(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: 1,030,628. The global number of reported cases surpassed one million late Thursday.
Global deaths: 54,137
Number of countries/regions: at least 181
Total patients recovered globally: 218,771
Latest reported numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
At least 245,573 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 6,058
The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in New York, with 92,743 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 19.5 million. That is the most reported cases than in any other single region in the world. The province of Hubei, China, is next, with 67,802 confirmed cases out of a total population of 58.5 million.
Latest reported deaths per state
Visit https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.htmlfor the latest numbers.
School closures
For a state-by-state interactive map of current school closures, please visit the Education Week website, where numbers are updated once daily.
There are 98,277 public schools and 34,576 private schools in the U.S., according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Those schools educate almost 50.8 million public school students and 5.8 million private school students.
The latest headlines
US COVID-19 death toll surpasses 6,000, worldwide cases soar over 1 million
At least 6,058 people have died in the U.S. due to the COVID-19 pandemic as of Thursday, and confirmed cases climbed to 245,573 in the country, which remains the highest tally of any single nation in the world. Globally, the number of confirmed COVID-19 infections surpassed one million late Thursday. As of Friday morning, the total global cases stands at 1,026,974, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. There are 218,771 reported cases of people having recovered from the virus. The hardest-hit area in the U.S. remains New York City, with 51,809 cases and 1,562 deaths. New York state has 92,743 confirmed cases in all.
Economy lost 701,000 jobs in March; record unemployment claims filed
Nearly 10 million unemployment insurance claims were filed in March, according to figures released Friday morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s a new record, and doesn’t include insurance claims filed in the last two weeks. The economy lost 701,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate rose to 4.4%, which is an increase of 0.9%, the report shows. That’s the largest over-the-month increase in the unemployment rate since January 1975, and the first jobs decline since 2010. Hardest-hit are the leisure and hospitality industry, which shed 459,000 jobs. Health care and social assistance lost 61,000 jobs, with professional and business services, retail trade and construction also hard hit.
ABC/Ipsos poll: fewer than half of Americans believe their daily routine will return to normal by June
Fewer than half of Americans believe their regular daily routine will return to normal by June 1 amid sharply rising concerns over contracting the COVID-19 coronavirus, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll released Friday. Just over nine in 10 Americans polled now say that the outbreak has disrupted their daily routine, showing the reach of the pandemic’s impact. Among those saying this, 44% said they think they will be able to resume their regular routine by June 1, including 13% who said by May 1, while a combined 84% believe that will happen by the end of the summer.
Report: Trump admin moves toward promoting broader use of face masks
Despite continued mixed messages about whether wearing face masks is necessary or useful if you don’t have COVID-19, the Trump administration is reportedly preparing new guidance to recommend that Americans wear face coverings in order to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. The guidance could be announced as early as today. The recommendations, which are expected to apply to those living in communities hardest-hit by the pandemic, will reportedly suggest people wear non-medical masks, T-shirts or bandanas to cover their nose and mouth if they must venture outside of their homes. People will continue to be asked not to use or purchase medical-grade masks, such as N95 respirators, which are in desperate short supply for healthcare workers.
Millions of Americans could wait months for mailed stimulus checks
You could be waiting longer than expected for your share of that $2 trillion stimulus package recently passed by the Senate. A House Democratic memo obtained by ABC News, which summarizes conversations with the Treasury Department and IRS, says early May is likely when people will begin seeing paper checks from the government. The IRS expects to mail out some five million checks a week, the memo declares, with it taking an expected 20 weeks to disburse all of the payments to eligible Americans. The memo states lowest-income Americans will be the first to receive their check. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said last Sunday that Americans would begin seeing checks “within two weeks.”
White House considers plan to cover medical bills for millions of uninsured Americans
With more Americans being laid off because of the COVID-19 pandemic, more Americans are also losing health care coverage. The White House has already refused to re-open enrollment into the Affordable Care Act, but the administration is considering an alternate plan to cover America’s unpaid medical bills, which many include reimbursing hospitals with cash payouts. Vice President Mike Pence said the proposal would likely draw upon part of the $100 billion in funds already earmarked to directly compensate hospitals for treating uninsured Americans, of which there are some 28 million. Pence said a final decision would be made Friday.
Good news!
Century-old man beats COVID-19
What’s it take to knock Angelo “Ralphie” Trotter off of his feet? Apparently, more than COVID-19. As WPVI reports, the 102-year-old Bensalem, PA resident has recovered from the coronavirus. As if that weren’t enough to fight, Trotter also had a blood infection, a urinary tract infection, and is in the early stages of dementia. At one point, he was running a 104 fever, but with the help of the staff at St. Mary Medical Center, and some heavy-duty antibiotics for the non-COVID-19 infections, Trotter just tested negative for the coronavirus. One more negative test, and they’ll send him home to recover.
COVID-19 pandemic pushes pet adoption increase
If there’s a bright side to the nationwide quarantine, America’s homeless pets are reaping the benefit.
Shelter-in-place orders have created a surge in demand for pets to provide both companionship and comfort. “There is now a huge interest in fostering dogs and cats,” said Tracy Elliott, president of the Chicago Anti-Cruelty Society. “We have hundreds and hundreds of people waiting.” The society had also experienced an uptick in the number of pet adoptions before they, like other businesses, were forced to close their doors by government order. And it’s happening everywhere across the U.S., apparently. “We saw a nearly 70-percent increase in animals going into foster care through our NYC and Los Angeles foster programs, compared to the same time period in 2019,” the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said in a statement provided to ABC News.
Texas A&M veterinary labs donating 2,000 COVID-19 sampling kits
Did you know you can re-purpose animal viral sampling kits for use on humans? Likely you didn’t, unless you’re a veterinarian. But more than 2,000 COVID-19 sampling kits will soon be on their way to hospitals across the state, thanks to the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory in College Station. The sampling kits — which are generally used on pigs, cows and chickens — are being assembled from lab supplies already in stock at the university’s four labs across the state and repurposed for use on humans. Once assembled, they’ll be shipped to hospitals in cities with a Texas A&M System campus to help meet the surge in the need for test kits, and delivered first to communities with the greatest need.
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