A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 493,000 people worldwide.
Over 9.7 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some governments are hiding the scope of their nations’ outbreaks.
The United States has become the worst-affected country, with more than 2.4 million diagnosed cases and at least 125,045 deaths.
The United States has become the worst-affected country, with more than 2.4 million diagnosed cases and at least 125,045 deaths.
Latest:
EU to ban most American travelers
Texas’ Harris County ‘careening toward disaster’
Florida’s coronavirus positivity rate jumps to 13%
White House task force holds 1st briefing in 2 months, Pence defends Trump rallies
Here’s how the news is developing today. All times Eastern. Please refresh this page for updates
10:37 p.m.: Trump staffers will need to pass COVID test
Trump campaign staff were informed Friday night via email that all who were in Tulsa for last weekend’s rally “are required to obtain a negative COVID-19 test this weekend,” according to an email obtained by ABC News.
According to the email, the campaign has “set up a remote COVID-19 testing site” where staffers will be tested on Sunday. Eight staffers who were in Tulsa have already tested positive and dozens of others have been in self-quarantine working remotely since getting back from Oklahoma.
All staffers who traveled to Tulsa will need to be tested before returning to work on Monday, sources said.
7:03 p.m.: EU to ban American travelers: Source
With coronavirus cases in the U.S. on the rise, the European Union is taking a step to prevent its member nations from seeing a backslide.
Most American travelers are to be banned from entering any of the EU’s 27 member countries, an outside advisor to the EU who has been consulting on negotiations confirmed to ABC News. EU officials had been negotiating a list of which countries’ travelers would be allowed to enter in recent days.
The list is finalized, according to the source, but as first reported by The New York Times, this is still pending formal approval from member countries and the EU’s own relevant bodies.
Nothing has been publicly announced yet, and it’s unclear what, if any, exceptions will be made.
Among those countries that won’t be banned is China, where the outbreak began, according to the Times.
Even before the official announcement, the U.S. Travel Association, a nonprofit representing the travel industry, released a statement calling the decision “incredibly disappointing” and “unwelcome news.”
5:16 p.m.: ‘Wear your mask!,’ SC governor says as he extends state of emergency
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said that he will extend the state of emergency for at least another two weeks which will continue to restrict nightclubs, concerts, and sporting events … anything involving crowds, at a press briefing on Friday.
“Wear your mask! Wear your mask! Wear your Mask!” McMaster said while also saying it is “ineffective and impractical” to require everybody to wear a mask in South Carolina, adding it’s “unenforceable.” He says cities do have the authority to enact their own policies, but also said, “enforcement is the problem.”
Director of Public Health for the Department of Health and Environmental Control Dr. Joan Duwve said she’s aware of clusters of cases among young people who went to parties or the beach without wearing masks. She stressed the importance of wearing masks saying. “we know you’re tired of hearing it, and we’re tired of saying it. Wear your mask, and social distance.”
DHEC announced the highest rate of hospitalization in the state so far; 906 patients as of today.
5:05 p.m.: COVID-19 cases drop slightly to 5,707 new cases
COVID-19 cases in Texas dropped slightly Friday, with new cases now totaling 137,624.
There have been 1,903,661 tests administered statewide with a testing positivity rate of 11.73%.
The total numbers of patients hospitalized has risen to 5,102, which is an increase from yesterday, and 244 of 254 counties are now reporting cases.
4:20 p.m.: California county reports shockingly high positivity rate of 23%
San Francisco is temporarily delaying reopenings that were set for Monday due to the rapidly rising number of coronavirus cases in the city and the state.
“I know people are anxious to reopen — I am too,” Mayor London Breed tweeted Friday, but she added, “our reopening process is guided by data and science.”
Across California, the number of hospitalizations and number of ICU patients are on the rise.
Additional resources have been flowing into California’s Imperial County, along the Mexican border, where the positivity rate is at shockingly high 23%.
Hospitals in Imperial County “are overwhelmed,” Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted Friday.
“Today we’re working with the country to reinstate a stay at home order,” he tweeted. “We have to take this seriously.”
Source: ABC News