By Melissa Korn & Newley Purnell
Confirmed coronavirus cases shot past 1.1 million globally, with the U.S. firmly at the center
of the global pandemic and bracing for the country’s hardest weeks. White House coronavirus coordinator Deborah Birx said during a White House briefing that modeling shows New York, Detroit and New Orleans— and the areas around those cities—will likely reach the peak of their outbreaks in the next six to seven days.
She declined to predict how many people could
perish in those cities, noting that each place is different.
But she said that New York has seen several hundred deaths per day and officials there have said that figure could increase into the range of 500-700 people per day. “That’s very concerning to us,” Dr. Birx said. Government officials are closely monitoring an uptick in cases in Pennsylvania, Colorado and Washington, D.C., she said, explaining that experts are hopefully social distancing in those places could prevent those areas from seeing the same level of spread as New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and part of Rhode Island are having.
“The next two weeks are extraordinarily important,” she said.“This is the moment to do everything that you can,” Dr. Birx said later at the briefing, “Doing everything you can to keep your family and your friends safe.”“There will be a lot of death unfortunately,”
President Trump said at the briefing. But he added there would be less death than there would have been without the federal government’s response to stop the spread of the virus.
The U.S. has more than 300,000 cases, and New York state is hardest hit with nearly 114,000 as of Saturday. Upward of 8,100 people in the U.S. have died from Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, according to Johns Hopkins data. Roughly half of those are in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “It is like a fire spreading,” Mr. Cuomo added on Saturday. Most states now have stay-at-home orders, with governors in Alabama and Missouri announcing such restrictions Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday evening recommended that all people wear face coverings in public, especially in hot spots with high transmission rates.
Officials urged people to reserve N95 surgical masks and respirators for medical first responders and instead encouraged the use of scarfs, bandannas or other cloth coverings.
Mr. Trump called the mask advisory “voluntary,” and said he didn’t expect to wear one himself. Meanwhile in New York City, crematoriums are now running 24 hours a day, and the city put out a wireless emergency alert on Friday asking any licensed medical personnel to volunteer to fight the virus. Tens of thousands from outside the state had already done so before that call went out, and they and local medical professionals who volunteered are now being paired with hospitals requesting assistance, Mr. Cuomo said.
The governor warned New York is probably about a week away from its caseload apex, when hospitals, health care workers and supplies will be stretched thinnest. The state now has 113,704 cases, up by nearly 11,000 in the past day, Mr. Cuomo said. The death toll rose to 3,565, a one-day jump of 630. New York state has been struggling to amass enough ventilators, the most in-demand hospital item in the fight against the virus. The Chinese government helped facilitate a donation of 1,000 ventilators, which would arrive on Saturday, Mr. Cuomo said.
He also thanked the federal government for its help converting the Javitz Center in Manhattan into
a 2,500-bed hospital for Covid-19 patients.
At the White House news briefing Saturday, Mr. Trump said 1,000 medical military personnel were being sent to New York to help with the coronavirus response. He said he had dispatched them and that they would go “where they’re needed the most.” The president also again criticized many states for asking for too much federal aid, saying that the federal government was there to serve as a “backup” to states.
New Jersey now has more than 34,000 confirmed cases, followed by Michigan, California and Massachusetts. At a news conference Saturday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said the coronavirus death count now eclipses the death toll from the terrorist attack on 9/11 by more than 100. He asked people to continue to practice social distancing, despite desires to congregate for Easter and Passover in the coming week. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Saturday the state would increase testing. So far, 126,700 people have been tested, a number that Mr. Newsom said isn’t enough. The state has more than 12,600 confirmed cases, the governor said Saturday.
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The state has a new partnership with the University of California, Davis and San Diego, to create a minimum of five to seven testing hubs throughout the state. “I have a responsibility as governor to do better, and do more testing in the state of California,” Mr. Newsom said at a news conference Saturday. U.S. medical experts and the White House have estimated the national death toll from the coronavirus pandemic could reach 100,000 to 240,000.
At the same time, governments around the world further tightened limits on social activity, as the death toll surpassed 63,900 world-wide.
In Spain, 124,736 people have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to data updated Saturday morning, more than anywhere else after the U.S. So far, 11,744 people are known to have died there. But in Italy, long the center of the outbreak, the rate of infection is slowing. There were 119,827 confirmed cases of infection as of Friday evening, a 3.9% increase from the previous day, a sign that the strict social-distancing measures introduced more than three weeks ago are having an impact.
Italy’s official death toll, however, remains the world’s highest, with 14,681 people confirmed dead. But as elsewhere, many people—infected and dead—aren’t being counted. China, where the new virus first emerged late last year, is slowly returning to normal after lifting one of the world’s longest and most stringent lockdowns.
According to Johns Hopkins data, the country has recorded more than 82,500 cases—now surpassed by those in the U.S., Italy, Spain, Germany and France—and the rate of spread has slowed. President Xi Jinping and other leaders gathered Saturday in Beijing to observe three minutes of silence as part of a national day of mourning for Covid-19 victims.
Write to Melissa Korn at melissa.korn@wsj.com
and Newley Purnell at newley.purnell@wsj.com
Coronavirus COVID-19 Stay at Home Survival Guide
by Gene DellaSala — March 15, 2020
How I’m Managing My COVID-19 Symptoms
I recently tested positive for COVID-19 after struggling with what I thought at the time was a stomach bug or flu on and off for 8 straight days. It wasn’t until I got the call from a business associate who visited my home to demo the new RBH Sound SVTRS system that I learned that his colleague and his wife were hospitalized from illness due to COVID-19. I immediately coordinated with my doctor and the health department to get tested and less than 48hrs later (03/10/20), I was diagnosed and ordered to be quarantined in my home with my family for the next two weeks or until I produced two negative consecutive test results. My first test comes this Monday and I sit here with fingers crossed for a successful negative result though with symptoms like chest tightness, and headaches persistent, I remain cautiously optimistic.
I remain hopeful NOT to infect my wife or youngest daughter. I’ve read the research. Somehow children seem to be less symptomatic than adults but are still carriers. COVID-19 seems to target men more than women but my wife has severe Asthma so I pray she doesn’t get this.
I pray for everyone right now and that we get through this not only as a nation but as a race.
I hope that good will come of this as people realize we are all connected,
and we are all stewards of this planet.
So, what do you do to pass the time while in isolation? I’m literally stuck between my theater room (not a bad place to be) and the guest room with our Bearded Dragon who looks at me in confusion as to why I’m not picking him up and playing with him as usual. I must look pretty funny to him wearing a face mask and having a mouthpiece when doing nebulizer treatments. Isolation is important.
Whomever your caregiver is, make sure they ALWAYS wear gloves and a mask while interacting with you if you have COVID-19.
You should wear a mask, preferably the N95 rated, for all interactions with quarantined family members even if they are asymptomatic. Paper plates & cups are a good idea, to cut down on washing dishes and the exposure to the virus since they thrive on hard surfaces.
Your clothes and trash should be contained in bags and handled with gloves. Take no chances.
It’s been reported that COVID-19 can live on surfaces for days.
Living with Coronavirus (COVID-19) Symptoms & Treatments
Survival: The first order of business is to control your symptoms to be comfortable.
I’ve had excellent luck with Tylenol 8hr taken twice/day to control fevers and body pains. Thankfully I haven’t had a fever in the last 3 days but the Tylenol still partly helps with the migraines. How about a Nebulizer treatment every 4-6 hours help to relieve chest tightness which is a common symptom of those afflicted with COVID-19.
Any asthma sufferers will definitely want to be vigilant with their breathing treatments.
Hot Green Jasmine/Mint tea works wonders to hydrate and make you feel good. I discovered better results with warm beverages. Hydration is key. Coconut water also helps maintain energy levels thanks to high concentrations of electrolytes.
Keep eating. I feel for my wife having to prepare meals as I’m forbidden from the kitchen
but you need your energy so don’t deprive yourself of food, especially proteins and fiber.
Avoid irritants like coffee and alcohol (two things I love but don’t even have a desire to consume right now). Boost your Vitamin D3, Vitamin B, C, etc.
There are good resources online to expand upon this just a Google search away.
Note: Stocking up on basic supplies to last you two weeks is a good idea such as items like milk, eggs, proteins, bread, canned items, batteries, toilet paper and paper towels.
COVID-19: 1 Month Still Infected, What Now?
The Idle Mind is the Devils Playground
Keep your mind occupied. I can’t sit in total silence very long without going crazy. Believe me it gets quiet in an acoustically controlled room all by yourself. I always have music going in the background but now is a great time to literally chill out and do some critical listening.
I’m finding myself rediscovering music and movies that I haven’t listened to
or watched in some time.
♫
♫ Peter Gabriel: Security ♫
♫♫
Classic albums like Peter Gabriel Security sounds pretty awesome up mixed in Dolby Surround. Give it a try, crank up the “Rhythm of the Heat”. You will thank me. “Wallflower”
is one of those songs that you just listen to alone and reflect. A bit prophetic in this case
but enjoyable, nonetheless.
♫
♫ Steely Dan: Gaucho DTS CD ♫
♫♫
This album is a treasure and represents an era of music long gone but not forgotten. I know it’s a bit overplayed but who could ever get tired of Donald Fagen’s vocals in “Third World Man” especially while being enveloped in discrete 5.1 bliss?
♫
♫ Genesis: Trick of the Tail SACD ♫
♫ ♫
It’s no secret Genesis is one of my all time favorite progressive rock bands. Trick of the Tail
was arguably their musical peak. With Gabriel gone, Phil Collins really had to step up not only as their masterful drummer, but as lead vocals. The album starts off strong with
“Dance on a Volcano”. Few bands today can play at this level of musicianship or impact.
“Entangled” is mesmerizing thanks to the wonderful Mellotron of Tony Banks and brilliant vocal track laid out by Phil Collins. Again pop this track on and thank me later. After going through withdrawal symptoms of finishing all 9 seasons of the Office, I was looking for a way to entertain myself on Netflix when suddenly
I went into classic Star Trek mode.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Set in the late 23rd century, Captain Kirk goes on his last official mission to escort the chancellor of the Klingon Empire to a peace accord when he’s framed for murder. Christopher Plummer gives a superb performance as a the Klingon antagonist. I almost forgot what a Klingon looked like from the trash CBS Show Star Trek Discovery. This movie is pure sci-fi gold and perhaps only rivaled by STII TWOK from the the same director Nicolas Myer.
Apollo 13 (Full Movie)
This is about the best feel good American patriotic movie one can watch and it’s starring Tom Hanks, a fellow COVID-19 sufferer, so it’s an appropriate watch in this situation. Apollo 13 has everything you can want including great acting, great storytelling and great directing by Ron Howard. If we can bring the crew of Apollo 13 home from a failed space craft heading to the moon using nothing but slide rules and computers less sophisticated than those found in a fitbit, we can surely come up with a vaccine for the coronavirus. Go science!
Dodgeball A True Underdog Story Full Movie _Ben Stiller Movie
Dodgeball is a silly comedy that has so many quotable moments thanks to Ben Stiller’s
brilliant performance as Wight Goodman. This is a movie I often come back to when I need
a lighthearted feel good comedy or if I ever need a refresher of the 5 D’s of Dodgeball (dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge!) These are useful life lessons we should all have instilled upon us.
Here’s to taking the bull by the horns White Goodman style.
Are you team Average Joe’s or team Globo-gym?
COVID-19: Dealing with Retest, Isolation & Recovery YouTube Video
It’s Gonna Get Better
One thought I must keep going in my mind is that things are going to get better.
We will prevail over this virus. Our economy must recover, and humanity will survive.
It’s easy to go negative fast on this, especially me being a glass half empty kind of guy.
I’m in the middle of our most ambitious project in our 20-year history, the building of the Audioholics AV Smart Home where my goal is to document everything from soup to nuts
on our YouTube channel. I absolutely must make this work and I know with the support of our sponsors and my friends at HD2020, we will prevail.
In the meantime, if you feel sick, don’t go out. Stay home and isolate. Practice good hygiene.
Follow the advice of the medical professionals. They know what they’re doing.
Be kind to anyone you know that has COVID-19. We are still human.
We need the help, support and understanding of everyone.
I’d like to thank ALL of our readers for their prayers and support they’ve given me since I was diagnosed.
The positive energy has been invaluable to my healing.
Source:> https://www.audioholics.com/editorials/
the-covonavirus-covid-19-survival-guide
^ This video is so valuable for the whole world.^