National COVID-19 Update

May 5, 2020

Current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) figures show more than 1.17 million confirmed and presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. in 55 states and U.S. territories, with 68,279 deaths. New York state leads the nation with more than 313,000 cases, followed by New Jersey which has more than 128,000 cases and Massachusetts which has more than 69,000 cases.

In late April, FEMA announced it was coordinating a shipment of a seven-day supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) to more than 15,000 nursing homes across the nation. The PPE shipments are expected to be shipped this week and be completed in mid-June.

The National Institutes of Health announced yesterday that it is beginning a study to help determine the rate of novel coronavirus infection in children and their family members in the U.S. The study, called Human Epidemiology and Response to SARS-CoV-2 (HEROS), also will help determine what percentage of children infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, develop symptoms of the disease. In addition, the HEROS study will examine whether rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection differ between children who have asthma or other allergic conditions and children who do not. The HEROS study team will rapidly enroll 6,000 people from 2,000 U.S. families already participating in NIH-funded pediatric research studies in 11 cities. Study participants will include both healthy children and children with asthma or other allergic conditions.

The latest WHO situation report shows more than 3.5 million COVID-19 cases globally, with over 243,000 deaths. The European Region leads the world in cases and deaths, with more than 1.56 million confirmed cases with over 145,000 deaths. The Region of the Americas (includes the U.S.) follows, reporting more than 1.47 million cases and more than 79,000 deaths.