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| Coronavirus Briefing: What Happened Today | Coronavirus Briefing: What Happened Today |
| (6 days later) | |
| This is the Coronavirus Briefing, an informed guide to the global outbreak. Sign up here to get the briefing by email. | This is the Coronavirus Briefing, an informed guide to the global outbreak. Sign up here to get the briefing by email. |
| President Trump declared a national emergency for the growing coronavirus pandemic on Friday, capping a week in which the virus began to alter nearly every part of life in the United States. Cases in the U.S. have climbed to almost 2,000, even with sparse testing, and the death toll has risen to 41. | President Trump declared a national emergency for the growing coronavirus pandemic on Friday, capping a week in which the virus began to alter nearly every part of life in the United States. Cases in the U.S. have climbed to almost 2,000, even with sparse testing, and the death toll has risen to 41. |
| There are signs that we are still much closer to the beginning of the outbreak than the end. Our colleague Sheri Fink reported today that officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have projected that in a worst-case situation, 160 million to 214 million people in the U.S. could be infected. | There are signs that we are still much closer to the beginning of the outbreak than the end. Our colleague Sheri Fink reported today that officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have projected that in a worst-case situation, 160 million to 214 million people in the U.S. could be infected. |
| The projections suggest that 2.4 million to 21 million people in the U.S. could require hospitalization, potentially crushing the nation’s medical system, which has only about 925,000 staffed hospital beds, in an outbreak that could last months or even over a year. | The projections suggest that 2.4 million to 21 million people in the U.S. could require hospitalization, potentially crushing the nation’s medical system, which has only about 925,000 staffed hospital beds, in an outbreak that could last months or even over a year. |
| Those dire scenarios are not guaranteed to come true. They don’t account for interventions that are now underway: increased testing, tracing contacts of infected people, and limiting social interactions by banning large gatherings and encouraging people to stay home. (And, yes, frequently washing your hands and not touching your face.) | Those dire scenarios are not guaranteed to come true. They don’t account for interventions that are now underway: increased testing, tracing contacts of infected people, and limiting social interactions by banning large gatherings and encouraging people to stay home. (And, yes, frequently washing your hands and not touching your face.) |
| “When people change their behavior,” said Lauren Gardner, a Johns Hopkins professor who models epidemics, “those model parameters are no longer applicable.” | “When people change their behavior,” said Lauren Gardner, a Johns Hopkins professor who models epidemics, “those model parameters are no longer applicable.” |
| Another health expert compared the situation to an approaching hurricane: “You’ve got to take potentially very disruptive actions when the sun is shining and the breeze is mild.” | Another health expert compared the situation to an approaching hurricane: “You’ve got to take potentially very disruptive actions when the sun is shining and the breeze is mild.” |
| China was the first country to face the coronavirus, Italy is in the thick of its own outbreak, and in the United States it’s still early days. But in all three countries, health workers are on the front lines. | China was the first country to face the coronavirus, Italy is in the thick of its own outbreak, and in the United States it’s still early days. But in all three countries, health workers are on the front lines. |
| In Wuhan, China, the story of two young doctors starkly reveals the peril. The two 29-year-old women were in constant contact with the virus; within weeks, both were in critical condition at the hospitals where they worked. One recovered. The other did not. | In Wuhan, China, the story of two young doctors starkly reveals the peril. The two 29-year-old women were in constant contact with the virus; within weeks, both were in critical condition at the hospitals where they worked. One recovered. The other did not. |
| Some doctors in northern Italy are already unable to treat every patient, effectively leaving those with lower chances of survival to die. “The outbreak has put hospitals under a stress that has no precedents since the Second World War,” said one hospital director in Milan. | Some doctors in northern Italy are already unable to treat every patient, effectively leaving those with lower chances of survival to die. “The outbreak has put hospitals under a stress that has no precedents since the Second World War,” said one hospital director in Milan. |
| In California and Washington, two of the first states in the U.S. to deal with large numbers of coronavirus cases, nurses have had to beg for masks and clearer treatment protocols. At a Seattle-area hospital where 15 coronavirus patients died, they used menstrual pads to refurbish gear, called quarantined staff members back to work and reused face shields that were cloudy with bleach residue. | In California and Washington, two of the first states in the U.S. to deal with large numbers of coronavirus cases, nurses have had to beg for masks and clearer treatment protocols. At a Seattle-area hospital where 15 coronavirus patients died, they used menstrual pads to refurbish gear, called quarantined staff members back to work and reused face shields that were cloudy with bleach residue. |
| Still, health care workers call in to say, “If you need me, I’m available.” | Still, health care workers call in to say, “If you need me, I’m available.” |
| Public schools in Oregon, Ohio, Michigan, Maryland, Kentucky and New Mexico have been ordered to close by next week. Countries like Italy, China, South Korea and France have shuttered schools for days or weeks on end. | Public schools in Oregon, Ohio, Michigan, Maryland, Kentucky and New Mexico have been ordered to close by next week. Countries like Italy, China, South Korea and France have shuttered schools for days or weeks on end. |
| All told, hundreds of millions of students around the world missed class today. | All told, hundreds of millions of students around the world missed class today. |
| The tough decision to shutter schools is now under the microscope in New York City, where Mayor Bill de Blasio is resisting increasing pressure to close the nation’s biggest school system. | The tough decision to shutter schools is now under the microscope in New York City, where Mayor Bill de Blasio is resisting increasing pressure to close the nation’s biggest school system. |
| While there is evidence that school closings can slow the spread of disease in a pandemic, it comes at a cost: Sending students home makes it harder for vital health care staff members to go to work. And in New York City, around 750,000 of its 1.1 million students are living in poverty, including roughly 114,000 who are homeless. | While there is evidence that school closings can slow the spread of disease in a pandemic, it comes at a cost: Sending students home makes it harder for vital health care staff members to go to work. And in New York City, around 750,000 of its 1.1 million students are living in poverty, including roughly 114,000 who are homeless. |
| Schools don’t just provide an education, but also food, mental health care and other services. As one Indiana teacher told our education reporter Dana Goldstein, “If you think about it, the school is a city we provide to kids.” | Schools don’t just provide an education, but also food, mental health care and other services. As one Indiana teacher told our education reporter Dana Goldstein, “If you think about it, the school is a city we provide to kids.” |
| Let us know how you’re dealing with the outbreak. Send us a response here, and we may feature it in an upcoming newsletter. | Let us know how you’re dealing with the outbreak. Send us a response here, and we may feature it in an upcoming newsletter. |
| Editor’s note: In yesterday’s briefing we misstated the number of cases in California. As of Thursday there were more than 1,300 confirmed cases and 38 deaths across the entire U.S., not in that state alone. In California, there have been over 250 cases and four deaths. We regret the error. | Editor’s note: In yesterday’s briefing we misstated the number of cases in California. As of Thursday there were more than 1,300 confirmed cases and 38 deaths across the entire U.S., not in that state alone. In California, there have been over 250 cases and four deaths. We regret the error. |
| Today’s newsletter was written by Lara Takenaga, Jonathan Wolfe, Tom Wright-Piersanti and Adam Pasick. | Today’s newsletter was written by Lara Takenaga, Jonathan Wolfe, Tom Wright-Piersanti and Adam Pasick. |