(NEW YORK) — Here’s the latest information on the COVID-19 coronavirus as of 9:45 a.m. ET.
Latest reported numbers globally per Johns Hopkins University
Global diagnosed cases: 3,209,984
Global deaths: 228,057 The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 61,504.
Number of countries/regions: at least 186
Total patients recovered globally: 985,957
Latest reported numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 1,040,488 diagnosed cases in 50 states + the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. This is more than in any other country.
U.S. deaths: at least 61,504. New York City has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 18,076.
U.S. total patients recovered: 124,023
U.S. total people tested: 6,026,170
The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in New York, with 299,691 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 19.5 million. That is the most reported cases than in any other single region in the world. New Jersey is next, with 116,365 reported cases out of a total population of 8.88 million.
Latest reported deaths per state
Visit https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html for the latest numbers.
School closures
For a state-by-state interactive map of current school closures, please visit the Education Week website, where numbers are updated once daily.
There are 98,277 public schools and 34,576 private schools in the U.S., according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Those schools educate almost 50.8 million public school students and 5.8 million private school students.
The latest headlines
Over 3.3 million people applied for unemployment last week
An additional 3,389,000 Americans applied for unemployment in the week ending April 25, according to figures released today by the Department of Labor. That brings to around 30 million the number of people who have applied for unemployment in the last six weeks, as the COVID-19 pandemic keeps businesses closed, and workforce layoffs continue. The good news, such as it is, is last week’s filings were down from the week before, when approximately 4.4 million people filed for unemployment. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the previous single-week unemployment claims filing record was 695,000, set in 1982.
President Trump and Dr. Fauci tout promising results in remdesivir drug trial
Dr. Anthony Fauci and President Donald Trump on Wednesday revealed a promising new treatment against COVID-19, remdesivir. Initially developed by biopharmaceutical company Gilead to treat Ebola via intravenous infusion, trials were halted after the drug proved in effective. However, a new look theorized remdesivir could work against SARS, which is also a coronavirus. During an Oval Office briefing Wednesday, Dr. Fauci called the results of a trial program “quite good news” because the drug reduced the amount of time patients suffered with COVID-19 symptoms from 15 to 11 days. Researchers also believe it may have possibly reduced the mortality rate, albeit not by much: from 11 percent to eight percent for those who took the drug vs those who took a placebo. Overall, the trial had 1,063 patients participating in 22 countries, including America. Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which sponsored the trial, said he was “very optimistic” about the result, because “What it has proven is that a drug can block this virus.”
CDC study shows continued black disparity in COVID-19 patients
The latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a continued disparity in the number of African-Americans versus the general population when it comes to COVID-19 infection. The CDC’s Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report shows that, from March 1 through March 30, out of 305 hospitalized COVID-19 patients at a total eight Georgia hospitals, 247 – 83.2% — were black. Seven of the hospitals were located in the Atlanta area, and one in southern Georgia. Though this report focuses only on a few hospitals in a specific area, the CDC has reported African-Americans nationwide are contracting and dying from COVID-19 in numbers substantially higher than other ethnicities. It’s believed causes may include lack of access to medical care, and a higher incidence of pre-existing conditions that increase the likelihood of infection.
Good news!
Five-year-old paints rocks, raises money for food bank
With unemployment soaring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, food banks nationwide are scrambling to restore fast-depleted stores. Five-year-old Oliver Moyer of Manchester, New Hampshire is doing his part to help. WMUR reports Oliver began painting rocks in his now-virtual kindergarten class, and then leaving them on neighbors’ stoops and porches “to be nice.” Not only did the neighbors love it, they began making donations to their local food bank in exchange, under the name “Oliver Rocks.” Oliver’s mom, Jen, says last week, they were able to send a check for $1,500 to the New Hampshire Food Bank, with more to come – Oliver’s still painting, and the donations continue to arrive.
Teen sends restaurant gift cards to healthcare workers
Courtney Guice of Cornelius, North Carolina wanted to thank local healthcare workers for what they’re doing to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Who doesn’t like a free meal? So after calling local hospitals to get a tally of the numbers of doctors and nurses they had, WSOC Charlotte reports the 16-year-old created a GoFundMe page to collect donations, which she uses to buy gift cards to local restaurants. Once some of the restaurants caught wind of Courtney’s efforts, they either donated the cards or matched Courtney’s donations. She places the cards, and a thank-you note, inside of water bottles. As of today, Courtney’s distributed 35 of the gift kits, with a further 200 ready to go by next week.
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