Coronavirus daily update: Wednesday, May 20

Lessons learned

Last night, just after I sent out the update, the state’s commitment to beginning Phase 2 this week solidified. And so tonight I waited until the governor’s press conference before putting out the word. I’m getting the info straight from his Twitter feed.

We’re taking a modified approach to Phase 2 — bars, nightclubs, movie theaters and gyms must remain closed. Restaurants and salons can open at 50 percent capacity, with mask and social-distancing restrictions in place. Swimming pools can open at 50 percent capacity. Gatherings must be limited to 10 people (indoors) or 25 (outdoors).

Not every restaurant & salon will be able to open Friday evening and some may choose not to open at all. Show them the courtesy of patience as they weigh how best to serve their customers and stay safe. We owe that to them.

— Governor Roy Cooper (@NC_Governor) May 20, 2020

Press conference is live right now, so I don’t have a source document yet. But the the governor was clear that this is a floor — cities and counties may enact their own restrictions above and beyond these set by the state.

Surely there will be more tomorrow. For now, let’s hit the numbers.

The numbers

• We’ve got 422 newly discovered cases today in North Carolina — that’s culled from 10,122 tests performed today. Inexact, sure, but that means 4.16 percent of those tested came up positive. That’s my numbers, anyway. The N&O says it’s 7.2 percent, though, and they’ve got deeper data.
  • Some great new data tools on this site.
  • Still, we’ve passed 20,000 cases, doubling in the last 12 days, which is not good and probably why we have a modified Phase 2.
• Forsyth County continues to add new cases — 35 today for 773.
  • Here’s a breakdown of cases. Main takeaway: 54.3 percent are Latinx.
• Guilford County has 931 total diagnoses, 27 new ones, with eight new recoveries (392), four new hospitalizations (163) and no new deaths (49).

A diversion

While everyone who has Disney+ is catching up on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I want to remind my fellow Gen Xers what live-action superhero antics used to look like with the 1977 TV series “The Amazing Spider-Man.” I loved this show, even more than “The Incredible Hulk,” which was running around the same time, and I eagerly anticipated the spinoffs — Captain American and Thor, respectively — that never happened. Go down the rabbit-hole to find those old episodes. For now I’ve got the pilot, with the origin story and some non-canon tweaks.

Program notes

• I’m getting my public-domain images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City these days. We just call it “the Met.” Tonight we’ve got “Blind Orion Searching for the Rising Sun” by Nicolas Poussin, 1658.
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