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: 341,632 (up from 252,014 Friday)
- Total Confirmed Deaths Worldwide: 14,749 (up from 10,405 Friday)
- Total Confirmed Recovered Worldwide: 99,041 (up from 89,044 Friday)
- Total Confirmed Recovered Worldwide: 89,044 (up from 85,823 yesterday)
- 192 Countries have confirmed cases (up from 182 Friday) Only 2 Countries: the Marshall Islands and St Kitts do not have confirmed cases
- 5% of Active Cases are considered serious (requiring hospitalization) steady from 5% Friday but down from 19% in February
- US has 35,070 Confirmed Cases and 458 Deaths, up from 14,365 cases and 217 deaths Friday
Over 1 Billion People Shelter In Placehttps://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3076295/coronavirus-nearly-one-billion-people-are-confined
- More than a billion people remained indoors in India for 14-hour curfew as Singapore banned all short-term visitors.
- Nearly one billion people around the world were confined to their homes on Sunday, as US states implemented stay-at-home orders similar to those in Europe.
- India started a 14-hour curfew on Sunday, expected to be extended by authorities Monday.
- Singapore banned all short-term visitors from the Country through April.
- The measures came as deaths from the global coronavirus pandemic surged to more than 14,700.
- More than one-third of Americans were adjusting to life in various phases of lockdown – including in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, three of the country's most populous cities – with more states expected to ramp up restrictions.
- Italy reported a one-day record number of deaths – nearly 800, with the country's overall toll shooting past 5,500 with more than 59,000 cases confirmed.
US Planting Season Here: Worker Shortagehttps://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/agricultural-industry-claims-pandemic-immigration-restrictions-could-hurt-food-supply
- The farming industry is warning that immigrant visa restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic could mean a loss in farm labor sharp enough to hurt its ability to get many items to grocery store shelves.
- "If the current policy holds, we will have some very serious shortages of labor," said David Puglia, president of the Western Growers Association.
- Puglia said that the severity of the shortages would depend on the region and the commodity.
- Asked if the labor problem could result in shortages on grocery store shelves, Puglia replied, "That's possible." He explained, "It would be very difficult at this late stage to close all of those labor gaps because this is all happening unplanned. We can't flip things around that quickly."
- Crops that rely heavily on human-labor input include strawberries, blueberries, almonds, onions, beans, peas, melons, and tomatoes.
- A Respiratory Therapist describes terrifying Lung Failure From COVID-19 — Even in His Young Patients
- "It first struck me how different it was when I saw my first coronavirus patient go bad. I was like, Holy s%$#, this is not the flu! Watching this relatively young guy, gasping for air, pink frothy secretions coming out of his tube," said the therapist, on the condition of anonymity because he's not authorized by his Hospital to speak on such matters.
- "Reading about it in the news, I knew it was going to be bad, but we deal with the flu every year so I was thinking: Well, it's probably not that much worse...But seeing patients with COVID-19 completely changed my perspective, and it's a lot more frightening," he said.
- "It's causing acute respiratory distress syndrome, ARDS. That means the lungs are filled with fluid. And it's notable for the way the X-ray looks: The entire lung is basically whited out from fluid."
- Patients with ARDS are extremely difficult to oxygenate. It has a really high mortality rate, about 40%. The way to manage it is to put a patient on a ventilator. The additional pressure helps the oxygen go into the bloodstream," he said.
- "Normally, ARDS is something that happens over time as the lungs get more and more inflamed. But with this virus, it seems like it happens overnight. I've never seen anything like this."
Trump Activates National Guard Across 3 Stateshttps://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/22/trump-activates-national-guard-in-california-new-york-and-washington-state-to-fight-coronavirus-outbreak.html
- President Donald Trump on Sunday announced that he has activated the National Guard in California, New York and Washington state in order to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
- "This is a War, we'll treat it like a War," the President said.
- The administration emphasized that the deployment of guard members does not constitute martial law.
- The state governors will retain command of the National Guard, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency will cover all costs of the missions to respond to the virus outbreak, the president said.
- The White House said more than 1,110 troops would be deployed to start, with more to follow as needed.
US Senate In Turmoil As Rand Paul Tests Positive for COVID-19https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/488943-rand-pauls-coronavirus-diagnosis-sends-shockwaves-through-senate
- Republican Absenteeism expected to disrupt Senate Balance of Power.
- Paul is the first known case of a senator contracting the disease and set off a domino effect throughout the chamber as colleagues tried to recall the last time they were in close contact with Paul, who was in the Capitol complex as recently as Sunday.
- Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) told reporters on Sunday afternoon that senators would have to weigh whether they would need to self-quarantine. He later announced he would.
- He was preceded by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who became the first senator to announce he would self-quarantine because of Paul.
- "Upon learning that my colleague Sen. Paul tested positive for COVID-19, I consulted the Attending Physician of the U.S. Congress Dr. Harding," Lee said in a statement. "Given the timing, proximity, and duration of my exposure to Sen. Paul, she directed me to self-quarantine for 14 days."
- They join a handful of their colleagues who have had to isolate after being exposed to someone who tested positive for the coronavirus. Sens. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) are already self-quarantined for exposure unrelated to Paul. Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) had also self-quarantined for unrelated cases but are out of isolation.
- With five GOP senators in quarantine, the margin in the Senate is temporarily 48 Republicans and 47 Democrats.
Senate Democrats Block COVID-19 Stimulus & Relief Planhttps://nypost.com/2020/03/22/proposed-trillion-dollar-coronavirus-stimulus-bill-blocked-by-senate-democrats/
- The trillion-dollar coronavirus stimulus package that would help offset the devastating economic effects of the virus hit a roadblock Sunday night as Democrats blocked a procedural vote on the measure.
- The procedural vote was deadlocked at 47, with five Republicans not in the chamber, including Sen. Rand Paul, who announced Sunday that he has the virus.
- Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had said that the bill — which has grown to as much as $1.8 trillion — includes direct-deposit checks to Americans and expanded unemployment benefits.
- Democrats want more money guaranteed toward child care, expanded funding for women's health care and more of the aid package guaranteed to go toward hospitals and health care workers. "As Republicans have written this, it's a blank check for Trump and Mnuchin," Senator Chuck Schumer said.
Acts of Kindness Aboundhttps://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus-acts-kindness-abound-us-182309839.html
- From grocery shopping for the elderly to delivering meals or offering free classes online, acts of kindness during the coronavirus pandemic are providing uplifting moments of joy in a United States beset by anxiety.
- In California, the most populous state in the nation and one of the hardest hit by the virus, thousands are using internet apps to offer their services to neighbors in need.
- In San Diego, for example, a Facebook group created to coordinate volunteer efforts -- San Diego Community Volunteers -- said it has seen a huge uptick in the number of people offering to help, going from 50 members to 400 in a matter of days.
- Elsewhere, the popular restaurant chain Puesto, which was forced to shut down because of the virus, gave away some 500 free care packages this week. "We will come back strong with tacos for everyone," the restaurant said in an Instagram post after announcing it was shutting down.
- Supermarkets across the country have also reached out to help seniors, putting in place special hours for people 65 and over to ensure they avoid crowds.
- The supermarket chain Raley's, based in northern California, said that as of March 21, it was starting a special program offering a pre-selected bag of groceries at a reduced price for seniors and people in need.
- In Walnut Creek, near San Francisco, where residents have been ordered to stay home, a dentist is offering free emergency dental services to ease the congestion at hospital emergency rooms.
- In the small town of Coos Bay, also in Oregon, coffee shop owner John Beane is hosting virtual story-times for kids after shutting down his cafe. "We come from the theatre and stories which are always a part of the shop," Beane, the owner of So It Goes Coffeehouse, told AFP. "Some of the very best parts of our work are the brilliant and curious children that we see every day."
- In Washington state, the city of Seattle -- the country's coronavirus Ground Zero -- music venues are trying to soothe fears over the pandemic by broadcasting live virtual concerts.
Relying on Amazon Prime for Food & Essentials? Houston, We May Have a Problemhttps://www.vox.com/recode/2020/3/22/21190372/amazon-prime-delivery-delays-april-21-coronavirus-covid-19
·Amazon had announced earlier this week that it would start prioritizing the most in-demand essential items in its warehouses, as the e-commerce giant struggles to keep up with customer demand during the Covid-19 pandemic.
·On Sunday, customers and Amazon merchants posted on social media platforms saying certain non-essential items were showing April 21 delivery dates, even though they were listed as in-stock and shipping with Amazon's Prime express shipping service.
·During normal times, Amazon Prime deliveries typically arrive in one or two days in the US.
·Now, some Prime deliveries for in-stock items are showing five-day delivery promises on the lower end, but those waits are as long as a month on some items, including household goods such as groceries.
·An Amazon spokesperson confirmed on Sunday evening that the new April 21 delivery dates are not the result of a technical bug or error; they accurately reflect Amazon's current reality.
·"To serve our customers in need while also helping to ensure the safety of our associates, we've changed our logistics, transportation, supply chain, purchasing, and third-party seller processes to prioritize stocking and delivering items that are a higher priority for our customers," the spokesperson said in a statement. "This has resulted in some of our delivery promises being longer than usual."
·The significant delivery delays showcase just how much shoppers are turning to online shopping during the global health crisis, and how even an online retailer as technologically-advanced and powerful as Amazon can only do so much to handle such an unexpected, once-in-a-generation shopping rush.
·Amazon recently noted it planned on hiring as many as 100,000 new employees to help deal with ongoing demand but indicated new hires could take weeks or months to come online to relieve delays.