news Covid19-Coronavirus updates and news

[Mister Funsky]

Having relatives and friends scattered all over the globe, I am getting an overload of input (some on the record and some off the record).

My intention for this thread is for community members from around the world to post first hand stories and/or links to information sources that, for the most part, should be reliable.

In my community, just outside a major southeastern city, 'assets' have been placed. Only because I have friends in both high and low places have I heard about some of this. At this point it is only some basic medical supplies that should be equally distributed anyway in preparation for a natural emergency (hurricane/wildfire/etc.).

I will start with posting a link to a site with current data that seems to come from an aggregate of sources and hope others will do the same as they come across similar sites/pages.

Because of the 'typhoid Mary' spread-ability of this disease, I feel we may be in for a really large spread globally which will impact the global economy and through extension, retail domain prices.

One thing is for sure...things will get worse before they get better.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/usa-coronavirus/

 

[CraigD]

Well, the loons are alive and well!

On another note, do those in charge know more that we do? Maybe the vid is worse than we know?

'Lunar Ark' Could Safeguard Millions of Species' DNA on The Moon

https://www.sciencealert.com/scient...6-7-million-species-on-the-moon-in-lava-tubes

Who's in charge?

We wouldn't be in this mess if there was somebody in charge

 

[Mister Funsky]

Current Covid19 death numbers as of 8:00 am EST are below, primarily from the source in the original post (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus). If your country of interest is not listed below, simply go to the link above to do a search for relevant information.

Total: 2,666,682
United States: 547,234
Brazil: 278,327
South Africa: 51,326
United Kingdom: 125,516
Canada: 22,463
Mexico: 194,710
Poland: 47,206
Russia: 92,494
India: 158,762
Bolivia: 11,958
Japan : 8,560
Indonesia: 38,573
Italy: 102,145
Spain: 72,258
Belgium: 22,441
France: 90,429
Netherlands: 16,069
Chile: 21,674
Philippines: 12,837

 

[Cannuck]

A catastrophe looms with PNG’s COVID crisis. Australia needs to respond urgently

The COVID epidemic in Papua New Guinea has significantly accelerated, judging by the available reports of case numbers.

I was curious about how Australia has fared during the pandemic. Is it true that only 909 deaths have been attributed to Covid? https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/australia/

If so, the country is doing something right (even though restrictions sometimes appear to be unduly strict).

 

[CraigD]

I was curious about how Australia has fared during the pandemic. Is it true that only 909 deaths have been attributed to Covid? https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/australia/

If so, the country is doing something right (even though restrictions sometimes appear to be unduly strict).

We're doing fine thank you!

The key is contact-tracing everyone who may have been in contact with patient zero, and introducing strict lockdown measures whenever there is an outbreak that appears to be getting out of hand. This effectively resets the counter to zero community cases.

Our problem is that it keeps escaping from our quarantine hotels.

New South Wales has just gone 55-days without a reported community transmission, but that run was broken over the weekend when a security guard working at a Sydney quarantine hotel contracted the new UK strain and was out in the public for a few days before testing positive. We'll see how that goes over the coming weeks, but when we jump on it early, our contact- tracers can lock anyone down who may have been in contact with patient zero.

The majority of the deaths from the 909 figure you quoted occurred mid-last year in Melbourne Victoria, when Covid escaped hotel quarantine into the community and got into our aged care homes. The VIC government responded too late and weren't able to contact-trace everyone who may have been in contact with the early cases, and had to resort to locking down the city and most of the state for close to 100-days. I think it was one of the harshest lockdowns world-wide at the time, but it eventually did the trick.

Most of the live cases reported are actually travellers who are currently undergoing mandatory 14-days in hotel quarantine facilities.

The key is to go hard and go early, and eradicate it from the community.

I wouldn't want to live anywhere else at the moment

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Australia

 

[Mister Funsky]

Current Covid19 death numbers as of 8:00 am EST are below, primarily from the source in the original post (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus). If your country of interest is not listed below, simply go to the link above to do a search for relevant information.

Total: 2,674,363
United States: 548,013
Brazil: 279,602
South Africa: 51,421
United Kingdom: 125,580
Canada: 22,495
Mexico: 194,944
Poland: 47,578
Russia: 92,937
India: 158,892
Bolivia: 11,974
Japan : 8,590
Indonesia: 38,753
Italy: 102,499
Spain: 72,424
Belgium: 22,545
France: 90,762
Netherlands: 16,087
Chile: 21,772
Philippines: 12,848

 

[koolishman]

Non-invasive skin swab samples are enough to quickly detect COVID-19, a new study finds

The most widely used approach to testing for COVID-19 requires a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, which involves taking a swab of the back of the throat and far inside the nose.

In a paper published by Lancet E Clinical Medicine, chemists from Surrey teamed up with Frimley NHS Trust and the Universities of Manchester and Leicester to collect sebum samples from 67 hospitalised patients - 30 who had tested positive for COVID-19 and 37 who had tested negative. The samples were collected by gently swabbing a skin area rich in sebum - an oily, waxy substance produced by the body's sebaceous glands - such as the face, neck or back.

The researchers analysed the samples by using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry and a statistical modelling technique called Partial Least Squares – Discriminant Analysis to differentiate between the COVID-19 positive and negative samples.

The Surrey team then found that patients with a positive COVID-19 test had lower lipid levels - or dyslipidemia - than their counterparts with a negative test. The accuracy of the study’s results increased further when medication and additional health conditions were controlled.

Dr Melanie Bailey, co-author of the study from the University of Surrey, said: "Unfortunately, the spectre of future pandemics is firmly on the top of the agenda for the scientific community. Our study suggests that we may be able to use non-invasive means to test for diseases such as COVID-19 in the future - a development which I am sure will be welcomed by all."

 

[oldtimer]

I want to be hopeful that the Pandemic is going to be over soon, perhaps people can celebrate by this summer as their lives return to some form of normalcy,

But at the same time I am a little worried when I see that people are not willing to make any changes in their lifestyles and habits and in the way that the World is being run in general which might have contributed to the virus taking such strong foothold around the globe in the first place.

For the World to be able to return to some form of normalcy if it is going to mean returning to the status quo that existed before the Pandemic then that shows that we really haven't learned anything from this ordeal that has disrupted everyone's lives and cost us so many lives.

We have to accept the fact that we are all sinners in one way or another and that we live in a sinful World, and perhaps that's why we are where we are now.

The only way out is for us as the Human Race to ascend to a higher level of thinking and existence as a whole without excluding or leaving anyone behind.

Everyone has to change their ways and get to a new kind of mindset that can help us free ourselves from all that has been ailing Humanity and our Home Planet for so long.

The Humanity as a whole needs to find common grounds over the Universal Principles and Values that are derived through Logic and Compassion.

It doesn't sound very Logical nor Compassionate to selectively condemn some groups amongst us based on their politics, religion, race, genetics, or gender (or even gender preferences) while everyone else continues to follow the same wrong path and wants to do business as usual without seeing the need to make any changes in their ways.

Ending the Pandemic really requires that we bring an end to all the old and outdated philosophies, doctrines, and ideologies that have allowed us to become enslaved to the forces that want to keep us locked in the past.

We need to get into a new kind of mindset that can help us free ourselves from all that wants to keep us locked in the past if we are to be able to start a new era in the history of Humanity and the World.

IMO

 

[Mister Funsky]

Virus everywhere, murder hornets in the northwest and now bloodsuckers in Florida (and mosquitos too!)

BUGGING OUT
New invasive mosquito species that carries yellow fever discovered in Florida

The insects, which are typically found in the Caribbean and Latin America, are infected with a "range of diseases" including Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus and yellow fever virus, NPR reported.

Yellow fever is a tropical infection which attacks the liver and kidneys.

The virus often causes severe aches and nausea, but in more serious cases, it can also cause jaundice and even heart failure.

It's currently unclear whether the newly discovered species actually spread the virus they carry, however Aedes scapularis mosquitoes are known to go indoors and feed on both wildlife and people.

https://www.the-sun.com/news/us-news/2524684/new-mosquito-yellow-fever-disease-florida/

 

[J Sokol]

What the 1918 pandemic can tell us about a post-COVID-19 world

It has now been a year since many office workers were sent home, schools were shuttered, and essential businesses went into overdrive keeping up with customer demand for comestibles and toilet paper. Although vaccinations continue apace, social distancing and mask wearing are still a reality, along with remote work. Which raises some questions: When will it end? And more to the point: What will our new “normal” look like?

These are questions that were posed during prior pandemics, most notably from 1918 to 1920, when influenza ravaged the world’s population, taking (by one estimate) some 50 million lives. Economists, historians, and psychologists alike have studied the past and pondered its potential implications for what the future may bring.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90613787/what-the-1918-flu-can-tell-us-about-a-post-covid-19-world

 

[CraigD]

A catastrophe looms with PNG’s COVID crisis. Australia needs to respond urgently

The COVID epidemic in Papua New Guinea has significantly accelerated, judging by the available reports of case numbers.

Since its first case was diagnosed 12 months ago, PNG has avoided a large number of reported cases and corresponding deaths. That situation has changed dramatically over the past fortnight. A crisis is now unfolding with alarming speed and the response must quickly match it.

Australia can be proud of its preparations to support PNG and the region in responding to COVID-19, especially its preparations to support vaccination in the region. These include contributing A$80m to COVAX, $523m to the Regional Vaccine Access and Health Security Initiative, and $100m towards a new one billion dose COVID-19 vaccine initiative together with the United States, India and Japan (the “Quad” group of nations).

As good as they are, these plans are unlikely to be fast enough to stop this current surge before enormous damage is done. There’s simply no time to waste in responding.

Why the urgency?

Reported COVID-19 testing rates remain critically low, with just 55,000 taken from an estimated population of nine million people. This means we don’t yet have a precise picture of the scale of the epidemic.

The reported numbers are highly concerning. In the first week of March, 17% of all people who were tested throughout the country were positive to COVID-19, with over 350 newly confirmed cases. This is the highest number of cases in a single week in PNG since the start of the pandemic. Over half of PNG’s 22 provinces reported new COVID-19 cases in that week.

Read on...

https://theconversation.com/a-catastrophe-looms-with-pngs-covid-crisis-australia-needs-to-respond-urgently-156953


Papua New Guinea:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papua_New_Guinea

Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. As of 2019, it is also the most rural, as only 13.25% of its people live in urban centres. There are 851 known languages in the country, of which 11 now have no known speakers. Most of the population of more than 8,000,000 people live in customary communities, which are as diverse as the languages. The country is one of the world's least explored, culturally and geographically. It is known to have numerous groups of uncontacted peoples, and researchers believe there are many undiscovered species of plants and animals in the interior.

‘Desperate need’: PNG to get Australia vaccines amid COVID surge

Australia asks European Union to divert one million of its AstraZeneca vaccine doses to PNG, where COVID-19 is straining the health system.

Australia on Wednesday said it was asking AstraZeneca and the European Union for urgent access to one million doses of its contracted COVID-19 vaccine to send to its northern neighbour Papua New Guinea (PNG), which is struggling to contain an alarming surge in COVID-19 cases.

[Australian] Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that PNG, a former colony of Australia, was “a developing country in desperate need”. Some 8,000 doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine produced in Australia would be sent to the Pacific island nation to inoculate healthcare workers.

In a statement, Amnesty International said it had reports that some hospitals were full or threatening to close to new admissions while there was not enough personal protective equipment for medical staff and other front liners.

“Papua New Guinea’s health crisis has now reached the level we feared it would a year ago with a surge in cases,” Amnesty International’s Pacific Researcher Kate Schuetze said in a statement.

“A combination of an ailing health system and inadequate living conditions has created a perfect storm for COVID-19 to thrive in the country’s overcrowded informal settlements.”

Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said hospitals in the capital Port Moresby were detecting the virus in about half of new patient admissions.

“Half of women who are coming in due to pregnancy are positive,” he added. “We’re seeing a large number of healthcare workers on the front lines in Papua New Guinea now coming down with COVID-19. These are all signs that there is a major epidemic in the community.”

Cases have also been detected among people returning to Australia from PNG.

Officials in the state of Queensland [Australia] told the AFP news agency that about half its COVID-19 patients currently in hospital had come from Papua New Guinea, while a recent batch of 500 tests sent from Port Moresby, the PNG capital, showed a 50 percent infection rate.

Australian state authorities have also accelerated inoculations in the Torres Strait islands this week, some of which are only a short boat ride from western PNG.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/17/australia-to-send-covid-vaccines-to-png-as-outbreak-spikes

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Australia to send Papua New Guinea vaccines as cases surge

[Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison] ... said that he had lodged a request with AstraZeneca and the European Union to access one million of the country's contracted doses, "not for Australia, but for PNG, a developing country in desperate need of these vaccines".

It's unclear when these vaccines would be delivered.

Earlier this month, Italy blocked 250,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Australia on the basis that they were more urgently needed in Europe.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-56424306

-----------------------

Papua New Guinea - Population 9 million
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papua_New_Guinea

 

[Mister Funsky]

Current Covid19 death numbers as of 8:00 am EST are below, primarily from the source in the original post (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus). If your country of interest is not listed below, simply go to the link above to do a search for relevant information.

Total: 2,684,468
United States: 549,384
Brazil: 282,400
South Africa: 51,560
United Kingdom: 125,690
Canada: 22,519
Mexico: 195,119
Poland: 48,032
Russia: 93,364
India: 159,079
Bolivia: 11,997
Japan : 8,622
Indonesia: 38,915
Italy: 103,001
Spain: 72,565
Belgium: 22,572
France: 91,170
Netherlands: 16,119
Chile: 21,789
Philippines: 12,866

 

[CraigD]

European countries at the start of a third wave of Covid, experts warn

Large parts of Europe are at the start of a third coronavirus wave, experts have said, with warnings that the decision to pause the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine over health concerns is likely lead to a rise in cases and a high number of deaths as more contagious new variants account for the majority of cases.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...e-start-of-a-third-wave-of-covid-experts-warn

 

[koolishman]

Certain Mouthwashes Might Stop COVID-19 Virus Transmission

Researchers at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine have found evidence that two types of mouthwash disrupt the COVID-19 virus under laboratory conditions, preventing it from replicating in a human cell.

The study, published in the journal Pathogens, found that Listerine and the prescription mouthwash Chlorhexidine disrupted the virus within seconds after being diluted to concentrations that would mimic actual use. Further studies are needed to test real-life efficacy in humans.

The study was conducted in a lab using concentrations of the mouthwash and the time it would take to contact tissues to replicate conditions found in the mouth, said Daniel H. Fine, the paper’s senior author and chair of the school’s Department of Oral Biology.

The study found two other mouthwashes showed promise in potentially providing some protection in preventing viral transmission: Betadine, which contains povidone iodine, and Peroxal, which contains hydrogen peroxide. However, only Listerine and Chlorhexidine disrupted the virus with little impact on skin cells inside the mouth that provide a protective barrier against the virus.

 

[Sutruk]

Certain Mouthwashes Might Stop COVID-19 Virus Transmission

Researchers at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine have found evidence that two types of mouthwash disrupt the COVID-19 virus under laboratory conditions, preventing it from replicating in a human cell.

The study, published in the journal Pathogens, found that Listerine and the prescription mouthwash Chlorhexidine disrupted the virus within seconds after being diluted to concentrations that would mimic actual use. Further studies are needed to test real-life efficacy in humans.

The study was conducted in a lab using concentrations of the mouthwash and the time it would take to contact tissues to replicate conditions found in the mouth, said Daniel H. Fine, the paper’s senior author and chair of the school’s Department of Oral Biology.

The study found two other mouthwashes showed promise in potentially providing some protection in preventing viral transmission: Betadine, which contains povidone iodine, and Peroxal, which contains hydrogen peroxide. However, only Listerine and Chlorhexidine disrupted the virus with little impact on skin cells inside the mouth that provide a protective barrier against the virus.

That title is a bit misleading, to say the least. How can a mouthwash, something that you just take to wash your mouth, stop virus transmission?
Unfortunately, when you breath, the virus doesn't stop on your mouth, but it is inhaled through your larynx to your lungs. Besides the fact that it is also inhaled through your nasal cavity.
So, saying that it might "Stop covid-19 virus transmission" is saying too much in this case, in my opinion.
It can stop the virus on the mouth, but it does not stop the virus transmission, because the virus transmission is not done only through the mouth.

 

[CraigD]

Sorry but that title is a bit misleading, to say the least. How can a mouthwash, something that you just take to wash your mouth, stop virus transmission?
Unfortunately, when you breath, the virus doesn't stop on your mouth, but it is inhaled through your larynx to your lungs. Besides the fact that it is also inhaled through your nasal cavity.
So, saying that it might "Stop covid-19 virus transmission" is saying too much in this case, in my opinion.
It can stop the virus on the mouth, but it does not stop the virus transmission, because the virus transmission is not done only through the mouth.

I agree, the headline is in itself concerning.

Just to be clear here, the rules of this thread are that headlines cannot be editorialised, so @koolishman has correctly published the actual headline.

 

[Sutruk]

I agree, the headline is in itself concerning.

Just to be clear here, the rules of this thread are that headlines cannot be editorialised, so @koolishman has correctly published the actual headline.

Totally agree. And of course my comment was not directed to @koolishman but to the writer of that headline

 

[CraigD]

Totally agree. And of course my comment was not directed to @koolishman but to the writer of that headline

Actually I take that back.

Those are not the rules of this thread.

My bad!

I mistakenly thought that this was the Science and Technology thread.

Please don't mind me, and carry on...

 

[oldtimer]

That title is a bit misleading, to say the least. How can a mouthwash, something that you just take to wash your mouth, stop virus transmission?

Could it be that they meant stopping the transmission of the virus to others.

If the mouthwash can kill the viruses that are in the mouth then the droplets that come out of the mouth while talking won't contain live viruses anymore and won't be as dangerous if they landed on others.

If this is true I wonder if Listerine could be used as a sanitizer for other uses too.

IMO

 

[CraigD]

Could it be that they meant stopping the transmission of the virus to others.

If the mouthwash can kill the viruses that are in the mouth then the droplets that come out of the mouth while talking won't contain live viruses anymore and won't be as dangerous if they landed on others.

If this is true I wonder if Listerine could be used as a sanitizer for other uses too.

IMO

"The team studied the efficacy of mouthwash potential for preventing viral transmission to better understand how dental providers can be protected from aerosols exhaled by patients."

EDITED: because I was wrong and didn't fully read the article. The headline was a bit ambiguous.

 

[Sutruk]

Could it be that they meant stopping the transmission of the virus to others.

If the mouthwash can kill the viruses that are in the mouth then the droplets that come out of the mouth while talking won't contain live viruses anymore and won't be as dangerous if they landed on others.

If this is true I wonder if Listerine could be used as a sanitizer for other uses too.

IMO

You can cough or sneeze, and then the mouthwash won't prevent you to transmit the virus to others.
Not to mention that your mouth is constantly producing new saliva. So the "Listerine effect" would last just for 10 minutes.
It killed the virus in labs, but in real, the mouth is constantly producing new saliva... with virus if you have covid-19.
The headline is misleading. I think the writer just was too euphoric with the Listerine mouthwash and placed a clickbait and at the same time misleading headline. The headline is very clear "Certain Mouthwashes Might Stop COVID-19 Virus Transmission" and that's not true.
If he would be a good writer or journalist, he should have said "Listerine clean your mouth from covid-19 for 10 minutes, but you still can transmit and get infected by the virus".

 

[Sutruk]

About the reinfection rate by covid-19, it seems it's less than 1%, good news.

Assessment of protection against reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 among 4 million PCR-tested individuals in Denmark in 2020: a population-level observational study

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00575-4/fulltext#seccestitle150

Background

The degree to which infection with SARS-CoV-2 confers protection towards subsequent reinfection is not well described. In 2020, as part of Denmark's extensive, free-of-charge PCR-testing strategy, approximately 4 million individuals (69% of the population) underwent 10·6 million tests. Using these national PCR-test data from 2020, we estimated protection towards repeat infection with SARS-CoV-2.

Discussion

Our estimates for overall protection after previous infection with SARS-CoV-2 of 77–83% are in line with several other cohort studies from the UK, Qatar, and the USA that reported reinfection to be rare and occurring in fewer than 1% of all COVID-19 cases.

 

[Mister Funsky]

At the suggestion of a well respected and much appreciated contributor of this thread I am adding Papua New Guinea to the list.

Covid has reached my hospital in Papua New Guinea – people could soon be dying in the parking lot

At Port Moresby General Hospital, about 20% of women presenting in labour have symptoms of Covid-19. Of these, about one-third (four to five women a day) test positive.

Since mid-February, the rise in Covid cases in PNG has been exponential. Even with our low rates of testing our total numbers have gone from 1,000 to 2,300 in the past month and deaths from 10 to 25 in the same period.

We now see that about 10 of our nursing and medical staff are becoming Covid positive every week, and the number is rising along with the community numbers. Positive staff are put off work until they test negative some weeks later. To date we have lost 30% of our maternity department workforce.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...people-could-soon-be-dying-in-the-parking-lot

Current Covid19 death numbers as of 8:00 am EST are below, primarily from the source in the original post (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus). If your country of interest is not listed below, simply go to the link above to do a search for relevant information.

Total: 2,694,944
United States: 550,671
Brazil: 285,136
India: 159,250
Russia: 93,824
United Kingdom: 125,831
France: 91,437
Italy: 103,432
Spain: 72,793
Mexico: 195,908
Poland: 48,388
South Africa: 51,634
Bolivia: 11,997
Japan : 8,622
Indonesia: 39,142
Netherlands: 16,165
Canada: 22,554
Belgium: 22,600
Chile: 21,816
Belgium: 22,600
Philippines: 12,887
Papua New Guinea: 31

 

[CraigD]

WHO statement on AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine safety signals

Some countries in the European Union have temporarily suspended use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as a precautionary measure based on reports of rare blood coagulation disorders in persons who had received the vaccine. Other countries in the EU – having considered the same information - have decided to continue using the vaccine in their immunization programmes.

Vaccination against COVID-19 will not reduce illness or deaths from other causes. Thromboembolic events are known to occur frequently. Venous thromboembolism is the third most common cardiovascular disease globally.

In extensive vaccination campaigns, it is routine for countries to signal potential adverse events following immunization. This does not necessarily mean that the events are linked to vaccination itself, but it is good practice to investigate them. It also shows that the surveillance system works and that effective controls are in place.

WHO is in regular contact with the European Medicines Agency and regulators around the world for the latest information on COVID-19 vaccine safety. The WHO COVID-19 Subcommittee of the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety is carefully assessing the latest available safety data for the AstraZeneca vaccine. Once that review is completed, WHO will immediately communicate the findings to the public.

At this time, WHO considers that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh its risks and recommends that vaccinations continue.

https://www.who.int/news/item/17-03...n-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-safety-signals

 

[koolishman]

Thailand successfully trains dogs to sniff out Covid-19 in seconds

Researchers in Thailand have successfully trained six sniffer Labrador retrievers as part of a six-month pilot project to identify the coronavirus in just two seconds.

According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), researchers from Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University led by Professor Kaywalee Chatdarong said coronavirus patients emitted a distinct scent through their perspiration which allowed the sniffer dogs to detect the virus.

“The dogs are different from the usual temperature-screening methods in that they can detect those who may have the virus but are asymptomatic, with no fever,” Chatdarong told CNA on Wednesday.

“The dogs will be able to detect these people. Their accuracy rate of detecting patients is 94.8%,” she said.

 

[Mister Funsky]

Had a large tree give way to wind and rain and have been without power...had to choose between heat or computer once the back up power came up...I chose heat! Up and running now and have 5 hours of time to make up.

Current Covid19 death numbers as of noon EST are below, primarily from the source in the original post (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus). If your country of interest is not listed below, simply go to the link above to do a search for relevant information.

Total: 2,706,935
United States: 552,564
Brazil: 287,795
India: 159,578
Russia: 94,267
United Kingdom: 126,026
France: 91,679
Italy: 104,241
Spain: 72,910
Mexico: 196,606
Poland: 48,807
South Africa: 51,724
Indonesia: 39,339
Netherlands: 16,244
Canada: 22,590
Belgium: 22,624
Chile: 22,087
Belgium: 22,624
Philippines: 12,900
Japan : 8,758
Bolivia: 12,028
Papua New Guinea: 36