1.
The United States reported at least 2,074 deaths resulting from the novel COVID-19 coronavirus Friday, the highest number of fatalities the country has seen in a single day since the pandemic began. Overall in the U.S., there have been nearly 19,000 deaths, and more than 500,000 confirmed cases. New York remains the center of the U.S. outbreak, and on Friday Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced the state had recorded its highest single-day death toll yet, at 779. “That is so shocking and painful and breathtaking, I don’t even have the words for it,” he said. The state did report it’s first decline in patients in intensive care units. As of Saturday morning, the global death toll stood at more than 103,000 and the number of confirmed cases had surpassed 1.7 million, data complied by Johns Hopkins University showed. [NPR, CNN]
2.
President Trump on Friday formally rejected his pledge to “reopen” the U.S. by Easter and loosen CDC guidelines, saying that won’t happen “until we know this country is going to be healthy,” though he did he’s assembling a task force that will help determine how to reopen the economy. Trump acknowledged COVID-19 hospitalizations and new cases were “flattening substantially, suggesting that we’re near the peak,” but said strict social distancing guidelines would continue to prevent the virus from rebounding. Trump also claimed the U.S. is testing 100,000 people every day for COVID-19, and claimed “anyone who needs a test” can get one even though many people have reported that’s not true. The FDA is currently working on a “blood-based serology test” to determine if people who recover from the coronavirus are immune to it, Trump added. [BBC, CNBC]
3.
Health officials worldwide are urging people not to travel or congregate over Easter weekend due to the potential for social gatherings to spread the COVID-19 virus. In France, police are patrolling the streets to dissuade quarantine violators, while law enforcement in the U.K. will attempt to halt regional travel. In Italy, which has the highest death toll of any country in the world, the Vatican has celebrated all of Holy Week without the public for the first time in modern history. In the U.S., some churches still plan to celebrate Easter as normal, despite the CDC’s warnings against gatherings. President Trump did give up his plan to “reopen” the country by Easter, but didn’t specifically warn against social gatherings in his Friday Easter message. [The Associated Press, The Hill]
4.
Apple and Google are partnering to develop a “Contact Tracing” program that could inform people if they’ve come into contact with COVID-19. Users of both Apple and Google phones — that’s around 3 billion people — will be able to opt in to let the companies automatically track their phones and make note of people they come close to. If a user later tests positive for the new coronavirus, they can tell the program, and it will notify anyone who’d been around that person within a 14-day window. Both companies note contact tracing will be strictly voluntary and users will have to opt-in to begin being tracked, and that the government won’t see the information. Still, privacy advocates remain concerned of potential power grabs during the global crisis. [Time]
5.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reportedly started taking short walks while he remains hospitalized due to the novel COVID-19 coronavirus. Johnson was admitted to a London hospital Sunday evening with persistent systems of the virus, 10 days after he tested positive. His condition worsened, and he was transferred to intensive care, though he did not require a ventilator. Johnson’s health then improved and he was moved back to a regular ward, where he a Downing Street spokesman said he is in “very good spirits” and is in the early stages of recovery. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases has surpassed 74,000 and the death has neared 9,000. [BBC, Reuters]
6.
The Internal Revenue Service said Friday that some people will begin receiving their novel COVID-19 coronavirus stimulus payments from the U.S. government next week, beginning with people who have filed 2018 and 2019 tax returns and authorized direct deposit. Payments for social security beneficiaries will also reportedly go out soon. The Wall Street Journal reported that the first wave of payments were transferred to banks Friday afternoon. Those who haven’t filed taxes, authorized direct deposit, or receive social security, may have to wait weeks or month before they get their money, but the IRS launched a new tool that will allow low-income people who aren’t required to file tax returns to provide some basic information that will allow them to receive their checks, which start at $1,200. [CNN, The Wall Street Journal]
7.
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Friday showed promising results after the antiviral drug remdesivir was used in a “compassionate use” trial to treat a small group of novel COVID-19 coronavirus patients. A majority of patients improved after being treated with the drug, which is produced by Gilead Sciences. The study was limited by the small sample size — only 53 patients were monitored — and the fact that it wasn’t placebo-controlled, so results aren’t definitive, but it’s still a positive step. Of the 53 patients, 36 saw improvements, 25 were discharged, and seven died. Many global health authorities reportedly believe remdesivir is the best hope for treating COVID-19 and full clinical trials are continuing. [The Washington Post, The Hill]
8.
The Democratic Republic of Congo said Friday that the first person to contract Ebola in more than 50 days, a 26-year-old man, has died. The man developed symptoms at the end of March and eventually tested positive, ending hopes that the latest outbreak of the disease had ended. The DRC was prepared to declare an end to the Ebola epidemic, the largest in the country’s history, on Sunday, but that’s no longer the case. The disease has killed more than 2,000 people in the DRC — which is also dealing with rebel attacks in the eastern part of the country and the novel COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic — since August 2018. “This is now a triple emergency,” said Kate Moger of the International Rescue Committee. [Reuters, Al Jazeera]
9.
Iran, which has experienced the worst novel COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East, began easing restrictions Saturday after a nationwide lockdown. Government offices outside Tehran re-opened, and two-thirds of employees went into work, while the rest remained remote. Women with young children were reportedly given priority to remain at home if necessary. Businesses in Tehran will be allowed to open next Saturday, so long as they register with authorities and adhere to social distancing guidelines. Iran has confirmed more than 4,300 have died of the disease, but the government tried to resist wide-scale shutdowns, arguing quarantines could be devastating economically considering the country is already under the strain of U.S. sanctions. Washington has offered humanitarian aid to help Iran fight the virus, but Tehran turned it down. [The Associated Press]
10.
The CEO of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee, Toshiro Muto, said Friday that due to uncertainty over the coronavirus outbreak, it is possible that the games might not happen in 2021 either. The 2020 summer Olympics were originally scheduled to start in late July, and were bumped back to next year due to the global health crisis. “I don’t think anyone would be able to say if it is going to be possible to get [the pandemic] under control by next July or not,” Muto said. He stressed that “rather than think about alternatives plans … mankind should bring together all of its technology and wisdom to work hard so they can development treatments, medicines, and vaccines.” [NBC News]
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