Immune To COVID? New Study Suggests Why

Cases of the novel coronavirus continued to climb in the U.S. on Wednesday, with New York state alone topping more than 2,000.

The New York Stock Exchange announced it will close down trading floors and move to online trading only starting Monday. And U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Florida) became the first member of Congress to test positive for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, in a statement released Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate approved an aid package that would provide sick leave, unemployment benefits, free coronavirus testing and assistance to Americans impacted by the global pandemic, the nation's top three automakers announced they are temporarily halting production and states across the nation put in place more closures and restrictions.

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New York state announced more than 1,000 new cases of COVID-19, according to the New York Times. That brought the state's total to 2,382. The state with the next largest outbreak was Washington, with 907.

More than 7,700 people in the U.S. had been sickened as of Wednesday evening, according to the Johns Hopkins coronavirus dashboard. At least 119 people have died in 19 states, and the virus was confirmed in all 50 states as of Tuesday evening.

Some 214,000 people around the globe have been infected, and more than 8,700 have died.

Latest Developments

United States:

-The aid package passed by a vote of 90 to 8, according to the Times. It now moves on to the White House for President Trump's signature.

-The city of Fresno, California, ordered all residents to "shelter in place" beginning Thursday, according to the Fresno Bee. Residents are to stay home except for essential needs such as grocery shopping, medical appointments and going to work. Sonoma and Solano counties later added their own orders to shelter in place.

-Connecticut announced its first death from COVID-19. Gov. Ned Lamont said the man was in his 80s and had been a resident of an assisted living facility in Ridgefield. "I want to thank all of the doctors, nurses, and medical professionals at the hospital who did everything in their power to save his life," Lamont said.

-More states joined the list of those shutting down bars, restaurants and other public gathering places, or expanding their orders to cover a wider range of activities. Officials in Nevada closed all casinos and gambling operations Wednesday for 30 days, as well as nonessential businesses, the Los Angeles Times reported. Restaurants will be allowed to operate on a take-out bases only.

-Massachusetts is ordering all day care centers and family child care providers to close by March 23, according to the Associated Press.

-Ohio Gov. Mark DeWine added barbershops, beauty salons, tattoo parlors and hair and nail salons to the list of businesses that must temporarily close in his state, as well as motor vehicle licensing offices.

-Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania added amusement parks, bowling alleys and indoor portions of large shopping malls to places that will be closed, effective at 8 p.m. Thursday.

-Simon Property Group is closing all of its malls and shopping venues until March 29, the company announced Wednesday. Simon owns about 200 shopping outlets in 37 states, according to the Motley Fool. A full list is available here.

-New York's Union Square Hospitality Group laid off 2,000 employees, or about 80% of its workforce, on Wednesday. The company owns 21 restaurants, according to its website, all of which temporarily shut their doors on Friday.

-Ford said it's shutting down assembly lines at all its North American plants from Thursday until March 30, the Detroit Free Press reported. General Motors will follow suit. The company said it will initiate a “systematic orderly suspension of manufacturing operations in North America due to market conditions and to deep clean facilities and continue to protect people.” Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has plans to close plants but details were not immediately available, according to the Free Press. The announcements were made after demands by the United Auto Workers. Nissan also announced it would suspend U.S. production from March 20 through April 6.

-President Donald Trump on Wednesday compared the fight against the virus to the sacrifices and efforts of Americans during World War II. “And now it’s our time," Trump said during a morning press briefing.

-Trump announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been raised to Level 1 activation, the highest possible.

-Trump also said two U.S. Navy hospital ships are preparing to deploy to New York and a location to be determined on the U.S. West Coast. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said The Comfort will be moored in New York Harbor and has about 1,000 rooms on it. "Hospital beds are what we need," Cuomo said after the announcement. Military officials later said it could be weeks before the ship would arrive.

-The White House is invoking the Defense Production Act. The act allows the federal government to "expedite and expand the supply of resources from the U.S. industrial base," according to FEMA's website.

-The Department of Housing and Urban Development is suspending all foreclosures and evictions until the end of April, Trump said at the briefing.

-The U.S. border with Canada will be temporarily closed to "non-essential traffic" under a mutual agreement between both countries. The closing affects leisure travel but allows for trade to continue.

-Most U.S. and allied troop movements to and from Afghanistan are being halted for the next month in order to protect servicemembers from contracting the virus, the New York Times reported.

-Brevard County, Florida, which includes the towns of Cocoa Beach, Satellite Beach and Cape Canaveral, announced Wednesday afternoon that all beach parking lots will be closed by no later than 8 a.m. Friday morning. The South Florida cities of Boca Raton, Deerfield, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and Pompano Beach are all closing beaches effective Wednesday, according to the Sun-Sentinel. They join at least five other South Florida communities, including Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach, who are trying to stem the influx of spring break travelers by restricting beach access. "This action is meant to discourage visitors to our area during this time of national emergency," the city of Cocoa Beach said on its Facebook page.

-After the beaches in Clearwater, Florida, were packed with tourists for days, the city announced Wednesday that the beaches will be closed for two weeks starting Thursday.

-Bus drivers in Detroit refused to leave their garages because they said buses had not been adequately cleaned.

-The White House and Republican leaders are crafting a plan to send $2,000 in checks to many Americans, the Washington Post reported. The idea is part of a proposed $1-trillion package to stimulate the economy. The plan also includes aid for small businesses and the airline industry.

-More than 41 million public school students have been affected by school closures, according to Education Week. As of Wednesday, 39 states had decided to close public schools. Combined with district closures in other states, at least 91,000 U.S. schools are closed, are scheduled to close, or were closed and later reopened.

Worldwide:

-Belgium became the latest European country to institute a lockdown on Wednesday.

-A top German health official warned that Germany could see 10 million cases in just a few months if public health guidance isn't followed, The New York Times reported. The country had just over 10,000 cases as of Wednesday morning. “The epidemic is taking an exponential course,” Lothar H. Wieler, president of Germany's centers for disease control and prevention, told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday.

-European Union leaders have agreed to a ban on travel from outside the EU for 30 days, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday. She said there would be relatively few exceptions but that European Free Trade Area countries, as well as the United Kingdom, would not be included.

-An additional 4,207 cases have been confirmed in Italy, bringing the country's total to 35,713 as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins. Another 475 deaths were recorded, bringing the total number of coronavirus deaths in Italy to 2,978. Wednesday was the deadliest day of the outbreak for the country.

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