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: 138,156 (up from 127,388 yesterday)
- Total Confirmed Deaths Worldwide: 5,080 (up from 4,641 yesterday)
- Total Confirmed Recoveries Worldwide: 70,437 (up from 68,327 yesterday)
- 132 Countries have confirmed cases (up from 125 yesterday) 4 more have suspected cases
- 9% of Active Cases are considered serious (requiring hospitalization), down from 11% yesterday and down from 19% just 2 weeks ago, 3% of patients require ICU
- US has 1,762 Confirmed Cases and 41 Deaths, up from 1,336 cases and 38 confirmed deaths yesterday
- In the US, only Alabama, Alaska, West Virginia and Maine don't have at least 1 case.
Schools Closed in at Least 6 states
- All public schools in Ohio, Michigan, Maryland, Kentucky and New Mexico were told to close beginning next week.
- Schools in Washington, California and New York may join by Monday.
- The length of proposed closure ranges from 1 week to 4 weeks.
- Some schools shifting to at home reading plans, others offering partial lessons via live Video Conference or recorded video lectures.
- "We have 11 Million people, so the math is over 100,00", said Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton.
- The rate of spread and fatality rate prompted her to recommend closing all schools in Ohio by Friday.
- "So that gives you a sense of how this virus spreads and is spreading quickly."
- Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, appeared Thursday to downplay the hype surrounding a congressional doctor's estimate that the U.S. could see 70 million to 150 million coronavirus cases.
- "I think we really need to be careful with those kinds of predictions because that's based on a model," Fauci said to Congress.
- Fauci added that the press tends to report on the higher end of ranges predicted by models. "Remember the model during the Ebola outbreak said you could have as many as a million [cases]. We didn't have a million," he added.
- New York Times obtained footage from anonymous sources inside the US government.
- The disturbing images seem to show mass graves with thousands of bodies wrapped in white burial shrouds.
- So far, no on the ground confirmation in Iran or from Iranian officials, though additional videos from inside Iran would seem to confirm the idea that Iran has been hiding official numbers of infected and dead.
- Some estimates, based on the ratio of Iranian Parliament members who are infected, predict that Iran may have as many as 3 million infected people, which with a Case Fatality Rate of 1% (where many doctors ultimately believe the CFR will end up), that would be 30,000 dead.
- So far, Iran's official Case Fatality Rate - the one they admit to - is about 5%.
- "I have my sister in bed, dead, I don't know what to do," Luca Franzese said in a heartbreaking Facebook video, pleading for help.
- "I cannot give her the honor she deserves because the institutions have abandoned me. I contacted everyone, but nobody was able to give me an answer."
- Italy has the 2nd highest total number of cases after China, with 15,113 Cases as of Friday morning, and over 1,016 dead, however instances like Luca Franzese indicate there may be many more dead among those quarantined at home and not yet counted in official numbers.
- Italy's official Case Fatality Rate is over 8% of confirmed cases have resulted in death, the highest official CFR in the world.
- Perhaps an indicator that "This too shall pass", Apple has reopened all 42 stores across Mainland China.
- China's regional VP for China reports that all stores have been fully disinfected and all employees will be wearing surgical masks and gloves for the time being.
- Across China, more than 75% of local businesses have reopened, in a hopeful sign that quarantines, isolation and social distancing practices can work to slow the disease to the point where hospitals can manage the number of infections.