BEAUMONT, Texas — Key updates for Thursday, April 9, 2020:
- More than 1.5 million confirmed cases globally
- Another surge of unemployment claims
- Pandemic has set the number of air travelers back decades
- The U.S. is approaching 15,000 deaths as a forecast model touted by the White House has been revised downward.
- World leaders and health experts warn not to relax social distancing for Easter.
- Look back at the Wednesday, April 8 blog at this link
School Impacts | Business Impacts, Closures | Map of SE Texas cases | Coronavirus symptoms & prevention | Coronavirus questions answered
Latest local & Texas updates:
Here are the latest updates from around Southeast Texas, Texas, Louisiana and some from the world (all times are local Central Daylight Time):
April 9, 1:30 p.m. -- Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick confirms rapid tests for COVID-19 have arrived to Southeast Texas.
Drive-thru testing sites are currently taking 48 hours to show results. The Southeast Texas Medical Center has a machine used for testing, however the medical center doesn't have cartridges. Christus Southeast Texas - St. Elizabeth has both the testing machine and cartridges. Baptist Hospital has a dozen cartridges and a machine for testing.
The Judge said there aren’t a lot of test cartridges, but a request for more has been sent to the State Operations Center. Additional rapid testing cartridges will be given to more hospitals once they arrive.
April 9 1:35 p.m. -- The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) has drafted a letter to Governor John Bel Edwards asking him to call off the remainder of the school year to in-person classes.
"We... respectfully request that you act now in making a decision to formally extend school facilities closures for the remainder of the Spring term."
Governor Edwards has said in recent press briefings that a decision on schools and on what requirements will be in place for students to be promoted to the next grade or to graduate would be coming soon. READ MORE
April 9 12:55 p.m. -- Silsbee High School has tentatively rescheduled prom for May 23, 2020, and reports that graduation is also tentatively scheduled for May 29, 2020 according to the district's website. Both dates are subject to change depending on official restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
April 9 10:35 a.m. -- There are now more than 1.5 million confirmed cases of coronavirus around the world, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
April 9 9:50 a.m. -- SAT and ACT test scores will not be required students applying to Lamar University for the 2020 summer and fall semesters according to Lamar's website.
Students who don't submit the scores will have their application "reviewed holistically" according to the site. The application deadline for the summer is April 15 and for fall it's May 11.
April 9 9 a.m. -- With a startling 6.6 million people seeking jobless benefits last week, the United States has reached a grim landmark: Roughly one in 10 workers have lost their jobs in just the past three weeks. Scroll down for more.
April 9 8:40 a.m. -- Essential employees and labs of 10 or less people will return to the Lamar Institute of Technology campus on or before April 30 and otherwise the rest of the semester will finish remotely according to a news release from the school.
Information on summer and fall registration will be provided to faculty and staff the release said.
April 9 6 a.m. -- South Korea says at least 74 people who had been diagnosed as recovered from the new coronavirus tested positive for the second time after they were released from hospitals. Scroll down for more.
Confirmed cases surpass 1.5 million
There are now more than 1.5 million confirmed cases of coronavirus around the world, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. As of Thursday morning, there has been nearly 90,000 COVID-19 deaths while nearly 340,000 people have recovered.
Record 16.8 million have sought US jobless aid since virus
With a startling 6.6 million people seeking jobless benefits last week, the United States has reached a grim landmark: Roughly one in 10 workers have lost their jobs in just the past three weeks. The figures collectively constitute the largest and fastest string of job losses in records dating to 1948. They paint a picture of a job market that is quickly unraveling as businesses have shut down across the country because of the coronavirus outbreak. More than 20 million Americans may lose jobs this month.
Pandemic has set the number of air travelers back decades
The steep drop in air travel is passing a milestone. Fewer than 100,000 people went through airport checkpoints on both Tuesday and Wednesday, the lowest numbers since the Transportation Security Administration started keeping track.
That’s down 95% from a year ago, and could be the smallest number since the 1950s. There was no commercial air travel in the U.S. for several days after the terror attacks in September 2001, but people gradually got back on planes over the following months. It could be a slower recovery this time, according to outfits that have surveyed people about when they’ll feel safe flying again.
Model: U.S. projected peak to come Sunday
There are 432,132 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States as of midnight ET Thursday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been 14,817 deaths and 23,906 recoveries.
A forecast model by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, which has been cited by the White House, now predicts the U.S. peak will come sooner and with fewer deaths.
IHME now predicts the the highest number of deaths in one day in the U.S. will happen Sunday with a projected 2,212. But there are factors of uncertainty that could put that number as high as 5,000, and the model assumes social distancing measures continue to be practiced.
As recently as Monday, IHME predicted the peak day would come on April 16 with a number of deaths above 3,000.
The model still projects that the peak need for beds, ICU beds and ventilators will extend into next early next week, but the numbers are lower than previously forecast.
Worldwide, there are nearly 1.5 million confirmed cases with 88,538 deaths and 329,876 recoveries.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness and can lead to death.
Health officials warn: Don't let up on Easter
World leaders and health experts are warning that hard-won gains in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic must not be jeopardized by relaxing social distancing practices during Easter
A spike in deaths in Britain and New York and surges of reported new infections in Japan and in India’s congested cities make it clear that the battle is far from over.
The warnings come even as the U.S. and some of the hardest-hit European countries are considering when to start easing restrictions.
The sharp rise in Japan is worrisome since it has the world’s oldest population. India is already under a lockdown but it took a further step to seal hot spots and not allow residents to leave.
74 in South Korea test positive for 2nd time
South Korea says at least 74 people who had been diagnosed as recovered from the new coronavirus tested positive for the second time after they were released from hospitals.
Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Thursday health authorities were testing virus and serum samples to determine whether patients who tested positive again would be capable of transmitting the virus to others and whether their bodies had properly created antibodies.
She said some of the patients didn’t show any symptoms before their follow-up tests turned positive, while others were tested again because they were exhibiting respiratory symptoms. She said none of these patients so far have seen their illness worsen to serious conditions.
Air traveler numbers fall back to 1954 levels
The number of Americans getting on airplanes has sunk to a level not seen in more than 60 years -- not including the days immediately after 9/11 -- as people shelter in their homes to avoid catching or spreading the new coronavirus.
The Transportation Security Administration screened fewer than 100,000 people on Tuesday, a drop of 95% from a year ago.
The official tally of 97,130 people who passed through TSA checkpoints exaggerates the number of travelers – if that is possible – because it includes some airline crew members and people still working at shops inside airport security perimeters.
New Zealand records lowest number of new cases in weeks
Halfway through a planned four-week lockdown, New Zealand has recorded its lowest number of new coronavirus cases in nearly three weeks.
Health officials said Thursday there were 29 new cases, the fourth successive daily drop since 89 new cases were recorded on Sunday.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also announced stricter border measures that require all returning nationals to go into a managed quarantine facility for two weeks. Previously, returning nationals with no symptoms of COVID-19 had been allowed to isolate themselves at home.
Japan reports 500-plus new cases for 1st time
Japan’s health ministry said Thursday that the country had more than 500 new cases for the first time on Wednesday, bringing the national total to 4,768 — excluding hundreds from a cruise ship quarantined near Tokyo earlier this year.
The continuous climb comes two days after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and six other hard-hit prefectures, while asking people to reduce at least 70% of human interactions. The step allows Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike and six other prefectural leaders to issue stricter measures of social distancing, but without penalties to violators. So far, Koike only issued a stay-at-home request to the residents. Requests for closures of noon-essential businesses and services are still under way.