There are over 2,582,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, around the world and over 4,163,464 have been tested in the United States. The global total number of deaths stands at 178,371. Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University has been keeping up-to-date information through an interactive map.
Virginia now has 9,630 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 1,581 people hospitalized, 324 deaths and 58,354 people tested. Fairfax has the highest total number of cases, with 2,077 to date, with 379 hospitalized and 64 deaths. Arlington has reported 625 cases with 114 hospitalized and 23 deaths. Alexandria has 462 cases with 60 hospitalized and nine deaths. Loudoun County has 469 cases with 59 hospitalized and eight deaths, and Prince William County has 1,008 cases (including Manassas and Manassas City), with 113 hospitalized and 17 deaths. You can keep up with the commonwealth’s daily updates here. (Virginia Department of Health)
What do all of these new numbers mean in terms of flattening the curve?
Gov. Ralph Northam, Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland and DC Mayor Muriel E. Bowser are all in agreement that the region needs to see a consistent, 14-day decline in the number of deaths and hospitalizations for COVID-19 before social distancing restrictions are eased. “The number of new hospitalizations in the region appeared to be inching down in recent days, while the daily increase of COVID-19 fatalities briefly hovered between the mid-60s and low 70s before 102 fatalities were reported Tuesday. Still, area officials say they hope to start to reopen the economy by the time their restrictions on nonessential businesses expire in early- to mid-May and their stay-at-home orders end in early June,” reports The Washington Post.
Local
The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the DMV was 26,969 as of Wednesday morning, with 9,630 cases in Virginia, 14,206 cases in Maryland and 3,102 cases in DC. The death toll has totaled 1,098, with 659 deaths in Maryland, 324 in Virginia and 112 in the nation’s capital. (The Washington Post)
Regional
Gov. Ralph Northam’s stay-at-home order has prompted under a dozen citations for violators, according to surveys conducted by the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police and the Virginia Sheriffs’ Association. But some, including protesters in Richmond, are demanding the state’s economy reopen before mid-May, including the owner of a Roanoke fitness center, who was arrested with a misdemeanor on Sunday for defying the order. (WTOP)
Regional
The Virginia Department of Corrections is amping up testing across the commonwealth for inmates. On Sunday, 138 inmates and 50 Department of Corrections staff members had been diagnosed with COVID-19, and one inmate had died. (WTOP)
Regional
About 30 registered nurses, standing 6 feet apart, gathered near the White House to read the names of lost health care workers during COVID-19. The names came from across the country: New York, Alabama, Nevada, California, Michigan, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey and Washington, DC. When asked, the nurses said they wanted to bring their demands for more PPE (personal protective equipment) to President Trump’s front steps. (The Washington Post)
National
The Senate passed a nearly $500 billion coronavirus aid package on Tuesday that will assist small businesses, and provide funds for additional testing and hospital needs across the country. (WTOP)
National
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Robert Redfield, told The Washington Post that the second wave of COVID-19 could be worse than the current one, because the second could align with a with the start of flu season in the fall. “If you think about how overwhelmed hospitals are now with the coronavirus, not enough PPE for the health care workers, not enough ventilators earlier, and then you think about the wave of hospitalizations that normally take place with the flu, if we have a bad flu season, it’s a double whammy,” The Washington Post reporter told WTOP. (WTOP)
National
President Trump once again doubled down on the “temporary suspension of immigration to the United States” on Tuesday, and is expected to sign some form of legislation today that will put a 60-day pause on green cards, and would not apply to temporary workers. (WTOP)
The spread of COVID-19 continues to impact the Northern Virginia region on a daily basis. If you’re looking for ways to stay entertained at home, check out our Things to Do page, and stay up to date by subscribing to our weekly newsletters.