Friday, April 10 coronavirus updates
Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Friday, April 10. Here are coronavirus updates.
Google and Apple announced they are building an app in which people can report that they were infected with COVID-19 and it will alert other people who were near them in recent days. This is done by phones keeping a record of “short-range Bluetooth communications” of interactions with each other. For example, if I walk past you and we have phones in our pockets, the app will record that. Suppose a week later I tested positive for COVID-19 and I report it in the app. You would get an alert that you walked past someone positive last week, so you would be aware. This is done with the goal of using technology to mitigate the spread of the virus. Apple and Google said everything is anonymous and encrypted. The apps would require coordination with health authorities to confirm COVID-19 test results. The apps might be available in mid-May.
This afternoon, the total number of people who died from COVID-19 worldwide surpassed 100,000. The U.S. has 18,000 deaths, Italy has almost 19,000 deaths, and Spain has 16,000 deaths.
NPR reported that there are mass graves being dug on Hart Island in New York City for those who died but were unclaimed or for families who can’t afford a burial. Hart Island has already been used for those burials for more than 150 years, but there is an increase in burials during the pandemic. New York City has a new policy in that they will hold a body for 14 days and if it is unclaimed, they will send it to Hart Island. More than a million people are buried there.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working on rolling out antibody tests, which is a blood test to determine if a person has become infected with COVID-19 and recovered and is considered immune. Dr. Anthony Fauci said they are thinking of creating “certificates of immunity” to give to people so they can be approved to go back to work or go back into society.
The New York Times reported that the federal government have drawn up projections that if shelter-in-place orders are lifted in 30 days, it will cause a very serious spike in infection and deaths this summer. What this means is that we may see states and local governments extend their shelter-in-place orders past the end of this month and possibly into May. President Trump has said he wants the country to be opened up sooner than later, but that he would listen to his health experts.
Michigan (where I live now) now has a strict order by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to prohibit people from going to other homes in the state, effective Saturday. People cannot travel to other houses for vacation, even if they own the homes. This order will be in place until the end of April. People who live in the northern part of Michigan are concerned that those from the Detroit area, which has one of the highest rates of infection in the United States, would travel up north, shop at grocery stores, and then spread the virus and overwhelm small hospitals and healthcare centers.
CNN reported that the IRS said some stimulus payments ($1,200 payments to most Americans) will start going out next week. The first in line will be those who have filed tax returns for 2018 or 2019 and have direct deposit set up. Those on Social Security will receive their payments automatically. Others may have to wait a few weeks or months, especially if they have not filed tax returns, is not on Social Security, or does not have direct deposit set up.
That’s all updates with coronavirus. I hope you will have a good weekend. Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay with the light!
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/us/coronavirus-updates-usa.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage
https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/10/21216484/google-apple-coronavirus-contract-tracing-bluetooth-location-tracking-data-app
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/10/831875297/burials-on-new-york-island-are-not-new-but-are-increasing-during-pandemic
https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2020/04/10/travel-between-residences-in-michigan-prohibited-in-new-stay-home-order-restrictions/
https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2020/04/michiganders-cant-go-back-and-forth-to-vacation-homes-under-gov-whitmers-latest-stay-at-home-order.html
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/10/politics/stimulus-check-free-tax-filing/index.html