COVID-19 as of today (03-11-20):

[Some Quick Definitions for Commonly Used Terms, skip ‘em if ya know ‘em:

Community Spread – Illness with an unknown source. This typically means that there are more cases in the community that have not been detected. May also be called community acquired or local transmission.

Cumulative Confirmed Case Fatality Rate – The total number of patients who were confirmed to have COVID-19 and died, divided by the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, from the beginning of the outbreak to today.

Line Listing: A list of all the cases in an outbreak and their details.

Patient Under Investigation (PUI) – A person who is showing one or more COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough, difficulty breathing) who has not yet received test results.

Presumptive Positive – The first test back for a PUI is positive, but another test is still needed to confirm this. Confirmed means that two tests have shown that the case is positive.]

[QUICK NOTE: Another day, another disappointing lack of world news. States are again reporting their information in a variety of places, some not on their public health agency websites, so it took me longer to track a few of these down. If I end up not being able to cover much global news or new publications over the next few days, I promise I will catch up on it this weekend.]

Countries Bolivia, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Honduras, Jamaica, Moldova, Reunion and Turkey all report their first COVID-19 cases. The WHO declares that COVID-19 is now a pandemic. Albania, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Paraguay are the newest countries to report community spread. [1, 2]

Italy announces 196 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing its cumulative confirmed case fatality rate to 6.6%. [3]

Trump signs a presidential proclamation suspending the entry of most foreign nationals coming from several European countries. He states that he met with leaders in the health insurance industry, who agreed to waive all copayments for coronavirus treatments, extend insurance coverage to make sure these treatments are included, and to avoid any “surprise medical billing.” He will be instructing the Small Business Administration to provide capital and liquidity to companies affected by the coronavirus, and added that help would include low-interest loans to small businesses, and that he would be asking Congress to increase funding by $50 billion for the federal program funding the loans. Lastly, he stated that he will be instructing the Treasury Department to defer tax payments, without interest or penalties, for people and businesses impacted by the virus. [4]

The CDC is now reporting that between CDC labs and public health labs, 11,079 tests have been conducted so far. This number does not include commercial testing; it is unclear how many tests they have conducted so far. [5]

Here are US states and territories that have updates for today:

Arkansas announces its first presumptive positive case but does not state the patient’s source of exposure or condition. [AR]

Arizona announces 3 new cases, bringing its total case count to 9. Each of the new cases is from person-to-person transmission; their conditions are not reported. [AZ]

[TWO PARAGRAPHS] California officials issue guidance to protect people experiencing homelessness, as well as people who serve this vulnerable population. The Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency states that those who are homeless are at a higher risk of developing severe illness from COVID-19, particularly because many who are homeless also have untreated existing health conditions. The new guidance includes establishing ongoing communication with local public health departments, connecting them to community-wide planning; urging homeless service providers to use alcohol-based hand sanitizers, tissues, trash baskets, disposable facemasks for sick individuals, and mobile hand-washing stations; identifying spaces where those with mild symptoms can self-isolate (such as San Francisco recently did); and identifying clients who could be at high risk for complications and taking steps to reduce their risk of contracting COVID-19.

As of 8 am PST, California reported 177 positive cases and 3 deaths; a fourth death was announced this afternoon by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, in a woman with extensive travel to South Korea. The passengers from the Grand Princess have been relocated to a hotel in San Carlos and will not come into contact with the general public. [CA1, CA2, CA3, CA4]

Colorado opens a drive-up testing center today, the first in the state. The state announces 16 new COVID-19 cases today, bringing its total case count to 34 (including 1 indeterminate that is being treated as a positive case). The public health department states that they are now seeing “limited community spread.” [CO1, CO2, CO3]

Delaware announces its first presumptive positive case in an individual who is associated with the University of Delaware. The case isolated himself as soon as he noticed symptoms developing. He was a close contact with a confirmed case in another state. [DE]

The District of Columbia announces six new cases, bringing its total case count to 10. Two new cases had recently traveled to a country with widespread transmission, two were due to community spread, one was a close contact of a known case, and one had attended a conference that cases had been identified from. DC’s mayor declares a state of emergency and a public health emergency and rescinds two permits for upcoming races in the district. The district’s event planning department is suspending operations from March 13-31. [DC1, DC2, DC3]

Florida announces three new COVID-19 cases, bringing its total case count to 31. One new case traveled from New York to attend Daytona Bike Week; the New York Department of Health is leading his investigation. A second case is travel-related. The third case recently attended an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) conference in Tampa. All three cases are isolated, though the state does not mention whether they are at their residences or in the hospital. [FL]

Georgia appears to have removed its case count from its Department of Public Health website; the news media reports that it has announced 9 new cases, bringing its total case count to 31. [GA1, GA2]

Illinois announces 6 new cases, bringing its total case count to 25. It does not mention their sources of exposure or condition. [IL]

Indiana announces four new cases, bringing its total case count to 10. The patients’ sources of exposure and conditions are not reported. [IN]

Iowa announces 1 new case, bringing its total case count to 14. This case was exposed via the Nile river cruise; the patient’s condition was not stated. [IA]

Louisiana announces 7 new cases, bringing its total case count to 13. The governor declares a state of emergency, stating “this is a constantly changing situation, and we have been working with our state and federal health officials for some time now. As we expect more presumptive positive cases, a declaration of public health emergency is necessary to allow state agencies to thoroughly prepare for any eventuality related to public health needs and deploy additional resources to assist local authorities.” [LA]

Maine opens a hotline for the general public to ask questions about COVID-19. The state has not confirmed any cases as of yet. [ME]

Massachusetts announces 3 new positive cases, bringing its total case count to 95. 77 of the 95 cases are from the BioGen conference, 4 are travel-related, and 14 are under investigation. [MA]

The Michigan Opioids Task Force and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services cancel their town hall scheduled for tomorrow over COVID-19 concerns. [MI]

Minnesota announces two new cases, bringing its total case count to 5. The patients’ sources of exposure and conditions are not reported. [MN]

Mississippi announces its first presumptive positive case in an adult who recently traveled to Florida; he is self-isolating and recovering at home. It announces that patients no longer require approval for the Department of Health to be tested. [MS1, MS2]

Missouri announces its first COVID-19 case but does not report the patient’s source of exposure or condition. It opens a hotline for the general public to ask questions about COVID-19. [MO]

Montana provides clarification on one of its residents who recently tested positive for COVID-19 in Maryland. This case has not been in Montana since November 2019 and has not posed a risk to anyone in the state. [MT]

Nebraska announces two new cases, one of which had been diagnosed a few days ago (I’m unsure of the exact date); this brings its total case count to 3. The newest case is a high school student in Knox County and has underlying health conditions; this patient is isolated in the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Biocontainment Unit. The student attended two basketball games on March 5, one at Lincoln Southwest High School and the other at North Star High School. [NE]

Nevada announces its first 7 cases all in one day, though four of them had been previously announced by its local health departments on March 8. One was in a recent passenger of the Grand Princess. One had recently traveled inside the state; it’s unclear where she was exposed. One is in a man who’d recently traveled to Washington State and Texas. One was visiting from New York and attended the Women of Power Summit at the Mirage from March 5-8. Two are close contacts of known cases. Details on the other two are not clear. The Reno Police Chief states that the Washoe County District Health Department has not responded to multiple requests for information on the passengers returning to the area from the Grand Princess. The University of Nevada cancels its Reno Jazz Festival, which was set to take place in April. The CDC is giving the state $6.5 million to assist it in its response. Tents have been pitched outside Sunrise Hospital and Sunrise Children’s Hospital. Renown Health will open a tent in its emergency room parking lot at its Mill Street hospital parking lot to screen people with respiratory illnesses. (NOTE: Nevada’s public health department website has been down for a few hours so I had to resort to news media for these reports.) [NV]

New Jersey reports 8 new cases, bringing its total case count to 23. (The state’s public health department does not list case counts on its website.) [NJ]

New Mexico announces its first 4 presumptive positive cases. The patients’ sources of exposure and conditions are not reported. [NM]

New York confirmed 43 new cases, bringing its total case count to 216. The state will now provide two weeks paid leave for state workers who are quarantined because of COVID-19, announces cooperative effort with business leaders to voluntarily implement different work shifts and telecommuting to help reduce density, and the state’s Department of Health will provide $200,000 to a local food bank in New Rochelle to ensure that any family who relies on free school lunches can continue to access it during the area’s containment period. [NY]

North Carolina announces its eighth positive case in someone related to a case from the BioGen conference. The case is self-isolating and recovering at home. The state’s Medicaid program implements several policy changes to address pharmacy benefits, supplies and access to care, including encouraging home visits, reminding providers that co-pays are not required at the time of a patient’s visit, providing reimbursement for telemedicine visits, allowing patients to receive larger amounts of medication, reimbursing providers for giving masks to ill patients, and eliminating the authorization requirement for new orders of oxygen and other respiratory supplies. [NC1, NC2]

North Dakota announces its first presumptive positive case in an individual who was a close contact to an out-of-state case who was diagnosed after the individual returned to the state. The case is self-isolated and recovering at home. [ND]

Ohio announces its fourth positive case. The patient’s source of exposure and condition are not reported. [OH]

Oregon announces six new presumptive positive cases, bringing its total case count to 21. Five of the new cases are considered to have been exposed via community spread; one was a close contact of a known case. The governor bans all gatherings of more than 250 people, states that all nonessential school events should be canceled, and recommends increased distances between employees in the workplace. [OR1, OR2, OR3]

Pennsylvania announces four new presumptive positive cases, bringing its total case count to 16 – 17 if you count the non-Pennsylvania resident who is currently hospitalized in the state. Three of the new cases are self-isolated and recovering at home; the condition of the last case is not stated, and none of the four cases’ sources of exposure are reported. [PA1, PA2]

Rhode Island releases new guidance for large events, asking its residents to not host events with more than 250 people; not host events with large quantities of older adults; develop flexible refund policies for participants of upcoming events; discourage sick people from attending events; and provide soap, hand sanitizer and tissues for event attendees. [RI]

South Carolina announces its tenth COVID-19 case in a woman who may have been exposed via community spread. The patient is currently hospitalized. [SC]

South Dakota announces three new cases, bringing its total case count to 8. The patients’ sources of exposure and conditions are not reported. [SD]

Tennessee announces two new cases, bringing its total case count to 9. The patients’ sources of exposure and conditions are not reported. [TN]

Texas announces a case that appears to have contracted the virus through community spread. The state is now reporting 21 cases (though yesterday it was reporting 13, meaning 7 had not been previously announced). [TX]

Utah announces its third presumptive positive case in an individual who had recently traveled to Europe and was a close contact of a known case. The individual is self-isolated and recovering at home. [UT]

Vermont announces its second presumptive positive case in an individual who was hospitalized this week; it is not reported whether he had been isolated upon admission to the hospital. The case’s source of exposure is under investigation. [VT]

Virginia announces one new presumptive positive case, bringing its total case count to 9. The patients’ source of exposure and conditions are not stated. [VA]

Washington announces 99 new cases, bringing its total case count to 366. 234 of those cases are in King County and 68 are in Snohomish County. The state’s governor declares a statewide ban on gatherings of more than 250 people; this includes weddings and funerals. [WA]

West Virginia reports that it is waiting for one test result from the CDC. As its state public health lab gained capacity to test for cases on March 7, this is either a presumptive positive case pending confirmation OR the state had sent the sample to CDC before its lab started testing cases. This is not immediately clear. [WV]

Wisconsin announces three new COVID-19 cases in individuals with a mix of domestic and international travel, and issues new guidance for travelers who recently took a cruise in Egypt; it reports a case count of 5, but it might actually be 6, as yesterday, it had reported its third case. The state urges people who took such a cruise and have symptoms to self-isolate immediately and call their healthcare provider; for those who do not have symptoms to self-quarantine immediately and call their local health department; and for those who were in close contact with any ill person who took such a cruise to self-quarantine immediately and inform their local health department. [WI1, WI2]

Wyoming announces its first positive case in an individual with recent domestic travel. The case’s condition is not reported. [WY]

[1] WHO Situation Report, 03-11-20

https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200310-sitrep-50-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=55e904fb_2

[2] Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Map

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

[3] Italy tightens lockdown after coronavirus death toll soars

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/italy-tightens-lockdown-coronavirus-death-toll-soars-200312004301790.html

[4] What you need to know about Trump’s novel coronavirus response

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/what-you-need-to-know-about-trumps-novel-coronavirus-response

[5] Testing in the U.S.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/testing-in-us.html?fbclid=IwAR3CgVRcC5v92mqSI5hDD3Is5BGUyS3aJkRU4OEf6WxU3PINKFcnQMnvGuc

[AR] COVID-19

https://www.healthy.arkansas.gov/programs-services/topics/novel-coronavirus?fbclid=IwAR2OLuVZJCHVzniFyufEP9HabhvbYXHKwaRTN3go7cmqByvWdHdhhbw-uOI

[AZ] COVID-19 Cases in Arizona

https://www.azdhs.gov/preparedness/epidemiology-disease-control/infectious-disease-epidemiology/index.php?fbclid=IwAR3TOhmeCMbqJaWvGHoWZwBikVLwYOm6qW9JZk4htumG0jjcKYZ73xTO2f4#novel-coronavirus-home

[CA1] State Health & Emergency Officials Release Guidance to Prepare and Protect Homeless Californians and Service Providers from COVID-19

https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OPA/Pages/NR20-018.aspx

[CA2] Los Angeles County Announces First Death Related to 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)- Public Health Confirms First Death from COVID-19 and Six Additional Cases in Los Angeles County

http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/phcommon/public/media/mediapubhpdetail.cfm?prid=2261

[CA3] Update on Americans Who Have Disembarked the Grand Princess Cruise Ship

http://www.oesnews.com/update-on-americans-who-have-disembarked-the-grand-princess-cruise-ship-2/

[CA4] City to Provide Temporary Housing for People Needing to Quarantine Due to Possible Coronavirus Exposure

https://www.sfdph.org/dph/alerts/files/03.10.20_Temporary_Housing_COVID-19.pdf

[CO1] CDPHE to open first drive-up testing center at State Lab in Lowry

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/news/cdphe-open-first-drive-testing-center-state-lab-lowry

[CO2] 10 new presumptive positive cases in Colorado. CDPHE confirms limited community spread of COVID-19 in Colorado

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/news/10-new-presumptive-positive-cases-colorado-cdphe-confirms-limited-community-spread-covid-19

[CO3] CDPHE confirms 6 additional new presumptive positive cases in Colorado

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/news/cdphe-confirms-6-additional-new-presumptive-positive-cases-colorado

[DC1] Coronavirus Data Update: March 11

https://coronavirus.dc.gov/release/coronavirus-data-update-march-11

[DC2] Mayor Bowser Declares Public Health Emergency

https://coronavirus.dc.gov/release/mayor-bowser-declares-public-health-emergency

[DC3] Events DC Press Statement

https://coronavirus.dc.gov/release/events-dc-press-statement

[DE] DPH Announces First Presumptive Positive Case of Coronavirus in Delaware Resident

https://dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/pressreleases/2020/firstpositcase_031120.html

[FL] Florida Department of Health Announces New Positive COVID-19 Cases in Florida

http://www.floridahealth.gov/newsroom/2020/03/031120-florida-department-of-health-announces-new-positive-covid19-cases-florida.pr.html

[GA1] Georgia now has 12 confirmed cases of coronavirus, 19 presumptive cases

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/georgia/georgia-now-has-12-confirmed-cases-coronavirus-19-presumptive-cases/ZX43IZ2JWVD2XOTLTZNJFEXYW4/

[GA2] COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus)

https://dph.georgia.gov/novelcoronavirus?fbclid=IwAR2aegWHC7tA4QxLaDG6khmxWIUgGEVw5Sj4fbSJg-1j9s3VvXoNRAteoT4

[IA] Additional COVID-19 Case in Iowa (3/11/20)

https://idph.iowa.gov/News/ArtMID/646/ArticleID/158300/Additional-COVID-19-Case-in-Iowa-31120

[IL] State of Illinois Daily COVID-19 Briefing – 25 Cases

http://www.dph.illinois.gov/news/state-illinois-daily-covid-19-briefing-%E2%80%93-25-cases

[IN] Indiana COVID-19 Data

https://www.in.gov/isdh/28470.htm?fbclid=IwAR38xC9Zkuc7BOwBJCNhDtihYC_ZXcka1P_s3aBkozYi5jYFGp4R_lecZFc

[LA] Gov. Edwards Declares Public Health Emergency in Response to COVID-19

https://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm/newsroom/detail/2400

[MA] Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Cases in MA

https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2020/03/11/covid-19-case-report-3-11-2020.pdf

[ME] 211 now available to answer general questions about COVID-19

https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/press-release.shtml?id=2218094

[MI] MDHHS Cancels Opioid Town Hall in Sterling Heights Amid COVID-19 Concerns

https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/0,5885,7-339-73970_71692_71696-521465--,00.html

[MN] Situation Update for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/situation.html

[MO1] COVID-19 Outbreak

https://health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/communicable/novel-coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2aegWHC7tA4QxLaDG6khmxWIUgGEVw5Sj4fbSJg-1j9s3VvXoNRAteoT4

[MO2] Missouri opens novel coronavirus information hotline

https://health.mo.gov/news/newsitem/uuid/8200e9ee-1761-4435-8e0f-f1a70db8ffef/missouri-opens-novel-coronavirus-information-hotline

[MS1] Mississippi Reports First Positive Case of Coronavirus

http://www.msdh.state.ms.us/msdhsite/_static/23,21819,341.html

[MS2] Healthcare Provider Guidance for Evaluation and Testing for COVID-19 March 11, 2020

https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/resources/8408.pdf

[MT] Governor Bullock Provides Update on Montanan visiting Maryland Testing Presumptive Positive for COVID-19

https://dphhs.mt.gov/aboutus/news/2020/covid-19update

[NC1] NCDHHS Announces Eighth Case of COVID-19 in North Carolina

https://www.ncdhhs.gov/news/press-releases/ncdhhs-announces-eighth-case-covid-19-north-carolina

[NC2] NC Medicaid Updates Policies to Address COVID-19

https://www.ncdhhs.gov/news/press-releases/nc-medicaid-updates-policies-address-covid-19

[ND] First case of novel coronavirus confirmed in North Dakota as work continues to prevent spread

https://www.health.nd.gov/news/first-case-novel-coronavirus-confirmed-north-dakota-work-continues-prevent-spread

[NE] Coronavirus Disease 2019 Case Update

http://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Coronavirus-Disease-2019-Case-Update.aspx

[NJ] New Jersey COVID-19 cases rise to 23, including 1 death

https://www.fox29.com/news/new-jersey-covid-19-cases-rise-to-23-including-1-death

[NM] 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

http://cv.nmhealth.org/?fbclid=IwAR3zXakwcgURdBJVn458AgfTDLAlnMjwgrHTrQTzjgkdk3NnwPsB7uayBp8

[NV] Nevada coronavirus patient had symptoms before conference at Mirage on Las Vegas Strip

https://www.rgj.com/story/news/2020/03/11/covid-19-patient-had-symptoms-before-attending-las-vegas-conference-strip/5024939002/

[NY] During Novel Coronavirus Briefing, Governor Cuomo Announces New York State Will Contract with 28 Private Labs to Increase Coronavirus Testing Capacity

https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/during-novel-coronavirus-briefing-governor-cuomo-announces-new-york-state-will-contract-28

[OH] Ohio: COVID-19

https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/

[OR1] State announces 2 new presumptive positive COVID-19 cases

https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ERD/Pages/State-announces-2-new-presumptive-positive-COVID-19-cases.aspx

[OR2] State announces 4 new presumptive positive COVID-19 cases

https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ERD/Pages/State-announces-4-new-presumptive-positive-COVID-19-cases.aspx

[OR3] Kate Brown announces new rules to slow the spread of COVID-19

https://www.kdrv.com/content/news/Kate-Brown-announces-new-rules-to-slow-the-spread-of-COVID-19.html

[PA1] Department of Health Provides Update on COVID-19, Three New Presumptive Positives, Bringing Statewide Total to 15

https://www.media.pa.gov/Pages/Health-Details.aspx?newsid=735

[PA2] Department of Health Provides Afternoon Update on COVID-19, One New Presumptive Positive, Bringing Statewide Total to 16

https://www.media.pa.gov/Pages/Health-Details.aspx?newsid=736

[RI] New Guidance Issued for Large Events in Rhode Island

https://www.ri.gov/press/view/37892

[SC] DHEC Announces Additional Possible Case of 2019 Novel Coronavirus in South Carolina

https://www.scdhec.gov/news-releases/dhec-announces-additional-possible-case-2019-novel-coronavirus-south-carolina

[SD] COVID-19 in South Dakota

https://doh.sd.gov/news/Coronavirus.aspx?fbclid=IwAR2jcoK1PVFarO4R3PTpCjVQ-CY0MrG5qbEJcEGdvHy1qps6du065d3TT1U

[TN] Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov.html?fbclid=IwAR1gRRR3DEWyfsD3ZNt353IR2V0fSb5jpS-HEq46UmykfGtVT8WP99n7wdo

[TX] Texas Investigates Case of COVID-19 Without Travel or Known Exposure

https://www.dshs.texas.gov/news/releases/2020/20200311.aspx

[UT] Summit County Resident is State’s 3rd Case of COVID-19

https://health.utah.gov/featured-news/summit-county-resident-is-states-3rd-case-of-covid-19

[VA] Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/surveillance-and-investigation/novel-coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR11jjjoH0A5bsvJaQudoI-lw66YZuB7JmcTk3OfKgqk_ygF1RTHAtwiCWo

[VT] Second Presumptive Case of New Coronavirus COVID-19 in Vermont

https://www.healthvermont.gov/media/newsroom/second-presumptive-case-new-coronavirus-covid-19-vermont

[WA] Public Health - Seattle & King County, Press Briefing, 03-11-20

https://www.facebook.com/KCPubHealth/videos/618046365716400/

[WI1] COVID-19

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/outbreaks/index.htm?fbclid=IwAR2sXEUe6Wc9q1YQcZIrGoUawj0axJ0hTB47tF3Ad_FdxMI0lCHoD0pjucM

[WI2] Three Additional Cases of COVID-19 Confirmed in Wisconsin

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/news/releases/031120.htm

[WV] Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

https://dhhr.wv.gov/Coronavirus%20Disease-COVID-19/Pages/default.aspx?fbclid=IwAR0WqQTff4ICQZNZViGTcKJ4My_WkydGSZPXp5fcRWqbaPdLChG39i5pO2U

[WY] Wyoming’s First Coronavirus Disease 2019 Case Reported

https://health.wyo.gov/wyomings-first-coronavirus-disease-2019-case-reported/