BEAUMONT, Texas — Key coronavirus updates for Wednesday, April 1:
- Our live updates continue for April 2, 2020, at this link
- The U.S. is on pace to pass 200,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, five days after passing 100,000 cases. The U.S. passed 4,000 deaths Wednesday morning.
- Study: Beaumont needs 1,000 more hospital beds if COVID-19 spread continues for 6 months
- Wimbledon cancelled for the first time since World War II.
- Coast Guard: Cruise ships with sick passengers must stay at sea
- Virus deaths surpass 1,000 in New York City
- The White House is projecting that between 100,000 to 240,000 people in the U.S. will die as long as social distancing measures continue to be followed.
- Russia is sending medical supplies to the U.S.
- Louisiana pastor Tony Spell held services for a packed crowd Tuesday despite a ban on large gatherings.
- CNN host Chris Cuomo has tested positive.
School Impacts | Business Impacts, Closures | Map of SE Texas cases | Coronavirus symptoms & prevention | Coronavirus questions answered
Latest local & Texas updates:
Here are the latest updates from around Southeast Texas, Texas, Louisiana and some from the world (all times are local Central Daylight Time):
MORE: More Wednesday nation, world coronavirus updates
APRIL 1, 8:00 p.m. — Port Arthur received confirmation of an eighth case on Wednesday. The patient is between 45 and 50 years old and is in the hospital.
APRIL 1, 5:20 p.m. — Beaumont reports its first COVID-19 related death. The man was between the ages of 70-80 years old and had underlying health issues. He had no known travel history.
APRIL 1, 5:00 p.m. — According to new numbers from the Southeast Texas Regional Emergency Operations Center, the region has several new cases as of Wednesday. Jefferson County reported four new cases, Jasper County reported one new case, and Hardin County reported one new case. Orange County saw five new cases on Wednesday. The six-county hotline has received 1,938 calls as of April 1. More than 925 people have been referred for testing. Eighty-two were tested in Jefferson County on Wednesday, and 33 were tested in Hardin County.
EDITORS NOTE: 12News previously reported two cases in Tyler County, however today officials reported that there was actually only one case.
APRIL 1, 2:43 p.m. — Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards reports the deaths in Louisiana continue rising.
The state is reporting 34 more deaths and more than 1,000 new cases of COVID-19. This reporting follows the largest number of tests - 6,809 - indicating a backlog of tests is starting to break free.
Gov. Edwards says that the hospitalization rate in Louisiana is 23%.
Gov. Edwards says 150 ventilators from the U.S. stockpile is being distributed by the National Guard.
Johns Hopkins University shows that three Louisiana parishes are in the top five of deaths per 100,000 residents.
St. John the Baptist Parish, Orleans Parish and Jefferson Parish are in the top five. Two Georgia counties also made the grim top five.
APRIL 1, 10:40 a.m. — The Beaumont City Council will meet on Friday, April 3, 2020, at 1:30 p.m. but the public will have to watch via live stream due to the coronavirus.
Watch the live stream here by clicking on the video tab.
Those wishing to speak on an issue can attend but will have to wait outside chambers until their turn to speak at the podium to council one at a time according to a news release from the mayor.
APRIL 1, 10:20 a.m. — Wimbledon has been canceled for the first time since World War II because of the coronavirus pandemic. Scroll down for more.
APRIL 1, 4:40 a.m. — Russia has sent a planeload of medical aid to the United States amid the growing coronavirus pandemic.
A military aircraft loaded with medical equipment and masks took off from Moscow early on Wednesday morning, according to the Defense Ministry. Scroll down for more.
Scroll down for more updated National & World headlines
The U.S. has 190,740 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 4,127 deaths from the disease as of 1:00 p.m. ET Wednesday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 7,100 people have recovered.
At the rate the virus is spreading, it's likely the U.S. will pass the 200,000 mark in confirmed cases sometime Wednesday. It took the U.S. 68 days from the first recorded case on Jan. 19 -- according to the New England Journal of Medicine -- to reach 100,000 last Friday. The second 100,000 will be recorded in five days.
The White House on Tuesday projected that the U.S. could have between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths as long as social distancing measures continue to be followed.
Worldwide, there are 860,793 confirmed cases with 42,354 deaths and 178,378 recoveries.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
Pence: U.S. outbreak on similar path to Italy
Vice President Mike Pence says the White House’s models for the coronavirus outbreak show the country on a trajectory akin to hard-hit Italy.
Speaking to CNN, Pence says, “We think Italy may be the most comparable area to the United States at this point."
Pence was referencing the prediction models unveiled by the White House on Tuesday that project 100,000 to 240,000 U.S. deaths in the coronavirus pandemic. Those figures assume that the country maintains rigorous social-distancing practices for the duration of the public health crisis.
Italy’s health system was stretched beyond capacity weeks ago leading to soaring death tolls. U.S. governors and local officials have warned their states need urgent federal help to avoid a similar fate.
Florida governor issues statewide stay-at-home order
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a statewide stay-at-home order Wednesday as federal and local pressure mounted for him to abandon the county-by-county approach he had implemented in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
DeSantis told reporters that he is issuing the order after consulting with President Donald Trump and White House advisers, who have said that Americans need to stay home throughout April.
All of Pennsylvania now under orders to stay home
All Pennsylvania residents must stay home as much as possible to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Tom Wolf said Wednesday as he dramatically expanded the footprint of the quarantine to include the entire state.
The Democratic governor added 34 counties to his existing stay-at-home order, meaning that residents of all 67 of Pennsylvania’s counties are now asked to stay put unless they have a legitimate reason to go out.
Wisconsin governor deploys National Guard to help at polls
Wisconsin's governor is deploying the National Guard to help staff polling sites for the state's presidential primary.
Election clerks say poll workers are quitting in droves in fear of contracting the coronavirus during Tuesday's election. More than 100 municipalities have reported they lack enough people to staff even one polling site.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers told a federal judge in a filing Wednesday that he'll use Wisconsin Army National Guard members as poll workers. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders issued a statement saying the state should postpone the election. The Democratic National Committee is among groups seeking to have it postponed.
Wimbledon canceled 1st time since World War II
Wimbledon has been canceled for the first time since World War II because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The All England Club announced after an emergency meeting that the oldest Grand Slam tournament in tennis would not be held in 2020.
Wimbledon was scheduled to be played on the outskirts of London from June 29 to July 12.
It now joins the growing list of sports events scrapped in 2020 because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
That includes the Tokyo Olympics, the NCAA men's and women's college basketball tournaments and the European soccer championship.
The last time Wimbledon was called off was 1945.
Cruise ships must stay at sea with sick onboard
The U.S. Coast Guard has directed all cruise ships to prepare to treat any sick passengers and crew on board while being sequestered “indefinitely" offshore during the coronavirus pandemic.
The new rules require daily updates on each ship's caseload. They also come with a stiff warning: Any foreign-flagged vessels “that loiter beyond U.S. territorial seas" should try first to medically evacuate the very sick to the countries where they are registered.
Many of South Florida's cruise ships are registered in the Bahamas. The Coast Guard says shore-side facilities are stressed and patients may be more comfortable being treated onboard.
Virus deaths in NYC top 1,000
Deaths from the coronavirus topped 1,000 in New York City as officials warned that the worst of the virus' toll is yet to come.
The city's Health Department reported late Tuesday that nearly 1,100 people have died of the virus in the city. There are more than 1,500 deaths across New York state. Data released by the city shows that the virus is having a disproportionate effect in certain neighborhoods, mainly in Brooklyn and Queens.
The city’s ambulance system is under increasing stress from the pandemic. Nearly a quarter of the city’s emergency medical service workers have been out sick.
Nearly 16% of the New York Police Department's uniformed force is now out sick. More than 1,000 officers have tested positive for the virus.
Authorities are racing to build temporary hospitals in locations including Central Park, the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, a cruise ship terminal and a sports complex to handle an expected surge in patients.
Russia sending medical supplies to US
Russia has sent a planeload of medical aid to the United States amid the growing coronavirus pandemic.
A military aircraft loaded with medical equipment and masks took off from Moscow early on Wednesday morning, according to the Defense Ministry.
Footage from the Russian Defense Ministry showed boxes of equipment inside an Antonov An-124 Ruslan aircraft at Moscow’s Chkalovsky Airbase.
The delivery follows a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, when the two leaders discussed cooperation in the fight against the new coronavirus. A Kremlin statement said the call took place at Washington's initiative.
More than 50 infected with virus at California nursing home
A Southern California nursing home has been hit hard by the coronavirus, with more than 50 residents infected — a troubling development amid cautious optimism that cases in the state may peak more slowly than expected.
Cedar Mountain Post Acute Rehabilitation in Yucaipa has been told to assume that all of its patients have the COVID-19 virus, San Bernardino County Department of Public Health Director Trudy Raymundo said. As of Tuesday, 51 residents and six staff members had tested positive. Two patients have died, including an 82-year-old woman who had existing health problems.
The nursing home east of Los Angeles isn't accepting new residents and the facility has been closed to visitors under Gov. Gavin Newsom's two-week-old stay-at-home order, Raymundo said.
Russia cracks down on virus postings
Russian authorities have declared war on what they are calling “fake news” about the coronavirus.
The crusade began about a month ago, when Russia was reporting only a few cases, prompting speculation from some critics that authorities might be under reporting the scale of the outbreak.
Now lawmakers have approved fines of up to $25,000 and prison terms of up to five years for those who spread what is deemed to be false information.
Pastor packs Louisiana church despite virus ban
Buses and cars filled a church parking lot as worshipers flocked to hear a Louisiana pastor who is facing misdemeanor charges for holding services despite a ban on gatherings amid the coronavirus pandemic.
A few protesters turned out Tuesday evening, too, including a man shouting through a bullhorn against the gathering at the Life Tabernacle Church. Another demonstrator held up a sign reading: “God don't like stupid."
Afterward, as people began leaving the church, some chatted outside the front doors and many appeared to not be adhering to social distancing recommendations to remain at least six feet apart. Hugs and handshakes were shared freely as people said their goodbyes and departed.
Hours earlier, Pastor Tony Spell was issued a summons for holding services previously at the church in violation of the governor's order banning gatherings.
Japan to stop mail deliveries to 150 countries
Japan's post office says deliveries will stop to more than 150 nations beginning Thursday as flights carrying mail get canceled because of the growing coronavirus pandemic.
Mail will continue to the U.S., France, Australia, Hong Kong and a handful of other places, although delivery may be delayed, Japan Post said. Mail from Japan to China had already ceased last month.
CNN's Chris Cuomo tests positive
A bleary-eyed Chris Cuomo, saying he wanted to be a cautionary tale for his audience, anchored his CNN show from his basement Tuesday after testing positive for the coronavirus.
Via remote link, he interviewed Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, an emergency room nurse and CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who expressed worry about one of Cuomo's symptoms.
“Brace yourself,” Cuomo told viewers, “not for a hoax. But for the next few weeks of scary and painful realities. This is a fight. It's going to get worse. We're going to suffer.”