(NEW YORK) — Here’s the latest information on the COVID-19 coronavirus as of 9:30 a.m. ET.
Latest reported numbers globally per Johns Hopkins University
Global diagnosed cases: 5,837,541
Global deaths: 360,919. The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 101,621.
Number of countries/regions: at least 188
Total patients recovered globally: 2,437,965
Latest reported numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 1,721,926 diagnosed cases in 50 states + the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. This is more than in any other country.
U.S. deaths: at least 101,621. New York State has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 29,529.
U.S. total patients recovered: 399,991
U.S. total people tested: 15,646,041
The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in New York, with 366,733 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 19.5 million. That is the most reported cases than in any other single region in the world. New Jersey is next, with 157,185 reported cases out of a total population of 8.88 million.
Latest reported deaths per state
Visit https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html for the latest numbers.
School closures
For a state-by-state interactive map of current school closures, please visit the Education Week website, where numbers are updated once daily.
There are 98,277 public schools and 34,576 private schools in the U.S., according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Those schools educate almost 50.8 million public school students and 5.8 million private school students.
The latest headlines
People mistaking government stimulus payments for junk mail, scam
If you haven’t yet received your government stimulus check, better check your mail a bit more carefully. The Washington Post reports that because of the way the mailed payments look, many Americans are mistaking them for junk mail and throwing them away. While some Americans received their payments as bank account direct deposits, the Treasury Department is also using their financial agent, MetaBank, to mail prepaid debit cards to recipients. The problem: the plastic cards look at lot like the ones banks and others mass-mail to solicit business or market scams, and arrive in envelopes that bear no obvious outward sign that it’s an official government communication. Even recipients who open the envelopes are greeted with an unfamiliar vendor name and a phone number they must call to activate the card, much like countless scams that seek to steal personal information. The IRS has subsequently updated their Economic Impact Payment FAQ page with info about the prepaid debit cards.
Labor Department issues guidelines for employers reopening businesses
With the White House pushing states to reopen businesses and more states lifting lockdown restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Labor Department has issued guidelines “to implement social distancing in the workplace and to help protect workers from exposure to the coronavirus.” The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) website suggests the following precautions: “Isolate any worker who begins to exhibit symptoms until they can either go home or leave to seek medical care; Establish flexible worksites (e.g., telecommuting) and flexible work hours (e.g., staggered shifts), if feasible; Stagger breaks and re-arrange seating in common break areas to maintain physical distance between workers; In workplaces where customers are present, mark six-foot distances with floor tape in areas where lines form, use drive-through windows or curbside pickup, and limit the number of customers allowed at one time; Move or reposition workstations to create more distance, and install Plexiglas partitions; and Encourage workers to bring any safety and health concerns to the employer’s attention.” All 50 states are currently lifting lockdowns to varying degrees, even as the COVID-19 death toll this week officially surpassed 100,000 in the U.S.
President Trump calls 100,000 US death toll “a very sad milestone”
President Donald Trump called the current 100,000+ death toll from COVID-19 “a very sad milestone” in a Thursday morning tweet. “We have just reached a very sad milestone with the coronavirus pandemic deaths reaching 100,000. To all of the families & friends of those who have passed, I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy & love for everything that these great people stood for & represent,” the president tweeted. “God be with you!” President Trump’s reaction is a change of course from his earlier statements when COVID-19 was first reported in the nation. As the first deaths were reported, the president likened the coronavirus to “a very bad flu” and suggested deaths would remain minimal. In April, the president maintained that while deaths would be higher than initially thought, they would not surpass 100,000.
Good news!
Ireland’s leprechauns reportedly doing well during pandemic
As Ireland deals with their lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, its last living leprechaun whisperer, Kevin Woods, reassured the public that the fictional creatures from Irish mythology are doing just fine, according to The Irish Post. During an appearance on ITV’s This Morning on Wednesday, the prominent leprechaun advocate and activist insisted the Irish fairies are OK, although their numbers are dwindling. As for how leprechauns are coping with Ireland’s lockdown restrictions, Woods says “they don’t have a problem with it.” Woods also assured viewers that his encounters with the little Irish icons adhere to the government’s lockdown measures. “Leprechauns are spirits, they manifest themselves to me as leprechauns. I visit them each day, I haven’t broken the restrictions,” he said. Adds Woods, “I communicate with them through an out-of-body experience, everyone knows what I mean and I can transfer my spirit up there.”
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