COVID-19)Novel Coronavirus Update 050800APR20
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 1,204,246 confirmed cases of COVID-19. More than 247,844 people have recovered, and 64,849 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 there are 61 of 64 parishes reporting with 12,496 cases of COVID-19 and 409 deaths across the state.
Reported COVID-19 Patients in Hospitals 1,726; 571 of those on ventilators
SEE ATTACHED SPREADSHEET FOR LATEST PARISH INFO UPDATE WILL BE AT NOON TODAY
NATIONAL
In the U.S., President Donald Trump warned “there will be a lot of death” as the U.S. faces its “toughest week” in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic at his daily White House briefing on Saturday. His comments came as the total number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. rose to over 312,000, with the number of deaths at more than 8,000. The President also announced that 1,000 military personnel are deploying to New York City to help fight the coronavirus. “We’re taking people now out of our military. We’ve been doing it but now we’re doing it on a larger basis,” the president said at a White House press briefing. While Dr. Deborah Birx, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, warned the hardest hit U.S. hotspots could reach their mortality peaks, simultaneously, in the next week. “The Detroit area, the New York area, the Louisiana area … They’re all on the upside of the curve of mortality,” Birx said at a White House briefing. “By the predictions that are in that healthdata.org, they’re predicting in those three hotspots, all of them hitting together in the next six to seven days.”
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.
INTERNATIONAL
In South Korea, new cases jumped by 81 as of Sunday morning, and its number of deaths increased by six, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The country’s total now stands at 10,237 cases, and 183 fatalities. The government said Saturday that it would extend its social distancing measures by another two weeks in an attempt to curb the number of new infections to around 50 a day.
In Italy, the number of coronavirus patients in intensive care dropped for the first time on Saturday, as the country also welcomed its lowest daily increase in deaths in two weeks. Officials in one of the worst-hit countries credited its strict lockdown, ongoing for nearly a month, for the hopeful trends and stressed the need for residents to continue to stay indoors. “This is an important piece of news because it allows our hospitals to breathe,” Civil Protection head Angelo Borelli said during a daily news briefing on the virus. Italy reported 681 COVID-19 deaths Saturday, bringing the total to 15,362. It was the lowest daily rise since March 23 after the outbreak began back on Feb. 21. The number of patients in severely overburdened intensive care units fell by 74 people to 3,994 from 4,068 on Friday. The total number of confirmed cases in the country rose from 119,827 to 124,632, but officials believe they’ve managed to stabilize the increase, with hopes that a drop will soon follow.
In Spain, on Saturday, April 4, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that he will ask Congress to extend Spain’s current state of emergency through Sunday, April 26, to curb further spread of the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. The state of emergency was originally enacted on Saturday, March 14, and is currently set to end on Saturday, April 11. Congress is expected to vote on whether to authorize the extension next week. Under the state of emergency, the government is granted exceptional powers to limit the free movement of people and vehicles, and ration goods and services, among other powers. Residents are to restrict all movement except for going to work for essential employees, hospitals or health centers, and financial institutions, and shopping for groceries, pharmaceuticals, and other primary necessities. Nonessential employees have been instructed to stay home until at least Thursday, April 9. Schools, bars, restaurants, and most shops remain closed. All social gatherings are banned and police officers have been deployed to enforce the orders. As of April 4, there have been 126,168 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Spain, including 11,947 associated fatalities.
In Germany, as of Saturday, April 4, Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI) confirmed 6082 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) over a 24-hour period, bringing the total nationwide number of confirmed cases to 96,092. The most affected states are Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Bavaria. The number of fatalities remains relatively low compared to other European countries, with 1444 deaths reported nationwide as of Saturday. On Wednesday, April 1, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that social distancing measures currently in place will be extended until at least Sunday, April 19, after which they will be reevaluated.
In the U.K., coronavirus lockdown could stretch until the end of May, a government adviser warned Saturday. “We want to move to a situation where at least by the end of May we’re able to substitute some less intensive measures, more based on technology and testing, for the complete lockdown we have now,” the adviser, Neil Ferguson, a professor of mathematical biology at Imperial College London, told BBC Radio on Saturday. Britain added 708 deaths Friday — a staggering 20 percent increase from the day before, for a total of at least 4,313. Officials there have tallied 42,479 confirmed infections. Ferguson said he expects cases to peak in 10 days if social-distancing measures continue to curb the spread of COVID-19. Prime Minister Boris Johnson closed non-essential businesses indefinitely on March 23, after some in his government expressed hesitation about shutting down the nation’s economy. Some still fear the cost of the lockdown could be greater than that of the disease. Additionally, outdoor exercise in the UK could be banned if people ignore the rules on staying at home and social distancing, the country’s health secretary has warned. Matt Hancock explained that if people “flout the rules” then the government “will have to take action”. He said: “If you don’t want us to have to take the step to ban exercise of all forms outside of your own home, then you’ve got to follow the rules.” Mr. Hancock said sunbathing was not allowed and it was “quite unbelievable” that people were still leaving their homes when it was not necessary. He said the timing of restrictions being lifted would all depend on how people behave, saying “the more people stay at home the less the virus will spread”. Mr. Hancock said that the goal for the number of ventilators now needed over the coming weeks is 18,000, and said currently they have between 9 and 10,000.
In the KSA, the authorities on 28 March indefinitely extended the suspension of international and domestic passenger air traffic. Meanwhile, all entry to and egress from the capital Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca (both Mecca province) and Medina (Medina province) remains barred. Extended curfews are also in place in these cities, as well as Dammam (Eastern province), Taif (Mecca) and al-Qatif district (Eastern). In-country members should abide by all official directives and ensure they have sufficient provisions to last at least several weeks. Saudi Arabia has 2370 confirmed cases with 29 deaths.
In Dubai, the authorities have extended the cleaning programme to be effective for 24 hours a day until at least 18 April, with restrictions on the movement of individuals and vehicles imposed. While the majority of international air traffic remains suspended, flag carrier Etihad and Dubai-based airline Emirates will operate limited outbound flights from 5 and 6 April, respectively. UAE has 1505 confirmed cases with 10 deaths.
In India, on Sunday, April 5, the British government announced that a worldwide partnership with airlines has occurred to repatriate British nationals currently stranded in India as a result of the ongoing global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Special charter flights from India to the UK, organized by the government, will begin on Wednesday, April 8.
Reports further state that British nationals currently exhibiting coronavirus symptoms will not be permitted to book and will be required to self-isolate before booking onto a later flight. Due to the current travel restrictions in India, it is only possible to book the above flights if the individual is already in the state of the departure airport. A 21-day nationwide locked down that came into effect on March 24 remains in place. During the lockdown, only essential services will remain operational. All shops, offices, markets, and places of worship are closed and interstate bus and metro service is suspended. A ban on international commercial passenger flights is also ongoing until at least 23:59 (local time) Tuesday, April 14. The Indian Directorate-General of Civil Aviation also confirmed on Thursday, March 26, that cargo operations and flights with prior approval will be exempt from the restrictions. Additionally, with a rise in number of coronavirus cases in the national capital, Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal has directed the health department to identify private hospitals which can be taken over by the government, official sources said on Sunday. They said the government has limited resources and hence ICU wards, beds and other facilities of private hospitals can be used to deal with the increasing numbers of coronavirus cases. As of April 5, 3588 cases of COVID-19 and 99 associated fatalities have been confirmed in the country.
In Australia, a criminal investigation has been launched into how cruise ship passengers were allowed to disembark in Sydney despite some exhibiting flu-like symptoms. More than 600 people on board the Ruby Princess later tested positive for coronavirus and 10 have since died. The ship remains off the coast with nearly 200 sick crew members on board. Police in New South Wales said they would look into whether national biosecurity laws had been broken. Australia has so far reported 5,687 coronavirus cases and 30 deaths. Those sickened on cruise ships account for nearly a tenth of all cases in Australia.
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)
