Thursday, March 26, 2020

Day 55: 525,000 Strong

Today the world has exceeded 525,000 cases of the coronavirus we are uniquely not naming after where it came from (well, uniquely except for the other coronavirus from China), with over 23,000 deaths and over 123,000 recovered. With a new high of over 82,000 cases, the US has edged out China for most cases, though not for deaths. Despite underestimating deaths, Italy is still ahead of the viral superpowers with over 8,000 dead. Spain is moving up in the ranks, with second place in deaths and fourth place in cases.

Today's bad news in Massachusetts isn't as bad as yesterday: we are up 579 cases (32%) to 2417, with ten new deaths, mostly among 80-year-olds, for a total of 25. Middlesex still leads the counties; one notable case here is a Market Basket employee in Chelmsford. An Easton Shaw's employee of unknown residence also tested positive.

Failure to trace continues apace, with one more travel-related case, 17 more official local transmission, and over 500 more untraced cases, for a total of over 2000 under investigation. Strangely, a sex unknown category has appeared in the state statistics, with 2 cases. Quest has another 333 positives, out of 2,330 more tested. A fourteenth lab has appeared in the list (BROAD) but without numbers because it is not yet validated.

In the battle over hydroxychloroquine, the Detroit News reports that the governor of Michigan has taken the other side, forbidding doctors from prescribing it off-label. The article is too stupid to explain why, but the restriction is most likely related to a similar one in Ohio meant to guarantee access for patients needing the drug for its on-label purpose (fighting autoimmune disease).

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