April 20 Recap
Issue 25
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Summary
Worldwide: 2,495,296 confirmed cases and 171,064 deaths; 655,649 recoveries
USA now at 792,938+ cases, a 3.7% day-to-day increase
Spain at 200,210, Italy at 181,228, France at 155,383, and Germany at 147,065. The United Kingdom (124,743), Turkey (90,980), and Iran (83,505) have all passed China’s confirmed cases tally (82,758)
Good places to find numbers and other Covid-19 info:
US testing tracking (US daily totals, as well as numbers broken out by state)
🇺🇸 US news
At a glance:
Total confirmed cases at 792,938, 42,518 deaths
New York (252,094 cases & 18,929 deaths), New Jersey (88,806 & 4,377), and Massachusetts (39,643 & 1,809) lead in case numbers
Pennsylvania (33,914 & 1,348), California (33,865 & 1,227), and Michigan (32,000 & 2,468) are next.
Illinois (31,508 & 1,349), Florida (27,058 & 823), and Louisiana (24,523 & 1,328) are the next three. Texas continues to round up the top ten with 19,822 cases and 505 deaths.
Testing total at 4,003,551 (up 137,687 from yesterday)
State and Local News
Some states have announced plans to reopen:
Georgia (19,399 & 775): gyms, hair salons, and some other establishments will be allowed to open this Friday. Movie theaters and restaurants (currently take out only) can reopen for service on April 27. Social distancing is expected at all businesses.
Tennessee (7,238 & 152): stay-at-home order will not be extended past April 30. Some businesses can reopen as early as April 27.
South Carolina (4,439 & 124): beaches can reopen, depending on local government (Myrtle Beach and some others have already announced they won’t reopen). Also, several types of non-essential businesses, like music stores, furniture stores, and florists, are allowed to reopen now.
Los Angeles County Dept. of Health and USC did antibody testing in the county. Preliminary data suggests 28 to 55 times more people were infected than the official tally of ~8,000 cases.
In the Boston area, a third of the 200 samples collected for antibody tests were positive. The samples were collected in Chelsea, next to Boston proper, so a more representative study of the area might be needed here. But, it still signals how wide the infection has (maybe) spread.
South Korea sent Maryland (13,684 & 582) 5,000 coronavirus kits, which can be made into 500,000 tests (the First Lady of Maryland is from South Korea). Maryland has so far done 70,000+ tests total. The Federal Government was questioned about this, and Vice President Pence’s reaction was to pull up a map of testing locations in the state. The Governor of Maryland responds with this tweet:
Trends
Other news
Trump says he will issue an executive order to ban immigration into the country - unclear what that means yet, but it will probably have exemptions for farm workers and healthcare workers. Trump has already banned a lot of travel, though with exemptions for temporary work visas, students, and business travelers.
🌐 International News
🇧🇪Belgium (39,983 cases & 5,828 deaths), one of the worst hit countries (14.5% fatality rate; 500 deaths per million inhabitants, equivalent to ~160,000 deaths in the US), is contemplating how to reopen. DIY and garden shops have been reopened, and most McDonalds in the country have partially reopened (takeout/drive-through only).
🇳🇿New Zealand (1,445 & 13) will delay easing movement restrictions and other measures.
🇮🇩Indonesia (7,135 & 616) has officially bans migrant workers from traveling home for the end of Ramadan. The fear is that mass movement of 264 million people will spread the virus throughout the country. However, due to layoffs, many workers have no choice but to go home.
🇩🇪🍺Oktoberfest 2020 is canceled - are there still events taking place this year?
🇨🇳China is looking to ease boarder controls with other countries, mostly in Asia. South Korea and Singapore have formally agreed to discussions.
Interesting Things
😷👓How do you wear a mask without fogging up your glasses? Some tips: mold your mask, use adhesives to tape the top (breathing should go through the mask, not around it), washing the lenses with soapy water, anti-fogging wipes, etc.
🧑🤝🧑People of the Pandemic: a cooperation game you play with 19 others to simulate how your actions affect the spread of a pandemic.
Quaran-tweet of the Day
This is a work in progress, so please PLEASE let me know at dailycovid19updates@gmail.com if you have any suggestions, and/or see anything that is wrong or missing. You can also tweet me @julienchien
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