Coronavirus Special Coverage

A collection of news posted throughout the week for those that want signal, not noise.

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COVID-19: key developments for Friday, April 17, 2020

Global cases have grown by over 84,000 since yesterday for a total of over 2.2 million.  The US has over 700,000 cases. Cases in the US have grown by over 200,000 in the last week.

Guidelines for opening up the economy: a phased approach. The guidelines include a description of three distinct phases, state and regional criteria for reopening safely, core state preparedness factors including testing and contact tracing, and instructions for individuals and employers.

Patients appear to be responding to remdesivir. Multiple concurrent trials are still ongoing, so we’ll reserve judgment for the final results. Gilead’s study does look promising. Gilead is ramping up supply but acknowledges that it is not yet known if the drug is safe and efficacious.

Potato farmer in Idaho donates several million potatoes instead of tossing them. In a time of incredible food waste and disrupted supply chains this is heartening.

WWE’s Vince McMahon is one of many notable advisors on Trump’s Great American Economic Revival Industry Group. The WWE was also designated as “essential” earlier this week, which some feel is a mockery of public health mandates.

Having trouble finding frozen pizza? Here are some suppliers.

The CDC is investigating after a huge number of asymptomatic homeless people in Boston test positive. It’s unclear if the pandemic is far more widespread than thought possible, or if the tests are wildly inaccurate.

Beaches and park in Jacksonville, Fl are opening back up tonight. It sure doesn’t look like a particularly good time to do this:

Florida new cases per day care of FOX13 and the Florida Health Department

Los Angeles is heading into a significant recession:

The US test positivity rate (about 20%) indicates we’re not yet out of the woods and that we’re vastly under-testing. Case numbers may have plateaued because we’re hitting our testing capacity limit.

Sunlight is effective at destroying the virus, and it appears to have some susceptibility to relative heat and humidity. That doesn’t mean it won’t continue spreading in the summer. Areas with low humidity, like airplane cabins or air-conditioned homes, businesses, and offices may help the pandemic persist.


  • 6 Comments

    • Hardened

      Thank you so much for the effort you’re putting into this blog, Stephanie.  It’s the first thing I check every morning, before The New York Times, and has been an invaluable resource to help me with planning and navigating this situation.

      7 |
    • Cia

      This is also the first blog I look at every morning, very interesting and valuable information! I just forwarded several of the articles linked to friends. Could you repost the item about where to get frozen pizza? The link doesn’t work.

      11 |
      • Stephanie ArnoldContributor Cia

        Fixed the link. That’s for bringing that to my attention!

        8 |
    • JohnG

      Thank you for these posts. You’re doing yeoman’s work here. Its nice to get facts with a minimum of editorializing. And no hysteria.

      8 |