COVID-19)Novel Coronavirus Update 040800APR20
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 1,120,752 confirmed cases of COVID-19. More than 227,019 people have recovered, and 58,982 people have died. The coronavirus pandemic is currently affecting 204 countries and territories around the world. On Friday nearly 4 billion people on the planet — half of humanity — found themselves under some sort of order to stay in their homes.
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 there are 61 of 64 parishes reporting with 10,297 cases of COVID-19 and 370 deaths across the state. SEE END OF REPORT FOR PARISH INFO.
1,707 Reported COVID-19 Patients in Hospitals; 535 of those on ventilators
4,037 Tests Completed by State Lab AND 49,608 Commercial Tests Completed and Reported to State
Parish Under Investigation – 40 case(s) | 4 death(s) | 0 state tests | 0 commercial tests
NATIONAL
The United States reported on Friday more than 30,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in a day for the first time, bringing the American total to more than 278,458 and the death toll to over 7,000. The tens of thousands of new American cases came as President Trump announced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that everyone wear a simple, cloth face covering while out in public. Trump said the recommendation was “voluntary” and that he is choosing not to do it, but that “it may be good.” The New York metropolitan area has become the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. But growth in cases and deaths also continues in other parts of the United States, including large metros like New Orleans and Detroit, and some smaller ones like Albany, Ga., where a large funeral apparently seeded many cases. If current patterns hold, several communities are on track to have epidemics as serious as New York’s. While significant coronavirus outbreaks at three federal prisons have prompted Attorney General William P. Barr to order the release of vulnerable inmates to home confinement, according to a memorandum. Ending on a positive note, the coronavirus and the resulting shutdowns are brutal on the hotel industry — but in New York City, at least 20 hotels have signed contracts with the city to convert their rooms into hospital space, creating another 39,000 beds for patients who need care but not intensive care: Dr. Mitchell Katz, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals, said Wednesday that the city’s current state of emergency has allowed officials to fast-track contracts with hotels. Workers will move into convert floors of rooms into hospital wings, build out nursing stations, and outfit rooms to house patients who are in need of medical care.
“We are in disaster mode so that contracts can be quickly signed. When it’s operational, patients who don’t need to be incubated, who are recovering but not well enough to leave the hospital, will be sent to hotels,” Katz said. The city pays the hotels and FEMA reimburses the city; this might help keep these hotels afloat at a time when there are no tourists.
Several nursing home facilities and senior living centers across the nation are reporting a rise in coronavirus cases and unfortunately even casualties. With elderly people being more susceptible to becoming critically ill from coronavirus, this is a concerning phenomenon.
The CDC urges residents of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to refrain from non-essential domestic travel for 14 days effective immediately. This Domestic Travel Advisory does not apply to employees of critical infrastructure industries, including but not limited to trucking, public health professionals, financial services, and food supply. These employees of critical infrastructure, as defined by the Department of Homeland Security (https://www.cisa.gov/publication/guidance-essential-critical-infrastructure-workforceexternal icon) have a special responsibility to maintain normal work schedule. The Governors of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut will have full discretion to implement this Domestic Travel Advisory.
The US 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.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/
| USA State |
Total Cases |
New Cases |
Total Deaths |
New Deaths |
Active Cases |
| New York | 103,476 | 3,218 | 91,372 | ||
| New Jersey | 29,895 | 646 | 29,249 | ||
| Michigan | 12,744 | 479 | 12,260 | ||
| California | 12,581 | +314 | 285 | +10 | 11,446 |
| Massachusetts | 10,402 | 192 | 10,200 | ||
| Louisiana | 10,297 | 370 | 9,907 | ||
| Florida | 10,268 | 170 | 10,098 | ||
| Illinois | 8,904 | 210 | 8,692 | ||
| Pennsylvania | 8,420 | 102 | 8,280 | ||
| Washington | 6,966 | 291 | 6,112 | ||
| Georgia | 5,967 | 198 | 5,769 | ||
| Texas | 5,658 | 97 | 5,311 |
INTERNATIONAL
In Italy, four weeks into a nationwide lockdown, very few Italians are still singing from their balconies or banging pots and pans in solidarity. Instead, flags were lowered to half-staff this week for the nearly 15,000 coronavirus victims including doctors, nurses and health care professionals who have perished since February 23. The lockdown, which was originally scheduled to end Friday, April 3, has now been extended to beyond Easter, and Italians from north to south are nearing a breaking point just as the draconian measures have begun to show signs of stopping the spread of Covid-19. Italy’s wealthy northern provinces have taken the brunt of the coronavirus outbreak with more than 75% of overall cases and deaths north of Tuscany, in the center of the country, per the Italian Civil Protection agency. More than 10,000 health care workers in the northern provinces have been infected with the virus, according to the Italian Doctor’s Federation, as a lack of proper protective gear made contagion inside healthcare facilities a contributor to the rampant spread. Some of the best health structures in all of Europe are in northern Italy, but they were pushed to near collapse with the sheer number of Covid-19 patients in need of urgent care. But the southern regions are struggling, too. The so-called “mezzogiorno” is where organized crime syndicate hubs are based and where unemployment hovers around 20% for adults and up to 50% for those under 24 during the best of times, according to figures from the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT). Even with the outbreak in some southern communities affecting “only” a few thousand, the facilities are stretched and care for non-Covid patients has been severely compromised. Almost every grocery store in Italy now has a cart at the front where people who can still afford groceries are encouraged to donate items for those who cannot. In apartment blocks across the country, there are continuous reports of care packages deposited in front of the doors of people who have lost their jobs by neighbors and police officers. One law enforcement official in Palermo donated his entire monthly salary, around $2,100, to buy groceries for everyone at a grocery store he was in last week, Palermo police confirmed. Italy has 119,199 cases with 14,681 associated deaths as of this morning.
In Spain, the spread of the novel coronavirus in Spain has shown signs of slowing over the past week. The number of new infections is on a decline, while its daily death toll has also fell, Spain’s health ministry confirmed. The ministry reported 7,472 new infections on Friday morning, which was a 6.8 percent increase in cases, the smallest jump reported since the outbreak began. The figure followed Thursday’s record low increase of 7.9 percent, according to Spain’s Ministry of Health. More than 30,500 people in Spain have recovered from infection to date, but it has the third highest number of confirmed cases in the world (119,199 cases). It also has the world’s second highest death toll (11,198 fatalities), according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University. Spain’s death count increased by 932 in 24 hours, falling from Thursday when the country reported 950 new deaths, according to Reuters.
The United Kingdom has opened its first emergency coronavirus-treatment hospital after a quickfire nine days of construction that Prince Charles hailed as proving how “the impossible could be made possible.” The temporary National Health Service Nightingale hospital in London, located at an expo center, is beginning operations Friday with 500 beds outfitted with oxygen tanks and ventilators, according to the BBC. The nearly one million square feet of space there has room for another 3,500 beds, and when fully complete, the facility will be able to treat up to 4,000 patients. “An example, if ever one was needed, of how the impossible could be made possible and how we can achieve the unthinkable through human will and ingenuity,” Prince Charles, who announced its opening Friday, said via video link from his Scottish home of Birkhall. “To convert one of the largest national conference centers into a field hospital, starting with 500 beds with a potential of 4,000, is quite frankly incredible,” he added. The facility was built by hundreds of NHS staff, contractors and soldiers from the British Army, the BBC reports. Patients will only be assigned there once their local London hospital has reached capacity, the NHS says. There had been 38,690 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK, with 3,605 deaths in total. A total of 135 individuals have officially recovered from Covid-19.
In India, one of Asia’s biggest slums has confirmed its first coronavirus death as top Indian doctors warn that the country must prepare to face an “onslaught” of cases that could cripple the health system to levels far beyond what Europe and the United States are experiencing. A 56-year-old man died due to Covid-19-related illness in Dharavi slum, in the Indian financial capital of Mumbai on Wednesday. The patient, who had no travel history, died hours just after testing positive for coronavirus while being transferred to a local hospital, Kiran Dighavkar, explained an official with Mumbai’s Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Several of the man’s family members have been tested and placed under home quarantine, and the block of 300 homes and 90 shops that make up his densely packed neighborhood have been sealed off to prevent further infections. Home to around 1 million people, Dharavi slum has a population density almost 30 times greater than New York — about 280,000 people per square kilometer. Doctors say the situation would be unmanageable if a sustained coronavirus outbreak spread rapidly through one of India’s many slums, where there is little sanitation or running water and thousands of people live cheek by jowl — making social distancing physically and economically impossible. Dr. Naresh Trehan, chairman and managing director of the Medanta-the Medicity hospital in Gurugram, near New Delhi, said it was vital that authorities know whether a slum has an outbreak. “Once we know that one slum has got it, and we lock it down, and we feed everybody and we keep them isolated for the next two weeks, we keep them well fed, it will work its way out. We will know the critical ones, and the ones who are mild, they can be quarantined at home, and the population at large can be monitored,” Trehan said. It comes as cases in India nearly doubled in four days, with many of the new infections linked to a religious gathering in the capital New Delhi. India has identified 154 attendees from the Tableegi Jamat gathering who have tested positive cases across the country, said Luv Agarwal, senior official with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. India reported more than 230 new cases on Friday — bringing the national total to 3082 and 86 deaths. Doctors in the country explained that India needed to prepare for a large-scale community transmission and it was essential that the public abide by the 21-day national lockdown that was imposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week. “We are already seeing evidence of it (community transmission). How widespread it is, we don’t know,” said Trehan.
In Australia, the government will punish people convicted of illegally exporting masks, hand sanitizer or other personal protective equipment with hefty fines, under newly invoked biosecurity laws. Home Minister Peter Dutton’s office said in a statement Wednesday that the fines were one of several new emergency measures being adopted by the government to keep dwindling medical supplies inside the country as doctors attempt to contain the spread of the coronavirus. To date, more than 5,550 people in Australia, including Dutton himself, have contracted the virus. Under the new measures, authorities have amended customs regulations to “stop exploitative exports of essential goods,” and to ensure that all surrendered medical supplies are redistributed to the national stockpile. Violating the customs law is punishable by a fine of up to 210,000 Australian dollars ($128,275), while those found guilty of violating the Biosecurity Act could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to 63,000 Australian dollars ($38,480), Dutton’s office said. “These measures have become necessary because we have seen a small number of individuals engaging in the bulk purchasing of essential goods from retail outlets in Australia, with the intent of profiteering from exploitative exporting and price gouging,” the statement read. Like many countries around the world, Australia is currently dealing with a shortage of equipment needed to protect medical workers treating patients who have contracted the novel coronavirus. “We’ve taken the steps to protect Australia’s interest, to stop unauthorized, inappropriate exporting of those things that we rely upon for our health care and so on at present,” trade minister Simon Birmingham said in an interview with Australia’s ABC News yesterday.
Other countries like the United States and South Korea have enacted similar measures or are considering them.
CDC recommends that travelers avoid all nonessential travel to the following destinations. Most foreign nationals who have been in one of these countries during the previous 14 days will not be allowed to enter the United States.
- China
- Iran
- Most European Countries
- United Kingdom and Ireland
- CDC recommends that travelers avoid all nonessential travel to all global destinations: Global Pandemic 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)
Louisiana Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information 031200APR20
10,297 Cases Reported*
370 Deaths Reported
1,707 Reported COVID-19 Patients in Hospitals; 535 of those on ventilators
4,037 Tests Completed by State Lab AND 49,608 Commercial Tests Completed and Reported to State**
61 of 64 Parishes with Reported Cases
Parish Under Investigation – 40 case(s) | 4 death(s) | 0 state tests | 0 commercial tests
Orleans – 3,476 case(s) | 148 death(s) | 1,692 state tests | 12,193 commercial tests
Jefferson – 2,495 case(s) | 85 death(s) | 616 state tests | 2,478 commercial tests
St. Tammany – 435 case(s) | 10 death(s) | 155 state tests | 1,934 commercial tests
East Baton Rouge – 389 case(s) | 13 death(s) | 312 state tests | 3,382 commercial tests
Caddo – 377 case(s) | 10 death(s) | 126 state tests | 9,920 commercial tests
St. John the Baptist – 290 case(s) | 17 death(s) | 4 state tests | 102 commercial tests
Lafayette – 276 case(s) | 2 death(s) | 82 state tests | 5,054 commercial tests
Ascension – 222 case(s) | 7 death(s) | 27 state tests | 1,254 commercial tests
St. Charles – 210 case(s) | 11 death(s) | 1 state tests | 76 commercial tests
St. Bernard – 196 case(s) | 7 death(s) | 5 state tests | 196 commercial tests
Lafourche – 185 case(s) | 3 death(s) | 155 state tests | 801 commercial tests
Calcasieu – 119 case(s) | 1 death(s) | 82 state tests | 2,165 commercial tests
St. James – 116 case(s) | 4 death(s) | 72 state tests | 159 commercial tests
Ouachita – 114 case(s) | 1 death(s) | 123 state tests | 1,607 commercial tests
Terrebonne – 102 case(s) | 2 death(s) | 71 state tests | 374 commercial tests
Bossier – 95 case(s) | 2 death(s) | 28 state tests | 1,332 commercial tests
Iberville – 81 case(s) | 5 death(s) | 2 state tests | 143 commercial tests
Rapides – 81 case(s) | 4 death(s) | 71 state tests | 883 commercial tests
Iberia – 78 case(s) | 3 death(s) | 87 state tests | 194 commercial tests
Plaquemines – 75 case(s) | 4 death(s) | 2 state tests | 40 commercial tests
Acadia – 72 case(s) | 1 death(s) | 5 state tests | 172 commercial tests
St. Martin – 69 case(s) | 3 death(s) | 1 state tests | 101 commercial tests
St. Landry – 68 case(s) | 2 death(s) | 21 state tests | 265 commercial tests
Washington – 57 case(s) | 2 death(s) | 51 state tests | 194 commercial tests
Tangipahoa – 55 case(s) | 1 death(s) | 6 state tests | 509 commercial tests
St. Mary – 47 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 7 state tests | 187 commercial tests
De Soto – 46 case(s) | 2 death(s) | 7 state tests | 45 commercial tests
Livingston – 40 case(s) | 1 death(s) | 1 state tests | 159 commercial tests
Avoyelles – 37 case(s) | 1 death(s) | 1 state tests | 47 commercial tests
Allen – 34 case(s) | 3 death(s) | 5 state tests | 67 commercial tests
Assumption – 33 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 6 state tests | 76 commercial tests
Webster – 23 case(s) | 2 death(s) | 8 state tests | 400 commercial tests
West Baton Rouge – 23 case(s) | 3 death(s) | 0 state tests | 25 commercial tests
East Feliciana – 19 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 17 state tests | 26 commercial tests
Claiborne – 18 case(s) | 2 death(s) | 7 state tests | 32 commercial tests
Evangeline – 18 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 15 state tests | 102 commercial tests
Vermilion – 18 case(s) | 1 death(s) | 3 state tests | 180 commercial tests
Lincoln – 17 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 14 state tests | 166 commercial tests
Union – 17 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 3 state tests | 20 commercial tests
Jefferson Davis – 14 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 24 state tests | 361 commercial tests
Beauregard – 13 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 0 state tests | 115 commercial tests
Pointe Coupee – 13 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 7 state tests | 76 commercial tests
West Feliciana – 11 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 10 state tests | 98 commercial tests
Concordia – 10 case(s) | 1 death(s) | 0 state tests | 29 commercial tests
Franklin – 10 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 10 state tests | 82 commercial tests
Bienville – 9 case(s) | 1 death(s) | 3 state tests | 11 commercial tests
Vernon – 8 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 0 state tests | 359 commercial tests
Morehouse – 7 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 5 state tests | 15 commercial tests
Catahoula – 6 case(s) | 1 death(s) | 1 state tests | 11 commercial tests
Natchitoches – 6 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 11 state tests | 113 commercial tests
Grant – 5 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 1 state tests | 36 commercial tests
Jackson – 4 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 17 state tests | 293 commercial tests
Richland – 4 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 3 state tests | 116 commercial tests
Sabine – 4 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 3 state tests | 44 commercial tests
La Salle – 2 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 9 state tests | 118 commercial tests
Red River – 2 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 23 state tests | 27 commercial tests
Winn – 2 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 3 state tests | 40 commercial tests
Caldwell – 1 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 6 state tests | 37 commercial tests
East Carroll – 1 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 0 state tests | 22 commercial tests
Madison – 1 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 5 state tests | 2 commercial tests
St. Helena – 1 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 2 state tests | 76 commercial tests
Cameron – 0 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 0 state tests | 9 commercial tests
Tensas – 0 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 0 state tests | 0 commercial tests
West Carroll – 0 case(s) | 0 death(s) | 3 state tests | 11 commercial tests
