National COVID-19 Update

April 15, 2020

Current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) figures show a total of 605,390 confirmed and presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. in 55 states and U.S. territories, with 24,582 deaths. New York state leads the nation with more than 201,000 cases, followed by New Jersey which has more than 68,000 cases and Massachusetts which has more than 28,000 cases.

Last month the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provided an extension of time for filing of federal income tax forms until July 15, 2020. Today the IRS has extended this relief to additional returns, including the filing of the Form 990 series and related Schedules. Further information can be found on the IRS website page related to taxpayer relief due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health are conducting an online research study to learn about how stressors related to the COVID-19 virus affect mental health over time. Participation is voluntary and uncompensated, and involves completing online questionnaires every two weeks for six months. Participants must be 18 years of age and older. Details are available here.

The latest WHO situation report shows more than 1.91 million COVID-19 cases globally, with over 123,000 deaths. The European Region leads the world in cases and deaths, with more than 977,000 confirmed cases with over 84,000 deaths. The Region of the Americas (includes the U.S.) follows, reporting more than 673,000 cases and more than 27,000 deaths.

WHO has published an updated strategic preparedness and response plan to defeat COVID-19. The document takes lessons learned so far about the virus and translates that knowledge into strategic action.