Featured Headlines
Disease Doubling Faster Now; Deaths Top 10,000: Virus Update – Bloomberg
The World Health Organization said the disease is now infecting people at a faster pace. It took three months for the first 100,000 cases, but only 12 days for the next 100,000.
‘It’s Not the Exact Same Virus Everywhere in the World’ – MedPage Today
Preprint manuscript suggests COVID-19 virus has already mutated into multiple strains. [Link to PrePub paper]
WHO Adopts Test Method That Helped Stifle Ebola for Coronavirus – Bloomberg
In the Solidarity trials, researchers will test four therapies, some of which are already used in people, to treat Covid-19: Gilead Sciences Inc.’s experimental remdesivir, AbbVie Inc.’s Kaletra (used to treat HIV infection), Kaletra with an anti-inflammatory treatment called interferon-beta, and the malaria drug chloroquine.
China, Where COVID-19 Was First Detected, Reports No New Local Cases Of Coronavirus – Forbes
China reported no new locally transmitted cases of coronavirus—but marked a spike in new cases from overseas—prompting authorities there to enforce strict new quarantine measures on travelers from abroad.
SARS-CoV-2 turned positive in a discharged patient with COVID-19 arouses concern regarding the present standard for discharge – Intl Journal of Infectious Diseases
How to manage these patients normatively is still challenging. We hereby reported an asymptomatic discharged patient with COVID-19 who was retested positive for SARS-CoV-2, which arouses concern regarding the present discharge standard of COVID-19.
U.K. asks Rolls-Royce and Jaguar to make ventilators in wartime-like effort – Washington Post
British government issued a cry for help from manufacturers — the builders of automobiles, jet engines, dialysis machines, excavation equipment — to switch their assembly lines over to make mechanical ventilators.
[Opinion] The Epic Failure of Coronavirus Testing in America – New York Times
The WHO has emphasized social distancing, find and isolate every person infected with Covid-19 — including those with mild cases of the disease who don’t turn up in doctor’s offices or hospitals.The U.S. has been conveying a very different message; If you suspect you’re infected, stay home. Even those who live in close quarters with someone who faces a higher risk of becoming severely ill or dying from the infection, have been discouraged from seeking testing unless they are having difficulty breathing.
Surveillance
Editor’s note: Regarding the case counts below, please consider due to limited testing capabilities in some locations, the real number of cases could be considerably higher.
Official Reporting
Total (new) cases in last 24 hours
Globally: 209,839 confirmed (16,556) 8,778 deaths (828)
Western Pacific Region: 92,333 confirmed (488) 3,377 deaths (20)
European Region: 87,108 confirmed (10,221) 4,084 deaths (591)
South-East Asia Region: 657 confirmed (119) 23 deaths (14)
Eastern Mediterranean Region: 19,518 confirmed (1,430) 1,161 deaths (150)
Region of the Americas: 9,144 confirmed (4,166) 119 deaths (50)
African Region: 367 confirmed (132) 7 deaths (3)
(Globally)
Confirmed Cases: 213,254
Deaths: 8,843
Cases < 15 Days 120,187
Total deaths: 150
Travel Related: 290
Close Contact: 310
Under Investigation: 9,842
Total Cases: 10,442
Surveillance Headlines
USA
California: Gov Issues ‘Stay At Home’ Order As Coronavirus Infections Rise – NPR
Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered California’s 40 million residents to stay at home indefinitely.
New York: Has Over 40 Percent of U.S. Coronavirus Cases – New York Times
“We now constitute 30 percent of the coronavirus cases in the United States of America, 70 percent of the cases in the state of New York,” Mr. de Blasio said on MSNBC. “We have to take really intense, radical action right away.
Europe
France: Officials expect to extend the country’s 2-week lockdown. There are 4,461 patients hospitalized, 1,122 of them in intensive care, 108 more deaths were reported, raising the fatality count to 372. CIDRAP
Germany: Confirmed cases passed the 10,000 mark, with the addition of 2,801 more cases today The country has now reported 10,999 cases, 20 of them fatal. CIDRAP
Germany/Bavaria: National shutdown looms in Germany as Bavaria imposes total lockdown – Yahoo Finance
Spain: The health minister today reported 3,431 new cases, pushing its total to 17,147, and 169 more deaths, lifting the fatality count to 767. The outbreak has overwhelmed Spain’s health system, and the health ministry announced a plan to enlist 50,000 retired health professionals and medical and nursing students to help. CIDRAP
Russia: Russia reported its first death, which involves a 79-year-old woman from Moscow who had underlying health conditions. Russia’s total cases are reported as 147. CIDRAP
South/Central America
WHO’s Pan American Health Organization (PAHO): As of Mar 17, 37 countries in the region had reported 5,944 cases and 19 deaths. The United States accounts for the majority of the cases. CIDRAP
Nicaragua: Reported its first known case, in a man who had visited Panama CIDRAP
El Salvador: Announced its first, a citizen who had recently visited Italy. CIDRAP
Peru: Peru has 31 doctors under SARS-CoV-2 suspicion – Prensa Latina
Middle East
Iran: reported 1,046 new cases, lifting its total to 18,407, and 149 additional deaths, raising its fatality count to 1,284. CIDRAP
Qatar: reports 452 cases CIDRAP
Pakistan: reports 302 cases CIDRAP
Bahrain: reports 269 cases CIDRAP
Africa
Djibouti: The first case reported according to WHO EMRO. The patient is a traveler from Spain who arrived on a military flight; other passengers on the same flight will be quarantined. CIDRAP
Gambia, Mauritius, and Zambia have detected their first cases, raising the region’s total to 633 illnesses from 33 countries, 17 of them fatal. The three countries with the most cases include Egypt (210), South Africa (150), and Algeria (82). CIDRAP
Travel Advisories
Look up current travel advisories at US Department of State
Infection Prevention
EPA Releases List of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Surface Disinfectants – EPA
Unmasked: Experts explain necessary respiratory protection for COVID-19 – CIDRAP
How to operate building services to prevent the spread of COVID-19 virus SARS-CoV-2 – Estonian Research Council
Practical recommendations which cover ventilation system operation times, use of window airing, safe use of heat recovery sections, no use of recirculation in central ventilation systems as well as on the room level, and some explanation how to avoid overreactions which are easy to happen in situations with limited knowledge.
Science and Tech
Coronavirus drugs: Can antibodies from survivors help? – DW
Aside from a Covid-19 vaccine, antibodies from recovered patients could provide a short-term “passive immunization” to the disease. A German immunologist saved thousands of lives with the method 100 years ago.
The goal is to identify the best means of encouraging individuals to change the way they live. Young people may need more convincing
4 Potential Treatments for SARS-CoV-2 Currently Under Testing
COVID-19 transmission messages should hinge on science – CIDRAP
What happens to people’s lungs when they get Covid-19? – Guardian
People aged 65 and over are at risk of getting pneumonia, as well as people with medical conditions such as diabetes, cancer or a chronic disease affecting the lungs, heart, kidney or liver, smokers, Indigenous Australians, and infants aged 12 months and under.
Will COVID-19 die down in summer? New tests could help answer that – Livescience
Physicists test empty coronavirus shells under different weather conditions.
Old Pancreatitis Drug May Prevent SARS-CoV-2 Infections – Precision Vaccinations
Futhan nafamostat mesylate FUT-175 blocks coronavirus from entering human cells
Vaccine Headlines
Search for Coronavirus Vaccine Becomes a Global Competition – New York Times
Any new vaccine that proves potent against the coronavirus — clinical trials are underway in the United States, China and Europe already — is sure to be in short supply as governments try to ensure that their own people are the first in line.
Antivirals
Diagnostics
Chan Zuckerberg Biohub and UCSF will boost Bay Area COVID-19 tests by 1,000 per day – Tech Crunch
Oxford researchers develop new rapid test to detect SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) – Oxford Alumni
Published Research
Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Different Types of Clinical Specimens – JAMA
Aerosol and Surface Stability of SARS-CoV-2 as Compared with SARS-CoV-1 – NEJM
Facing Covid-19 in Italy — Ethics, Logistics, and Therapeutics on the Epidemic’s Front Line – NEJM
Network-based drug repurposing for novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV/SARS-CoV-2 – Nature/Cell Discovery
Pre-Pub (not yet peer reviewed, should not be regarded as conclusive)
International expansion of a novel SARS-CoV-2 mutant West China Hospital of Sichuan University- RXiv
A new transmission route for the propagation of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus – Research Square
Infographics for Briefings
Coronavirus mapped: the latest figures as the outbreak spreads – Financial Times
Visualizing the spread of the coronavirus – USA Today
Economic Impact Infographics – Forbes
Policy & Guidance
COVID-19 Pandemic and Latin America and the Caribbean: Time for Strong Policy Actions – IMF
Economic Impact
5 Takeaways From the Coronavirus Economic Relief Package – New York Times
Senate Republicans introduced a roughly $1 trillion economic stabilization plan that includes $1,200 payments to many taxpayers, tax cuts for large corporations and limits on paid leave.
Socio-economic impacts of novel coronavirus: The policy solutions – Strides Educational Foundation
Other articles of interest