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APRIL 10, 2020 / 9:30 AM / UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO
U.S. coronavirus deaths top 18,000: Reuters tally
Lisa Shumaker

(Reuters) - U.S. deaths due to the coronavirus topped 18,100 on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, although there are signs that Americans staying home was helping to curb new infections.

U.S. officials warned Americans to expect alarming numbers of coronavirus deaths this week, even as there was evidence that the number of new infections was flattening in New York state, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak.

With many Americans celebrating the Easter holiday on Sunday, the top U.S. infectious disease expert warned on Friday that it is too early to relax restrictions on Americans.

“Now is no time to back off,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said.

The number of U.S. deaths is now the second highest in the world. Over 1,900 new deaths have been reported three days in a row, according a Reuters tally. U.S. deaths rose by 1,500 on Friday with many states still to report their figures. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T)

Confirmed U.S. cases of the COVID-19 illness caused by the virus topped 485,000 on Friday and have been rising by 30,000 to 35,000 cases a day as testing becomes more available. Globally, there have been over 1.6 million confirmed cases, with the death toll topping 100,000.

Only Italy has more coronavirus deaths than the United States, with 18,849 fatalities reported on Friday, although it has a much smaller population. After a marked reduction from previous peaks, new infections have picked up in the past two days, frustrating hopes that the illness was in clear retreat.

Coronavirus: US death toll passes 2,000 in a single day
2 hours ago | REUTERS


The US has become the first country in the world to record more than 2,000 coronavirus deaths in a single day.

Figures from Johns Hopkins University show 2,108 people died in the past 24 hours while there are now more than half a million confirmed infections.

The US could soon surpass Italy as the country with the most coronavirus deaths worldwide.

But experts on the White House Covid-19 task force say the outbreak is starting to level off across the US.

Dr Deborah Birx said there were good signs the outbreak was stabilising, but cautioned: "As encouraging as they are, we have not reached the peak."

President Donald Trump also said he expects the US to see a lower death toll than the initial predictions of 100,000 fatalities, adding: "We're seeing clear signs that our aggressive strategy is saving countless lives".

In other developments:

The World Health Organization chief warned that lifting lockdown measures too early could spark a "deadly resurgence" in infection

Brazil became the first country in the southern hemisphere to surpass 1,000 deaths with coronavirus

Turkey ordered a 48-hour curfew in 31 cities - including Istanbul and Ankara - to start at midnight. The announcement, made just two hours before the curfew was due to start, sparked panic buying and crowds of shoppers

Aid agencies expressed alarm after the first virus case was confirmed in Yemen, where years of civil war have devastated health systems

What are the latest US figures?

The US now has at least 18,693 deaths and 500,399 confirmed cases, according to Johns Hopkins, which is tracking the disease globally. About half of the deaths were recorded in the New York area.

Italy has reported 18,849 deaths while globally more than 102,000 people have died with the virus.

Researchers had predicted the US death toll would hit its peak on Friday and then gradually start to decline, falling to around 970 people a day by 1 May - the day members of the Trump administration have floated as a possible date to start reopening the economy.

"I want to get it open as soon as possible," Mr Trump said at a Good Friday briefing at the White House. "I would say without question it's the biggest decision I've ever had to make."

However, no action would be taken until the government knew the "country [was] going to be healthy", he said. "We don't want to go back and start doing it over again."

Factbox: Latest on the spread of the coronavirus around the world
6 MIN READ

(Reuters) - Reported cases of the coronavirus crossed 2 million globally and more than 131,100 people have died, according to a Reuters tally as of 1400 GMT on Wednesday.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
- For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread, open tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.

- For a U.S.-focused tracker with state-by-state and county map, open tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T in an external browser.

AMERICAS
- U.S. President Donald Trump’s move to halt funding to the WHO over its handling of the pandemic prompted condemnation from world leaders.

- Governors of about 20 U.S. states where the pandemic has had a low impact believe they may be ready to start reopening their economies by Trump’s May 1 target date.

- Brazilian health minister told his team that President Jair Bolsonaro is likely to fire him this week, sources said, raising the prospect of turmoil in the middle of the outbreak.

- Mexican president said the United Nations had been slow in ensuring fair prices and equal access to medical equipment during the pandemic.

EUROPE
- WHO said countries that ease restrictions should wait at least two weeks to evaluate the impact, as some European countries including Spain and Austria have begun small-scale steps to reduce severe lockdowns.

- Spain’s prime minister promised more testing to try to build on a decline in daily deaths.

- Germany will consider relaxing restrictions next week on shops but extend limits on movement until May 3, participants in talks between regional and central government said.

- British government will make a statement on Thursday on its lockdown review, a spokesman said, repeating that advisers do not believe Britain has passed the peak.

- Moscow introduced a travel permit system to help police its lockdown, a move that initially created traffic jams and long queues of people wanting to use the metro.

- Portugal’s virus curve has flattened but the good news is not enough for the country to lift lockdown measures and reopen its economy, government ministers said.

- Finland will lift roadblocks in the region around its capital, Helsinki, in a first step towards easing restrictions.

- The Tour de France has been postponed to Aug. 29-Sept 20, the International Cycling Union said.

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
- China reported a decline in new cases on the mainland, but there was an increasing number of local transmissions in its far northeast bordering Russia.

- Japan urged its citizens to stay home, as media reports warned that as many as 400,000 could die without urgent action, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came under pressure to hand out more cash.

- South Korea’s ruling party is set to win a parliamentary election, exit polls showed, as mask-wearing voters cast their ballots under strict precautions.

- India will allow industries in the countryside to reopen next week, as well as resuming farm activities, while neighbouring Pakistan is set to reopen construction activity.

- Vietnam will extend its lockdown in 12 provinces, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, for seven days.

- Australian prime minister urged schools to reopen after Easter holidays so students do not lose a year of education and parents can work.

- India has agreed to sell hydroxychloroquine tablets to Malaysia, with New Delhi partially lifting its bar on exports of the anti-malarial drug.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
- Iran’s president said the outbreak had not hit the farm sector and citizens did not need to worry about food supplies.

A man wearing a mask is seen in Dalston as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, London, Britain, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
- Yemen’s war-scarred hospitals are marshalling resources to face the outbreak which has yet to make clear inroads in the country, with the little testing that has been done uncovering just one case.

- The northern Nigeria economic powerhouse state of Kano will impose a seven-day lockdown.

- Namibian borders will remain closed and a partial lockdown in force until May 4.

ECONOMIC FALLOUT
- Global stocks fell as oil prices dropped and warnings of the worst global recession since the 1930s underscored the economic damage done by the pandemic. [MKTS/GLOB]

- Finance officials from the G20 major economies are set to finalise an agreement for some 76 countries to have debt payments worth a combined $20 billion suspended.

- The European Union needs to put its multi-year budget at the centre of its economic recovery plan, two top officials said, likely triggering more battles among member states about how to pay for it.

- Canada’s economy shrank a record 9% in March from February, Statistics Canada said in a flash estimate.

- Middle East and Central Asia will see a contraction this year bigger than the one seen during the 2008 financial crisis and the 2015 oil price shock, the IMF said.

- Africa is expected to reverse an economic contraction next year after containment measures are eased, the IMF said, but the impact will be felt for years to come.

- President Vladimir Putin said Russian regions would receive an additional 200 billion roubles ($2.7 billion) in relief measures.

- Brazil’s economy ministry is talking with private banks about bailouts to airlines, automakers, power companies and large retailers, sources said.

- Saudi Arabia’s King Salman approved an additional private sector aid package that includes 50 billion riyals ($266 million) to accelerate payment of dues, provide liquidity and cover wages.

- Oman told ministries and other government units to cut spending and announced measures to support the private sector and safeguard jobs.

APRIL 18, 2020 / 4:16 AM / UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO
Latest on the spread of the coronavirus around the world
7 MIN READ

(Reuters) - Reported cases of the coronavirus have crossed 2.26 million globally and 154,613 people have died, according to a Reuters tally as of 1400 GMT on Saturday.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread, open tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.

* For a U.S.-focused tracker with state-by-state and county map, open tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T in an external browser.

AMERICAS

*As some U.S. states look to start reopening their coronavirus-battered economies amid protests from supporters of President Donald Trump anxious to get back to work, hardest hit New York state began mandating the wearing of masks or face coverings in public to contain the pathogen’s spread.

*An official charged with overseeing how the U.S. government handles $500 billion in bailout funds said he will also monitor how companies use the cash, including for share buybacks, dividends and staff compensation.

* The U.S. coronavirus crisis took a sharp political turn as President Donald Trump lashed out at four Democratic governors over their handling of the pandemic after having conceded that states bear ultimate control of restrictions to contain the outbreak.

* U.S. coronavirus deaths topped 35,400 on Friday, rising by more than 2,000 for the fourth day in a row, according to a Reuters tally, as some states announced timetables for lifting restrictions aimed at blunting the pandemic.

* Better-than-expected social distancing practices have led an influential research model to lower its projected U.S. coronavirus death toll by 12%, while predicting some states may be able to safely begin easing restrictions as early as May 4.

*Some of the neediest residents of Colombia’s capital Bogota have started receiving food donations, while dozens living on the street were given a chance to shower and change clothes, as the city rides out a five-week lockdown to contain the coronavirus.

* Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei said a large number of migrants on a deportation flight to Guatemala from the United States this week were infected with the coronavirus, adding that U.S. authorities had confirmed a dozen cases.

EUROPE

* France will try to avoid setting different rules for older people and other forms of discrimination once the government starts easing its coronavirus confinement measures, the French President’s office said.

* Spain’s death toll from coronavirus rose at a slower pace but surpassed 20,000 fatalities as the government mulled whether to ask parliament for a third extension of the confinement imposed in one of the world’s hardest hit countries.

* Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy rose by 575 on Friday, up from 525 the day before, while the number of new cases declined slightly and scientists warned that infections were now mainly happening among family members.

* Doctors and health workers criticised the British government for suggesting that gowns used to protect them while treating coronavirus patients could be re-used, as supplies run low across the country.

* Russia said its death toll from the novel coronavirus had risen to 313, an overnight increase of 40, as it posted a new record daily jump in new cases.

* France said there was no evidence so far of a link between the new coronavirus and the work of the P4 research laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the current pandemic started.

ASIA-PACIFIC

*Pakistan has lifted restrictions on congregational prayers at mosques, but put in place a host of safety conditions to avert the further spread of the coronavirus in the country, a statement said.

*Hundreds of workers poured onto the streets of Bangladesh’s port city of Chittagong, flouting social distancing rules to demand work and wages during the coronavirus shutdown.

* Japan, alarmed by rising coronavirus deaths and the spectre of the collapse of the medical system, is scrambling to expand testing with drive-through facilities and general practitioners helping to collect samples.

* Singapore’s health ministry confirmed 942 more coronavirus infections, a new daily record, the vast majority of which are among migrant workers living in dormitories.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* The Nigerian president’s chief of staff, Abba Kyari, died on Friday from COVID-19, making him the most high profile person in the country to die in the coronavirus outbreak.

* Iran’s death toll from the new coronavirus rose by 73 in the previous 24 hours to reach 5,031 on Saturday, health ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpour said on state TV.

* Saudi Arabia’s grand mufti said Muslim prayers during Ramadan and the Eid al-Fitr feast should be performed at home if the outbreak continues.

* African leaders, the IMF and the World Bank appealed for rapid international action to help African countries respond to the coronavirus pandemic that will cause the continent’s economy to shrink by 1.25% in 2020, the worst reading on record.

* Dubai has extended by one week a 24-hour-a-day curfew imposed as part of a sterilisation drive to control the spread of the coronavirus, the government said in a Twitter post.

* The Holy Fire ceremony symbolising Jesus’ resurrection was lit in a deserted Jerusalem, without the joyful throng of Orthodox Christian pilgrims who normally attend a spectacle that brings the Easter season to a colourful climax.

ECONOMIC FALLOUT

* Canada will invest C$2.5 billion ($1.8 billion) in measures to help the hard-hit oil and gas industry during the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed 1,250 people in the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

* Global stocks rallied on President Donald Trump’s plans to revive the coronavirus-hit U.S. economy and a report about a clinical trial for a potential drug to treat COVID-19.

* Gold dropped about 2% on Friday after President Donald Trump’s new guidelines to re-open the U.S. economy and encouraging early data related to a potential COVID-19 treatment drove investors towards riskier assets.

* Some moderate Democrats key to their party’s control of the U.S. House of Representatives are urging Speaker Nancy Pelosi to move quickly to replenish a fund to help small businesses hurt by the coronavirus pandemic, saying other party priorities can wait.

* China’s economy contracted for the first time on record in the first quarter as the coronavirus shut down factories and shopping malls and put millions out of work.

Coronavirus live updates: US death toll hits 40,000; New York set for aggressive antibody testing; more cash soon for small businesses
John Bacon, Joel Shannon and Lorenzo Reyes, USA TODAY • April 19, 2020

The coronavirus death toll in the U.S. hit a new plateau, New York state will begin the nation's most aggressive antibody testing campaign this week and some states are beginning to loosen restrictions as the nationwide effort to restore the economy began to take shape Sunday.

Negotiators were also close to a deal that could provide $300 billion in additional funding to struggling small businesses.

Overwhelmingly, restrictions remained in force. In Oklahoma City, a virtual ceremony was held to mark the 25th anniversary of the bombing that killed 168 people.

“What breaks our hearts the most is ... we know we can’t assemble the large crowds that normally come to this remembrance ceremony," organizers said in a statement. The tribute included 168 seconds of silence, and the names of 168 people killed in the bombing will be read aloud.

COVID-19 claimed the lives of almost 1,900 Americans Saturday, and the toll death in the U.S. surpassed 41,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University's data dashboard:

https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

APRIL 22, 2020 / 12:09 PM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO
U.S. CDC reports 802,583 coronavirus cases, 44,575 deaths

(Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday reported 802,583 cases of the novel coronavirus, an increase of 26,490 from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 2,817 to 44,575.

The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of April 21, compared with its count a day earlier.

The CDC figures do not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual states

The US virus death toll has surpassed 50,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, in what is the world's deadliest Covid-19 outbreak.

More than 3,000 deaths came in the last 24 hours, and there are now over 870,000 confirmed cases nationwide.

But the US still has a lower mortality rate than most European nations based on current case counts, as the White House task force has emphasised.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52415579

APRIL 24, 2020 / 10:21 PM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO
As U.S. coronavirus death toll tops 51,000, handful of states move toward reopening
Rich McKay | Reuters


ATLANTA (Reuters) - With the U.S. coronavirus death toll topping 51,000 and nearly one in six workers out of a job, Georgia, Oklahoma and several other states took tentative steps at reopening businesses on Friday, despite disapproval from President Donald Trump and medical experts.

Fitness clubs, hair salons, tattoo parlors and some other workplaces were allowed to open their doors by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, disregarding warnings from public health officials that easing restrictions too soon could lead to more infections and deaths.

Georgia, one of several states in the Deep South that waited until early April to mandate restrictions imposed weeks before across much of the rest of the country to curb the outbreak, has become a flashpoint in the debate over how and when the nation should return to work.

While the COVID-19 illness is killing thousands of Americans daily, stay-at-home orders and business closures have thrown more than 26 million people out of work, a level of unemployment not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

“We’ve been hurting real bad,” said Lester Crowell, co-owner and manager of the Three-13 hair salon in suburban Atlanta, which reopened after 33 days. “I had to dip into my own bank account to keep the lights on here.”

A dozen customers lined up outside the salon, each standing 6 feet apart. Before they could enter, staff members took their temperatures and asked if anyone had a cough, a recent fever or a housemate who had been sick or quarantined.

Despite the lost revenue, not all eligible merchants in Georgia jumped at the chance to resume business. Shay Cannon, owner of Liberty Tattoo in Atlanta, said he would reopen in May by appointment only and did not foresee a return to normal until June or later.

“We’re just watching the numbers and doing what seems right to us,” Cannon told Reuters.

The U.S. death toll from COVID-19, the highest in the world, surpassed 51,000 on Friday, having doubled in 10 days, according to a Reuters tally, and the number of Americans known to be infected surpassed 900,000.

OTHER STATES REOPENING

Georgia was not alone in reopening.

Oklahoma was permitting some retailers to resume business on Friday, Florida began reopening its beaches a week ago, South Carolina started easing restrictions on Monday, and other states will follow suit next week.

Trump, who had staked his November re-election on the nation’s booming economy before the pandemic, has given mixed signals about when and how the country should begin to get back to work.

Last Friday, a day after the White House issued federal guidelines urging a gradual, cautious approach advocated by health experts, he called for several Democratic governors to “liberate” their states from economic restrictions. But in a reversal this week, he publicly criticized fellow Republican Kemp’s moves to reopen Georgia.

Late on Thursday, Trump sparked fresh confusion over prospects for COVID-19 treatments, suggesting scientists should investigate whether patients might be cured by ingesting disinfectants or being bathed in ultraviolet light.

The comments prompted doctors, health experts and manufacturers of bleach to warn the public not to drink or inject disinfectant. On Friday, Trump said his remarks were meant as sarcasm.

U.S. Representative Doug Collins, a Georgia Republican, said restarting commerce on Friday was sending mixed messages.

“Everyone’s supposed to be staying home, but yet we’re opening up these businesses,” Collins told Fox News. He cited the guidelines calling for states to register a two-week decline in coronavirus cases before easing restrictions, and said parts of Georgia were still struggling to treat patients.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose state has been the worst hit by the virus, said reopening the economy prematurely in any U.S. state was a danger to others.

PEAK HOSPITALIZATIONS

According to a University of Washington research model often cited by the White House, coronavirus hospitalizations in Georgia should peak next week.

Oklahoma, with far fewer cases and deaths than Georgia, began opening hair and nail salons and other personal care businesses on Friday. The University of Washington model predicts Oklahoma already hit its hospitalizations peak on Tuesday and could safely loosen restrictions in June.

Tennessee reopened most of its 56 state parks on Friday.

Texas on Friday began a “retail-to-go” phase of its reopening, allowing retail shops to either deliver products to homes or letting customers wait in cars in parking lots for purchases to be handed them by store workers.

In practice, many Texas merchants have been doing this for weeks or stayed open outright, as Republican Governor Greg Abbott had classified much of the state’s retail economy, including big-box stores, bike shops, dry cleaners and farmers markets, as essential businesses.

In the latest protest against the shutdowns, hundreds of people gathered on Friday outside the Wisconsin state Capitol building in Madison calling for Democratic Governor Tony Evers to reopen the state, even as it reported its largest single-day jump of new coronavirus cases.

“Stand strong, be united and stand tall and proud for America,” said one of the protesters through a bullhorn. Many in the crowd wore Trump hats, waved American flags and carried “Go Back To Work” signs.

There was also a quiet counter-protest - a woman standing by a tree wearing a face mask, a bottle of hand sanitizer on her hip, holding a sign that said, “Please Go Home.”

Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta, Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut, Susan Heavey and Jeff Mason in

APRIL 28, 2020 / 4:17 AM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
U.S. coronavirus death toll exceeds Americans killed in Vietnam War as cases top 1 million
Lisa Shumaker | Reuters

(Reuters) - The U.S. death toll from the novel coronavirus on Tuesday exceeded the 58,220 American lives lost during the Vietnam War as cases topped 1 million, according to a Reuters tally.

U.S. cases have doubled in 18 days and make up one-third of all infections in the world, according to the tally.

The actual number of cases is thought to be higher, with state public health officials cautioning that shortages of trained workers and materials have limited testing capacity.

About 30% of the cases have occurred in New York state, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, followed by New Jersey, Massachusetts, California and Pennsylvania.

The U.S. death toll since the first death recorded on Feb. 29 reached 58,233 on Tuesday, up more than 2,000 from the prior day.

The outbreak could take more than 74,000 U.S. lives by Aug. 4, compared with an April 22 forecast of over 67,600, according to the University of Washington's predictive model here often cited by White House officials.

Globally, coronavirus cases top 3 million since the outbreak began in China late last year. The United States, with the world’s third-largest population, has five times as many cases as the next hardest-hit countries of Italy, Spain and France.

Of the 20 most severely affected countries, the United States ranks fifth based on cases per capita, according to a Reuters tally. The United States has about 30 cases per 10,000 people. Spain ranks first at over 48 cases per 10,000 people, followed by Belgium, Switzerland and Italy.

In addition to exceeding the Vietnam War toll, the U.S. toll for the coronavirus tops the number of deaths from seasonal flu in recent years, except for the 2017-2018 season, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) here

Flu deaths range from a low of 12,000 in the 2011-2012 season to a high of 61,000 during 2017-2018.

The coronavirus deaths in the United States fall short of the approximately 100,000 Americans killed by seasonal flu in 1967, according to the CDC. It is also far less deadly than the Spanish flu, which began in 1918 and killed 675,000 Americans.

Unprecedented stay-at-home orders to try to curb the spread of the virus have hammered the economy, with the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits over the last five weeks soaring to 26.5 million.

About a dozen states are beginning to relax the stay-at-home restrictions despite the warning of health experts that premature actions could cause a surge in new cases.

A Reuters/Ipsos survey this month found that a bipartisan majority of Americans want to go on sheltering in place to protect themselves from the coronavirus, despite the impact on the economy.

45,500 corpses incinerated in Wuhan in 2 weeks, say U.S. intel sources

https://www.wnd.com/2020/04/45500-corpses-incinerated-wuhan-2-weeks-say-u-s-intel-sources/

45,500 corpses incinerated in Wuhan in 2 weeks, say U.S. intel sources
China's coronavirus figures believed to be 'fake'
WND Staff By WND Staff
Published April 28, 2020 at 7:35pm


The Wuhan coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 3.1 million people worldwide, causing more than 216,000 deaths.

But the true totals probably never will be known, in part because of unreliable information from China, where it originated.

The Chinese Communist Party's count of about 80,000 infections and 4,000 deaths in the country is not even "remotely close," according to U.S. officials.

Summit News reported U.S. intelligence has estimated that between March 23 and April 4, at least 45,500 corpses were incinerated in China.

The U.S. believes the total is at least 50 times worse than China admits.

They say up to 60,000 dead bodies per month could have been processed by funeral homes in Wuhan.

A Trump official told Fox News the numbers already documented by China are "arithmetically impossible."

"Again, we don’t know the real numbers today, but we do know the about 80,000 infections and 4,000 deaths as reported by the Chinese Communist Party propaganda are not even remotely close," the official added.

The report said it's believed that U.S. intelligence has satellite images showing funeral homes in Wuhan overwhelmed by dead bodies.

Officials in the United Kingdom also have discounted the reports coming from China, calling the data "fake."

Summit News said a recent estimation of the true death toll, released by the American Enterprise Institute, suggested China has had at least 2.9 million cases outside Hubei province and the total number of deaths is likely well over 100,000.

Ecuador: virus dead piled up in bathrooms

https://news.yahoo.com/torment-ecuador-virus-dead-piled-bathrooms-013235232.html

Published 49 mins ago
Up to 60 bodies found in U-Haul trucks outside NYC funeral home
New York Post

Police found dozens of bodies being stored in unrefrigerated trucks outside a Brooklyn funeral home and lying on the facility’s floor Wednesday, law enforcement sources told The Post.

Between 40 to 60 bodies were discovered either stacked up in U-Haul box trucks outside Andrew Cleckley Funeral Services in Flatlands or on the building’s floor, after neighbors reported a foul odor around the property, sources said.

NYPD detectives were joined by several other city agencies investigating the trucks at the Utica Avenue facility Wednesday evening, with the section of the street closed off to the public.

John DiPietro, who owns a neighboring property, said he had observed cadavers being stored in the trucks for at least several weeks during the coronavirus pandemic.

“You don’t respect the dead that way. That could have been my father, my brother,” said DiPietro.

Covid comparison - Dem states vs Republican states

MAY 2, 2020 / 12:55 PM / UPDATED 26 MINUTES AGO
U.S. CDC reports 1,092,815 coronavirus cases, 64,283 deaths

(Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported there were 1,092,815 cases of the new coronavirus as of Friday, an increase of 30,369 from a day earlier, and said the number of deaths had risen by 1,877 to 64,283.

The CDC's tally of cases of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus, was effective as of 4 p.m. ET on Friday and was released on Saturday.

The CDC figures do not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual states.

The tally reported over the weekend is preliminary and will be updated on Monday.

MAY 3, 2020 / 6:41 PM / UPDATED 22 MINUTES AGO
Global coronavirus cases surpass 3.5 million, although rate slowing
Jane Wardell

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Global coronavirus cases surpassed 3.5 million on Monday, with deaths nearing a quarter of a million, although the rate of fatalities and new cases has slowed from peaks reached last month, a Reuters tally shows.

North America and European countries accounted for most of the new cases reported in recent days, but numbers were rising from smaller bases in Latin America, Africa and Russia.

Globally, there were 84,004 new cases over the past 24 hours, according to the Reuters tally that is based on official government data, taking total cases to just over 3.5 million.

That compares with around 3 million to 5 million cases of severe illness caused annually by seasonal influenza, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Still, while experts say actual coronavirus cases are likely higher than current reports, the trajectory falls far short of the Spanish flu, which began in 1918 and infected an estimated 500 million people.

Deaths related to COVID-19, the disease caused by the new virus, stood at 245,992. The first death was reported on Jan. 10 in Wuhan, China, after the virus emerged there in December.

The daily rate of new cases worldwide has been sitting in a 2%-3% range over the past week, versus a peak of around 13% in mid-March, prompting many countries to begin easing lockdown measures that have upended businesses and crippled the global economy.

The loosening of restrictions has proved controversial, as experts debate the best strategy to ensure there is no large “second wave” outbreak.

Health officials have also expressed concern about the rising case numbers in countries where there is a shortage of testing and a lack of medical facilities.

While the number of new cases has come off a peak of 104,495 reported in a single day last week, it is still at around 80,000 to 90,000 cases per day globally.

LIFTING LOCKDOWN?

In the United States, around half the country’s state governors partially reopened their economies over the weekend, while others, including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, declared the move was premature.

In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who battled COVID-19 last month, said on Sunday the country was over the peak but it was still too early to relax lockdown measures.

Even in countries where the suppression of the disease has been considered successful, such as Australia and New Zealand which have recorded daily rates of new infections in the low single digits for weeks, officials have been cautious.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has predicated a full lifting of curbs on widespread public adoption of a mobile phone tracing app and increased testing levels.

Experts caution that both cases and deaths from COVID-19 are almost certainly underreported. Cases may cause only mild symptoms and not everyone with symptoms is tested, while most countries only record hospital deaths, meaning deaths in private homes and nursing homes have not yet been included.

Published 1 hour ago
Global coronavirus infections top 4 million, US death toll passes 78,000
By Ben Chapman, Frances Yoon, Nick Kostov | The Wall Street Journal

State leaders across the U.S. moved to expand testing for the new coronavirus, while lifting some restrictions on travel and business that have crippled the nation’s economy.

The moves come as confirmed infections topped 4 million across the world, and the U.S. death toll climbed above 78,000.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Saturday announced the opening of 22 new sites meant to provide coronavirus testing for thousands of residents and enable epidemiologists to trace the disease’s spread.

The sites will be housed at churches in low-income areas across the state and will target black and Hispanic New Yorkers, communities that have been disproportionately affected by the disease, Mr. Cuomo said.

He encouraged residents to obtain tests, even if they have no symptoms.

“The sites will be there. We now need New Yorkers to go get the test,” Mr. Cuomo said.

New York joins other states that are developing new testing capabilities. Delaware Gov. John Carney said Friday his state would begin an effort to quadruple its testing ability. Connecticut is lifting restrictions on who can order the tests, allowing pharmacists as well as doctors, Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday.

The efforts come as some of America’s most prominent public-health doctors say the country must double the amount of testing it is doing and conduct at least four million a week to track the disease.

Coronavirus update: Global death toll nears 300,000; Poll finds most Americans disapprove of President Trump’s handling of crisis
Published: May 14, 2020 at 12:20 p.m. ET

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/coronavirus-update-global-death-toll-nears-300000-poll-finds-most-americans-disapprove-of-president-trumps-handling-of-crisis-2020-05-14

https://disrn.com/news/county-supervisor-says-san-diego-has-only-had-6-pure-solely-coronavirus-deaths-out-of-194-listed-as-such

County supervisor says San Diego has only had 6 "pure, solely coronavirus deaths" out of 194 listed as such


Colorado COVID-19 death count down almost 25%, as state differentiates 'dying with,' 'dying from'

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/coronavirus/after-changing-its-counting-guidelines-colorados-confirmed-covid-19

directorate wrote:

turd_ferguson wrote:

ttps://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvss/coronavirus/Alert-2-New-ICD-code-introduced-for-COVID-19-deaths.pdf

Hospitals to List COVID-19 as Cause of Death Even if It's "Assumed to Have Caused Or Contributed to Death" - Lab Tests Not Required

That means they are short staffed.

If thats the case, why did most hospitals furlough nurses and doctors ?

turd_ferguson wrote:

directorate wrote:

turd_ferguson wrote:

ttps://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvss/coronavirus/Alert-2-New-ICD-code-introduced-for-COVID-19-deaths.pdf

Hospitals to List COVID-19 as Cause of Death Even if It's "Assumed to Have Caused Or Contributed to Death" - Lab Tests Not Required

That means they are short staffed.

If thats the case, why did most hospitals furlough nurses and doctors ?

Some hospitals, not most.

I would guess that hospitals simply didn't need much of their normal staff since they weren't admitting patients for elective surgeries, childbirths, and minor injuries, etc, since more and more people stayed in place.

99% of any hospital's staff certainly were clueless about the Covid virus anyway.

MAY 18, 2020 / 4:30 PM / UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO
California, New York open door for sports return

(Reuters) - California governor Gavin Newsom cleared a path for the potential return of professional sport in the state, saying on Monday that an early June restart was possible under strict guidelines, including no fans.

Shuttered for nearly two months by the novel coronavirus outbreak, the NBA, NHL, MLS and MLB are all working up scenarios to restart their seasons but any plans have had to factor in state pandemic guidelines and restrictions on large gatherings.

“Sporting events, pro sports in that first week or so of June without spectators and modifications and very perspective conditions also could begin to move forward,” said Newsom during his daily press briefing on Monday.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo also green lighted the return of major sports in his state on Monday, saying that he has asked teams to prepare to reopen without fans.

“New York state will help those major sport franchises to do just that,” Cuomo said during his daily news conference at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo.

“Hockey, basketball, baseball, football, whoever can reopen, we’re a ready, willing and able partner.”

After a two month shutdown, professional sports slowly began to re-emerge from under the COVID-19 cloud during the weekend as several events returned to television — all without fans in attendance.

Following an Ultimate Fighting Championship card aired live from an empty arena in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday, sport starved fans had their choice on Sunday of NASCAR’s return to racing at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina, a charity skins game featuring golf greats Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson and Professional Bull Riding.

The NBA and MLS have opened training facilities for voluntary workouts under tight guidelines, while MLB is working on a plan to return to the field in the first week of July.

Latest tallies
MarketWatch | 5-19-2020

The global case tally now stands at 4.87 million, and 319,147 people have died, according to the Johns Hopkins data. At least 1.8 million people have recovered.

The U.S. has the world’s highest case toll at 1.52 million and the highest death toll at 91,179.

Russia has 299,941 cases and 2,837 fatalities.

Brazil has moved past the U.K. by case number, with 262,545 cases and 17,509 fatalities.

The U.K. has 250,121 cases and 35,421 deaths, the highest death toll in Europe and second highest in the world after the U.S.

Spain has 231,606 cases and 27,709 deaths, while Italy has 226,699 cases and 32,169 deaths.

France has 180,933 cases and 28,025 deaths, while Germany has 177,574 cases and 8,081 deaths.

Turkey has 151,615 cases and 4,199 deaths and Iran has 124,603 cases and 7,119 deaths.

India is next with 106,446 cases and 3,301 fatalities, followed by Peru with 94,933 cases and 2,789 deaths.

China, where the disease was first reported late last year, has 84,063 cases and 4,638 deaths.

MAY 20, 2020 / 8:06 AM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO
Monkeys infected with COVID-19 develop immunity in studies, a positive sign for vaccines
Julie Steenhuysen | Reuters

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Two studies in monkeys published on Wednesday offer some of the first scientific evidence that surviving COVID-19 may result in immunity from reinfection, a positive sign that vaccines under development may succeed, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

Although scientists have assumed that antibodies produced in response to the new coronavirus virus are protective, there has been scant scientifically rigorous evidence to back that up.

In one of the new studies, researchers infected nine monkeys with COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. After they recovered, the team exposed them to the virus again and the animals did not get sick.

The findings suggest that they “do develop natural immunity that protects against re-exposure,” said Dr. Dan Barouch, a researcher at the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center in Boston, whose studies were published in the journal Science.

“It’s very good news,” Barouch said.

Several research teams have released papers - many of them not reviewed by other scientists - suggesting that a vaccine against the virus would be effective in animals.

In the second study, Barouch and colleagues tested 25 monkeys with six prototype vaccines to see if antibodies produced in response were protective.

They then exposed these monkeys and 10 control animals to SARS-CoV-2, the official name of the novel coronavirus.

All of the control animals showed high degrees of virus in their noses and lungs, but in the vaccinated animals, “we saw a substantial degree of protection,” Barouch said. Eight of the vaccinated animals were completely protected.

These studies, which have been peer reviewed, do not prove that humans develop immunity or how long it might last, but they are reassuring.

“These data will be seen as a welcome scientific advance,” Barouch said.