Immune To COVID? New Study Suggests Why

New data from Chinese officials confirms what health experts and others have long believed: The coronavirus death toll there is far higher than previously reported.

Revised numbers from Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the outbreak began in December, show that 50% more people died there than had been officially counted, the Associated Press reported.

The death toll in Wuhan now stands at 3,869, an increase of more than 50%. The number of confirmed cases in the city went up slightly after the review, to 50,033.

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Experts believe cases and deaths have been underreported everywhere, not just in China. Reasons include lack of testing, different ways of classifying deaths, overwhelmed medical systems and the possibility that some governments have purposely hid their numbers.

More than 684,000 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, had been confirmed in the U.S. as of Friday morning, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. More than 34,000 people have died in the U.S.

California surpassed 1,000 COVID-19 deaths on Friday. More than 450 of those deaths were in Los Angeles County.

The number of confirmed cases worldwide has soared above 2.2 million, and more than 153,000 deaths have been attributed to the pandemic.

Latest Developments

United States:

-President Donald Trump announced a $19 billion aid package aimed at helping farmers who have been hit hardest by the economic downturn. The money will come in the form of direct payments to farmers to purchase meat, dairy and produce, and those goods will be given to people in need, Trump said.

-Beaches reopened in Duval County, Florida, from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday evening. Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said the beaches will be open from 6 to 11 a.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. daily, but only for essential activities. Social distancing guidelines must be followed while on the beaches, Curry also said.

-Montana Gov. Steve Bullock said stay-at-home orders will remain in place through April 24, and then there will be a phased reopening.

-A round of preliminary testing in a government lab has found the coronavirus dies quickly when exposed to sunlight, and has trouble surviving in high temperatures and high humidity, Yahoo News reported. Nevertheless, experts expect the virus to continue infecting people through the summer, the report added.

-Indiana's stay at home order has been extended to May 1.

-The University of Arizona announced Friday that it is furloughing employees and instituting pay cuts starting May 11 and running until June 2021, due to financial strains caused by the pandemic.

-In Vermont, officials are considering closing three state university campuses and letting as many as 500 employees go, according to VTDigger.

-A new model from researchers at the University of Texas at Austin predicts that the number of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. is not likely to peak before May 1, the Washington Post reported.

-Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced on Friday that schools will remain closed and students will learn at home for the remainder of the semester. Bowser said an announcement of the next school year is expected by May 15.

-Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also announced that in-person classes would not resume this school year, but some other restrictions will be loosened. Stores that had been closed can provide "to go" service starting April 24, some elective surgeries will be allowed and state parks will reopen for visitors, although visitors must wear face coverings and maintain social distancing, the Dallas Morning News reported.

-New York Mayor Bill de Blasio canceled all special events such as parades and concerts in the city for May, and said June events might not happen, either.

-The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has assessed more than 1,000 arenas, dorms and hotels nationwide for potential conversion to hospitals.

-Testing is a key part of Trump's plan to reopen the country. Trump and White House officials in a Thursday evening press conference detailed a three-phase plan that states are advised to follow when considering whether to ease social distancing guidelines and begin to return to business as normal. The guidelines focus on a checklist of criteria that should be met before social distancing rules are eased, including a downward trajectory of cases over a 14-day period, the ability to test people for COVID-19 quickly and efficiently and the ability to have an adequate supply of masks and other personal protective equipment for health care workers.

-Public health experts say the U.S. needs to double or triple its testing capacity before things can begin to return any semblance of normal. "We are an order of magnitude off right now from where we should be," Dylan George, an infectious disease expert modeling who advised the Obama administration, told NBC News. "Testing is the perpetual problem here."

-Beef production in the U.S. has dropped an estimated 25% as workers at processing plants have been sickened or died from COVID-19, according to the Post. Some of the largest meat processing plants in the country have closed, prompting fears of shortages and hoarding.

-Celebrity Cruises extended cruise suspensions until at least June 11. "We are facing truly unprecedented times as the coronavirus pandemic continues to have unexpected consequences on our communities and businesses," the company said in a statement. "Though hopeful that hopeful that returning to service ahead of summer vacation plans would be an option, we all must continue to do to our part in the global efforts to further contain the spread of this illness." Several other cruise lines, including Princess and Carnival, have announced similar, or even longer, cancellations.

-New York had nearly a quarter million cases of COVID-19 as of Friday morning, and more than 14,000 deaths. States with the next highest number of reported cases are New Jersey with 75,317 Massachusetts with 32,181, Michigan with 29,263 and Pennsylvania with 28,314.

Worldwide:

-More than 1,000 sailors aboard France's largest aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, have been infected with COVID-19. One was in intensive care and about 20 others were hospitalized, the AP reported.

-Car sales were down 55% in Europe last month.

-A report from the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa says some 300,000 people could die on the continent this year from COVID-19.

-The death toll in some European countries, including Britain, Spain and Italy, is believed to be higher than reported, the AP reported. Britain, for example, doesn't count deaths at home or in nursing homes. One expert predicts that the country's 14,000 deaths reported so far could soar to at least 40,000 as the pandemic progresses.

-Britain extended its national lockdown for three more weeks.

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.