Tuesday 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 - 3 NEW DEATHS, NOW AT TOTAL OF 13 - ALL 3 FATALS WERE IN CASS COUNTY

IN MINNESOTA - 9 / 143 - 3 of them so far IN CLAY COUNTY

IN SOUTH DAKOTA - NO NEW DEATHS, STILL A TOTAL OF 7

ACROSS THE U-S.....1,883 / 42,411

ACROSS THE WORLD....5,100 / 170,000

NEW CASES MONDAY -

• 42 IN NORTH DAKOTA.. WITH 1,117 TESTS.....GIVING A POSITIVE RATE TODAY OF 3.8 PERCENT ON THE LARGEST DAY OF TESTING REPORTED YET.....WE'VE TESTED JUST SHORT OF 15-THOUSAND....34 IN CASS CO. TESTED POSITIVE - 246 IN ALL... 

• 114 IN MINNESOTA...THE LOWEST NUMBER IN THE LAST 4 DAYS....1,134 TESTS FOR A POSITIVE RATE TODAY OF 10.1 PERCENT.....A TOTAL NOW OF 2,470 ...IN CLAY COUNTY, 7 NEW CASES TODAY, 62 IN ALL. 

• IN SD, 50 NEW CASES - WELL BELOW 7 DAY AVERAGE..., 1,685 IN ALL

• ACROSS THE US....ABOUT 247-THOUSAND NEW CASES.....NOW 790,000 TOTAL.......

• ACROSS THE WORLD...71,000 WITH A TOTAL OF JUST OVER 2.4 MILLION SINCE THIS BEGAN.

THE NUMBER HOSPITALIZED -

• IN NORTH DAKOTA ...2 MORE ARE IN THE HOSPITAL, 17 TOTAL....

• IN MN, 237 ARE IN HOSPITAL CARE, 9 MORE THAN DAY BEFORE

• ACROSS THE COUNTRY, JUST OVER 13,500 ARE IN SERIOUS OR CRITICAL CONDITION

AND IN THE U-S, NEARLY 72-THOUSAND HAVE RECOVERED, WHILE WORLDWIDE THAT NUMBER TODAY IS NEARLY 650-THOUSAND 

 ON THE TRENDLINES TONIGHT -

•  THE PERCENT POSITIVE IN MINNESOTA STAYED FAIRLY LEVEL AS THEY SAW 10 PERCENT OF THE TESTED COME  BACK POSITIVE....SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN THE 7 DAY AVERAGE…

• .IN NORTH DAKOTA AFTER LARGE JUMPS THIS PAST WEEKEND AT 14 AND 8 PERCENT, THE STATE RETURNED TO ITS 30 DAY AVERAGE AT 3.8 PERCENT......

• Burgum has stressed that because testing data lags and not everyone is tested, the actual number of positive cases in the state could be 10 times higher.

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HERE ARE YOUR TUESDAY MORNING HEADLINES

ABOUT 150 PROTESTERS TOOK TO THE CAPITAL STEPS IN BISMARCK MONDAY TO PROTEST GOVERNOR BURGUM'S PARTIAL BUSINESS CLOSURES...........A GROUP CALLED Health Freedom North Dakota ORGANIZED THE RALLY....THE BISMARCK TRIBUNE SAYS LINTON'S ALEXIS WANGLER organized the protest on Facebook because she has friends and family whose hair salons and cosmetics businesses have been force to shut down under Burgum's order.

WE MAY BE SEEING the metro area’s FIRST OUTBREAKS IN LONG-TERM CARE….EVENTIDE OFFICIALS TELL THE FORUM THAT …. 10 residents and two staff members at Eventide Fargo, have tested positive for COVID-19….LAST WEEK THERE WAS JUST ONE CASE…. None of the infected were hospitalized as of Friday afternoon. Some have mild symptoms and a few are asymptomatic….AND EVENTIDE IN MOORHEAD NOW HAS 10 RESIDENTS WHO HAVE TESTED POSITIVE…

FARGO MAYOR TIM MAHONEY SAYS GOVERNOR BURGUM’S OFFICE IS THINKING MID-MAY FOR LIFTING BUSINESS RESTRICTIONS….MAHONEY MADE THE COMMENTS AT LAST NIGHT’S CITY COMMISION MEETING, BUT SAID BURGUM MAY GO EARLIER….THE GOVERNOR ANNOUNCED LAST WEEK THAT HE’S EXTENDING THE RESTRICTIONS ON BARS RESTAURANTS, AND PERSONAL SERVICES BUSINESSES TO APRIL 30 AND THAT THERE COULD BE AN OPENING MAY 1ST IF THE STATE IS TRENDING DOWNWARD IN KEY METRICS….COMMISSIONERS TONY GEHRIG AND DAVE PIEPKORN SAY IT’S TIME TO LIFT RESTRICTIONS NOW AS THE CLOSURES ARE DOING DAMAGE...PIEPKORN SAYS HE’S HEARD THAT 30 TO 40 PERCENT OF BUSINESSES WHO ARE CLOSED NOW WILL NOT REOPEN.

All three of ND'S new deaths from the coronavirus were in Cass County, raising the county's total to six. The new victims were a man in his 70s, a woman in her 80s and a woman in her 90s. All three had underlying health conditions, according to the state Department of Health.

BURGUM ANNOUNCED MONDAY THAT HIS SMART RESTART PLAN HAS 8 STEPS TO REBUILD ECONOMIC ACTIVITY, BUT THE ONLY ONE THAT HAS BEEN MET IS SUFFICIENT HEALTH CARE CAPACITY... TWO OF THE TRICKIER ITEMS WILL BE WIDESPREAD TESTING AND ROBUST CONTACT TRACING.....BUT HELP IS ON THE WAY......SOT

IN ORDER TO HELP BOTH TESTING AND TRACING EFFORTS, HE'S HIRED  National Guard Brig. Gen. Robert Schulte to build up widespread rapid testing, and retired National Information Solutions Cooperative President and CEO Vern Dosch TO head up the contact tracing team.

GOOD NEWS FROM GF COUNTY MONDAY WHERE ONLY 4 NEW CASES WERE REPORTED....MORE THAN 60 CAME FROM THERE ON SATURDAY ALONE, STEMMING FROM AN OUT BREAK AT A WIND POWER MANUFACTURER.....OSHA IS INVESTIGATING  THE L-M WIND POWER FACILITY, WHERE 128 PEOPLE HAVE TESTED POSITIVE.

FARGO PUBLIC GOLF COURSES ARE SET TO OPEN THIS WEEK WITH SOME MODIFICATIONS DUE TO THE VIRUS.....Restaurants WILL offer pick up or to go food and beverage items. ..To maintain social distancing and minimize contact points for customers and staff, golfers must reserve tee times in advance at FargoGolf.net or by calling the Pro Shop. No walk-ins will be accepted. Payment on the day of play is accepted before arrival over the phone by calling the Pro Shop or online when the tee time is reserved. No cash will be accepted…..

MOORHEAD COURSES ARE OPENING TODAY AT 10 AM….JUST ONE PERSON AT A TIME IN THE CLUBHOUSE, DRIVING RANGES AND PUTTING GREENS ARE CLOSED….NO CARTS….NO RAKES….NO BALL WASHERS….NO GARBAGE CANS...NO FOOD AND BEVERAGE….NO TOURNAMENTS….AND NO TOUCHING THE FLAGSTICKS, THE CUPS WILL HAVE A RAISED BOTTOM SO YOU WONT HAVE TO TOUCH THE CUP WHEN YOU TAKE YOUR BALL OUT.

MN GOVERNOR TIM WALZ MONDAY SAID TENSIONS BETWEEN HIS OFFICE AND THE WHITE HOUSE HAVE EASED AFTER A WEEKEND CALL WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP AND VICE PRESIDENT PENCE....WALZ HAS REPEATEDLY SUGGESTED THAT THE TRUMP TASK FORCE HAD GIVEN MIXED MESSAGES ON WHETHER THE FEDS OR THE STATE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR SECURING TESTING SUPPLIES......SOT

THE PRESIDENT APPARENTLY FELT THE SAME, TWEETING  "Received a very nice call from @GovTimWalz of Minnesota,""We are working closely on getting him all he needs, and fast. Good things happening!"

MONDAY marks the sixth consecutive day that 100 or more confirmed cases were reported by mn state health officials….Most who have died have been elderly with underlying health conditions, such as heart disease, kidney disease, hypertension and other chronic health conditions. The median age of those who have died is 84, with the youngest being 56 and the oldest 104.

Oil futures plunged below zero MONDAY, A FIRST FOR TRADERS....where the cost to have a barrel of U.S. crude delivered in May plummeted to MINUS $37.63. It was at roughly $60 at the start of the year…..Traders are still paying $20.43 for a barrel of U.S. oil to be delivered in June, which analysts consider to be closer to the “true” price of oil.  THE PROBLEM WITH Crude to be delivered IN MAY IS THAT WITH SUCH LOW DEMAND, traders are running out of places to keep it, with storage tanks close to full amid a collapse in demand as factories, automobiles and airplanes sit idled around the world.

STOCKS TUMBLED MONDAY TOO....DOW OFF MORE THAN 500 POINTS

BLOOMBERG NEWS REPORTS THAT More than a dozen publicly traded companies with revenue of more than $100 million, including Shake Shack AND Potbelly received loans through a massive relief program aimed at small businesses….the Paycheck Protection Program -- WAS intended to help companies that employ UNDER  500 people, pay workers and certain expenses such as rent for two months. Loans convert to grants if a company maintains its payroll and salaries….But because the 500-employee cap refers to a single location operated by hotel and restaurant companies, chains like Shake Shack could apply…. While the burger chain has fewer than 500 workers at each site, it had about 7,600 employees spread across numerous locations as of the end of last year. It received the maximum $10 million under the program

NO DEAL BY THE WAY ON A REFILL OF THE PPP…..THE SENATE COULD VOTE TODAY ON A 470 BILLION DOLLAR PLAN THAT WOULD PUT 310 BILLION MORE INTO THE PROGRAM, INCLUDING 60 BILLION THAT WOULD GO SPECIFICALLY TO BANKS THAT SERVE LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES….HOSPITALS AND TESTING FACILITIES WOULD GET 100 BILLION….AND THE EIDL SMALL BUSINESS LOAN PROGRAM WOULD GET ANOTHER 60 BILLION.