Immune To COVID? New Study Suggests Why

Every state in the U.S. is now under a federal disaster declaration due to the coronavirus pandemic.

President Donald Trump declared a disaster for Wyoming on Saturday. Disasters were also declared in recent days for Idaho and Alaska. The rest of the states had already received such declarations, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

It's the first time in history that every state in the nation has been under a federal disaster declaration at the same time, according to CNN.

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Federal disaster declarations open up federal funding for states, territories and local governments. They are common after severe weather like tornadoes and flooding. Some emergency management officials have compared the coronavirus pandemic to the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane hitting the entire country at once.

The U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico have also received federal disaster declarations.

The unprecedented status came as deaths in the U.S. topped every country in the world, severe weather threatened the Deep South and Christians across the world prepared to celebrate Easter with virtual church services.

At least 1.75 million cases of COVD-19 have been confirmed wordwide and more than 108,000 people have died from the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Those numbers include the more than 395,000 people who have recovered, including about 29,000 in the U.S.

Many experts believe the overall number of infections and deaths are much higher than reported, due to testing shortages, different tracking methods and the possibility that some governments are hiding numbers.

Latest Developments

United States:

-The United States now has more deaths from the novel coronavirus than any other nation in the world. The number of deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. rose above 20,000 Saturday afternoon, topping Italy's tally of just over 19,000. The number of confirmed cases, meanwhile, soared above 524,000. The death rate, counted by the number of dead relative to the total population, is still far higher in Italy than in U.S.

-Houses of worship ranging from small neighborhood churches to the Vatican were preparing to hold Easter services virtually rather than in person. Some churches in the U.S. were planning drive-through services or other accommodations for social distancing. Authorities in some areas said legal action could be taken against church leaders and worshippers who violate social distancing and nonessential travel rules.

-The threat of a severe weather outbreak Saturday and Sunday in the Deep South is forcing officials to decide whether to open tornado shelters in the face of coronavirus and social distancing. Those that do open fear residents will take their chances with the weather instead.

-The federal government plans to roll out new tests to see who has developed immunity to the coronavirus. The tests could show whether a person had been infected and recovered, help determine the likelihood of reinfection and also shed light on how widespread the outbreak has been, Dr. Anthony Fauci said.

-New York City schools, the largest school district in the country, will remain closed for the rest of the school year. More than 6,300 people have died from COVID-19 in the city.

-The state of New York had more than 180,000 cases as of Saturday evening. New Jersey had the second highest case count with 58,151 cases, followed by Michigan with 23,605, Massachusetts with 22,860 and Pennsylvania with 21,719

-Communities in the Midwest are bracing for a possible surge in coronavirus cases, The Associated Press reported. Twenty-four residents have died from COVID-19 in an Indiana nursing home, while 14 died at a nursing home in Iowa. A temporary morgue that could handle more than 2,000 bodies has been set up in Chicago's Cook County. Nearly 300 inmates at the Cook County Jail have tested positive. Two have died.

-Walt Disney World is furloughing 43,000 workers for up to year. They will continue to receive benefits but no pay. The theme park temporarily closed its gates in mid-March.

Worldwide:

-China has seen a recent increase in cases, attributed to people arriving in the country from overseas, according to the AP.

-Road blocks were set up around the Italian city of Milan to discourage people from traveling for Easter weekend. Police stopped some 300,000 people around the country on Thursday and issued about 10,000 summonses.

-Some 160,000 police officers were deployed to patrol beaches and parks in France over the holiday weekend, as officials worried that warm weather would encourage people to gather outside.

For the latest coronavirus information in your county and a full list of important resources to help you make the smartest decisions regarding the disease, check out our dedicated COVID-19 page.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.