This post is updated daily.
COVID-19 has now infected more than 115,965 people. There have been 4,087 confirmed deaths and 64,385 confirmed recoveries attributed to the virus.
Recent Updates
Note: These are the updates from the last 48-72 hours.
MARCH 10 -
Italy has expanded its quarantine to the entire country, putting 60million people under lockdown. Read more here.
Czech Republic has closed schools and banned gatherings of more than 100 people. Read more here.
U.S. universities have started to request students not return to school after Spring Break and instead study remotely online. Ohio State, Harvard University, New York University, and Amherst College are the ones that the mod team have heard about so far, but the list is likely to expand.
The Spanish parliament's lower house has suspended all activities for at least a week after lawmaker Javier Ortega Smith's party Vox disclosed he was diagnosed with coronavirus. See the tweet here.
President Trump held a press conference last night about COVID-19 in the United States. Watch here. During the presser, Trump said he'd be discussing with Republicans in Congress "a possible payroll tax cut, or relief, substantial relief, very substantial relief. It's a big number. We're also going to talk about hourly wage earners' getting help so they can be in a position where they're not ever going to miss a paycheck." He's expected to announce more details later today. Read more here.
MARCH 8 and 9 -
Ireland is expected to cancel all St. Patrick's Day parades/festivities. Dublin and Cork have already canceled. Read more here.
Iran temporarily released about 70,000 prisoners because of the coronavirus contagion, as the death toll rose by 43 new fatalities to 237. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia temporarily suspended land and sea travel to and from Oman, France, Germany, Turkey and Spain for citizens and residents to help stem the spread of coronavirus. Earlier suspensions include the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, South Korea, Egypt, Italy and Iraq. Read more here.
The U.S. death toll reached 21 on Sunday, with 554 confirmed cases across 34 states and the District of Columbia. All but three of the deaths have been in Washington state; two were in Florida and one in California. Read more here.
China reports the fewest number of coronavirus cases since it started tracking the disease in January. Read more here.
France on Sunday banned gathering of more than 1,000 people as the death toll and number of coronavirus infections continued to rise. Read more and see ongoing updates here.
Rick Cotton, head of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs NY's airports, has tested positive for the new coronavirus. See the tweet here.
President Trump tweeted this on the morning of March 9:
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!
- Sen. Ted Cruz interacted with person who has tested positive for coronavirus. Cruz said he feels fine and is not showing symptoms of the coronavirus, but will self-quarantine out of an abundance of caution. Read more here.
CDC Recommendations:
People over 60 and those with severe chronic heart, lung, or kidney disease stay at home as much as possible and avoid crowds. Read more here.
Travelers, particularly those who are older and/or have underlying health issues, should "defer all cruise ship travel worldwide". The CDC also notes that "cruise ship passengers are at increased risk of person-to-person spread of infectious diseases, including COVID-19". Read more here.
Tracking COVID-19
New Countries reporting cases their first cases this week:
Note 1: The list starts fresh each Monday.
Note 2: This list is pulled from the WHO's daily situation reports (linked above).
Bulgaria
Costa Rica
Faroe Islands
French Guiana
Maldives
Martinique
Republic of Moldova
Bangladesh
Albania
Paraguay
Over 100 countries have now reported lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Reputable Sources for Information:
And for those too lazy to click on the University of Chicago Med resource, here are some of the answers to commonly asked questions:
What is a coronavirus? What is a novel coronavirus?
A coronavirus is actually the name for a set of illnesses, including the common cold and other respiratory infections. A novel coronavirus means it's a new virus that originated in animals, but has jumped to humans. This particular 2019 novel coronavirus from Wuhan is called COVID-19 or 2019-nCoV.
How does the COVID-19 spread?
This virus is really transmissible and can spread easily from person to person even before a person develops symptoms. It's carried on respiratory droplets when we talk, sneeze, and cough and these can land on surfaces or in someone's mouth or nose. When it comes to respiratory droplets, 6 feet is the magic distance. That's how far these tiny, infected droplets can travel. Being within 6 feet of someone who is sick can get you or your personal space contaminated with COVID-19.
When droplets land on surfaces, we can pick them up with our hands and transfer them to our eyes, mouth, and nose when we touch our faces. This is why hand hygiene is so important. Respiratory secretions (like snot and sputum) are also infectious so cover your coughs and sneezes.
What are the symptoms of the virus? Is it deadly?
It typically causes flu-like symptoms. Some patients — particularly the elderly and others with other chronic health conditions — develop a severe form of pneumonia.
Patients develop symptoms like fever, muscle and body aches, cough, and sore throat about 5-6 days after infection. Most people will feel pretty miserable for a week and get better on their own. Some people won't get as sick, but it's still important not to be out and about, so as not to spread the disease. A minority of patients will get worse instead of better. This usually happens after 5-7 days of illness and these patients will have more shortness of breath and worsening cough. If this happens, it's time to contact your doctor again or even go to an emergency room. Be sure to call first so they know you are coming.
The numbers of people who have been diagnosed and how many have died are changing daily. As of early March, there have been over 97,000 confirmed cases, with a death toll of about 3,000 (more than 2,900 in mainland China). But these numbers are just estimates; it's still unclear how many people have actually been infected worldwide. Most of the deaths have been in adults over 60 years old who had other health concerns.
Are we all at risk for catching this new coronavirus (2019-nCoV)?
Yes. It doesn't appear anyone is naturally immune to this particular virus and there's no reason to believe anybody has antibodies that would normally protect them.
The lack of previous experience with this pathogen is part of the reason why public health officials around the globe are working so hard to contain the spread of this particular coronavirus from Wuhan. When viruses come out like this that are both new (which means the population is highly susceptible) and can easily pass from person to person (a high transmission rate), they can be really dangerous — even if here's a low percentage of people who die from them.
Why do some people with the COVID-19 get sicker than others?
It looks like only about 20% of people who contract this novel coronavirus need to be hospitalized. The other 80% get what feels like a bad cold and recover at home. A lot of this has to do with underlying medical conditions. People who are more vulnerable to any kind of infection — because of their age or chronic health conditions — are more at risk for getting really sick from COVID-19.
That said, some otherwise healthy people do seem to be getting sicker from this infection than we would expect. We don't understand why that is or what might be different about these patients. If you have COVID-19 and you are getting sicker and sicker instead of better and better, you should contact your doctor or visit an ER. Be sure to call first so they know to expect you.
What kind of medical care do patients with COVID-19 need?
About 80% of people who contract this new coronavirus will feel sick, but ultimately be just fine. It's the 20% of COVID-19 patients who get really, really sick that worry many of us in the infectious diseases field. A lot of these critically ill patients wind up needing to be hospitalized for their pneumonia-like illnesses. They typically require critical care and ventilation — special machines that help them breathe. And some need to stay on ventilators for weeks at a time. It's this portion of patients that is most concerning. Depending on how many cases develop here in the U.S., providing that level of care for so many people over a number of weeks runs the risk of overwhelming the nation's health care system pretty quickly. We can help prevent this kind of "surge" in patients by practicing social distancing (see below for more explanation).
Should people be more concerned about the seasonal flu or COVID-19?
There's widespread seasonal flu activity going on right now all around the U.S. But there are steps you can take to protect yourself from influenza. You can get an annual flu shot. You can take medication like Tamiflu that protects you from getting influenza after you've been exposed. You can cover your mouth and wash your hands to mitigate the spread. And, like clockwork, this year's influenza strain is going to die out in the spring because it will have run its course.
The challenge with COVID-19 is that we probably can't contain it and we don't know if we're really prepared as a country for a massive coronavirus epidemic. If we are lucky, it will slow down a bit over the summer but the next few months look like they are going to be pretty tough for all of us. We need to be as ready as we can for whatever comes our way and know that we will get through it eventually.
How can I protect myself? Should I wear a facemask?
Take the preventive actions you do for the cold and flu. This includes avoiding close contact with people who are sick; not touching your eyes, nose and mouth; washing your hands thoroughly and frequently; and cleaning and disinfecting objects and surfaces you come in contact with regularly.
The CDC does not recommend you wear a facemask to protect yourself from getting COVID-19 or other respiratory illnesses. Those who have COVID-19 and/or are showing symptoms should wear a mask to protect others from getting the virus. Any healthcare worker taking care of someone infected with COVID-19 also should wear a mask.
Can I take an antibiotic or vaccinate against the virus?
There is no antibiotic (they are designed for bacterial infections, not viral ones) to treat COVID-19. Scientists are already working on a vaccine, but we don't expect to have a good vaccine until spring of 2021 at the earliest. However, ongoing trials in China suggest that there are some existing antiviral drugs that may be helpful for the sickest patients. In fact, the University of Chicago is part of a multi-institutional team that has mapped a protein of SARS-CoV-2 and found drugs previously in development for SARS could be effective for COVID-19.
For now, doctors can only treat the symptoms, not the virus itself.
