(COVID-19)Novel Coronavirus Update
Online John Hopkins CSSE Coronavirus Dashboard
WHO Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) website
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control,
LDH COVID-19 (http://ldh.la.gov/Coronavirus/)
The number of cases worldwide continues to climb. According to health officials, there have been 128,392 confirmed cases of COVID-19. More than 69,600 people have recovered, and 4,728 people have died.
Louisiana Cases
Presumptive Positive Test Results 19 CDC Confirmed Positive Cases 0 Parish of Residence Caddo 1 Lafourche * 1 Jefferson 2 Orleans 15 Deaths 0 (Updated 3/12/2020 4:45 p.m.)
Note: Additionally, patients could be hospitalized or seek medical care in a parish outside of their parish of residence.
Parishes impacted include Caddo, Iberia, Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans and St. Tammany.
To prevent the spread of infection, the Louisiana Department of Health is heavily engaged in priority public health actions. These actions include, but are not limited to:
- working with healthcare facilities with presumptive patients to identify exposed healthcare workers and make appropriate recommendations;
- ensuring all recommended infection control precautions are implemented in the healthcare facilities until we determine that the patient is no longer infectious,
- notifying and monitoring close contacts;
- notifying CDC
* On 3/11, the Department reported a presumptive positive coronavirus result of an Iberia parish resident, based on information provided to the Office of Public Health by the patient’s health care provider. Additional investigation revealed that the patient currently lives in Lafourche Parish, where they are hospitalized. We have updated our reporting to list one presumptive positive case in Lafourche. Through contact tracing, we will continue to gather information about this and all of the current presumptive positive cases, so that we can monitor close contacts to prevent the spread of illness.
The director of the CDC told a U.S. congressional committee that Europe had emerged now as the new “epicenter.” Italy is among the hot spots with more than 12,400 confirmed cases and 827 deaths. France, Spain and Germany all surpassed 2,000 confirmed cases on Thursday. With exponential growth of the virus, European countries rolled out a broad array of restrictions. Belgium on Friday joined the list of nations closing schools. Cafes and restaurants were also ordered to shut their doors at midnight. In Italy, daily life has ground to a halt.
In the United States, Broadway is going dark and Disney parks are shutting their doors for the first time since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Nearly every sport has been affected. Every day for the past week, colleges and universities around the country have made the announcement: in-person classes are cancelled due to fears over the spreading coronavirus. Ohio State. Harvard. University of Virginia. University of Michigan. Duke. These are just some of the more than 100 universities across the country that are moving classes online. Major League Baseball announced Thursday that it is halting spring training games and will delay Opening Day by at least two weeks due to the outbreak of coronavirus. The NCAA announced all its winter and spring championships have been called off after a series of moves across multiple sports leagues that foreshadowed the eventual arrival at this decision. Numerous K-12 schools systems have announce that they will be shutter until the end of the month. Creating child care issues across the country. For today, the U.S. death toll was at 40 early Friday — 31 in Washington and others in California, Florida, Georgia New Jersey and South Dakota. There were more than 1,701 confirmed cases. The only states without reported cases: Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Maine, Montana and West Virginia.
In the U.K., the government has moved from “containing” the coronavirus to “delaying” it. Telling those with a high temperature or cough to self-isolate for a week will have the “biggest impact” in the fight against coronavirus, the UK’s chief science adviser says. Sir Patrick Vallance said the new advice was a “big intervention”, amid criticism of the government’s plan to combat the virus. On Thursday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new measures aimed at protecting the elderly and those most vulnerable to the disease, which included: * Anyone with a “new, continuous” cough or high temperature is advised to self-isolate for seven days. *Testing will only focus on identifying people with the virus in hospital. *Schools being advised to cancel trips abroad. *People over 70 and those with pre-existing health conditions being told not to go on cruises. The PM said suspending major public events such as sporting fixtures was still under consideration, but it would be a measure primarily to protect public services, rather than delay the spread. He also said there was no need to close schools at the moment, saying “the scientific advice is that this could do more harm than good at this time”. There have been 596 confirmed cases across the country, but health officials have said they believe the actual number of people infected could be between 5,000 and 10,000. In total, 10 people have now died in the UK with the virus.
The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) has confirmed at least 815 cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) nationwide, including six fatalities, as of Thursday, March 12. Due to the spread of COVID-19, FOPH classified the situation as “special” according to the Epidemics Act on Friday, February 28. Large scale events of more than 1000 people continue to be banned throughout the country until Sunday, March 15. As of Wednesday, March 11, the Swiss government closed nine border crossings to Italy to control the influx of workers from the country. This includes the border crossings at Pedrinate, Ponte Faloppia, Novazzano Marcetto, San Pitero di Stabio, Ligornetto Cantorn, Arzo, Ponte Cremenaga, Cassinone, and Indemini. A “state of necessity” has also been declared in the worst affected Ticino canton, located at the border with Italy, allowing authorities to implement measures to protect at-risk individuals. Schools, nightclubs, gyms, and ski areas have been closed, while the elderly are discouraged from looking after children and taking public transport. To prevent further spread of the virus, the Swiss government has advised the public to be socially responsible by practicing good personal hygiene, social distancing, and self-quarantining when feeling unwell or after coming into contact with an infected individual.
The Kenyan government announced on Thursday, March 12, that all Kenyan nationals and foreign travelers who have traveled to “high risk areas” for coronavirus (COVID-19) will be required to self-quarantine for at least 14 days due to the outbreak. However, authorities did not specify the countries that will be affected by the latest measures. Individuals entering Kenya will need to undergo mandatory screenings at all points of entry into the country. Separately, the Ministry of Health has temporarily lifted the ban on flights from Italy to Kenya as of Friday, March 6. As a precautionary measure, all international conferences, meetings, and events will be suspended for 30 days from Thursday, March 12. Government officials will also be banned from undertaking non-essential travel out of the country. Authorities have advised the public to remain vigilant as the risk of transmission is still high, and to continue taking precautionary measures such as maintaining good hygiene and to seek treatment when experiencing respiratory symptoms. Individuals that are suspected to be infected with the virus can call the Ministry of Health at 0800721316, 0732353535, or 0729471414. To date, there have been no confirmed cases of the virus in Kenya.
After Wall Street’s worst day since 1987, world markets suffer Friday. Shares plunged in Asia on Friday, with benchmarks in Japan, Thailand and India sinking as much as 10% after Wall Street suffered its biggest drop since the Black Monday crash of 1987. The S&P 500 plummeted 9.5%, for a total drop of 26.7% from its all-time high, set just last month. That puts it way over the 20% threshold for a bear market, officially ending Wall Street’s unprecedented bull-market run of nearly 11 years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 2,352 points, or 10%, its heaviest loss since its nearly 23% drop on Oct. 19, 1987. European markets fell 12% in one of their worst days ever, even after the European Central Bank pledged to buy more bonds and offer more help for the economy.
Due to the ongoing outbreak, CDC recommends that travelers avoid all nonessential travel to the below countries. Entry to the U.S. of foreign nationals from these destinations has been suspended except South Korea. The public health agency has issued the following travel guidance related to COVID-19:
- China (Level 3 Travel Health Notice)
- Iran (Level 3 Travel Health Notice)
- Most of Europe (Level 3 Travel Health Notice)
- South Korea (Level 3 Travel Health Notice)
CDC recommends that older adults or those who have chronic medical conditions consider postponing travel to the following destinations: Global Outbreak Notice (Level 2 Travel Health Notice)
The US State Department also issued an advisory telling Americans to “reconsider travel” to all countries because of the global effects of the coronavirus. It is the department’s second-strongest advisory, behind “do not travel.”
BUREN R. (Ric) MOORE
GOHSEP Intelligence Officer
Louisiana State Analytical & Fusion Exchange (LA-SAFE) Liaison
7667 Independence Blvd.
Baton Rouge, LA 70806
Office: 225.925.3674
Cell: 225.936.0404
Fax: 225.925.7501
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 sucess, but there has to be a guarantee of effort. Let’s make it hard to hurt us. If you see something suspicious, report it.
