COVID-19)Novel Coronavirus Update 120800APR20
Online John Hopkins CSSE Coronavirus Dashboard
WHO Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) website
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Novel coronavirus in China page
The number of cases worldwide continues to climb. According to health officials, there have been 1,783,941 confirmed cases of COVID-19. More than 404,236 people have recovered, and 109,312 people have died.
LOUISIANA
Please go to http://ldh.la.gov/Coronavirus/ for official information on Positive Test Results and locations. It is updated 12 noon daily. LDH officials’ latest report: As of last report all Parishes have reported (64 of 64) cases with state totaling 20,014 cases of COVID-19 and 806 deaths across the state.
2,067 Reported COVID-19 Patients in Hospitals; 470 of those on ventilators
5,326 Tests Completed by State Lab; 91,589 Commercial Tests Completed
SEE ATTACHED SPREADSHEET FOR LATEST PARISH INFO UPDATE WILL BE AT NOON TODAY
NATIONAL
The United States on Saturday surpassed Italy in the total number of confirmed deaths from the coronavirus, reaching its deadliest day on Friday with 2,057 deaths. As of Saturday afternoon, the total stood at 20,229 with over 530,000 cases. The country’s death toll, which has more than doubled over the past week, is now increasing by nearly 2,000 most days. As President Trump grapples simultaneously with the most devastating public health and economic crises of a lifetime, he finds himself pulled in opposite directions. Bankers, corporate executives and industrialists are pleading with him to reopen the country as soon as possible, while medical experts beg for more time to curb the coronavirus. Tens of thousands more people could die. Millions more could lose their jobs. Trump said the decision on whether to reopen the country is the “toughest” he has ever faced, but he intends to make it “fairly soon” with input from political, business and medical leaders. “It’s going to be based on a lot of facts and on instinct also,” Mr. Trump said. “Whether we like it or not, there is a certain instinct to it. But we have to get our country back. People want to get back. They want to get back to work.” But the decision on when and how to reopen is not entirely his. The stay-at-home edicts keeping most Americans indoors were issued by governors state by state.
TEXAS – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he plans to sign an executive order next week outlining guidelines for how businesses in the state can start to reopen after being shut down over coronavirus. “Next week I will be providing an executive order talking about what will be done in Texas about reopening Texas businesses,” Abbott said during a news conference, saying it will be done “in a way that will be safe for that economic revitalization.” In the Houston-area coronavirus the number of cases climbed to 5,283 with 81 deaths, with 890 recoveries. Thus far, officials said the healthcare system has remained within capacity. Officials created the pop-up medical shelter at NRG Park to serve as a back-up if the hospitals’ surge capacity is exceeded.
The U.S. State Department has issued a “Do Not Travel” health advisory. The Department of State advises U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19. In countries where commercial departure options remain available, U.S. citizens who live in the United States should arrange for immediate return to the United States, unless they are prepared to remain abroad for an indefinite period. U.S. citizens who live abroad should avoid all international travel.
INTERNATIONAL
In the U.K, Boris Johnson has said he owes his life to the NHS staff treating him for coronavirus. In a statement released by No 10, the prime minister, 55, thanked medics at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, where he continues to recover after spending three nights in intensive care. It comes as UK deaths from the virus are expected to pass 10,000 on Sunday. On Saturday, the UK recorded 917 new coronavirus deaths, taking total hospital deaths to 9,875. Ministers are continuing to urge people to stay at home over the Easter weekend to curb the spread of the virus, despite warm and sunny weather across parts of the UK. While there are positive signs that the rate of infection is slowing, driven down by social distancing. But the numbers dying every day may increase still further because some people who caught the virus three or four weeks ago may not survive intensive care now. The scientists advising the government have long warned of this lag between measures to keep the public at home and a reduction in the daily death toll. The expectation is that on current trends there will be a peak, perhaps in a week or two, though no-one can predict how long it’ll take after that for the losses to fall to low levels. 79,885 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in the UK.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman announced that the kingdom’s ongoing curfew will be extended until further notice due to the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Authorities had earlier placed the country under a 21-day nationwide curfew on Monday, March 23, from 19:00 to 06:00 (local time). Current COVID-19 containment measures will remain in effect. The ban on movement into and out of Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, and Medina continues and travel between all 13 provinces is prohibited. An indefinite suspension of international passenger flights is in place, as well as a temporary suspension of domestic flights, public buses, and some taxi and train service. Only businesses providing vital food, health, or utility services will remain operational. Malls, restaurants, coffee shops, and public parks are also closed. Meanwhile, a complete lockdown remains in place in six districts of Medina as of Friday, April 10. Measures have been imposed on ash-Shuraybat, Qurban, al-Jumuah, Banidhafar, some areas of al-Iskan, and Bani Khidrah. All movement is restricted in those areas, and residents are prohibited from circulating outside their homes. Delivery services will remain operational to provide basic necessities. A 24-hour curfew is in effect for the cities of Riyadh, Tabuk, Dammam, Dharan, Hofuf, Mecca, and Medina, as well as the provinces of Jeddah, Taif, Qatif, and Khobar. During the curfew, only vital workers will be allowed to enter or exit the affected areas. Residents may only leave their homes for medical needs or food between the hours of 06:00 and 15:00 (local time). To date, there have been more than 4033 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the kingdom, with 52 associated deaths.
In India, on Saturday, April 11, Delhi state Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal claimed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to extend the nationwide coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown past Tuesday, April 14, the date on which the lockdown is slated to expire. The federal government did not immediately confirm Modi’s alleged decision, reporting only that it was still considering states’ proposals vis-à-vis the national lockdown, most of which request a two-week extension of the lockdown measures. It was not immediately reported when a final decision to extend the national lockdown measures would be announced. Earlier, on Thursday, April 9, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced that the ongoing lockdown in Odisha state, initially scheduled to last until Tuesday, April 14, would be extended until Thursday, April 30, to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the region. The measure was enacted as the country awaits an extension of the ongoing suspension of rail and air traffic by the central government, as well as the 21-day national lockdown, which came into effect on Tuesday, March 24. Only essential services remain operational; all shops, offices, markets, and places of worship are closed and interstate bus and train services are suspended. A ban on international commercial passenger flights is also ongoing until at least Tuesday, April 14. Cargo operations and flights with prior approval are exempt from the restrictions. Separately, on Wednesday, April 8, New Delhi, Mumbai, and the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha made the use of face masks mandatory in public spaces. Authorities announced on Wednesday, April 8, that 15 districts of Uttar Pradesh state, which are believed to be hotspots of COVID-19 transmission, would remain under lockdown orders until at least Wednesday, April 15. During this period, food and medicine supplies will be delivered as shops and markets have been ordered to close. All residents of the districts under lockdown are asked to remain at home at all times, except for health department officials and those involved in the making or delivery of essential supplies. The following districts are under lockdown: Sitapur, Maharajganj, Basti, Bareilly, Bulandhshahr, Firozabad, Saharanpur, Shamli, Varanasi, Kanpur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida). As of April 11, over 8500 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in India, including 288 deaths.
In Australia with physical distancing in full swing and authorities applauding Australians for mostly staying at home, returning travelers loom as a major coronavirus threat. Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said Australia was “in a good place” but could not afford to relax social-distancing measures now, with community transmission capable of spreading the virus rapidly. “We have had a continual reduction in the number of new cases each day,” he said. “There is no place in the world I would rather be than Australia at the moment. “Having said that, as my colleagues have been saying for the past few days, we cannot become complacent. We still have some community transmission … which [does] mean that there are people in the community that are transmitting this virus.” Professor Murphy said the “biggest risk” to Australia in coming days and weeks was returning travelers. On arrival in Australia, they have to spend a mandatory two weeks in quarantine. “Two thirds of our cases in Australia are returned travelers or tourists, mostly around citizens coming back,” he said. While more than 100 Australians from the coronavirus-stricken Greg Mortimer cruise ship touched down in Melbourne on Sunday morning. Australians are currently banned from travelling overseas and the borders are closed to non-residents, but they are open for those Australians overseas who can find their way home. Australia has 0ver 6300 cases with 59 associated deaths.
BUREN R. (Ric) MOORE, SGM (R)
GOHSEP Intelligence Officer
Louisiana State Analytical & Fusion Exchange (LA-SAFE) Liaison
Office: 225.925.3674
Cell: 225.936.0404
In the case of terrorism, to wait for an indication of crime before investigating it is to wait too long. There is no guarantee of success, but there has to be a guarantee of effort. Let’s make it hard to hurt us. If you see something suspicious, report it.
