Would self quarantine be a challenge for an Audiophile? Home detention even a punishment?

70 million people in the US are under a severe weather threat that includes tornadoes and hail

Updated 4:22 AM EDT March 28, 2020

Severe storms, including possible tornadoes and hail, are expected to affect wide portions of the United States on Saturday.

"Over 70 million Americans face the threat of severe weather today, with the greatest threat for a significant weather outbreak covering roughly 45,000 square miles, including Chicago metro," CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam said

CHICAGO — A second wave of coronavirus cases is charting a path far from coastal Washington State, California, New York and New Jersey, and threatening population centers in America’s middle. Emerging hot spots include smaller communities like Greenville, Miss., and Pine Bluff, Ark., and large cities like New Orleans, Milwaukee, Detroit and Chicago.

Local and state leaders find themselves struggling to deal with the deadly onslaught, urgently issuing guidance to residents and sounding the alarm over a dearth of equipment in local clinics and hospitals.

As the threat expands, the orders from state and local officials have sometimes been a chaotic, confusing patchwork. With mixed signals from the federal authorities in Washington, D.C., local leaders have wrestled with complicated medical and economic choices. Mayors and governors in Oklahoma, Massachusetts, South Carolina and Texas have clashed over which restrictions to impose on residents, dispensing contradictory instructions, even as their communities are being ravaged by the virus.

MILAN (Reuters) - The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy has surged by 889, the Civil Protection Agency said on Saturday, the second highest daily tally since the epidemic emerged on Feb. 21.

Total fatalities in Italy have reached 10,023, by far the highest of any country in the world.

Italy’s largest daily toll was registered on Friday, when 919 people died. Prior to that, there were 712 deaths on Thursday, 683 on Wednesday, 743 on Tuesday and 602 on Monday.

The total number of confirmed cases in Italy rose on Saturday to 92,472 from a previous 86,498.

Florida sees sharp spike in coronavirus infections as fears grow it could be another hotspot

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Fears are growing that Florida could be another coronavirus hotspot after a sharp increase in infections in the last 24 hours and nearly two dozen more deaths.

Health officials said Saturday morning they have seen 863 additional positive COVID-19 cases, which brought the total tally of cases to 3,763.

After Bauer, a U.S.-based company that manufactures hockey gear, announced Wednesday it would shift from making helmet visors to start mass production on face shields amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, it didn’t take long for the calls, emails and other messages to start rolling in.

Medical professionals have contacted Bauer, asking for gear as they continue to work on the coronavirus front lines, according to the company. Since starting production of the face shields less than 48 hours ago, Bauer has received interest in more than 1 million medical shields. It is already set to produce 300,000 units — its current maximum capacity.

“We are one company and we are not going to be able to make a dent to this thing, but one thing we can do is make a call for action for other companies,” Bauer CEO Ed Kinnaly said in a telephone interview Saturday afternoon.

Baby Chickens Sold Out Nationwide as Americans Panic-Buy Feathery Friends 🐥🐥🐥

March 29, 2020

Sales of baby chickens have soared across the United States in what appears to be another example of panic-buying amid the COVID-19 pandemic. While the weeks leading up to Easter are usually a busy time for chicken hatcheries, it appears that the birds are becoming increasingly difficult to purchase, according to The New York Times.

"People are panic-buying chickens like they did toilet paper," Tom Watkins, the vice president of Murray McMurray Hatchery in Iowa, told the Times. Watkins said his company was sold out of the chicks for the next four weeks.

According to the report, many feed stores are reporting that they are selling out of baby chicks almost as fast as they can restock. And long lines have been seen outside Tractor Supply Company stores on mornings when chicks are delivered.

Stephanie Spann, a manager at Hackett Farm Supply in New York, has noticed a significant surge in demand recently, with the store selling double the number of chicks than it did in March of the previous year.

"People are willing to take breeds that aren’t their first choice just to get a flock started now," Spann told the Times.

One customer who has recently purchased baby chickens is Amy Annelle, 48, a musician from Austin, Texas. With several upcoming shows cancelled, Annelle says she now has a lot of time on her hands and decided to try and raise some chickens

"I thought I’d get some chicks before everyone panics at once and buys them," she told the Times. "It’s just very hopeful watching them grow."

Breaking gnus!!  🐃 🐃 🐃

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of two anti-malaria drugs to treat patients infected by the new coronavirus.

On Sunday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said in a statement that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine could be prescribed to teens and adults with COVID-19 "as appropriate, when a clinical trial is not available or feasible," after the FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization. (EUA) That marked the first EUA for a drug related to COVID-19 in the U.S., according to the statement.

Currently, there are no specific drugs for COVID-19 which, as shown in the Statista graph below (accurate as of March 26), has sickened over half a million people. According to Johns Hopkins University, over 720,000 cases have been confirmed, more than 34,000 people have died, and over 152,000 have recovered since the pandemic started in China late last year.

Wuhan residents say coronavirus figures released by China don't add up

Wuhan, the first epicenter of the global outbreak, began lifting its two-month lockdown over the weekend. The city in Central China restarted some subway service, reopened its borders and allowed families to reunite.

For more than a week, seven large funeral homes that serve Wuhan have been handing out the cremated remains of about 500 people to their families every day. When added, the figure puts the official number the Chinese government has claimed into question.

"It can’t be right ... because the incinerators have been working round the clock, so how can so few people have died," said Zhang, a Wuhan resident who only gave Radio Free Asia his last name. "They started distributing ashes and starting interment ceremonies on Monday."”

A Florida church was packed with worshippers Sunday despite a local "safer-at-home" order designed to help curb the spread of COVID-19, reports CBS Tampa affiliate WTSP-TV. A live-stream of the service at The River at Tampa Bay Church showed its crowded main sanctuary.

WTSP says the sheriff told church leaders they were in direct violation of the order, which was issued by Hillsborough County officials and went into effect Friday. It requires that businesses and organizations considered essential abide by social distancing guidelines and keep people six feet away from each other or shut down.

Attorneys for local officials and the church were working to resolve things as quickly as possible, WTSP reported.

The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people stay six feet apart and not gather in groups of 50 or more, according to WTSP.