The Queens-Midtown Tunnel in New York City, empty during rush hour in early 2020
Good afternoon. This is Jonathan Spira, director of research at the Center for Long Covid Research, reporting. Here now the news of the pandemic from across the globe on its 1,470th day.
In news we cover today, almost 20% of the U.S. population has had or currently has Long Covid, almost 20% of Americans have either had or currently have Long Covid, and Brazil’s Covid-skeptic former president was charged with falsifying vaccination data.
THIS DAY IN COVID HISTORY
On March 20, 2020, more than 25% of Americans were being told to stay home as much as possible in an attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus. The governors of New York, Illinois and Connecticut on Friday joined California and Pennsylvania in shutting down most businesses.
On that day, there were a total of 18,170 confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States, and 241 deaths due to the virus.
LONG COVID
The most recent U.S. Household Pulse Survey shows that 6.8% of adults in the country currently suffer from Long Covid and 17.6% have had or currently have Long Covid.
This translates to 17.5 million adults who currently have Long Covid using 2020 U.S. Census Bureau estimates and 45.4 million people who have had or continue to have Long Covid.
UNITED STATES
The number of marriages in the country increased from 5.1% in 2020 to 6.2% in 2022, new data from the CDC shows. The 2022 figure was the highest since 2018.
In New York City, the Board of Education updated its isolation guidelines and no longer mandates that students who are symptomatic isolate at home for five days after testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, a change in line with current CDC protocols. Students who do test positive should nonetheless don facemasks and practice social distancing.
GLOBAL NEWS
Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, was indicted by the country’s federal police on suspicion of fraud over allegations that he falsified coronavirus vaccination data while in office.
The far-right leader apparently ordered one of his closest aides to enter false vaccination data into the Ministry of Health’s system for both himself and his daughter. The former president’s top aide, Lieutenant-Colonel Mauro Cid, along with 15 other officials, were also indicted for participating in the scheme.
Bolsonaro was infamous for downplaying the severity of the pandemic and discouraged Brazilians from getting inoculated against the virus, despite the severity of the outbreak in the country.
OTHER HEALTHCARE NEWS
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned on Monday chrysotile asbestos, the last form of the naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral still imported into the country. Exposure to the mineral is linked to lung and other forms of cancer, killing an estimated 40,000 Americans each year.
The ban on chrysotile asbestos represents the first chemical substance banned since a 2016 law expanded the EPA’s powers to regulate toxic substances.
Asbestos is fire-resistant and durable and has long been used in building materials as insulation. It was also common in floor tiles manufactured before 1980 so it might be under your kitchen table and chairs.
Most significantly, asbestos is challenging for the body to clear; when inhaled, it can cling to the lining of the lungs, causing a form of cancer known as mesothelioma.
The manufacture of asbestos has declined steadily since the 1970s but chrysotile asbestos was until today imported from Brazil and Russia and used to make car brakes and gaskets. Moreover, one-third of U.S. chlorine plants use it for manufacturing.
GLOBAL STATISTICS
Now here are the daily statistics for Wednesday, March 20.
As of Wednesday, at press time, the world has recorded 704.29 million Covid-19 cases, an increase of .05 million in the last 24 hours, and 7.01 million deaths, according to Worldometer, a service that tracks such information. In addition, 675.2 million people worldwide have recovered from the virus, an increase of 0.06 million in the same period.
The reader should note that infrequent reporting from some sources may appear as spikes in new case figures or death tolls as well as the occasional downward or upward adjustment as corrections to case figures warrant.
Worldwide, the number of active coronavirus cases as of Wednesday at press time is 22,085,724, a decrease of 9,000 in the past 24 hours. Out of that figure, 99.8%, or 22,050,544, are considered mild, and 0.2%, or 35,180, are listed as critical. The percentage of cases considered critical has not changed over the past 19 months.
Since the start of the pandemic, the United States has, as of Wednesday, recorded 111.7 million cases, a higher figure than any other country, and a death toll of 1.22 million. India has the world’s second highest number of officially recorded cases, 45.03 million, and the world’s fourth highest death toll, 533,525.
The newest data from Russia’s Rosstat state statistics service showed that, at the end of July 2022, the number of Covid or Covid-related deaths since the start of the pandemic there in April 2020 is now 823,623, giving the country the world’s second highest pandemic-related death toll, behind the United States. Rosstat last reported that 3,284 people died from the coronavirus or related causes in July 2022, down from 5,023 in June, 7,008 in May and 11,583 in April.
Meanwhile, France is the country with the third highest number of cases, with 40.14 million, and Germany is in the number four slot, with 38.82 million total cases.
Brazil, which has recorded the third highest number of deaths as a result of the virus, 710,427, has recorded 38.59 million cases, placing it in the number five slot.
The other five countries with total case figures over the 20 million mark are South Korea, with 34.57 million cases, as number six; Japan, with 33.8 million cases placing it in the number seven slot; and Italy, with 26.72 million, as number eight, as well as the United Kingdom, with 24.9 million, and Russia, with 24.06 million, as nine and ten respectively.
CURRENT U.S. COVID STATISTICS AT A GLANCE
In the United States, in the week ending March 9, 2024, the test positivity rate was, based on data released on March 15 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was 5.2%, and the trend in test positivity is -1.5% in the most recent week. Meanwhile, the percentage of emergency department visits that were diagnosed as SARS-CoV-2 was 1%, and the trend in emergency department visits is -24%.
The number of people admitted to hospital in the United States due to SARS-CoV-2 in the same 7-day period was 13,391, a figure that is down 13.5% over the past 7-day period. Meanwhile, the percentage of deaths due to SARS-CoV-2 was 2%, a figure that is down 4.8% in the same period.
VACCINATION SPOTLIGHT
Some 70.6% of the world population has received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine by Wednesday, according to Our World in Data, an online scientific publication that tracks such information. So far, 13.57 billion doses of the vaccine have been administered on a global basis and 6,600 doses are now administered each day.
Meanwhile, only 32.7% of people in low-income countries have received one dose, while in countries such as Canada, China, Denmark, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, at least 75% of the population has received at least one dose of vaccine.
Only a handful of the world’s poorest countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia and Nepal – have reached the 70% mark in vaccinations. Many countries, however, are under 20% and, in countries such as Haiti, Senegal, and Tanzania, for example, vaccination rates remain at or below 10%.
In addition, with the beginning of vaccinations in North Korea in late September, 2023, Eritrea remains the only country in the world that has not administered vaccines in any significant number.
Finally, as of March 15, 2024 , only the following countries and territories have not reported any cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections whatsoever:
Antarctica
British Antarctic Territory
Peter Island
Overseas
Bouvet Island
Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Prince Edward Islands
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Anna Breuer contributed reporting to this story.
The Coronavirus Daily News Brief is a publication of the Center for Long Covid Research. www.longcov.org
If you have Long Covid and need to talk to someone, call the Long Covid Patient Peer Counseling Phone Line, or HOPELINE. The HOPELINE is our free, confidential support and information service.
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