COVID: UpdateNational Guard Deployed in 3 States as U.S. COVID-19 Cases Pass 33,000

President Trump yesterday announced he has activated the National Guard for three hard-hit states, and Ohio and Louisiana yesterday became the latest states to issue mandatory shelter-in-place orders, as the number of COVID-19 infections in the United States soared past 33,000.

Meanwhile, an increasing number of infections and exposures have been reported in lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic. And surges continue in western Europe, with disease activity picking up pace in some African countries, lifting the global total yesterday to 335,957 in 171 countries, 14,632 of them fatal, according to the Johns Hopkins online dashboard.

The United States, with 33,276 infections, now has the third most COVID-19 cases in the world, behind China and Italy.

National Guard Activated
At a briefing this evening, Trump said the National Guard will be deployed to New York, California, and Washington state to help with their response to the pandemic coronavirus, adding that the action will be funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

He also said supplies, including gloves, beds, N95 respirators, and gowns will be delivered from the federal stockpile within the next 48 hours. According to an ABC News report, Trump said the National Guard in the three states will be under local control, with federal funding.

Trump also said FEMA will provide four 1,000-bed medical stations to New York, eight 2,000-bed medical stations to California, and three 1,000-bed medical stations for Washington, CNN reported.

Shelter-in-Place States Grow to 6
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine yesterday issued a stay-at-home order that goes into effect tomorrow and lasts until Apr 6. It allows essential businesses to remain open, but exempts religious organizations, though the order warns that gathering in groups is dangerous. The state also set temporary rules for childcare centers, such as maintaining a 1:6 teacher-child ratio.

So far, Ohio—with a population of about 11.7 million—has reported 351 cases, 3 of them fatal.

DeWine also said that, following an emergency meeting, the Ohio Board of Pharmacy passed a rule to restrict dispensing of malaria medications because of to hoarding. Over the past few days, President Trump has voiced hope that malaria drugs such as chloroquine are useful, though federal health officials have warned that so far, the benefits are anecdotal and that large randomized controlled trials are needed to assess if the drugs are safe and provide any treatment benefit.

In a related development, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards announced a stay-at-home order that begins tomorrow at 5:00 pm and is in effect until Apr 13. The order affects 4.6 million people; the state has reported 837 cases, 20 of them fatal.

The announcements yesterday bring the number of states with shelter-in-place orders to six. The others are California, New York, Illinois, and New Jersey.

As one of the main U.S. hot spots, New York yesterday reported 5,429 more cases, plus 58 more deaths, pushing its totals to 15,168 cases, 114 of them fatal. New York City has reported 9,045 of the cases.

Neighboring New Jersey added 587 new cases yesterday, plus 4 more deaths, lifting its respective totals to 1,914 and 587. And late yesterday, Washington state, the third most affected state, said it had 1,793 cases, 94 of them fatal.

The California Department of Public Health yesterday reported 224 more cases and 4 more deaths, putting the state’s respective totals at 1,468 and 27.

Lawmakers Infected or Exposed
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul yesterday on Twitter announced that he has tested positive for COVID-19 after testing under an abundance of caution because of extensive travel and events. He said he is asymptomatic and in quarantine.