Friday 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.....

IN NORTH DAKOTA.... 32 PEOPLE TEST POSITIVE OUT OF 741 PEOPLE TESTED....THAT'S A 4.3% POSITIVE RATE ..ONE NEW DEATH THURSDAY, A WOMAN IN HER 80'S FROM CASS County with underlying health conditions....THE TOTAL NOW IS 15 FATALITIES ACROSS THE STATE....ALL 15 HAD UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITIONS...AND 8 OF THE 15 ARE FROM CASS COUNTY....A GREAT PIECE OF NEWS  -- 5 LESS ARE HOSPITALIZED, GOING FROM 23 TO 18....IN ALL, MORE THAN 16,330 HAVE BEEN TESTED, 709 WERE POSITIVE....AND 15,621 HAVE BEEN NEGATIVE....THERE HAVE NOW BEEN 290 PEOPLE TO TEST POSITIVE IN CASS COUNTY......

IN MINNESOTA - 21 FATALITIES THURSDAY, THE HIGHEST SINGLE DAY TOTAL YET.....THAT BRINGS THE TOTAL NUMBER TO 200...ALL BUT ONE OF THE 21 WERE IN LONG TERM CARE FACILITIES.....ONE OF THE DEATHS WAS IN CLAY COUNTY, MAKING A TOTAL OF 4....A WOMAN IN HER 60’S…..THERE WAS ALSO A RECORD 221 CONFIRMED CASES THURSDAY....THE NUMBER OF HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS IS ALSO A RECORD HIGH -- 268........IN CLAY COUNTY, 5 NEW CASES, 84 IN ALL......1,536 HAVE HAD THE VIRUS AND RECOVERED....

IN SOUTH DAKOTA - NO NEW DEATHS ....STILL A TOTAL OF 9......ALMOST 100 NEW CASES ....1,956 IN ALL......58 ARE HOSPITALIZED...1,064 HAVE RECOVERED…

ACROSS THE U-S...A GRIM MILESTONE AS THE COUNTRY GOES OVER THE 50-THOUSAND MARK AFTER NEARLY 25-HUNDRED FATALITIES REPORTED YESTERDAY…......30-THOUSAND NEW CASES WERE CONFIRMED THURSDAY AS WELL….......ABOUT 15-THOUSAND ARE HOSPITALIZED....AND 85-THOUSAND HAVE RECOVERED…

ACROSS THE WORLD 190-THOUSAND PEOPLE HAVE DIED.   750-THOUSAND HAVE RECOVERED.

ON THE TRENDLINE TONIGHT.....

ND'S 4.3% POSITIVE RATE IS THE 6TH LOWEST IN THE COUNTRY....THAT 4.3 IS THE EXACT SAME NUMBER AS THE OVERALL AVERAGE SINCE THE PANDEMIC BEGAN.

ND IS ALSO TOP 10 IN TESTS PER CAPITA.....THE STATE CURRENTLY SITS 9th....

THE 221 CONFIRMED CASES IN MN THURSDAY COMES AGAINST A TOTAL TESTING SAMPLE OF 2,204, RIGHT AT 10 PERCENT - VERY MUCH INLINE WITH THE 7 DAY AVERAGE.

FRIDAY MORNING HEADLINES

The Democratic-led House LAST NIGHT PASSED a $484 billion measure that provides additional money for a coronavirus aid program for small businesses. IT PASSED 388 TO 5….THE MEASURE HAS ALREADY PASSED THE SENATE AND THE PRESIDENT IS EXPECTED TO SIGN IT QUICKLY...IT REFILLS THE PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM WITH 320-BILLION-DOLLARS… It also has about $75 billion for hospitals, $25 billion for coronavirus testing and $60 billion for the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.

MN GOVERNOR TIM WALZ MADE 2 BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS THURSDAY....ONE, HE'S LIFTING RESTRICTIONS ON BUSINESSES THAT GENERALLY OPERATE WITHOUT PUBLIC INTERACTIONS, LIKE MANUFACTURING, OFFICE, AND INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES...As many as 100,000 employees could return to work on Monday....Companies must meet guidelines on social distancing, worker hygiene and facility cleaning and disinfection.....They must also conduct employee health screenings and continue work from home whenever possible....THEY DO NOT HAVE TO GET STATE APPROVAL OF THEIR PLANS.....THE GOVERNOR DID stress that he is not lifting the stay-at-home order which expires May 4 and SAYS IT will likely be extended in some form.

WALZ ALSO MADE THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS HAVE FEARED....THERE WILL BE NO ON-SITE SCHOOL OR ACTIVITIES THE REMAINDER OF THE SCHOOL YEAR....THAT MEANS PROMS GRADUATIONS AND STATE TOURNAMENTS THAT MANY KIDS DREAMED ABOUT WILL NOT HAPPEN....SOT....

WALZ ALSO SAID TODAY THAT THE GREAT MINNESOTA GET TOGETHER - THE STATE FAIR - IS UNLIKELY TO HAPPEN....HE SAYS THERE'S NO OFFICIAL DECISION BUT FEELS THE CROWDS JUST WON'T WORK WITH SOCIAL DISTANCING EFFORTS…

VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE WITH A "WHOA" MOMENT THURSDAY....SAYING ON GERALDO RIVERA'S RADIO SHOW... QUOTE - If you look at the trends today, I think by Memorial Day Weekend we will largely have this coronavirus epidemic behind us - END QUOTE - ....SOME STATES LIKE GEORGIA AND FLORIDA ARE BEGINNING NOW TO LIFT SOME BUSINESS RESTRICTIONS....VIRGINIA ON THE OTHER HAND, HAS A STAY AT HOME ORDER IN PLACE UNTIL JUNE 10TH…

ND GOVERNOR DOUG BURGUM WAS ASKED ABOUT PENCE’S COMMENTS, AT HIS THURSDAY PRESS CONFERENCE, AND IF STATES SHOULD TAKE THEM INTO ACCOUNT AS THEY MAKE THEIR DECISIONS....SOT....

North Dakota has received APPROVAL FROM THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT to use federal coronavirus relief money to stem a rise in unemployment TAXES for businesses......THE STATE WAS ALREADY SCHEDULED TO GET 1.25 BILLION TO HELP WITH COSTS RELATED TO THE PANDEMIC, AND BURGUM SOUGHT APPROVAL FROM THE FEDS TO USE THE MONEY TO CURB THE INCREASE IN UNEMPLOYMENT PREMIUMS FOR BUSINESSES WHO HAVE HAD TO LAY OFF TENS OF THOUSANDS OF EMPLOYEES......

BURGUM ALSO CLARIFIED TODAY HIS STANCE ON NORTH DAKOTANS WHO HAVE LAKE PLACES IN MINNESOTA.....BURGUM SAYS IF YOU TRAVEL TO THE LAKE AND DON'T INTERACT WITH PEOPLE OUTSIDE YOUR FAMILY, THERE IS NO NEED TO QUARANTINE WHEN YOU GET BACK HOME.

Mass drive-thru testing for COVID-19 TOOK PLACE IN GRAND FORKS YESTERDAY, AND HEALTH OFFICIALS TELL WZFG NEWS THAT ABOUT 710 PEOPLE CAME THROUGH....IT WAS ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED FOR first responders, employees of J.R. Simplot, AND  those who were close with employees of LM Wind Power....BUT health officials opened the testing up to the general public around 3 pm.....

THE FORUM REPORTS THAT The North Dakota National Guard plans to hold large-scale coronavirus testing Saturday at the Fargodome.....The testing will target ASYMPTOMATIC people who have been in close contact with positive cases and people who HAVE SHOWN SYMPTOMS.... It’s unknown how many tests will be available.  TESTING IS EXPECTED TO START AROUND 10 AM.

THE JUNE 13TH ELTON JOHN CONCERT AT THE FARGODOME HAS BEEN POSTPONED, ALONG WITH THE REST OF HIS GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD TOUR....NO WORD ON THE EXACT DATE OF THE RESCHEDULE, BUT IT WILL BE SOMETIME NEXT YEAR....

NURSING HOMES IN THE METRO CONTINUE TO SHOW NEW CASES...VILLA MARIA WHO REPORTED ITS FIRST CASE EARLIER THIS WEEK, NOW HAS 3 MORE....AND EVENTIDE'S SHEYENNE CROSSING IN WEST FARGO REPORTED ITS FIRST CASE THURSDAY.....

BOSTON’S NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY SAYS CORONAVIRUS WAS PRESENT IN LARGE NUMBERS WELL BEFORE WE REALIZED IT….FINDINGS OF A NEW STUDY CLAIM THAT ON MARCH 1 IN FIVE MAJOR U-S CITIES THERE WERE ONLY 23 CONFIRMED CASES, BUT THE TRUE NUMBER WAS MORE LIKE 28-THOUSAND….

NEW YORK CITY’S FIRST ROUND OF ANTIBODY TESTING CONCLUDES THAT 21.2% of  residents have contracted the coronavirus.  THE CITY HAS 8.4 MILLION RESIDENTS MEANING ABOUT 1.7 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE HAD THE VIRUS…THE CITY HAS HAD ABOUT 113-THOUSAND CASES WHICH MEANS THAT FOR EVERY PERSON THAT TESTED POSITIVE, ABOUT 10 RESIDENTS ACTUALLY HAD THE VIRUS…..

ANOTHER STUDY IN THE BIG APPLE SHOWS THAT  NEARLY ALL OF THOSE HOSPITALIZED FROM THE VIRUS HAD AT LEAST ONE UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITION.....THE STUDY SHOWS 94% HAD ONE, AND 88% HAD AT LEAST TWO.....AGE IS NOT CONSIDERED AN UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITION IN THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY.

4.4 million Americans FILED UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS LAST WEEK....IT BRINGS THE 5-WEEK TOTAL TO 26.5 MILLION, OR 17% OF THE U-S WORKFORCE....EVEN THOUGH THE COUNTRY HAS ABOUT 330 MILLION RESIDENTS, ONLY 157 MILLION ARE EMPLOYED