Coronavirus update, Thursday: 2 Million Cases Worldwide
At-home alcohol habits 'worrying'; 5G conspiracies; calls for arts rescue package
Morning! It’s Thursday April 16. Here’s today’s ‘5+5: coronavirus edition’.
Each day I’m bringing you 5 big things to know about the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. The fire hose of news being blasted out every day is getting more intense and confusing. Let me try to help you get it under control.
I’m now devoting the second ‘5’ in ‘5+5’ to some non-corona news and nice/fun things, just to give a bit of breathing space for a while. I think we could all do with it.
If you haven’t already, please sign up above ^^ to get this every day in your emails.
You can email me at joshb2@protonmail.com if you have tips, feedback, ideas or just want to chat
You can also find me on Twitter at @joshbutler; on Facebook; or on Instagram
Wash your hands and sneeze into your elbow. Practise physical distancing - at least 1.5 metres of separation. “Stay the fuck at home”.
Latest Australian stats: as of 3pm Wednesday, Australia has 6447 reported cases of COVID-19 (that’s +47 since the day before); there have been 63 deaths; and more than 371,000 tests have been done, according to the latest federal Department of Health stats. Full global stats breakdown below
5 CORONAVIRUS THINGS
2 million cases worldwide
Another grim milestone — as of 8am Sydney time, there’s been 2,049,888 confirmed cases. The number has doubled in just a fortnight, with 1 million cases only 14 days ago (story here). New case numbers in hotspots like Italy and Spain are starting to level out, but they keep rising in the USA, with now 634,000 cases — 3.5 times the number in Spain, at #2 on the list.
By itself, New York state (with 214,000 cases) has more cases than any other country besides the USA as a whole.
5G conspiracy theories unravelled
As I’ve mentioned a few times in recent editions, there are a LOT of conspiracies around 5G and coronavirus. They’re, as a general rule, all fake. Facebook is cracking down on large 5G-focused groups operating online, shutting some down and deleting the more cooked and dangerous posts. Some Australia-specific (incorrect) theories claim that the Ruby Princess cruise ship virus outbreak was linked to a 5G antenna on board, or that the federal government is legally mandating coronavirus vaccinations to inject microchips into a person's body to be activated by 5G signal.
It’s a wild ride. I wrote about them (and Facebook’s response) here. You should also check out a great article by the ABC on the same topic, with more background, here.
‘Worrying’ coronavirus booze consumption up is concerning health experts
We’re all staying in more, working from home, and probably spending a lot of time with friends on various video chat apps. All these factors, combined with understandable anxiety and worry, are leading many to drink a little more alcohol than they normally would — and for many, that’s OK, but health researchers are worried it’s getting out of hand for some.
The Foundation of Alcohol Research and Education said one-third of Australians are drinking daily, while 70% are drinking more than usual. One-third said they worried about their own drinking habits, or the habits of someone close to them, while one-quarter said they were drinking to deal with stress (story here).
Calls for arts industry rescue package
The Australia Institute says the government should tip $750 million into the arts, with public venue closures leaving tens of thousands of performers, technical crew and venue staff out of work. “Creative and performing arts employ four times as many people as coalmining and as many as in finance, yet the economic contribution of this sector is rarely discussed,” said research director at the Australia Institute, Rod Campbell, The Guardian reported.
The arts and performance sectors have been largely ignored for special help during the pandemic — I’ve done some reporting on that here and here, with performers saying they’ve been left in “a horrible position” due to tour cancellations and lost revenue.
Today’s stats:
The latest stats from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering (as of 8am Sydney time on Thursday) report 2,049,888 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide. There have been 133,572 deaths.
The United States has 634,975 confirmed cases, with Spain next but far behind on 177,644, then Italy (165,155). The U.S. has the most deaths (27,940), then Italy (21,465) and Spain third on 18,579.
In Australia the latest federal stats (as of 3pm Wednesday) show 6447 cases, 63 deaths, and 371,000 tests.
The latest Australian graph:
5 NON-CORONAVIRUS THINGS
Apple is launching a new, cheaper iPhone (story here).
There’s a new, wild-as-ever, Kanye West interview published in GQ (here). He talks about Kobe Bryant and poses for photos in a tank.
Malcolm Turnbull will release a tell-all memoir soon, and the first bits have begun leaking, where he slams everyone from Scott Morrison to Peter Dutton to Kevin Rudd. The Australian published a few excerpts here.
Channel 7 is reportedly interested in NRL broadcast rights (story here).
And this seems like it’ll be my next isolation binge-watch — a competition show about knife makers. It’s on SBS, if you’re interested.
IMPORTANT EVERY DAY
You “must” stay home at all times unless to shop for essential supplies; get medical care; exercise alone or with one other person; or work and education (more info here).
be hygienic; wash your hands properly, at least 30 seconds with soap and water, multiple times a day (here’s how you need to do it, plus a handy Dr Karl video tutorial); sneeze and cough into your elbows.
Listen to only official information from the World Health Organisation and legitimate health bodies — Don’t share dodgy stuff on Facebook. If it looks too good (or bad) to be true, it often is.
World Health Organisation latest statistics here
Australian government latest statistics here
Signing off - stay safe, be healthy, look after yourself and others
Josh