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Italy reported 475 deaths from the coronavirus in one day, its civil-protection agency said on Wednesday. That's the highest death toll reported in one day by any country since the coronavirus outbreak originated in Wuhan, China, late last year. Even at the height of China's outbreak, its highest single-day death toll was 150, on February 23. Iran and Spain, both struggling with large outbreaks, have not recorded more than 200 deaths in a single day. As of Wednesday, the coronavirus had infected more than 35,700 people and killed nearly 3,000 people in Italy.

American adults of all ages — not just those in their 70s, 80s and 90s — are being seriously sickened by the coronavirus, according to a report on nearly 2,500 of the first recorded cases in the United States. The report, issued Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that — as in other countries — the oldest patients had the greatest likelihood of dying and of being hospitalized. But of the 508 patients known to have been hospitalized, 38 percent were notably younger — between 20 and 54. And nearly half of the 121 patients who...

As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, some drugs are showing promise in treating patients with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. There are no approved treatments or vaccines for COVID-19, but researchers are testing a slew of existing drugs to see if they could work. One of those drugs is called chloroquine, a widely used anti-malaria pill that was first approved in the US in 1949. Countries including China, South Korea, and Belgium have added it to COVID-19 treatment guidelines as anecdotal reports have suggested that it might work.

[Catholic Caucus] House-Masses Banned Faithful Catholic struggles to understand why DETROIT (ChurchMilitant.com) - An east coast Catholic layman is struggling to understand why his bishop has blocked a willing priest from coming to his home and offering a private Mass for his family. The Catholic, who wishes to remain anonymous, told Church Militant he suspected his bishop would ban all public Masses in the diocese after the governor issued a directive against gatherings of 100 people or more. According to the layman, When the government announced restrictions against gatherings of 100+ people or more, I reached out to a priest friend asking if he would be willing...

Just posted this on another thread, and I think that it might deserve its own. It's potentially great news, and most of us are really desperate for that right about now... Looking at the graphs of New Cases Reported in China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, France, and Spain, they are relatively consistent. Some cases get reported, and then a sudden rise in cases reported lasts for 13-17 days, then they hit a plateau for 3-4 days, then they begin to decline. China's rise lasted for 25 days, but that's easily explained by the fact that they were first, that they...

(CNN)On Tuesday night, just before the police arrived, Pastor Tony Spell stood in the pulpit of his Louisiana church and delivered a message to hundreds of worshipers before him and fellow believers around the world. "I just want to encourage the religious world tonight, Amen!," Spell said in a sing-song voice, building to the crest of his sermon. "Keep going to church! Keep on worshiping God! ... The church is a hospital for the sick! It's a place of healing for the brokenhearted!" In holding services for so many followers at his Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge, Spell defied...

While everyone is in a panic about the coronavirus (officially renamed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization), there's an even deadlier virus many people are forgetting about: the flu. Flu season is hitting its stride right now in the US. So far, the CDC has estimated (based on weekly influenza surveillance data) that at least 12,000 people have died from influenza between Oct. 1, 2019 through Feb. 1, 2020, and the number of deaths may be as high as 30,000. The CDC also estimates that up to 31 million Americans have caught the flu this season, with 210,000 to 370,000...

Democratic Party-aligned super PAC plans to spend $5 million on digital advertising to attack President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak — even as the nation struggles with the growing public health threat.The Washington Post reported Tuesday: A Democratic super PAC said Tuesday it would spend $5 million on digital advertising flaying President Trump for his response to the novel coronavirus, one of several groups that planned to devote resources to this type of messaging. … McGowan said it was critical for outside groups like hers to exact a political price on Trump as his possible Democratic opponents, former...

On Wednesday, President Trump and members of his crisis response team were questioned four times during a press briefing on the White House’s plans to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, which originated in China, about whether it is racist to call the disease the “Chinese virus.” Four times. ABC News’s Cecilia Vega was the first to bring up the matter of problematic terminology. “Why do you keep calling this the ‘Chinese virus’?” the White House correspondent asked. “There are reports of dozens of incidents of bias against Chinese Americans in this country. Your own aide, Secretary Azar, says he does not...

Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour. https://www.ft.com/content/422f727c-6931-11ea-800d-da70cff6e4d3 As the number of coronavirus cases has exploded across the US, the idea of a direct cash transfer to Americans has emerged as the primary feature of the Trump administration’s $1.3tn response to the crisis. The idea of...

WWE's big blockbuster event of the year will still happen. Just on a much smaller scale. In a statement Monday, WWE said WrestleMania will no longer take place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Now, it will air live from the WWE training facility in Orlando, Florida. The April 5 date will still hold. No fans will be allowed into the event. The change was made in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic.

With very little normal business being transacted in France, many foreigners will be worried about renewing their visas. However, due to the situation, authorities have announced that all current visas and titres de séjour residency permits will be extended by three months. With the country on lockdown and everyone ordered to stay at home apart from essential trips out, visits to préfectures to renew residency papers will not be possible. […] It does not apply to British people living here, who have a slightly different process to apply for a carte de séjour — they apply online via a special...

Gov. Jared Polis urged Coloradans to “please don’t be stupid” at a news conference Wednesday. “Engage in social distancing,” Polis said. “What you're doing is you're jeopardizing the lives of your friends and their families and their relatives. So be smart here." Polis also nodded at the possibility of longer closures for K-12 schools, many of which are currently on extended springs breaks. He suggested schools could be closed through the scheduled end of the school year. No final decision has been made, and no order issued, but such an extended statewide shutdown would be unprecedented in the state. “We...

IHU Méditerranée Infection / @IHU_Marseille / Twitter The trial was completed by Professor Didier Raoult, based at infectious diseases institute, IHU Méditerranée Infection in Marseille A renowned research professor in France has reported successful results from a new treatment for Covid-19, with early tests suggesting it can stop the virus from being contagious in just six days. Professor Didier Raoult from infection hospital l'Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire (IHU) Méditerranée Infection in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur), published a video explaining the trials on Monday March 16.Professor Raoult is an infectious diseases specialist and head of the IHU Méditerranée Infection, who has been tasked...

While most U.S. airlines are cutting flights to historically low numbers because of the coronavirus pandemic, three mainland Chinese carriers plan to resume non-stop flights to San Francisco International Airport this month, a move SFO officials said “marks a hopeful change in direction.” The resumption of flights is one of several early signs that the worst could be over in China, meaning the crisis will eventually come to an end here, too. China Eastern will resume a daily non-stop flight this month between its hub in Shanghai and San Francisco using a Boeing 777-300ER jet. Flights are expected to start...

Rome (CNN)Italy is entering its fourth week of the worst national crisis since World War II with no end in sight. More than 60 million people are living under an increasingly unbearable lockdown that is growing tighter by the day. The stores that remain open are shuttering earlier and police are patrolling in ever-greater numbers, chasing families out for walks back into their homes and ensuring no one is outside without a valid reason. Even so, the number of novel coronavirus cases in the country is rising at a rate of around 3,500 new cases or more every day, and...

This world is changing fast. One, on Mar. 10, it was reported that the Jewish Sanhedrin has asked that people all over the world pray for God to remove the Coronavirus. They asked that people read Psa. 20 after they pray, ask God to heal all nations, help them repent of their sins and serve Him wholeheartedly. Two, on Mar. 13, 2020, Pres. Trump declared Mar. 15, 2020 to be a National Day of Prayer. He reminded us that the U.S. has a history of looking to God for protection and strength in times like these and assured us that...

Michael Levitt is an “American-British-Israeli” chemist who won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 2013. Levitt explains one of the reasons why the spread of the disease slows: The reason for the slowdown is due to the fact that exponential models assume that people with the virus will continue to infect others at a steady rate. In the early phase of COVID-19, that rate was 2.2 people a day on average. “In exponential growth models, you assume that new people can be infected every day, because you keep meeting new people,” Levitt said. “But, if you consider your own social...

German authorities are turning visitors back at the airports amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Angela Merkel has urged Germans to rise to the challenge of a lifetime in helping to curb the outbreak. German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the coronavirus pandemic is the greatest challenge in decades. French police handed out over 4,000 fines on the first day of a nationwide lockdown. Germany currently has over 12,300 confirmed coronavirus cases, and the virus has so far claimed 28 lives, according to the data compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University... Another 89 people died of the coronavirus in France during the...

A drug originally developed to treat malaria is showing signs that it may also cure infections of the coronavirus, though much more testing is needed. Researchers and virologists in France have completed a clinical trial studying the effects of hydroxychloroquine, used to treat arthritis, malaria, and other ailments, on patients with COVID-19. Researchers treated a total of 26 coronavirus patients with the drug, including six that were given the antibiotic azithromycin, as well. The researchers released their findings in a study published on Wednesday. The results showed that all six patients treated with hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin tested negative for the...