National COVID-19 Update

April 9, 2020

Current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) figures show a total of 427,460 confirmed and presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. in 55 states and U.S. territories, with 14,696 deaths. New York state leads the nation with more than 149,000 cases, followed by New Jersey which has more than 47,000 cases and Michigan which has more than 20,000 cases.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Supply Chain Task Force issued an advisory yesterday on supply chain stabilization during the COVID-19 pandemic. The advisory discusses the application of its four-prong medical supply chain approach: preservation, acceleration, expansion, and allocation.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has begun a clinical trial evaluating the safety and effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of hospitalized adults with COVID-19. The first participants are now enrolled in the trial at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville. NIH hopes to enroll more than 500 participants in the study. Read more here.

The latest WHO situation report shows more than 1.43 million COVID-19 cases globally, with over 85,500 deaths. The European Region leads the world in cases and deaths, with more than 759,000 confirmed cases with over 61,000 deaths. The Region of the Americas (includes the U.S.) follows, reporting more than 454,000 cases and more than 14,700 deaths.

As millions of Christians, Jews and Muslims celebrate Easter, Passover and Ramadan, the WHO has released guidance for religious leaders and faith-based communities in the context of COVID-19.

Today marks 100 days since WHO was notified of the first cases of “pneumonia with unknown cause” in China. In yesterday’s media briefing, Director-General Dr Tedros recalled the work that WHO and its partners have been doing over this period and the continuing efforts to stop the pandemic in five key areas.