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Friday, March 29, 2024

US Death Toll From COVID-19 Surpasses 9/11; New York Reports 14% Jump In Cases As Global Total Tops 800k: Live Updates

Courtesy of ZeroHedge View original post here.

Summary:

  • US reports more than 500 deaths in a day for first time
  • Coronavirus death toll exceeds 9/11 death toll
  • US confirms largest one-day case jump
  • Russia reports jump in cases, deaths
  • Maryland, Virginia and DC all locked down
  • UK reports another 1k+ cases
  • New York reports 14% jump in new cases
  • Thailand warns it will prosecute all “April Fools Day” coronavirus jokers
  • China plans to announce “asymptomatic” carriers of the novel coronavirus
  • NYC reports first minor died from COVID-19
  • Dr. Fauci warns he fears virus will return this fall
  • Ford, GE warn 100-day window for producing 50k ventilators doesn’t start until April 20
  • Tokyo reports another rash of new cases tied to travelers
  • Spain reports third straight ‘deadliest day yet;’
  • Spain reports rental tenant-support package
  • FEMA sends 250 ambulances to NYC, 500 paramedics
  • CDC weighs asking Americans to wear masks outside their homes at all times
  • Orban takes unilateral power in Hungary

*   *   *

Update (1210ET): Italy reports 4,053 new cases, about even with 4,050 yesterday, bringing its national total to 105,792, along with 837 deaths, bringing its death toll to 12,428.

No real movement compared with yesterday, but at least it’s not a bounce.

Back in New York, various projections indicate the coronavirus case peak in NY state could be within the next 7-21 days, Gov. Cuomo says, as his state outpaces Hubei as the global ‘epicenter’ of the coronavirus outbreak. With 43,139 confirmed cases, New York City accounts for more than half of all cases in New York state, and nearly a quarter of all cases nationwide.

*   *   *

Update (1200ET): A swath of new cases announced in New York, along with new cases announced around the world, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the world has risen above 800k. According to Johns Hopkins, there are now 809,608 cases, as of noon on Tuesday

*   *   *

Update (1145T): Minutes after the world learned about his brother’s diagnosis, NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo started Tuesday’s press conference by warning that the outbreak has been “more dangerous” than expected, as new cases jumped 14% overnight.

Coronavirus cases in New York state jumped 14% overnight to 75,795 while 1,550 people have died from COVID-19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday.

“I’m tired of being behind this virus. We’ve been behind this virus from day one,” Cuomo said at a press conference in Albany. “We underestimated this virus. It’s more powerful, it’s more dangerous than we expected.”

NYC also reported the first death of a minor from complications caused by COVID-19. The patient reportedly had other underlying conditions. Earlier reports of a minor dying from COVID-19 in LA County were later refuted, though a teen in Chicago died over the weekend.

Earlier on Tuesday, Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio welcomed the arrival of a Navy hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, which arrived in New York. It will provide space for non-COVID-19 patients, to help relieve New York hospitals dealing with a rapidly expanding load of coronavirus patients.

Cuomo said that he had been in discussions about the ventilator situation, and said the state has continued to look into using one ventilators for 2 patients, something that’s “not ideal”, but might be necessary if the case-load in New York State continues to balloon Earlier, FEMA promised more ambulances and EMTs for NY, but didn’t say anything about ventilators.

*   *   *

Update (1100ET): The novel coronavirus outbreak in the US has reached yet another grim milestone: the number of casualties has surpassed the death toll from 9/11.

The death toll stood at 3,170 as of 11 am ET according to the Washington Post. That’s compared with 2,977 lost during the World Trade Center attacks, the deadliest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor.

This comes as the total number of cases in the US floats just under 165k.

Meanwhile, in Spain, the government has announced a package of measures to help renters hit by the coronavirus crisis, but demanded that property owners bear most of the costs, making it exceptionally difficult for them. Under the plan agreed by Spain’s socialist-led government on Tuesday, evictions will be banned for six months, rental contracts about to expire will be extended, and micro-credits with zero interest and no commission will be granted to renters, payable over six to ten years. If a renter was unable to pay during the crisis, the landlord would either have to forgive half of the outstanding debt, or restructure all of it so that it was payable over three years.

Cuomo’s briefing in New York begins at 11:30 amET.

*   *   *

Update (1050ET): The UK has confirmed another 1,789 new cases, up from 1,408, bringing the UK’s total to 25,150.

And after President Trump claimed that New York didn’t need to dip into more federal resources yet, FEMA said Monday that it would bring 250 more ambulances and up to 500 more EMTs and other medical personnel to the area, following reports about Elmhurst hospital being “flooded” with ambulance calls.

But if it wants more ventilators, it’s going to need to wait until May, probably.

*   *   *

Update (1015ET): The American public on Tuesday is expected to get its first look at the statistical models guiding the policy decisions that have led governors and mayors across the country to order more than 250 million people to  ‘just stay home’.

It is expected to be unsettling. Dr. Deb Birx, the White House coordinator for the virus response team, tried to brace both President Trump and the country for some tough weeks ahead: Even if all of the social distancing guidelines are followed “perfectly,” she said, the death toll in the nation could reach 100,000 to 200,000.

*    *   *

Update (0810ET): A WHO official said the coronavirus epidemic is far from over in Asia even if the focus of the epidemic has shifted to the US and Europe.

The official also stated that measures to reduce transmission will not remove risks as long as the pandemic continues and that steps to reduce transmission can buy time to prepare for large-scale community transmission, while the official added that there are more than 50 candidate vaccines for coronavirus and several trials are ongoing.

“Last night, Trump said we can save more than 1 million lives by following social distancing guidelines vigorously. President Trump also stated that there are challenging times ahead for the next 30 days and that 1 million Americans have now been tested.”

Sweden reports another batch of COVID-19 cases, bringing its total to 4,435.

*   *   *

Yesterday, the entire Washington DC area was shut down as the governors of Maryland and Virginia joined Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington, DC, in issuing “shelter in place” orders (with the threat of massive fines for scofflaws), as the region joined Greater New York, San Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area, Cook County, Greater Seattle and LA County in being completely locked down.

Still, the US case total climbed at an almost unbelievable rate, as the US case total passed 164,000 Tuesday morning, as stock futures traded mildly in the red, though they were essentially flat on the session.

On Sunday, France and Italy also reported their largest single-day jump in deaths, according to their official tallies, capping off a string of ever-higher highs.

On Monday, it was America’s turn, as the US reported more than 500 deaths for the first time, according to reports published early Tuesday.

But it’s not just that: The US has recorded the biggest daily jump in new cases of any country since the novel coronavirus first made the jump from animal to human (or…whatever) in Wuhan back in December. Even as the overall percentage rate slowed, the US still added more than 20,000 cases on Monday, with its daily rate slowing to 14% from 16%, per the FT. Monday also marked the first time that the US reported more than 500 deaths from COVID-19 in a single day, according to the Washington Post.

Worldwide, 61,404 people were diagnosed with COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the global total to 786,876, while the death toll increased by 3,723 to 37,839, on track to double in less than a week.

A day after the country started expanding a lockdown first rolled out in Moscow late last week, Russia reported 500 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, its largest daily increase by far, as the total number of infections surged 27% to 2,337. While the number of deaths recorded nearly doubled overnight to 17.

On Tuesday, Thailand warned on Tuesday that it would criminally prosecute anyone who claimed to have coronavirus as an April Fool’s Day prank, while, in the US, another individual has been arrested for making a terrorist threat by coughing on them and pretending to be carrying the coronavirus.

Most of the new cases reported in the US yesterday – cases and deaths, that is – happened in New York. In a tribute to medical workers battling the virus on the front lines, the Empire State Building flashed red and white on Monday night to symbolize “America’s heartbeat,” lighting up the top of the iconic building.

Amusingly, Beijing announced on Tuesday that it would start disclosing the number of patients who are asymptomatic but found to have contracted the virus. The decision to be more ‘transparent’ with its numbers makes one wonder why China is doing this now? After all, if China were testing on the level of, say, South Korea, it’s possible that you could have seen millions of cases. Is Beijing really going to try and retake the No. 1 spot as the US comes along and starts mass reporting? Or is this merely a ploy to try and make their accounting look more legitimate at a time when even mainstream medical experts are speculating that the true extent of the US outbreak likely won’t ever be known, according to the SCMP.

A new “coronavirus bill” passed by the Hungarian Parliament on Monday granted PM Viktor Orban sweeping new powers to lead the country, the Washington Post reported. Orban now has the power to govern “unchallenged for as long as he sees fit,” a move rights groups said effectively suspends democracy in the European Union member state in the name of fighting the virus, though this isn’t the first time that the “illiberal” whiners have accused Orban of “flexing” his authoritarian tendencies.

Japanese TV station NHK reported Tuesday that Tokyo had confirmed 78 more cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, citing an unidentified government person, marking the fourth or fifth day in a row that the city had reported a surprisingly large bump in new cases, mostly traced to foreigners.

Speaking of infections caused by foreigners, the NHC promised to start including the “asymptomatic” figures starting on Wednesday, as Beijing clarifies that it already asks health workers to record this data, which is…interesting, to say the least.

As of as of Monday, there were 1,541 asymptomatic carriers under medical observation on mainland China, including 205 imported cases, officials told SCMP. Data previously shared with the SCMP suggests that the ratio of so-called “silent” (asymptomatic) carriers to diagnosed sick could be as high as one to three, which would be enough to put China back in the lead for most cases worldwide.

With President Trump finally seeming to accept that hundreds of thousands of lives are depending on what he decides to do with the federal coronavirus response, Dr. Fauci warned Monday night that he is already bracing for a second coronavirus outbreak in the fall, when flu season starts again.

“In fact, I would anticipate that that would actually happen because of the degree of transmissibility,” Fauci responded when a reporter asked about the potential reemergence of the virus in a few seasons.

Also, a troubling caveat: After announcing yesterday plans to build some 50k ventilators in 100 days, Ford and GE, which will be working on a product model by Airon Corp., added that the 100-day clock won’t start until April 20, and it’s likely that most of the ventilators won’t be ready until after the US surge, if one still happens.

To the chagrin of its critics, the US is leaning into its sanctions against the Iranian regime at a time when the Iranian people are desperate, facing an outbreak that far outpaces the country’s ability to control or suppress it. The Europeans, meanwhile, have come up with a counterweight: the German Foreign Ministry confirmed Tuesday that a new ‘financial mechanism’ was used for the first time to export “medical goods from Europe to Iran.” The hope is that the new INSTEX – Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges – system would shield the involved parties from US sanctions that have hampered Iranian efforts to import medicine and other medical supplies. It essentially operates as a clearing house for trade credit points.

The announcement came as Iran confirmed 141 new coronavirus deaths and over 3,000 new cases within the last 24 hours on Tuesday morning. At least 2,898 people have died in the country already, authorities said. INSTEX was a critical piece of EU efforts to preserve the JCPOA – better known as the Iran deal – following the Trump Administration’s decision to torpedo it.

In other news, WaPo reports that the DHS asked states in a Sunday memo that all gun shops be considered “essential” and should be allowed to continue working, while their workers should be considered “essential” workers.

The CDC is also reportedly considering a plan that would see them adjusting the official guidance to ask consumers to always wear masks when they leave their homes. According to WaPo, which first reported the issue, the issue is still “under review.”

For the third day in a row, Spain on Tuesday announced 849 coronavirus deaths over the last 24 hours, marking another record ‘deadliest day yet’ in an outbreak that has now taken 8,189 lives in the country.

Finally, Beijing has a message for uppity American politicians who expect China to pay any kind of penalty for unleashing this medical monstrosity on the world.

As more hot spots emerge in Michigan, Louisiana and elsewhere, the FT followed up the NYT by publishing a lengthy feature about the outbreak in poverty-stricken Detroit. The FT story included the following quote, from the administrator of an area hospital, who offered a rare piece of optimism: his hospital is “nowhere near” having to ration ventilators, he said, adding: ”I think it’s highly unlikely we will get there, I think the lockdown is working – even though some people still have no clue what’s going on. The $20m question is what happens in 2021. I think it smoulders all year and then comes back.”

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