington, home to all 6 of the United States’ coronavirus deaths to date, have said they plan to buy a motel and convert it into modular units to house coronavirus patients in isolation.  The Life Care Nursing Center outside Seattle where 4 residents were among the country’s first coronavirus deaths is under quarantine.

-In the UK, British Airways has canceled hundreds of flights between 6 March and 28 March over the outbreak, including flights from London Heathrow, Gatwick and London City airports.

–Ryanair has also reduced the number of flights on some routes, in particular to and from Italy, by up to 25%.

-Northern Ireland pubs have lost a lot of money due to the coronavirus crisis, an industry chief has claimed.

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References

https://www.who.int/csr/don/en/

https://www.uptodate.com/contents/coronaviruses?search=coronavirus&source=search_result&selectedTitle=1~46&usage_type=default&display_rank=1#H2123870628

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/01/21/what-we-know-about-coronavirus-spreading-china-elsewhere/

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2020/p0121-novel-coronavirus-travel-case.html