CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: April 1st

April 01, 2020

WRITER

Glenn gives the latest coronavirus numbers, updating YOU on everything needed to know as Americans and officials monitor China's new COVID-19 virus:

Daily Stats as of 5:30 AM CT (from John's Hopkins)

Total Confirmed Cases Worldwide: 872,891 (up from 799,995 Yesterday)
Total Confirmed Deaths Worldwide: 43,271 (up from 38,735 Yesterday)
Total Confirmed Recovered Worldwide: 184,588 (up from 169,995 Yesterday)
5% of Active Cases are considered serious (requiring hospitalization) Steady from 5% Yesterday, but down from 19% high back in February
Note that 11% of US Confirmed Cases require Hospitalization, roughly on par with Italy at 12% requiring hospitalization
US has 188,592 Confirmed Cases and 4,056 Deaths, up from 164,359 cases and 3,173 deaths yesterday
The United States of America now leads the world in total confirmed cases, with 78,000 more cases than Italy (although Italy leads the world in Deaths with 12,428 officially dead)
US is 24th in Total Confirmed Cases per 1 Million Population, with 507 cases per 1 Million people. Spain has 2,185 Cases per 1 Million.
US is 28th in Total Confirmed Dead per 1 Million Population, with 12 Dead per 1 Million citizens. Italy has 206 Dead per 1 Million.
US has 4,056 Dead vs 7,251 Recovered and 4,576 in Critical Condition
The US Currently has 177,285 Active Cases of COVID-19, with less than 1% of the total US population tested
16% of Americans who have been tested have been diagnosed with COVID-19

US Energy Industry On The Verge of a Massive Collapsehttps://www.foxnews.com/media/rick-perry-us-oil-industry-massive-collapse

Rick Perry issues a dire warning that America's energy industry is about to experience a massive collapse due to low oil prices caused by a huge drop in energy demand.
COVID-19 related slowdowns in airline, car transportation as well as a 45% drop in industrial production in March have dropped the demand for oil to 20-year lows.
Rick Perry recommended that US refineries be restricted from importing and refining any foreign petroleum products for at least 60 days as a means to help domestic energy producers in Texas, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Colorado.
"If independent energy producers go out of business, we're handing the global market for energy back Russia and Saudi Arabia. It will be like 1974 all over again," Perry said.

Bailout Nation: Now The Car Industry Needs a Bailouthttps://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus-hammer-u-auto-sales-143814543.html

Year over Year automobile sales in the US are off as much as 90% compared to the same time in 2019.
Analysts expect April to be worse, with more than 75% of Americans now living under some form of House Arrest or Shelter-in-Place orders.
Autosales is not considered essential work in any state in the US with COVID-19 related restrictions.
Dan Furgeson, Manager of a Ford dealership in Arizona, indicated he may have to lay-off his entire staff of 48 employees. "We hear there are supposed to be government loan programs for small businesses, but that money could be weeks away. I can't make payroll this week," he said, expressing a sentiment that is becoming as epidemic as the virus itself across the US.

Study Indicates Case Mortality Rate May Be Below 1%https://nypost.com/2020/03/31/covid-19-death-rate-lower-than-previously-reported-study/, https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(20)30243-7/fulltext

Medical Journal Lancet published a study that takes into account projected number of cases that are not diagnosed formally and do not require hospitalization.
President Donald Trump had been highly criticized earlier in March for stating he believed the final Case Mortality Rate would be "way below 1%", a number far below the 2.4% out of Wuhan, China.
Final Case Fatality Rate may be as low as 0.66%, still 6-times higher than the seasonal flu, but well below the higher rates seen in Italy, Iran, Spain, China and other hard-hit countries.
So far, the fatality rate in the US is about 2.1%, but expected to go lower as more and more people are tested and diagnosed.
Researchers did warn that the final case mortality rate for each country might be highly-localized and dependent upon hospital capacity and quality of medical care available.

New Study Indicates Iran Has Lost Over 15,000 People to COVID-19, Compared to the 3,000 Officially Reported https://www.breitbart.com/health/2020/03/31/reports-iran-has-lost-17-officials-nearly-15000-people-to-chinese-coronavirus/

A report issued by Saudi Arabia's news service cites internal medical records that list "lung disease", "pneumonia" or "heart failure" as the cause of death on hundreds of people who died in February and March, from just one hospital.
Iran has lost 16 members of Parliament and 2 cabinet members to COVID-19.
The country now joins China as two countries with totalitarian regimes caught blatantly lying about official cases and death statistics related to the Pandemic.
Wuhan China, where the virus originated, has had more than 218,000 cremations so far in 2020, compared to just 32,000 for the same period in 2019, according to a report by RT News.

In Bid to Stay Open, Walmart Issuing Masks, Gloves and Temperature Checks to All Retail Employees Nationwidehttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-walmart-temperature-checks-masks-gloves-guidelines/

As social distancing is proving to slow the spread of COVID-19, Walmart will ask all employees to wear masks and gloves, as well as have temperature taken before all shifts starting April 1st, 2020.
North American President of Retail Operations indicated in a Memo that many employees have requested masks and gloves be provided to them.
More than 18% of Walmart's retail staff missed some time due to illness in March, according to CBS news, citing an anonymous source inside the company. "This is much higher than a normal month," the employee indicated.
The move comes as the CDC and COVID-19 Task Force indicated it may be shifting its stance on the general public wearing masks to help prevent the spread of the virus.

Choir Rehearsal A Telling Story of Coronavirushttps://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/nation/a-choir-decided-to-go-ahead-with-rehearsal-now-dozens/article_0a21d9e7-ce50-57a4-9f37-8a3faf967cba.html

On March 6th, a church choir decided to go ahead with rehearsal. Now dozens of members have COVID-19 and two are dead.
With the coronavirus quickly spreading in Washington state in early March, leaders of the Skagit Valley Chorale debated whether to go ahead with weekly rehearsal.
The virus was already killing people in the Seattle area, about an hour's drive to the south.
But Skagit County hadn't reported any cases, schools and business remained open, and prohibitions on large gatherings had yet to be announced.
Sixty singers showed up. A greeter offered hand sanitizer at the door, and members refrained from the usual hugs and handshakes.
After 2 1/2 hours, the singers parted ways at 9 p.m.
Nearly three weeks later, 45 have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or ill with the symptoms, at least three have been hospitalized, and two are dead.
The outbreak has stunned county health officials, who have concluded that the virus was almost certainly transmitted through the air from one or more people without symptoms.
"That's all we can think of right now," said Polly Dubbel, a county communicable disease and environmental health manager.
In interviews with the Los Angeles Times, eight people who were at the rehearsal said that nobody there was coughing or sneezing or appeared ill.
Experts said the choir outbreak is consistent with a growing body of evidence that the virus can be transmitted through aerosols — particles smaller than 5 micrometers that can float in the air for minutes or longer.
The World Health Organization has downplayed the possibility of transmission in aerosols, stressing that the virus is spread through much larger "respiratory droplets," which are emitted when an infected person coughs or sneezes and quickly falls to a surface.
A study published March 17 in the New England Journal of Medicine found that when the virus was suspended in a mist under laboratory conditions it remained "viable and infectious" for three hours — though researchers have said that time period would probably be no more than a half-hour in most real-world indoor conditions.

RESEARCH

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POLL: Should the Government control the future of AI?

The Washington Post / Contributor | Getty Images

Earlier this week, tech titans, lawmakers, and union leaders met on Capitol Hill to discuss the future of AI regulation. The three-hour meeting boasted an impressive roster of tech leaders including, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and others, along with more than 60 US Senators.

Tech Titans and Senators gathered in the Kennedy Caucus Room.The Washington Post / Contributor | Getty Images

The meeting was closed to the public, so what was exactly discussed is unknown. However, what we do know is that a majority of the CEOs support AI regulation, the most vocal of which is Elon Musk. During the meeting, Musk called AI "a double-edged sword" and strongly pushed for regulation in the interest of public safety.

A majority of the CEOs support AI regulation.

Many other related issues were discussed, including the disruption AI has caused to the job market. As Glenn has discussed on his program, the potential for AI to alter or destroy jobs is very real, and many have already felt the effects. From taxi drivers to Hollywood actors and writers, AI's presence can be felt everywhere and lawmakers are unsure how to respond.

The potential for AI to alter or destroy jobs is very real.

Ultimately, the meeting's conclusion was less than decisive, with several Senators making comments to the tune of "we need more time before we act." The White House is expected to release an executive order regarding AI regulation by the end of the year. But now it's YOUR turn to tell us what YOU think needs to be done!

Should A.I. be regulated?

Can the government be trusted with the power to regulate A.I.?

Can Silicon Valley be trusted to regulate AI?

Should AI development be slowed for safety, despite its potential advantages?

If a job can be done cheaper and better by AI, should it be taken away from a human?

Do you feel that your job is threatened by AI?

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Glenn wrote this essay on September 12, 2001. Are we the same people now?

ED JONES / Contributor | Getty Images

Twenty two years ago today on September 12th, 2001, Glenn wrote an essay called "The Greatest American Generation." These were his visceral thoughts immediately following the 9/11 attacks. This beautiful essay calls upon the American spirit to rise to the occasion to pull us through what was one of the darkest days in our nation's history. He called us to unite around the common vision that unites us as Americans.

Yesterday, Glenn revisited this essay, wondering if we are the same people who could have pulled through that dark hour. Do you still believe the things that he wrote in this essay? Or have we become a people too divided to overcome a tragedy of the magnitude of 9/11? Consider these questions as you read Glenn's essay below, "The Greatest American Generation," published on September 12, 2001.

I've always believed that the greatest American generation is the one that's living, in the here and the now. The question is not if this is the greatest American generation. The question was when were we going to wake up? I remember staying at my grandparents' house in the summer when I was small. Every morning my grandmother would open the attic door and call up, "Kids, time to wake up." For me she'd have to do this a couple of times before I'd lumber out of bed and cross the cold, squeaky wooden floor. But finally, I would. And she'd be there in the kitchen ready with breakfast. My grandfather was already outside in the henhouse because there was work to do. They were hardworking, good and decent people. Seemed to me that they were from not only a different time but a different place. They weren't.

The spirit of our parents and our grandparents isn't from some foreign place. It hasn't died out. It's a flame that flickers in all Americans. It's there and it's ready to blaze to life when we're ready to face the challenges that now lie at our feet. It's what sets us apart. It's what built this country. It's why our borders still teem with the poor and the tired and those yearning to be free, burned with zeal in the hearts of millions of immigrants from every corner of the Earth who came here in search of a better way of life. The flame that Lady Liberty holds is the American spirit which burns deep within all of us, no matter what our race, gender, our religious background. And today the world is watching us. It's really nothing new. It always has.

Since the dawn of man people dreamt of a better life, dreamt of a better way, of freedom. But it was Americans that finally found a way to build it. And out of all that we've built, the powerful machines, the computers, the weapons of mass destruction, hardware and software that we spent millions on every year to protect and keep the plan secret, our biggest seeming secret, the one the world wants most of all, isn't a secret at all. It's something we freely give to the rest of the world. And while it seems self‑evident to us, for some reason it can't be duplicated. Yet it can be passed on from person to person, torch to torch. It's the American spirit.

If you weren't trapped in one of those towers or on a plane or in the Pentagon, then you have great reason to humbly give thanks today, not for our lives but because we're the lucky ones. God hasn't forsaken us. He's awakened us. Standing at the bottom of the stairs, he's gently called out, "Kids, it's time to wake up! We've been given another chance."

Thousands of years ago in Babel, the great civilization in their arrogance built a tower that reached the sky. It crumbled and they were scattered. Our heart and steely symbols of power and wealth may have crumbled, but we have not been scattered. Americans aren't ever going to scatter. Let the world recognize through our actions today that those firefighters in New York are not the exception. They are the rule. Americans don't run from burning buildings. We run into them. It was a beautiful fall morning on the edge of the land created through divine providence. Coffee shops were open. Children were on their buses and people easing into another typical workday when America's greatest generation heard the voice: "Kids, it's time to wake up."

Several times we've ignored the voice. We've drifted back into twilight sleep muttering, "I know, I know, in a minute." But finally we are awake and out of bed, for there is much work to do. The task before us is much more daunting than what our grandparents and parents faced, but we are stronger, a more prepared nation. The torch has been passed. We are the greatest American generation. The American spirit is alive and well. Our flame has not burned out. It had just been dimmed while we were asleep."

Remembering 9/11: A call to unify as Americans

Robert Giroux / Staff | Getty Images

Glenn often harkens back to September 11, 2001, as a pivotal day for the American spirit. When American Airlines Flight 11 hit the South Tower at 8:46 a.m. that sunny September morning in Manhattan, there was no question that September 11 would become one of the most consequential moments in American history. However, in that moment, the outcome of that day was yet to be determined.

How would September 11 be remembered in history textbooks? Would it be the beginning of the end of our Republic? Many thought so and for just reason. Our country was under attack. Planes hijacked by our enemy were headed towards the buildings that represented the institutions that comprise the fabric of our republic. If there was any day that called into question our nation's future, it was September 11.

New York City firefighters and a photojournalist work at Ground Zero after two hijacked planes crashed into the Twin TowersRon Agam / Stringer | Getty Images

But the American spirit had a different narrative in mind. Instead of caving to the narrative that the hijackers attempted to write, the American people rose to the occasion that duty beckoned. As Glenn wrote in an essay the day after the September 11 attacks, "Americans don't run from burning buildings. We run into them." And we did. Many remained there as their final burial place.

The American people rose to the occasion that duty beckoned.

As New York Governor Pataki remarked, "On that terrible day, a nation became neighbors." We weren't Democrats. We weren't Republicans. On that day, we were Americans. We chose to write a different narrative in the history books following 9/11, one of resilience, bravery, brotherhood, and the triumph of the American spirit.

As Glenn so poignantly wrote on September 12th:

The spirit of our parents and our grandparents isn't from some foreign place. It hasn't died out. It's a flame that flickers in all Americans.

And that flickering light turned into a roaring fire on that pivotal day, one that not even the fires in the World Trade Centers, the Pentagon, or the empty field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania could consume.

We chose to write a different narrative in the history books following 9/11, one of resilience, bravery, brotherhood, and the triumph of the American spirit.

But can we say the same about the American people today? Do we still carry the flickering flame of the American spirit that has been passed down to us from generations past? As Glenn reflected today, 22 years after penning those words, he isn't so sure. And I'm not either.

A candlelight vigil for the victims of the World Trade Center terrorist attack is held at Union Square in New York City.Evan Agostini / Contributor | Getty Images

The same American spirit that we relied upon to pull us through September 11 seems to be a waning flame in a torch that few are clinging to. We are increasingly losing sight of what it means to be an American. Common principles that we traditionally shared across party lines are now being vehemently contested, both by the ruling class and in the public square. This is not the same America that triumphed over September 11.

We are increasingly losing sight of what it means to be an American.

This raises the troubling question: Could we endure another attack of a similar magnitude? Would the triumph of the American spirit dictate the narrative of that day, or would a foreign enemy steal the pen from liberty's fingers? These are the tough questions we must wrestle with in our pivotal moment as a nation.

But these questions aren't devoid of hope. There is still time to recall those timeless principles that transcended party lines on September 11 and united us as Americans. There is still time to nurse the waning flame for those who are committed to holding liberty's torch. There is still time to view our political opponents as, in the words of Pataki, "neighbors," whose livelihood and future depend on the survival of our great nation.

There is still time to recall those timeless principles that transcended party lines on September 11.

But that window is short. We must strive towards unity now if our nation hopes to, as Lincoln said in his own time of division, "endure."

As Glenn wrote in that essay on September 12, 2001, we must be, "awake and out of bed, for there is much work to do. [...] Our flame has not burned out. It had just been dimmed while we were asleep."

Acouple cary the American flag down a lower-Manhattan street a week after the September 11 attacksRichard Baker / Contributor | Getty Images

Flames cannot flicker forever. If they are not nursed, they will flicker out, leaving darkness in its wake. It's time to wake up. We must be attentive and awake, nursing the remnant of liberty's flame until it is blazing like it did 22 years ago today. We cannot let it die on our watch. Too many people have sacrificed too much for us to drop the torch.

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