Editor’s note: This page is updated frequently with the most crucial news on coronavirus and COVID-19 news. Please make sure to bookmark this page and check back on a regular basis.
July 31, 2020 Update: New research calls into question the widely held view that young children usually don’t get the coronavirus. The New York Times reports that children who have been infected with the virus have at least as much of it in their noses and throats as adults who have been infected.
Additionally, the research found that children younger than five may have up to 100 times as much of the coronavirus in their upper respiratory tract as infected adults have. These numbers don’t prove that children can infect others. However, experts say the study should impact the debate about reopening schools.
The study did have some problems, like the fact that it was small and didn’t give the participants’ sex or race or whether they had any underlying health problems. Additionally, the tests looked for viral RNA, which is genetic pieces of the virus, rather than the live coronavirus.
Nonetheless, researchers were surprised to find out how much of the coronavirus children can carry in their upper respiratory tracts.
Investing In The Era Of Covid, What Do The Experts Have To Say?
July 22, 2020 Update: “It isn’t easy to predict how the stock market will continue to respond to the ongoing global pandemic. Speculation comes from sources that range from high-profile interviews with celebrities and famous investors to stock recommendations through unknown Twitter accounts. How can you know who to listen to among so many conflicting opinions?
Finder’s investing team surveyed professors, market analysts, C-level executives and other market experts from around the world to get their opinions on how the market will recover and hear what trends they’re seeing.
Investing in stocks has always been a risk–reward calculation, and that’s more true today than ever. It’s easy to be tempted by the possibility of big returns as the market recovers, but it’s too early to say when that recovery will happen.
While the majority of experts believe the equities market will make a full recovery this year, 40% say we won’t see stocks at 2020 prices until at least 2021, with one expert estimating it will take until at least 2025. With this in mind, you might want to hold off on investing any money you’ll need in the next several years.
And 41% of our experts say they expect to see a W-shape recovery, meaning the markets will appear to recover before plummeting a second time. If this happens, investors who buy in before the second drop may see their stocks lose money — but investors who continue to hold might benefit from a second recovery.
Who stands to benefit the most? Investors who are already rich, more likely. A whopping 88% of experts surveyed think that COVID-19 will lead to increased income inequality. The wealthiest investors will have the resources to buy up equities at low prices, while the less wealthy may need to sell stocks at a loss to cover day-to-day expenses as unemployment in the US and other major countries continues to rise.
Middle-class Americans with capital to invest aren’t completely out of luck, however. For those with access to capital right now, low prices are making the market particularly accessible to new investors — and a second drop in the market could make it easier for investors with less capital to buy in. Online brokerages and easy access to information on the Internet make it simpler than ever to learn how to buy stocks. The trickiest part is deciding how much risk you’re willing to take on — and the experts can’t make that call for you.
– Dawn Daniels, Assistant Publisher of Investing at Finder.com”
Quotes from Ceridian CEO David Ossip
July 21, 2020 Update:
- “Many US households are living paycheck to paycheck, relying on expensive credit cards or payday loans to make ends meet between pay periods. More than ever before, workers require immediate access to their earned wages to help alleviate financial burdens.
- “The game-changing technology behind Dayforce Wallet enables employees to access their wages on demand – as they earn it and need it – making the traditional pay day obsolete.”
- “We believe a much-needed, employee-centric change to payroll is far overdue, and in the next few years, all leading organizations will pay their people on a daily basis.”
The best case situation for Coronavirus or COVID-19 was that in a few weeks, it would down and things get back to normal. However, a far more frightening scenario is playing out.
Pandemic is nowhere close to being over
June 29, 2020 Update: The World Health Organization warns that the coronavirus pandemic is actually accelerating as countries ease their lockdowns. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters during a virtual news conference that the pandemic is nowhere near being over.
More than 10.1 million people around the globe have been infected, and over 502,000 people have died of COVID-19. Data published by the WHO indicates that over 60% of new daily cases came from countries in the Americas on Sunday. The agency’s data suggests over 23% of the new cases that were reported on Sunday came from the U.S.
Southern and western states in particular have been seeing a resurgence in coronavirus cases. Florida, California, Arizona and Texas reported new record highs in the numbers of new cases last week. Additionally, CNBC reports that as the number of cases in the U.S. rises, the average age of COVID-19 patients has declined.
Officials say that’s why the number of coronavirus deaths has dropped even though the number of infections is up. However, White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that the number of people who die from the virus will increase gradually as younger people infect those who are older and more vulnerable.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post reports that the coronavirus is mutating. A mutation associated with outbreaks in New York and Europe started to take over Chicago. The mutation seemed minor at first, but the location of the change was important because it occurred in the part of the structure that enables the virus to enter human cells. Some lab experiments suggest the mutation makes the coronavirus more infectious.
June 24, 2020 Update: As states continue the reopening process amid the pandemic, the number of new coronavirus cases is surging again. The New York Times reports that over 35,000 new cases of COVID-19 were identified in the U.S. on Tuesday. That’s the most in a single day since late April and the third-highest number of any day during the pandemic.
The South and West are being hit especially hard during the reopening efforts. The number of coronavirus cases is up in more than 20 states. Florida saw a new single-day record high of 5,508 cases. Texas also had a new record-high day on Tuesday with over 5,000 cases.
Arizona also set a new record with over 3,600 cases. In Washington State, the number of cases is again rising, and the governor is now ordering residents to wear masks while out in public.
Although more and more tests are being completed, that doesn’t fully account for the surge in new cases. The percentage of Floridians testing positive for COVID-19 is up significantly. Hospitalizations are also rising across the country.
Arizona had its largest number of hospitalizations from the coronavirus on Monday. Over 4,000 Texans are hospitalized with COVID-19, which is more than twice as many at the beginning of this month.
June 11, 2020 Update: The U.S. has now surpassed 2 million coronavirus cases as the number of infections continues to rise in at least 20 states amid easing restrictions. As of this morning, over 112,000 people have died from the coronavirus, putting the U.S. in first place for the number of COVID-19 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Ashish Jha of the Harvard Global Health Institute warned that the number of deaths could hit 200,000 by early fall.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted almost 1,900 points today and is on track for its worst day since March as the number of coronavirus cases rises. Investors are now worrying about a second wave of COVID-19 hitting just as states start to reopen their economies. If the second wave is severe, businesses could be forced to close again just as soon as they reopen.
Globally, 7.39 million people have been infected with COVID-19, and more than 417,000 people have died from it.
June 3, 2020 Update: The Trump administration has selected five coronavirus vaccine candidates as finalists, according to The New York Times. The five candidates are from Moderna, Oxford University and AstraZenica, Johnson & Johnson, Merk, and Pfizer, according to the newspaper.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease doctor, said on Tuesday that he’s concerned the COVID-19 vaccine won’t provide immunity for a long time. He based that on the behavior of other coronaviruses. He said the durability of the protection tends to range from three to six months to “almost always less than a year.” Despite his concerns about durability of immunity, Fauci expects the U.S. to have 100 million doses of a vaccine by the end of the year.
First U.S. dog tests positive
Meanwhile, a German Shepherd in New York is the first dog in the U.S. to test positive for COVID-19. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that the dog is expected to make a complete recovery. The animal was tested after it displayed signs of respiratory illness, according to a press release from the USDA. One of the dog’s owners also tested positive for the coronavirus, and another showed symptoms of the virus before the dog tested positive for it. Officials also said another dog in the same household tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, although it never showed any signs of illness.
May 26, 202 Update: As states reopened in time for the Memorial Day holiday, the World Health Organization warned against loosening restrictions too early. The agency said the U.S. and other parts of the world could see a second peak of coronavirus infections even before the second wave hits, possibly this fall. A former Food and Drug Administration commissioner said today that the small increase in hospitalizations for COVID-19 is likely due to the fact that states are lifting restrictions.
So far, at least 5.5 million cases of the coronavirus have been reported, and over 1.6 million of those infections are in the U.S. Nearly 100,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. so far.
Over 1.5 million people flew in the U.S. over Memorial Day weekend, marking a major increase from other recent weeks. Despite that significant increase, air travel stood at around 13% of what it was during last year’s Memorial Day weekend.
Securities fraud often increases during economic downturns, so there is a possibility of an uptick in fraud during the coronavirus pandemic. Douglas Cumming, a professor of finance at Florida Atlantic University, warns that as the weeks pass, more evidence of securities fraud will likely surface.
“Severe market downturns heighten the incentives to engage in fraud,” he said. “Recent SEC actions show evidence of those problems. The coming months are likely to better reveal the extent of these concerns because surveillance and investigations create a delay gap in knowing how problematic they are.”
He said company executives facing financial uncertainty and risk of failure have incentives to engage in misconduct to deal with the crisis. When businesses start to fail, management might delay releasing bad news to the public so they can secure funding, attract and retain customers, and maintain stable relationships with suppliers.
Investors also may be motivated to engage in misconduct as far as insider trading. For example, Sen. Richard Burr resigned as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee after authorities began investigating accusations that he sold up to $1.6 million in stock before the coronavirus drove the March selloff.
Cummings said it’s important for investors to do their due diligence before making any investments. He advised that fraudsters tend to avoid social networks and have poorly worded disclosure documents.
May 22, 2020 Update: Experts have been warning about a second wave of coronavirus in the South and Midwest as states ease restrictions, but President Trump says the country won’t shut down again in such a scenario. He said instead of closing the country, they will “put out the fires.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance to say that COVID-19 “does not spread easily” via contaminated surfaces, according to The Washington Post. The agency said most transmission is occurring via person-to-person contact. The CDC made the change to its website earlier this month without making a formal statement or offering an explanation. Some experts worry that people might start to think they don’t have to wash their hands as often.
A study of 96,000 coronavirus patients who’ve been hospitalized found that those who received hydroxychloroquine, which is the antimalarial drug Trump has been taking, had a much higher risk of death than those who did not take the medication.
May 15, 2020 Update: Data from Johns Hopkins University indicates that the number of new coronavirus cases is declining in over half of the states in the U.S. Researchers say 28 states have seen their number of new cases decline, including a number of states that started to reopen early, like Georgia, Oklahoma, Colorado and South Carolina.
Not every state is seeing a downward trend in coronavirus cases, however. Texas is seeing its number of infections climb by 20% to 30% since it started lifting the stay-at-home order at the beginning of the month. Thursday was especially difficult with 58 new deaths in Texas, marking the biggest one-day increase in deaths from COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.
A total of seven states are still seeing the number of coronavirus cases increase. In 15 other states, the numbers are holding steady, according to CNN. As of this morning, over 1.4 million people in the U.S. have been sickened by COVID-19, and over 85,000 people have died from it, according to Johns Hopkins University.
May 13, 2020 Update: Some countries that reopened after the first wave of the coronavirus have shut back down again due to a second wave. Experts and public health officials have been expecting a second wave of the coronavirus, so the moves highlight the importance of treading carefully when loosening restrictions.
On Tuesday, Lebanon became the latest country to put restrictions back in place after seeing a second wave of coronavirus infections. According to The Washington Post, the restrictions were started back up again about two weeks after the nation thought it had contained the virus. Lebanese officials ordered a near-total shutdown for four days so they could have time to assess the increase in infections.
Saudi Arabia has also ordered another lockdown after easing restrictions. Saudi officials ordered the shutdown for the end of Ramadan following a sharp increase in new infections during the holy month.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the U.S. could face a long and painful recession if lawmakers and the Trump administration didn’t push through more coronavirus stimulus measures. He said the U.S. is experiencing the “biggest shock our economy has felt in modern times.” He also warned that there could be massive waves of bankruptcies and businesses closing, which could weigh on growth for the next several years.
May 4, 2020 Update: The creators of a coronavirus model used by the White House have revised their projections up to almost 135,000 deaths in the U.S. due to relaxed social distancing measures. As of this morning, the model from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation was predicting nearly 72,500 deaths.
So far over 68,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the U.S., and nearly 1.2 million people have been infected, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Today the university reported 13,000 new cases and 603 more deaths.
Several states have loosened their stay-at-home orders starting this week, and others are planning to reopen soon. Non-essential businesses in New York, the hardest-hit state, won’t start reopening until May 15.
April 29, 2020 Update: The World Food Program is warning that the response to the coronavirus could drive the next global pandemic: an uptick in starvation and poverty. According to Fox News, WFP Executive Director David Beasley told the UN Security Council last week that the risk of a massive famine across much of the developing world is now at “biblical proportions” due to the pandemic. He also warned that the economic fallout from the response to the coronavirus pandemic could claim even more lives than COVID-19.
Before the outbreak, this year was on track to be the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II due to long-running wars in South Sudan, Syria, Yemen and other countries, plus natural disasters and desert locust swarms in Africa. Now efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in massive job losses and plunging economies.
The World Food Program estimates that 26.5 million people will be teetering on the edge of starvation by the end of the year. The agency expects many deaths to come as a direct result of the response to COVID-19.
April 28, 2020 Update: The number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. has topped 1 million according to Johns Hopkins University, while the number of deaths has surpassed 57,000. Worldwide, more than 3 million people have been infected, and over 213,000 people have died of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, government officials and business leaders are working to reopen parts of the U.S. economy. Dr. Fauci warned that the U.S. “could be in for a bad fall” if researchers can’t uncover an effective treatment to battle COVID-19 by then. He said the coronavirus won’t disappear from the planet” and that experts are learning how it behaves by watching outbreaks as they emerge in countries like those in southern Africa, which are entering their colder seasons.
Japanese officials have warned that the 2021 Olympics might have to be canceled. The games were already delayed from this summer, and if they end up having to be delayed again next year, Japanese President Yoshiro Mori said they will be “scrapped” entirely.
April 22, 2020 Update: The Washington Post reports that at least two people died of COVID-19 in Silicon Valley in February, which suggests the coronavirus was spreading and killing in the U.S. weeks earlier than previously through. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning that a second wave of COVID-19 in the U.S. could be much worse than the first.
More than 800,000 Americans have been infected with the coronavirus, and almost 45,000 people have died from it in the U.S. Around the globe, over 2.5 million people have been infected, and 175,000 have died.
The Senate passed a $484 billion deal for more funding for a small-business loan program amid the pandemic. The House is expected to pass the bill tomorrow.
April 16, 2020 Update: When Congress passed the CARES Act, one of the goals was to provide relief for small businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The Paycheck Protection Plan was aimed at helping small businesses keep their staff employed while their doors were closed, but it’s turning out to be much easier said than done.
Lecturer John Scully of Pepperdine Graziadio Business School told ValueWalk in an email that small businesses aren’t yet finding relief:
“The good news: Many small businesses quickly became aware of the Paycheck Protection Plan’s benefits and were eager to submit loan applications. However to-date, few companies have actually received any funding. So concern is now mounting that many small businesses will either be locked out of the program or funding will arrive too late to save employee positions that the program was originally intended to protect.
“Early on, many small businesses encountered frustrations in three key areas:
- Delays with certain banks in getting their websites operational and ready to receive applications.
- Difficulty in obtaining clear guidance about information needed for applications (e.g., can employer paid FICA be included in the loan amount, understanding the impact of traditional affiliation rules, etc.).
- Lack of concrete feedback from banks regarding the status of submitted applications.
“Based on these frustrations, I personally suspect that many small businesses will be re-evaluating their banking relationships after the immediate crisis passes.
“Today, the concern is that the SBA funding may run out of funding before many qualified applications are approved, especially given Congress has adjourned without increasing the $350 billion allocated to help small businesses during this emergency.
“Looking to the future, assuming these small business frustrations are not reasonably addressed, it will be interesting to see the public reaction, especially given the government’s asymmetrical approach to supporting banks, airlines, etc. compared to small businesses.”
U.S. to withdraw WHO financing
April 15, 2020 Update: The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus surpassed 2 million globally today, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, although experts add that many more people are probably infected. Over 600,000 people in the U.S. are infected with the virus. More than 120,000 people have died from COVID-19 worldwide, with the death toll surpassing 26,000 in the U.S.
President Trump said he plans to withdraw U.S. funding to the World Health Organization for what he said was mismanagement and covering up of the COVID-19 crisis. U.S. officials decided Beijing has too much influence over the WHO and that the agency was too slow to raise the alarm about the coronavirus because it trusted the Chinese government. Washington is the WHO’s biggest donor with contributions of over $400 million amounting to approximately 10% of its budget, according to The New York Times.
Teachers and migrant children infected
April 14, 2020 Update: Almost 600,000 people in the U.S. have been infected with the coronavirus, and the death toll is now more than 25,000. Oregon’s and California’s governors are taking steps to reopen their states’ economies.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement reports that 27 migrant children who have been in government custody tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. Six of the children have recovered, while the others are in medical isolation. None of them required hospitalization.
NPR reports that multiple states have reported mounting losses of teachers and school staff members dying of COVID-19. New York City reported the deaths of 50 school system employees from the coronavirus.
April 13, 2020 Update: The gig economy has grown to become an important segment of the nation’s overall economy as more and more Americans work as freelancers in various industries. Congress has recognized freelancers by making them eligible for unemployment during the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the CARES Act won’t do anything for those who work freelance just to earn some extra cash on the side to make ends meet. Economist Dmitri Koustas of the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy explains the impact the COVID-19 lockdown is having on gig workers:
“My research shows that millions of workers would use the gig economy to make ends meet before the crisis. These opportunities, particularly in ridesharing, have all but disappeared, leaving many gig workers without the extra income they’ve come to rely on. While the stimulus bill promised unemployment insurance benefits to a subset of full-time self-employed and gig workers who wouldn’t otherwise be eligible for UI, most states are simply overwhelmed and have not begun to process any of these claims.”
COVID-19 models continue to change for the better
April 9, 2020 Update: More than 1.5 million people around the world have been infected by the novel coronavirus, and nearly 90,000 have died. In the U.S., the death toll surpassed 14,000 on Wednesday. Tuesday alone saw a record 1,858 deaths. So far, approximately 425,000 people in the U.S. have tested positive for COVID-19.
Although researchers say the peak hasn’t been reached yet, the model in use by the White House and many other agencies was updated on Wednesday. The number of projected deaths from the virus in the U.S. declined to 60,415 by August, compared to the 82,000 the model predicted on Tuesday.
The model is being updated nearly every day with more data, which has gradually adjusted projections downward. These downward adjustments suggest that social distance may be doing what it’s supposed to do and reducing the number of people infected.
However, the updated model also shows that social distancing could last until August, which means several more months of lockdowns. Social distancing could be replaced by new measures in August, according to CNN.
April 8, 2020 Update: The number of coronavirus cases in New York State has now topped the number in Italy. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said 779 people died of COVID-19 in the state in a single day, marking the highest one-day death total from the virus. More than 6,200 people have died of the virus in New York, which Cuomo said is double the number of people who died there in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Many experts have been counting on the warmer months providing some relief from the coronavirus. However, a National Academies of Sciences panel told the White House this week that warmer weather probably won’t provide any respite from it. They said studies on how humidity and temperature affect the virus are still unclear. They pointed out that there was no seasonal affect on other coronaviruses like SARS and MERS.
April 3, 2020 Update: The number of coronavirus cases in the world is now at 1.03 million, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. More than 54,000 people have died from COVID-19. The U.S. has more than 245,500 cases, and more than 6,000 people in the U.S. have died from it.
Dr. Anthony Fauci is calling for a federal state-at-home order to replace individual orders from the states that have them. U.S. officials are debating whether or not to advise the general public to wear masks or coverings over their faces when they go out.
In Wuhan where the pandemic started, restrictions are starting to ease, but authorities still say people should only leave their homes if necessary.
April 2, 2020 Update: According to CNN, a scientific panel told the White House last night that researchers have found that the coronavirus can spread through the air through talking and perhaps even breathing.
That would mean that coughs and sneezes aren’t the only way people can get infected, and it would explain why COVID-19 is so contagious. Dr. Anthony Fauci told the news outlet that they are considering recommending that everyone where a mask if they leave their home.
Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus deaths worldwide has now surpassed 50,000, and the number of infected is approaching 1 million, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency has asked the Pentagon for 100,000 body bags, according to ABC News. The nation’s hospitals are dealing with growing shortages of protective gear and other medical supplies required to diagnose and treat the coronavirus.
Last week a record 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment, providing further evidence of the extent to which COVID-19 has weighed on the economy.
April 1, 2020 Update: News reports put the number of coronavirus infections in the U.S. at more than 200,000 and the number of deaths at more than 8,700. NBC News reports today one of the top doctors in the U.S. warned that 240,000 people in the U.S. could die from the virus, even with strict social distancing guidelines enacted.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said they may need refrigerated trucks as the number of dead in the state continues to soar. In the last 24 hours, 91 people have died from the coronavirus. In New York, the tent hospital in Central Park admitted its first COVID-19 patient.
The federal government is now considering a massive infrastructure bill to create more jobs. There are fears that the economic downturn from COVID-19 could be much worse than originally expected, possibly lasting into next year and beyond.
March 31, 2020 Update: So far more than 164,000 people in the U.S. have tested positive for the coronavirus, and more than 3,000 people have died from it. Worldwide, more than 800,000 people have been infected with COVID-19, and more than 40,000 people have died from it.
Most social distancing guidelines call for a space of at least six feet between people to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. However, a recently published study suggests that the guideline is based on models from the 1930s. MIT Associate Professor Lydia Bourouiba has been researching coughing and sneezing for years. She warns that pathogens could travel as far as 23 to 27 feet.
Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the U.S. predicts another coronavirus outbreak in the fall. However, he said the nation will be much better prepared to fight it then.
Additionally, CNN news anchor Chris Cuomo, brother of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has tested positive for the coronavirus. He said he has fevers, chills and shortness of breath, but he is otherwise feeling well and will anchor his show from the basement of his home.
More stay-at-home orders
March 30, 2020 Update: About three-quarters of Americans are or will soon be under a stay-at-home order due to the coronavirus, according to news reports. Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers are already starting to work on the next round of measures to deal with fallout from COVID-19. It’s only been a few days since Congress enacted the $2 trillion stabilization package that includes sending stimulus checks to Americans.
On Sunday, President Trump extended the social distancing window to the end of April, backing away from his previous statements about wanting the economy to start back up by Easter. Public health authorities said ending the social distancing guidelines too early could result in many more deaths. Trump said his advisors expect the coronavirus infections to peak around Easter and start falling from there.
New York continues to struggle under COVID-19 infections as the 1,000-bed Navy hospital ship known as the Comfort docked in Manhattan to help with the fight. The city also built a makeshift field hospital using tents in Central Park.
March 26, 2020 Update: The death toll from the coronavirus in the U.S. has now surpassed 1,000 with over 74,000 people infected. The nation’s healthcare system is under increasing pressure as medical personnel go to desperate measures to deal with the pandemic. Wednesday brought the largest number of deaths from the virus in a single day so far at 223.
According to CNN, the number of coronavirus cases in California doubles every three or four days. Hospitals in Louisiana will likely run out of beds within the next two weeks, and workers there are fashioning masks out of office supplies. Bellevue Hospital Center in New York has seen so many patients die from COVID-19 that officials have set up a makeshift morgue using refrigerated trucks and tents. In Queens at Elmhurst Hospital Center, 13 people died of COVID-19 in only 24 hours.
Health officials are warning that the U.S. hasn’t seen the peak of the coronavirus pandemic yet.
March 23, 2020 Update: Senators are negotiating a third aid package to help U.S. consumers, businesses and the economy weather the coronavirus storm. However, those negotiations sustained a setback when Sen. Rand Paul tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend. At least four other senators quarantined themselves due to possible exposure to the virus.
The World Health Organization said today that the coronavirus pandemic is now accelerating. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it took 67 days for COVID-19 to reach 100,000 patients, 11 days for the second 100,000 cases, and only four days for the third 100,000 cases. Almost 350,000 people worldwide have contracted the coronavirus, and more than 15,000 people have died from it, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
In the U.S., over 33,000 people have tested positive for the coronavirus, putting the nation in third place behind China and Italy for having the largest number of cases. At least 475 people have died from the virus in the U.S. Washington and New York are the two hardest-hit states, and President Trump approved their requests for a disaster declaration. California’s request is pending.
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams told NBC that “this week, it’s going to get bad.” He said some Americans haven’t been practicing social distancing and urged people to stay at home.
March 20, 2020 Update: The numbers out of Italy are especially shocking today. The European country reported that 627 more coronavirus patients have died in the last 24 hours. That’s a significant increase from the 427 people who died from the COVID-19 virus the day before. The death toll in Italy is now 3,405, which is the highest rate in the world. Morgues in Italy are running out of space.
Restrictions in other parts of the world continue to ramp up. The border between the U.S. and Mexico is now closed to non-essential travel. New York is also ordering non-essential workers to stay home. Additionally, California has instituted a statewide lockdown.
The heightened measures come after the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. doubled in only two days. However, some of that increase is due to increased testing.
The tax filing deadline in the U.S. has been delayed from April 15 to July 15. All taxpayers and businesses have extra time to file and make payments without paying penalties or interest.
Around the globe, over 250,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed. According to the World Health Organization, it took over three months for 100,000 cases to be reported worldwide, but it only took 12 days for the next 100,000 cases to be recorded.
The most frightening possibility is that after everyone self isolates and returns to normal, the disease comes back possibly in a worse mutated form. Indeed, this is what happened with the Spanish flu of 1918-1920. The majority of deaths happened AFTER the first waves as this chart demonstrates. When would this happen with COVID-19? After the summer of 2020, or possibly even sooner. According to experts at investment firm, EXANTE the virus may already be returning with a vengeance to China.
Specifically, they state:
The second round of Wuhan Coronavirus is set to hit China, according to our sources in Hong Kong
Read more here.
Economic impact
Coronavirus is going to seriously impact the economy in the US and abroad. France is taking counter-measures such as freezing bills on water to forestall large scale default due to COVID-19 grinding the economy to a halt. The US is discussing a stimulus bill of $750 billion which could send cash directly to consumers. Some experts say the $750 billion is too little and the package should be in the trillions. It seems from the latest news reports on 3/17/2020 that the US Government will aim for the trillions range.
Death rates are soaring in Italy with several hundred killed yesterday. Watch France and Spain as well as cases are really starting to surge in those two European nations. The EU has also closed to its borders, several days after President Trump closed flights from Europe to the US. The economy is going to be in for a very rough patch while the world fights this virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared the COVID-19 a global pandemic. There have been more than 197,133 confirmed cases and 7,905 deaths worldwide, according to latest figures from John Hopkins. Meanwhile, health agencies are striving to help people know and recognize the causes and symptoms of the novel coronavirus as search for a cure continues. Detailed below is everything you will want to know about this virus, including causes, symptoms, prevention, and cure.
COVID-19 to kill sales?
The fear of Coronavirus is causing a “shelter-in-place” mentality for consumers.
Retailers can expect fewer shoppers in their stores and B2B commerce companies should plan on fewer site visits and in-person consultations.
According to Axios, a coronavirus-triggered recession could affect tech in a few unexpected ways such as threatening international collaboration, cross-border supply chains and global consumer demand, as well as prove a boon to e-commerce and other tech-driven trends that let lives go on with less direct human contact.
Because of this, online shopping traffic is going to hit an all-time high and brands that are going to succeed are those that can ensure relevant and efficient experiences for their consumers at scale.
Mark Floisand, SVP of Product and Industry Marketing of Coveo, an AI company personalizing digital experiences, says:
“A personalized and relevant online shopping experience is critical. During the Coronavirus pandemic, with more and more shoppers electing to avoid the risk of public spaces, they’ll head to the retailer that provides the most efficient and personalized online shopping experience. And the corollary is that those that don’t deliver on these online expectations, will lose out to those that do. Shoppers are going to put their personal health above their default store preferences.”
Sam F. Halabi, director, Center for Intellectual Property & Entrepreneurship; associate professor of law, School of Law, says:
“It is important to remember that time is a tremendous asset. Many people have decided to shrug and say “well, I’ll get it any way”. But for every case that is prevented (hand washing, staying home, etc.) it means that much more time for healthcare providers to manage the intake of severe cases, for vaccine developers to bring a candidate to the system, and for everyone to be productive and be happy before illness hits (should it even do so).”
Coronaviruses are basically viruses that are common among animals. However, a few types of the rare viruses are known to be transmitted from animals to humans, such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). SARS is believed to have originated from civet cats, while MERS from a type of camel.
UPDATE: Report estimates 4000 cases #coronavirus #2019nCoV
Our estimate at 4,000 cases is more than double the past estimate due to increase of number of cases outside China. This should not be interpreted as implying the outbreak has doubled in size.
?https://t.co/7A77NXZ3iw pic.twitter.com/TwEwUNamnX
— MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis (@MRC_Outbreak) January 22, 2020
COVID-19 symptoms
Such types of viruses can result in illness ranging from cold to more serious symptoms. The China coronavirus has been named “coronavirus 2019-nCoV” by the World Health Organization. There is no information yet on what animal caused the current outbreak in Wuhan, but many believe it could have been transmitted from snakes. This strain of coronavirus has not been found in humans before.
Not much is known about this coronavirus, but human-to-human transmission has been confirmed. It means that a cough, sneeze or handshake could transmit the virus. Moreover, it can be transmitted by touching something touched by an infected person and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes without washing your hands.
It could be fever, cough, breathing difficulties and more, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Other possible symptoms are a runny nose, sore throat and headache. In more severe cases, the virus could also result in pneumonia and kidney failure. For those with a weak immune system, especially kids and the elderly, this new virus could result in a respiratory tract illness.
Is COVID-19 deadly? This new virus is currently believed to be milder than SARS and MERS. It may take a week for the symptoms to develop. So far, only 15% to 20% of the reported cases have become severe.
However, the new coronavirus has a longer incubation period because it causes symptoms after a week or two. SARS had an incubation period of two to seven days, but the coronavirus causes symptoms after anywhere from one to 14 days.
One other thing that makes COVID-19 more dangerous than SARS is that it’s contagious during the incubation period before it causes symptoms, according to Chinese health officials. However, CDC officials are telling news outlets that they haven’t seen “any evidence of patients being” infected “before onset.”
There is no cure for the new COVID-19, so the best thing to do is to avoid getting it in the first place. Treatment for those who do contract the virus is focused on relieving the symptoms it causes. In severe cases, treatment also includes supporting vital organ functions, according to the CDC.
The best way to prevent contracting the illness is to avoid coming into contact with those who have been infected. Prevention methods also include washing hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Other precautionary measures include avoiding touching your mouth, nose and eyes with unwashed hands and frequently cleaning and disinfecting items and surfaces that are frequently touched.
Given that it’s a new virus, no cure is available yet. Some pharmaceutical companies are said to be working on possible vaccines for it. In some cases, the symptoms may go away on their own.
It is recommended that you take precautions early and visit your doctor. In addition, drink as much fluid as you can, take rest and sleep properly. You may also lower the chances of infection by avoiding people who are sick.
SARS, which also originated from China, claimed about 800 lives globally during its 2002-2003 outbreak. MERS, on the other hand, did not spread much but was more deadly, killing about 30% of those it infected. However, similar to SARS and MERS, the coronavirus appears to affect old people more severely.
Canada
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau tested positive for novel coronavirus on March 12. She developed flu-like symptoms after returning from the UK. She said in a statement that even though she was “experiencing uncomfortable symptoms of the virus” she hopes to recover soon.
Justin Trudeau has kept himself in self-isolation to prevent the spread of the virus. He will spend the next few days in virtual meetings from home, phone calls, and briefings. The prime minister himself hasn’t shown any symptoms of the virus.
From the United States
According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, there have been at least 1,662 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States as of March 12. At least 41 people have died so far. The number of new cases jumped by as much as 400 on Thursday, March 12.
President Donald Trump has announced major travel restrictions on Europe to contain the virus. He has banned all inbound flights from Europe for a month. The US will also defer taxes and loan $50 billion to small businesses to fight coronavirus.
At least six states including New Mexico, Kentucky, Maryland, Oregon, Ohio, and Michigan have closed all public schools for at least two weeks.
From Italy
Italy is one of the worst hit countries in the world. According to the Italian health ministry, there were at least 15,113 confirmed cases as of March 12. As many as 1,258 people have fully recovered while 1,016 have lost their lives so far. An estimated 189 people died on March 12 alone.
The mortality rate in Italy is a staggering 6.7%, which is much higher than in other countries. It could be partly attributed to Italy’s high elderly population. According to EuroNews, doctors in Italy are forced to prioritize patients who have the best chances of survival.
The Italian government has locked down the entire country. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has ordered all non-essential shops and services to close. Only pharmacies and supermarkets will remain open across the country. Transportation, banking, and post offices will remain open. The country has also announced a 25 billion euro package to support families and businesses.
