All fifty states in the United States have reported COVID-19 infections as of Tuesday night. The last, and the 50th, to report a case was West Virginia. Gov. Jim Justice said the patient was in the eastern panhandle state, refusing to give further information about the individual.
Illinois, meanwhile, reported its first death also on Tuesday. There are now 18 states that saw fatality due to the virus.
All over the US, there are now 103 deaths as of Tuesday night. The total number of infections is at 3,503 with 1,825 new cases reported in the past 24 hours.
Also on Tuesday, Washington state reported six new deaths, becoming the region with the most number of fatalities. Of the 54 people who died in the state, 30 people were linked to a nursing home in a Seattle suburb. Washington has a total of 1,000 new cases.
New York, on the other hand, reported the largest number of infections at 1,300.
Elsewhere, officials are emphasizing the importance of social distancing, warning that the COIVD-19 patients could eventually overwhelm the public health system.
US Retailers Closing Stores, Groceries Reduced Hours Of Operations
Elsewhere in the US, big names in the retail industry were compelled to stop operations temporarily while groceries and supermarkets are reducing their hours of operations. The latest to close in the meantime are Macy's, Sephora, Nordstrom, H&M, DSW, bath & Body Works, Victoria's Secret and Ralph Lauren as well as tech giant Apple. Previously, Abercrombie & Fitch, Aerie and American Eagle, and Calvin Klein also closed their physical location.
At the same time, J.C. Penney and Kohl's are reducing hours of operations as well as Target. The latter said its more than 1,800 stores will be closing at 9 p.m.
COVID-19 In The Region Of The Americas
Canada is readying $19 billion worth in aid to help those hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Canada now saw eight fatalities and 600 infections nationwide.
Here are the cumulative numbers of total cases, new cases, total deaths and new deaths in other nations in the Region of the Americas:
Brazil (total cases 234) (new cases 34)
Chile 156 - 81
Peru 86 - 15
Panama 69 - 26 (death 1)
Argentina 65 - 9 - 2
Ecuador 58 - 21
Mexico 53
Colombia 45 - 21
Costa Rica 41 - 18
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 33 - 16
Dominican Republic 21 - 16 - 1 (new death 1)
Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 11
Jamaica 10
Paraguay 9 - 1
Honduras 8 - 6
Uruguay 6 - 2
Cuba 5 - 1
Trinidad and Tobago 5 - 3
Guyana 4
Saint Lucia 2
Antigua and Barbuda 1
Bahamas 1
Guatemala 1
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1
Suriname 1
China Expels Journalists From The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal
China has just announced it will expel journalists from these three major publications in the US. In a statement, the country said the decision is effective immediately. Specifically, the decision entails that the journalists turn over their press accreditation within 10 days if the said credentials expire before the end of the year.
Journalists from The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal is also barred from reporting in mainland China as well as its semi-autonomous cities of Macao and Hong Kong.
The Chinese government explained that the restrictions were answers to US President Donald Trump's step to put a cap on the number of Chinese journalists from its five major networks from working in the US in February.
Observers, however, are noting that China's decision was made after President Trump referred to COVID-19 as "China Virus" in one of his tweets.
Nevertheless, this recent conflict between the two nations create extra challenge in information dissemination at a time when everbody wants to know the latest development of the COVID-19 virus.
