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.  

FRIDAY MARCH 20 -NORTH DAKOTA WENT FROM 7 TO 19 POSITIVE TESTS ON THURSDAY....ALL 12 IN THE BISMARCK - MANDAN AREA.....AND 2 OF THE NEW CASES OBTAINED BY COMMUNITY SPREAD. THEY DID NOT TRAVEL OUTSIDE THE AREA OR KNOWINGLY HAVE CONTACT WITH SOMEONE WHO HAD IT........STILL JUST THE ONE IN CASS COUNTY.....AND FOR THE FIRST TIME WE HAVE ONE PERSON IN ND HOSPITALIZED....48 people are being monitored...and 673 have been tested...THAT MAKES ABOUT 300 TEST RESULTS "IN" ON THURSDAY, THE MOST OF ANY DAY SO FAR...In Minnesota, 12 new positive tests ON THURSDAY, that brings the total to 89 people have tested positive, AND ONE IN CLAY COUNTY - FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE METRO AREA....but still no deaths.....and ABOUT 3-THOUSAND people have been tested.In South Dakota, 3 MORE POSITIVE TESTS, BRINGING THE TOTAL TO 14..........they've had one death....551 PEOPLE HAVE TESTED NEGATIVE......iN THE US...there have been 217 deaths....YESTERDAY AT THIS TIME, THERE WERE 155 ....THAT'S UP 62 ...with 14,366 CONFIRMED CASES, UP ABOUT 5-THOUSAND IN THE LAST 24 HOURS.....worldwide there are about 250,000 cases up about 30-thousand in the last 24 hours....10,064 deaths, OVER 10-THOUSAND FOR THE FIRST TIME.....AND ABOUT A THOUSAND MORE DEATHS THAN WE HAD YESTERDAY AT THIS TIME. .about 88,000 people have had the virus worldwide and have recovered.....ITALY HAS NOW SEEN MORE DEATHS THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, INCLUDING CHINA....427 MORE PEOPLE DYING THURSDAY IN ITALY AND THEY'RE UP TO 3,405 DEAD....ABOUT 200 MORE THAN CHINA...for comparison...SINCE OCTOBER FIRST IN THE U-S, .the flu has killed BETWEEN 22 AND 55 THOUSAND PEOPLE., according to Centers for Disease Control....THAT MEANS AT LEAST 128 PEOPLE HAVE DIED EACH DAY FROM THE FLU IN THE U-S SINCE OCTOBER 1.headlines AN MSUM student has self-reported a case of COVID-19 to the school, ACCORDING TO THE FORUM.... EARLIER IN THE DAY THE STATE OF MINNESOTA SAID A CLAY COUNTY MAN BETWEEN 18 AND 24 HAD TESTED POSITIVE after TRAVELING INTERNATIONALLY...IT'S NOT BEEN CONFIRMED IF THE 2 ARE THE SAME PERSON.THE BARNESVILLE DAIRY QUEEN is temporarily shutting down after two employees reported being near someone who tested positive for coronavirus....THEY THEMSELVES HAD NOT TESTED POSITIVE, AND AS OF LAST NIGHT WERE NOT SHOWING SYMPTOMSWE HAVE OUR FIRST STATEWIDE LOCKDOWN THIS MORNING, AS LATE LAST NIGHT Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide order for all residents to ‘stay at home’ . Essential services will stay open,, such as pharmacies, grocery stores, takeout and delivery restaurants, and banks.2 BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS THURSDAY IN BISMARCK WHERE ND Governor Doug Burgum announced the mandatory closing of on-site dining for restaurants, bars and other establishments effective at noon tomorrow.....many had already done so voluntarily. But Burgum encouraged them to serve patrons with delivery, curbside, or takeout.Burgum also announced the closing to the public of most state facilities and then declared that school buildings would continue to be closed indefinitely. For the next 7 days schools will get credit for a day in session but as of April first, if they don't have a state-approved plan for online learning, they will no longer get state funding to continue classes.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on thursday offered his plan for direct payments to Americans...Those who make under $75,000 a year would receive a direct payment in early April, of $1,200 under the bill, which was introduced Thursday evening. Americans who make over $75,000 would receive $5 less for every $100 they make over that threshold, while those with incomes over $99,000 would get nothing. Households with children would receive an additional $500 per child.....The payments would be based on the adjusted gross income from their 2018 tax filings, and couples who file taxes jointly would receive payment based on their joint income – for example, a couple that made $150,000 in 2018 would get a $2,400 check..The North Dakota Department of Health says it has a shortage of the nylon swabs used to test for the virus. They are prioritizing health care workers and patients who are hospitalized with an illness.Proof Artisan Distillers IN FARGO has announced that it is gearing up to make hand sanitizer - a much sought after commodity - AFTER FEDERAL RULES CHANGED WEDNESDAY TO PAVE THE WAY FOR PRODUCTION...Valley City State University has announced that a student has been placed under quarantine on campus while waiting for results of a COVID-19 test. The student was not named.Most area banks have closed their lobbies and most city and county governments have closed their business offices to public traffic while continuing to work...Most dental offices have closed for routine visits and are only seeing patients on a need-based basis...HORNBACHERS AND CASH WISE Grocery stores in the Fargo-Moorhead SAY THEY HAVE HUNDREDS OF OPENINGS BECAUSE OF SKYROCKETING DEMAND AND ARE are looking to hire people who MAY NOW BE OUT OF WORK....MN GOVERNOR TIM WALZ CONTINUES TO ASK FOR MORE TESTING KITS FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT...HE SAYS THE STATE NEEDS A MINIMUM OF 15-THOUSAND KITS A MONTH AND RIGHT NOW MPR NEWS REPORTS THAT THE STATE HAS ONLY TESTED 2-THOUSAND PEOPLEfour of Minnesota's largest health systems — Allina Health, HealthPartners, M Health Fairview, and Mayo Clinic — all announced they would postpone non-essential services until further notice.Minnesota has classified grocery store workers as emergency personnel, allowing them to access free child care provided by the state amid the coronavirus outbreak. The Minnesota National Guard and State Patrol on Thursday, March 19, delivered thousands of surgical masks and other protective equipment around the state to help first responders and medical providers battling the coronavirus.U.S. Senate Majority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., is introducing a bill to extend the tax filing deadline by 90 days...the Treasury has already extended the deadline to PAY to July 15President Trump THURSDAY said that a vaccine is already in clinical trials, but that he's just as excited about antiviral treatmentsThe President specifically talked about a drug called hydroxychloroquine, used to treat malaria, and highly successful in a small study in France. The president said the FDA has now approved it for the fight against COVID-19....In that study, after six days, 70 percent of the patients were considered cured.in NYC, they went from 18-hundred positive tests yesterday to 36-hundred today, where 22 people have died.The U.S. State Department has issued a Level 4 travel advisory, it's highest rating, and telling Americans not to travel overseas.New claims for jobless benefits climbed 70,000 to 281,000 last week ...It was the highest level since September 2017.The State Department is expected to raise its global travel advisory to the Level 4, the highest possible, warning Americans against traveling abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic,IN RETAIL NEWS....TJ Maxx and HomeGoods will be closing their stores for two weeks...BUT Pizza delivery giant Domino’s is looking to hire 10,000 workers to meet increased demandAT THE GAS PUMP, LOWER DEMAND AND HIGH SUPPLY HAS MEANT YOU CAN FILL UP FOR AS LOW AS 1.77 IN THE METRO.FROM THE NFL....New Orleans Saints  HEAD coach Sean Payton SAYS HE HAS tested positive for the coronavirus,...Payton said he didn't feel well this past Sunday, took the test Monday, and received the results Thursday afternoon. HE SAYS HE'S BEEN TIRED BUT IS ONE OF THE 20 percent of the cases that have no fever and no cough.