<img ” src=”http://abcnewsradioonline.com/storage/news-images-march-2020/N_COVID-19UpdateImage_031820.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1585747670689″ alt=”” style=”display:none”>(NEW YORK) — Here’s the latest information on the COVID-19 coronavirus as of 9:30 a.m. ET.
Latest reported numbers globally per Johns Hopkins University
Global diagnosed cases: 877,422
Global deaths: 43,537
Number of countries/regions: at least 180
Total patients recovered globally: 185,241
Latest reported numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
At least 189,633 diagnosed cases in 50 states + the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam. This is now more than any other country.
U.S. deaths: at least 4,081
Total U.S. patients recovered: 7,136
Latest reported deaths per state
Visit https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html for the latest numbers.
School closures
For a state-by-state interactive map of current school closures, please visit the Education Week website, where numbers are updated once daily.
There are 98,277 public schools and 34,576 private schools in the U.S., according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Those schools educate almost 50.8 million public school students and 5.8 million private school students.
The latest headlines
Experts caution COVID-19 deaths could hit 100k victims
U.S. deaths because of the COVID-19 pandemic could reach between 100,000 and 200,000 victims before it’s all over. That sobering prognosis came Tuesday from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx during the daily White House briefing on the pandemic. However, Dr. Birx cautioned that if the nation ignores measures such as social distancing, hand washing and not touching one’s face, a possible 1.5 to 2.2 million Americans could die. Birx said that even if such measures are followed, the models are still predicting “100 to 200,000 deaths, which is still way too much.” Confirmed Fauci, “As sobering a number as that is, we should be prepared for it.” It’s believed the nation will see a peak in deaths by mid-April.
Masks for everyone “under very active consideration,” says Fauci
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday discussed the possibility of all Americans wearing masks amid the COVID-19 pandemic, calling it “under very active consideration.” “The idea of getting a much more broad community-wide use of masks outside of the health care setting is under very active discussion at the task force. The CDC group is looking at that very carefully,” Fauci said in an interview with CNN. “The thing that has inhibited that a bit is to make sure we don’t take away the supply of masks from the health care workers who need them.” Fauci did go on to confirm that ” a person who may or may not be infected wants to prevent infecting somebody else, one of the best ways to do that is with a mask.” His comments come after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention floated the potential of having the general public cover their face when in public. This possible recommendation is a reversal from the CDC’s prior guidelines that said only health care workers should wear masks. Meanwhile, hospitals around the country are warning public officials that their supplies of personal protective equipment, known as PPE, are dwindling. Crucial items such as face masks and gloves are currently being rationed due to the increased demand.
Ohio woman loses three family members to COVID-19, husband also ill
Don’t tell Kelly Conkey Billups that the COVID-19 pandemic likely won’t affect her. As WSYX in Columbus, Ohio reports, the Grove City woman lost her mother, her father and her brother to the coronavirus in a three-day period in a single week. And now, her husband is also infected, hospitalized and on a ventilator. It’s suspected family members may have become infected during a family visit the first weekend in March, before statewide social distancing mandates were announced. Family and friends have started a GoFundMe page to help with hospital and funeral expenses. “I beg and plead for people to stay home. I don’t want anybody else to feel the pain and raw suffering we have been through,” Kelly said. “It’s too much.”
Good news!
Company says it can 3D print hospital rooms
Often lost in the headlines about healthcare workers running out of face masks and other PPE is the reality that bed space in hospitals is a rare commodity amid the COVID-10 pandemic. Enter Eteriors. As KATU in Portland reports, the Oregon company claims it can fabricate finished, portable hospital rooms in a matter of weeks, using 3D printing tech. The fabricated rooms can then be shipped to where they’re needed. Owner Mike Johnson says Arizona State University recently used the same technology to transform a shipping container into a healthcare facility for a camp of more than 12,000 people in Uganda. 3D printing is already being used to create respirator masks to help meet the shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but those masks vary in quality and are not medically or government certified to be effective.
Teen creates website to help people find supplies locally
Running out of toilet paper? How about baby wipes? If you live in the Atlanta area, check out CoronaFinds.com. WSB in Atlanta reports local 17-year-old Blake Rand — who’s good with computers and, with schools closed, has time on his hands — created the simple but useful website, which helps neighbors avoid visiting store after store to secure what they need. Acting on his mom’s suggestion, he scours retailer websites to locate the finds. “It’s just a list of links that are updated daily and it’ll pretty much just give you the item name and if you want to purchase an item you just go to link and it takes you to a bigger retailer like Target or CVS and then you can just purchase it there,” Rand said.
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.