As of 9 a.m., Feb. 24, the new strain of coronavirus has sickened 79,539 and has resulted in 2,627 deaths. Around the world, 25,180 people have recovered from the illness.
1. CDC has confirmed 35 cases of the new strain of coronavirus, officially dubbed COVID-19, in the U.S., according to CNN. This figure includes 14 cases of the infection that sprang up in the U.S. as well as 18 cases of COVID-19 patients who were passengers of the Diamond Princess cruise ship that docked in Japan and three who were evacuated from China.
The CDC is tracking COVID-19 cases "resulting from repatriation efforts separately because we don't believe those numbers accurately represent the picture of what is happening in the community in the United States at this time," Nancy Messonnier, MD director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told CNN.
2. The White House plans to ask Congress for additional funding to combat the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S., Politico reports. Four people familiar with the matter spoke with Politico, saying that the amount the White House plans to ask for may be far lower than what experts have said is needed to stem the rising epidemic. The Trump administration may only ask for $1 billion, which would be used up quickly.
3. In a new report, the World Health Organization estimates that about two-thirds of COVID-19 cases stemming from mainland China have remained undetected worldwide. New, unchecked chains of human-to-human transmission may already have begun, New Atlas reports.
4. More than two-thirds of COVID-19 patients require mechanical ventilator support, a study of 52 adult patients in a Wuhan, China, hospital found, according to Bloomberg. The patients need about a month of breathing support. The study, published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, also found that most COVID-19 patients had organ function damage. The severity of the infection puts a "great strain on critical care resources in hospitals, especially if they are not adequately staffed or resourced," study authors concluded.
5. If the coronavirus outbreak in China becomes worse, around 150 medications are at risk of shortage, according to Axios. The prescriptions drugs that could undergo shortages include antibiotics and certain brand name drugs without alternatives. The outbreak may slow China's production of the ingredients needed to make the drugs.
6. U.S. stocks slide Feb. 24, after global markets declined as a result of deepening fears of coronavirus outbreaks worldwide and the effect they may have on the global economy, The New York Times reports. The S&P 500 dropped by nearly 3 percent at the start of trading, and the Dow Jones industrial average dropped more than 900 points.
7. A federal judge is allowing a California city to temporarily block the transfer of people sickened with COVID-19 who are in federal quarantine, according to The Washington Post. Costa Mesa, Calif., filed a lawsuit against the federal government, the state of California and others to prevent the transfer of up to 50 COVID-19 patients to the Fairview Developmental Center in Costa Mesa. In the suit, the city claims that federal and state agencies did not include or coordinate with local authorities on plans for the transfer.