Thursday Morning C-19 Update

NOTE - Below is a radio-friendly notepad used on the Need To Know Morning Show on AM1100 The Flag WZFG.  Spelling, punctuation, etc are not edited. 

LETS TAKE A LOOK AT THE UP TO THE MINUTE NUMBERS.....

FIRST THE FATALITIES

IN NORTH DAKOTA - NO NEW DEATHS, STILL A TOTAL OF 9

IN MINNESOTA - 8 NEW DEATHS....NOW A TOTAL OF 87

IN SOUTH DAKOTA - NO NEW DEATHS, STILL A TOTAL OF 6

ACROSS THE U-S.....2,396 THE HIGHEST SINGLE DAY YET.....ALMOST 28-THOUSAND

ACROSS THE WORLD, 77-HUNDRED DIED YESTERDAY, MAKING A TOTAL OF JUST OVER 134-THOUSAND

NEW CASES WEDNESDAY -

24 IN NORTH DAKOTA.... THE HIGHEST SINGLE DAY YET.......AND HALF OF THEM WERE FROM CASS COUNTY....THERE HAVE NOW BEEN 365 ACROSS THE STATE TO TEST POSITIVE..

114 IN MINNESOTA.....A TOTAL NOW OF 1,809. ...IN CLAY COUNTY, 3 NEW CASES TODAY, 43 IN ALL.

IN SD, 300 NEW CASES, NEARLY 12-HUNDRED IN ALL

ACROSS THE US....ABOUT 27-THOUSAND WITH 641-THOUSAND TOTAL....

ACROSS THE WORLD...78,000 WITH A TOTAL OF JUST OVER 2 MILLION SINCE THIS BEGAN.

THE NUMBER HOSPITALIZED THIS MORNING-

IN NORTH DAKOTA THERE ARE 13 PEOPLE IN THE HOSPITAL SAME AS THE DAY BEFORE.

IN MN, 197 ARE IN HOSPITAL CARE, 40 MORE THAN YESTERDAY

ACROSS THE COUNTRY, JUST OVER 13,000 ARE IN SERIOUS OR CRITICAL CONDITION...THAT'S UP 500 FROM YESTERDAY

AND WORLDWIDE, THE NUMBER IS JUST OVER 51-THOUSAND BUT THAT NUMBER HAS LEVELED OFF IN THE LAST FEW DAYS.

 AND IN THE U-S, NEARLY 48-THOUSAND HAVE RECOVERED, WHILE WORLDWIDE THAT NUMBER TODAY WENT OVER 500-THOUSAND

ON THE TRENDLINES THIS MORNING -

NORTH DAKOTA HAD IT'S HIGHEST NUMBER OF NEW CASES WEDNESDAY WITH 24...AND GOVERNOR BURGUM SAID THAT NUMBER WILL LIKELY KEEP GOING HIGHER AS DUE TO MECHANICAL ISSUES AT THE STATE TESTING LAB, THERE IS A BACKLOG OF ABOUT 400 TESTS....

IN MN, THE NUMBER OF NEW POSITIVES WENT UP BIG FROM THE LAST 2 DAYS....114 NEW POSITIVES WEDNESDAY....STATE OFFICIALS SAY IT WAS A BACKLOG FROM EASTER WEEKEND...

WITH 9 DEATHS, ND IS SHOWING THAT 2.6% OF THOSE TO TEST POSITIVE HAVE DIED...THE POSITIVE RATE IS 3.2% COMPARING POSITIVES TO THOSE TESTED...

THE U-S DEATH TOTAL OF JUST OVER 22-THOUSAND MEANS THE U-S CONTINUES TO HAVE MORE DEATHS FROM THE VIRUS THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY.....BUT IN TERMS OF CASES PER CAPITA, THE U-S STANDS 14TH...UP ONE SPOT FROM THE DAY BEFORE.......

SOME COMPARISONS FOR YOU....THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION SAYS BETWEEN 300-THOUSAND AND 650-THOUSAND PEOPLE DIE OF THE FLU WORLDWIDE EACH YEAR...WE ARE NOW JUST OVER 114-THOUSAND ON THE CORONAVIRUS...

IN THE U-S .....THE CDC ESTIMATES THAT ABOUT 40-THOUSAND AMERICANS HAVE DIED OF INFLUENZA SINCE OCTOBER 1...OUR CORONAVIRUS DEATH COUNT IS NOW JUST OVER 22-THOUSAND....

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LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR THURSDAY MORNING HEADLINES.

2 MORE METRO AREA LONG TERM CARE FACILITIES HAVE REPORTED A CONFIRMED CASE OF THE CORONAVIRUS, BRINGING THE VALLEY'S TOTAL TO NINE.... TOUCHMARK IN FARGO SAYS AN employee there HAS TESTED POSITIVE AFTER BEING EXPOSED TO THE VIRUS WHILE WORKING AT ANOTHER JOB....AND A RESIDENT AT AT FARGO'S BETHANY HOMES HAS TESTED POSITIVE.... The confirmed case is in the skilled care area of Bethany on 42nd STREET....NO CASES HAVE BEEN REPORTED FROM THE BETHANY LOCATION ON UNVERSITY....

ND GOVERNOR DOUG BURGUM HAS EXTENDED HIS PARTIAL BUSINESS CLOSURES TO APRIL 30TH....10 DAYS MORE....HE SAYS THE CURVE IS FLATTENING, BUT WE'RE NOT FAR ENOUGH ALONG TO KNOW THE REAL STORY....ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES WILL REMAIN OPEN....ENTERTAINMENT CLOSED....RESTAURANTS CAN STILL DO TAKEOUT AND DELIVERY.....HE DID SAY HE HOPES TO HAVE SOME RESPONSIBLE RE-OPENINGS STARTING MAY FIRST......SOT

BURGUM ADDED THAT BUSINESSES WHO HAVE VOLUNTARILY CLOSED LIKE DENTAL OFFICES, SHOULD BEGIN TO LOOK FOR WAYS THAT THEY COULD OPEN YET IN APRIL....HE SAID SCHOOLS WILL REMAIN CLOSED INDEFINITELY...HE SAYS IN ORDER FOR BUSINESSES TO DO A SMART RESTART, THAT Robust, widespread rapid testing capacity WILL NEED TO BE AVAILABLE...

HE ALSO SAID THAT THE ADDITIONAL 600 DOLLARS PER WEEK GOING TO UNEMPLOYED WORKERS IS GOING OUT IN THE CHECKS, EFFECTIVE WEDNESDAY ......MINNESOTA HAS HAD THE ADDITIONAL FEDERAL MONEY IN IT'S CHECKS FOR THE LAST FEW DAYS....

THE MUCH STUDIED UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON'S IMHE MODEL IS NOW FORECASTING 32 DEATHS IN NORTH DAKOTA BY AUGUST 4TH....INITIAL PROJECTIONS SHOWED THAT THE STATE COULD SEE MORE THAN 700 FATALITIES....

THE FORUM REPORTS THAT Sanford Health in Fargo is treating 10 COVID-19 patients  including four in intensive care on ventilators.

 FARGO'S GLADYS RAY SHELTER WAS THE SITE OF A TARGETED ROUND OF TESTING WEDNESDAY…..THIS FOLLOWS several positive tests in Fargo’s homeless population....PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY the testing efforts were proactive and that THEY did not choose the Gladys Ray Shelter because of any COVID-19 cases at the shelter....ABOUT 80 PEOPLE WERE TESTED

 The City of West Fargo has announced that all public buildings will remain closed and the work-at-home directive will remain in place until Friday May 1st....ESSENTIAL SERVICES WILL CONTINUE...

 THE NEW NORTH DAKOTA HOT SPOT IS IN GRAND FORKS....The L-M Wind Power plant IS BEING SHUT DOWN FOR CLEANING AFTER AT LEAST 8 employees tested positive for COVID-19....GRAND FORKS COUNTY TODAY REPORTED 8 POSITIVE TESTS....THE COUNTY NOW HAS 20 POSITIVE TESTS IN ALL...THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH WILL DO A TARGETED TESTING OF EMPLOYEES TODAY….

MINNESOTA GOVERNOR TIM WALZ TODAY TOOK AIM AT THE WHITE HOUSE AS TESTS FOR COVID 19 HAVE SLOWED IN THE STATE....WALZ SAYS THE STATE IS RUNNING SHORT OF TESTING SUPPLIES AND TESTS ARE DOWN A THIRD FROM 2 WEEKS AGO.....SOT

ONE OF THE 8 DEATHS REPORTED IN MINNESOTA WEDNESDAY IS FROM CLAY COUNTY....A RESIDENT OF A LONG TERM CARE FACILITY IN THEIR 70’S...  All of the newly reported deaths involved residents of long-term care facilities...

THE STAR TRIBUNE REPORTS THAT Although hospitalizations AND ICU CASES are generally increasing, MINNESOTA'S hospitals are not yet stretched to capacity......There were about 280 intensive care beds available and 780 respirators not in use as of Tuesday,

The mother of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has died from COVID-19.....Ellison’s mother, CLEETA, died RECENTLY from complications of the virus. She was 82.

The US FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION has authorized production of a simple, low-cost medical device designed at the University of Minnesota to mechanically inflate the lungs of patients suffering significant breathing problems ....The emergency-use device, called the Coventor, was designed in temporary working digs in a conference room at the U AND WENT FROM DESIGN TO PRODUCTION IN 30 DAYS....

SOUTH DAKOTA HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY THEY’RE GOING TO LAUNCH A SANFORD-LED STATEWIDE CLINICAL TRIAL FOR HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE...THE DRUG HAS HAD IMPRESSIVE RESULTS IN POCKETS OF THE COUNTRY BUT HAS NOT YET BEEN UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED IN THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY….IT HAS BEEN USED AS A TREATMENT DRUG IN THE DAKOTAS INCLUDING SANFORD AND ESSENTIA IN FARGO...THE DRUG HAS BEEN USED FOR DECADES TO TREAT LUPUS, ARTHRITIS AND MALARIA….ABOUT 2-THOUSAND PEOPLE EXPOSED TO THE VIRUS ARE EXPECTED TO TAKE PART IN THE TRIAL...

TWIN CITIES BASED BEST BUY SAYS IT will furlough 51,000 store employees in the U.S., or about 40% of its total workforce, as its stores remain closed aside from curbside pickup....SALES ARE DOWN ABOUT 30% SO FAR... 

President Trump SAYS HE'LL ANNOUNCE NEW GUIDELINES TODAY THAT WILL allow some states to quickly ease up on social distancing....HE SAYS HE'LL WORK WITH GOVERNORS TO MAKE SURE THERE IS A UNIFIED MESSAGE ON WHAT WILL FLY AND WHAT WON'T....HE SAID We’ll be opening some states much sooner than others MAYBE EVEN BEFORE MAY FIRST... 

US RETAIL SALES SLUMPED 8.7% IN MARCH, THEIR WORST MONTHLY DECLINE ON RECORD, DATING BACK TO 1992...ONE CATEGORY DID JUMP UPWARD….GROCERY STORE SALES SURGED 27%.....

A DOWN DAY ON WALL STREET SAW THE DOW JONES FALL 445 POINTS TO FINISH AT 23,504...THE NASDAQ AND SP 500 WERE BOTH DOWN BETWEEN 1 AND 2 PERCENT.....WTI CRUDE OIL WAS UP 30 CENTS TO FINISH JUST OVER 20 DOLLARS A BARREL.

A PAIR OF DEMOCRATING CONGRESSMEN HAVE PROPOSED A BILL THAT WOULD GIVE ALL AMERICANS AGED 16 AND UP 2-THOUSAND DOLLARS A MONTH UNTIL THE ECONOMY HAS RECOVERED FROM THE VIRUS...Tim Ryan OF OHIO AND RO KHANNA OF CALIFORNIA….THE MONEY WOULD GO TO INDIVIDUALS EARNING LESS THAN 130-THOUSAND AND COUPLES EARNING LESS THAN 260-THOUSAND...FAMILIES WOULD ALSO GET $500 PER CHILD UNDER THE AGE OF 16….