Coronavirus 2020 Outbreak: Latest Updates

News about the coronavirus outbreak that started in Wuhan, China, is changing rapidly. The respiratory infection, named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO), is closely related to SARS and MERS. The majority of cases are no longer in China, and the disease has been diagnosed in more than 100 other countries. The United States is now one of the leading countries in number of cases. We'll provide the latest updates on cases, government response, travel restrictions, and more here.

What is the latest news?

5% of Worldwide Coronavirus Deaths from U.S.

U.S. deaths from the new coronavirus account for more than 5% of worldwide fatalities and the total deaths here jumped more than 30% in the past day.

As of Thursday morning, 1,050 Americans have died from COVID-19, the disease that causes coronavirus, and nearly 70,000 people have been confirmed to be infected. About 38% of all deaths are and half of all cases are in New York state.

From a global perspective, the U.S. has the third most cases behind China’s 81,782, and Italy’s 74,386, but the sixth most deaths. The top five in deaths are:

• Italy: 8,165
• Spain: 4,145
• China: 3,291
• Iran: 2,234
• France: 1,331

Senate Approves Coronavirus Relief Package

Senate leaders approved a $2 trillion relief package to boost a U.S. economy reeling from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

• Italy: 8,165
• Spain: 4,145
• China: 3,291
• Iran: 2,234
• France: 1,331

Senate Approves Coronavirus Relief Package

Senate leaders approved a $2 trillion relief package to boost a U.S. economy reeling from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic

The plan includes$130 billion for hospitals and other medical centers, according to CNN. It also includes more funds for Medicare for COVID-19 treatment. 

Besides help for the U.S. medical system, the package includes relief for companies and workers hit hard by the pandemic. It calls for direct payments of up to $1,200 for Americans who earn up to $75,000 a year. Unemployment benefits will be increased.

About $500 billion will be set aside for loans to struggling companies and small businesses.

The House votes next on the bill, then President Trump needs to sign it, before it becomes law.

The House votes next on the bill, then President Trump needs to sign it, before it becomes law.

COVID-19 Likely Seasonal

COVID-19  will likely become seasonal, said Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the NIH's National Institute on Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.  Tracking has revealed that cases are appearing in the southern hemisphere as they go into their winter season. "If they have a substantial outbreak, we need to prepare for a second time. It emphasizes the need to do what we

are doing."

It also underscores the need to develop a vaccine and to continue trials of drugs "so we will have a menu of drugs" to treat it, he said. 

Deborah Birx, MD, also a member of the task force, said that in hard-hit New York City, the number of new cases have been "pretty constant" over the last 3 days. "Hospital cases will increase because that is a reflection of what happened two weeks ago, before full mitigation efforts were in place."

More Than 1 Billion on Coronavirus Restrictions

As country-after-country declares a partial or full lockdown on its citizens’ movements, an estimated one third of the world’s 5.5 billion people are under some kind of coronavirus-related restriction.

That equates to 1.83 billion people ordered to stay in their homes or limit their movements as the global tally of coronavirus cases now equals more than 483,000, with nearly 20,000 worldwide deaths.

Among the countries on full lockdowns are India, Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Colombia, Bolivia, Jordan, Tunisia and New Zealand. Partial lockdowns are in effect in the United States and the Philippines and dozens of other countries have closed their borders, including Canada and Australia.

In the United States, more than 55,000 people have tested positive for coronavirus and more than 800 have died. At this rate, the U.S. will soon pass China's 81,000 for the most cases of any country. 

Coronavirus Hits British Royal Family

Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, has tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

According to The Associated Press, a statement from the Royal Family says Charles, 71, displayed mild symptoms and has been working from home in Scotland the past few days. His wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, the Duchess of Cornwall, was also tested but does not have the virus.

The tests, the statement says were done by the National Health Service in Aberdeenshire, “where they met the criteria required for testing.

“It is not possible to ascertain from whom the Prince caught the virus owing to the high number of engagements he carried out in his public role during recent weeks."

Fauci on Easter Re-Opening: 'You Have to be Very Flexible'

At a White House briefing Tuesday on the coronavirus, President Donald Trump reiterated his wish to re-open the country and lift restrictions in a matter of weeks, not months, calling Easter, April 12,  ''a great timeline." However, he said, ''we are continuing to evaluate the data. My first priority is always the health and safety of the American people."

Rather than open the entire country at once, he proposed perhaps opening sections at a time, lifting restrictions first in those areas not as hard hit. He mentioned the Farm Belt and ''big sections of Texas." With input from public health experts, Trump said, "We are working to develop a sophisticated plan to reopen the economy."

As Trump reiterated that Easter would be a "beautiful" time to lift restrictions, Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the NIH's National Institute on Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the President's coronavirus task force, expressed caution about a hard-and-fast date. "That's really very flexible," he said. "You can look at a date, but you have to be very flexible." 

Fauci added: "We need to know what is going on in those areas of the country where there isn't an obvious outbreak. We are looking at information [on that] that up to this point we never had."

Those areas that have not yet been hard hit, he said, ''still have a window of significant degree of being able to contain the virus." They need to follow the guidelines about the 15 days to Slow the Spread campaign closely, he said.

New York City, Fauci said, ''is suffering terribly through no fault of their own. If you look at the statistics, about 1% per 1,000 are infected, about 8 to 10 times more than other areas."

New York City, Fauci said, ''is suffering terribly through no fault of their own. If you look at the statistics, about 1% per 1,000 are infected, about 8 to 10 times more than other areas."

Anyone who has been to New York City recently and then traveled to other areas is urged to self-isolate, said Deborah Birx, MD, another member of the coronavirus task force.  Already there is evidence of new cases across Long Island, she said, suggesting people have left the city and are spreading the virus outside the metropolitan area. "If they are already 4 days out of leaving New York, then 10 more days" of self-isolation, she said.

Also at the briefing:

• Testing is continuing to accelerate, Birx said, with 370,000 now completed, not including those done by hospital and local labs. "We did in 8 days what South Korea did in 8 weeks," she said, ''and we continue to accelerate testing." Efforts are continuing to make available a self-test that enables people to take their own sample.  "It's not home testing," she said. The approach means health care workers can complete the test with gloves instead of full protective gear, she said. New cases will continue to surge, she said, because ''we are continuing to work on the backlog."  Even with the increase in testing, they need to be reserved for those who need them most, said Vice President Mike Pence, who leads the task force. "If you don't have symptoms, don't get a test."
• While the recent focus on drug therapy has been on the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic Z-pack, being used in New York City, Fauci said: "I don't want anybody to forget, we are also doing randomized clinical trials on a number of [other] candidates."