| To view this in your browser, click here. There’s a lot we still don’t know about the coronavirus outbreak. This newsletter does its best to put everything we do know in one place each day. Have questions you want answered? You can always get in touch. And to help keep high quality news free for all, become a BuzzFeed News member.
And with that, here’s what we know as of Tuesday, April 28.
Coronavirus in the US
As of Tuesday afternoon, there have been 1,008,066 confirmed cases and 58,126 deaths in the US. These numbers were accurate when we sent this out, but they’re always changing. For the latest numbers and charts, check out our live-tracking page, where you can also look up the numbers by the state you live in.
A million cases in the US
It’s a mostly arbitrary number, given everything we now know about the availability of testing and the number of people who may have been infected without ever experiencing symptoms. But still. It was almost exactly a month ago — March 27 — when this edition of Outbreak Today hit your inbox: The death toll on March 27 was 1,581; today it’s just under 58,000. And while New York was the hardest-hit state then and remains so now, other places have emerged as major hot spots. Washington state had the nation’s second-highest death toll back then; today it’s not even in the top 10. If you want to compare and contrast, here’s what things looked like a month ago. A new list of symptoms
In the early days of the outbreak, the CDC had a simple list of just three symptoms that were the coronavirus warning signs to look out for: a cough, a fever, and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. That was based largely on what was known about the virus from cases in China, and now that it has spread so widely through the US and the world, the CDC is updating its advice.
Now it’s listing 9 common symptoms, advising people to look out for any combination of these, which typically occur within 2–14 days of exposure to the virus:
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fever
- Chills
- Repeated shaking with chills
- Muscle pain
- Headache
- Sore throat
- New loss of taste or smell
One big change has been in our understanding of how prevalent fevers are among infected people. Early data from China showed about 88% of patients reporting a fever, but that hasn’t been the case in the US. A recent study of thousands of hospital patients in New York showed only 31% reported experiencing a fever. Vichan Poti / Sipa USA via AP Meat plants could be forced to remain open
President Trump plans on ordering meat-processing plants to remain open, in response to a growing number of plants closing down due to coronavirus outbreaks among their workers. The closures have experts warning of looming meat shortages unless the supply chain issues can be resolved.
Trump said today that he will issue an executive order protecting the plants from legal liability related to workers suing over inadequate protection. It’s still hazy exactly how all this will work in practice; it will reportedly involve declaring the plants critical national infrastructure under the Defense Production Act, a law allowing the president to control industrial production during national emergencies. Yuri Kadobnov / AFP / Getty Images What we’re reading
Plasma tests show promising results Almost 2,600 coronavirus patients in the US have been treated with blood plasma taken from recovered patients, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The trial is testing a treatment method that has been used successfully against a number of other viruses in the past, including SARS, another deadly form of coronavirus. “We have not seen any huge safety signals. The anecdotal evidence is overwhelmingly positive," said one doctor who has been reviewing the results.
Men are getting hit harder
At Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, 75% of the coronavirus patients in intensive care and on ventilators are men — a pattern noticed across the country and around the world. So doctors in the US are now testing whether the hormones produced in greater quantities by women could help men recover from the virus, the New York Times reports. They’re focusing on estrogen and progesterone, two hormones produced in particularly large quantities by pregnant women, who despite often being vulnerable to illnesses have generally not been hit hard by the coronavirus.
Won’t somebody think of the landlords?
“A Bargain With the Devil” — Bill Comes Due for Overextended Airbnb Hosts (Wall Street Journal)
A pug, of course
Pug Tests Positive for Coronavirus, Possibly First Dog in US To Do So (Pix11 News)
Quote of the Day
“My grandma taught me not to argue with a fool, because onlookers can’t tell who’s who.” —Amber Brown, a nurse, on why she didn’t respond to heckling by anti-lockdown protesters in North Carolina
Quote of the Day II
“Let me get dressed and I’ll get back to you.” —ABC News reporter Will Reeve, responding to a request for comment after accidentally appearing on GMA this morning while not wearing pants. ABC Coronavirus around the world
As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 3,098,391 confirmed cases and 216,160 deaths globally. These numbers are changing by the hour. You can get the latest figures from our live tracker.
Spain plans to return to normal by the end of June. Its government today announced a four-stage plan to exit its national lockdown.
Japan has reported a sharp drop in coronavirus cases in recent days. The country is not under a national lockdown, although social distancing is being widely observed.
The UK’s coronavirus death toll may be more than 50% higher than official figures suggest. New numbers from the country’s Office of National Statistics said that when deaths in private homes, hospices, and care homes are included, the total is over 22,000.
German doctors are posting nudes to protest a shortage of protective equipment. “The nudity should symbolize that we are vulnerable without protection," one doctor said.
One last thing via @itsallbollocks 📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by Tom Gara and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here. 💌 Did a friend forward you this email? You can sign up here to get Outbreak Today direct to your inbox. Show privacy notice and cookie policy. BuzzFeed, Inc.
111 E. 18th St.
New York, NY 10003
Unsubscribe | 