COVID-19 day 95 : 📈 905,333 cases; 51,949 deaths : 24 April 2020
Georgia re-opens against recommendations and federal guidance; FDA issues warning against use of hydroxychloroquine; Trump Administration adds mobile surveillance cameras at the southern border
It’s day 95 since the first case of coronavirus disease was announced in the United States. A numbers-focused, limited edition.
On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning on the use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine for treating COVID-19 due to heart rhythm problems. The warning advises that these drugs should be limited to clinical trials or for treating specific hospitalized patients under the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), which FDA issued in late March.
STAT News interviewed Janet Woodcock, who heads the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, about the decision to issue an EUA, “even though there is no evidence the medicines may be useful in patients stricken by the novel coronavirus.”
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Friday, Johns Hopkins reported 905,333 (869,172) cases and 51,949 (49,963) deaths in the US, an increase of 4.16% and 3.97%, respectively, since Thursday. A week ago, the daily numbers increased by 5.3% and 11.4%, respectively.
That case rate is 273.51 per 100,000; the death rate is 156.94 per million.
One week ago, the case rate was 213.53 per 100,000; the death rate, 112.02 per million.
🤓Recommended reading
Inside Wuhan: China’s struggle to control the virus — and the narrative. Financial Times, 22 April 2020 (no paywall)
Sun Rays, Disinfectants And False Hopes: Misinformation Litters The Road To Reopening. NPR, 24 April.
🔬Research and medical news
Jaguar Health more than tripled the price of a 60-pill bottle of Mytesi, which is specifically for people with HIV/AIDS who are on antiretroviral drugs, after asking FDA for approval to use it for COVID-19 patients.
⓵ Around the country
Which states have been hardest hit by COVID-19? We know that New York and New Jersey have been the hardest hit (combined population, 28,335,751, would sneak into a list of the 50 most populous countries).
The northeast has been hit very hard; it has some of the most densely populated states. Nine of the 10 most densely populated states (plus DC) are represented in this chart of the 15 states with the most COVID-19 deaths per capita. As you review this list, think about which states are in the news and which are not.
Per capita deaths per 1,000,000 and population density per square mile
New York, 830.80 (420, 8th)
New Jersey, 632.39 (1,218, 2nd)
Connecticut, 494.77 (741, 5th)
Massachusetts, 367.80 (871, 4th)
Louisiana, 344.39 (108, 24th)
Michigan, 308.91 (175, 19th)
District of Columbia, 216.79 (11,011, 1st)
Rhode Island, 190.68 (1,021, 3rd)
Illinois, 141.65 (231, 13th)
Maryland, 132.00 (618, 6th)
Colorado, 117.04 (52, 38th)
Pennsylvania, 116.54 (286, 10th)
Indiana, 110.07 (184, 17th)
Delaware, 102.69 (485, 7th)
Washington, 94.95 (107, 25th)
There is not a one-to-one relationship between cases and population.
Per capita cases per 100,000 and population density per square mile
New York, 1396.1 (420, 8th)
New Jersey, 1150.6 (1,218, 2nd)
Massachusetts, 733.4 (871, 4th)
Connecticut, 670.9 (741, 5th)
Rhode Island, 632.4 (1,021, 3rd)
Louisiana,562.3 (108, 24th)
District of Columbia, 499.9 (11,011, 1st)
Michigan, 366.9 (175, 19th)
Delaware, 353.5 (485, 7th)
Illinois, 313.0 (231, 13th)
Pennsylvania, 301.9 (286, 10th)
Maryland, 274.8 (618, 6th)
South Dakota, 230.6 (11, 46th)
Colorado, 212.8 (52, 38th)
Georgia, 211.8 (177, 18th)
In the absence of widespread testing, a rough proxy for tracking severe cases of COVID-19 might come from analyzing trends in hospitalizations from emergency rooms. This chart suggests Washington’s cases may have peaked in March. However, we haven’t returned to pre-coronavirus levels.
All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands have identified COVID-19 cases and all have at least one death.
⓶ Around the world
On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched an initiative, Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, to fast-track the development and production of COVID-19 vaccines and drugs.
…a key goal is to level the global playing field so that any products will be available to rich and poor populations alike, a contentious issue that for many years has often pitted low-income countries against the pharmaceutical industry, in particular.
The number of affected countries/territories/areas jumped from 29 at the end of February to 208 today. Although early reports tied the outbreak to a seafood (“wet”) market in Wuhan, China, analyses of genomic data suggest that the virus may have developed elsewhere.
⓷ Politics, economics and COVID-19
Georgia isn’t ready to open; Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision doesn’t conform to White House recommendations. Fewer than 1% of Georgians have been tested, in contrast to almost 4% of residents in New York and Louisiana. The Atlanta-Journal Constitution has reported the disconnect between state data and news reports.
As of midday Thursday, IHME projected that it may be safe [for Georgia] to begin easing restrictions after June 22, as long as the state puts into place strategies to contain the disease such as testing, contract tracing, and isolation.
Discrepancy much?
Lost in the noise of COVID-19 and Trump’s antics at the podium each day:
The Trump administration has been quietly adding mobile surveillance cameras at the U.S.-Mexico border in response to the coronavirus pandemic, though fewer people appear to be crossing illegally. It’s the latest move as operations at the U.S.-Mexico border have become increasingly militarized and secretive.
⓸ Case count
There is a lag between being contagious and showing symptoms, between having a test and getting its results. The virus was not created in a lab.
🌎 24 April
Globally: 2 626 321 confirmed (81 529 - new) with 181 938 deaths (6260 - new)
The Americas: 995 510 confirmed (38 108 - new) with 50 583 deaths (2787 - new)
Johns Hopkins interactive dashboard (11.30 pm Pacific)
Global confirmed: 2,809,979 (2,710,238 )
Total deaths: 197,006 (190,872 )
Recovered: 789,069 (743,151)
🇺🇸 24 April
CDC: 865,585 (828,441) cases and 48,816 (46,379) deaths
Johns Hopkins*: 905,333 (869,172) cases and 51,949 (49,963) deaths
State data*: 899,281 (861,756) identified cases and 46,204 (44,132) deaths
Total tested (US, Johns Hopkins): 4,940,376 (4,684,300)
View infographic and data online: total cases, cases/100,000 and deaths/million.
* Johns Hopkins data, ~11.00 pm Pacific.
State data include DC, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands
See US (state/territory) total cases, cases/100,000 and deaths/million as infographics.
⓹ What you can do
Stay home as much as possible, period.
Digestive problems may be a symptom.
Resources
👓 See COVID-19 resource collection at WiredPen.
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🦠 COVID-19 @ WiredPen.com
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