Coronavirus daily update: Monday, May 4

Slouching toward Phase I

Yes, I’ve started taking Sundays off here at the Coronavirus Daily Update. But otherwise I’m here with you for the long haul.

Because there’s going to be a lot to unpack this week as we approach the May 8 deadline for the governor’s stay-at-home order, one he’s insinuated that he’s inclined to lift if the numbers swing our way. More on that later.

And if my own experience this weekend was any indication, it looks as if a lot of people have decided to opt out of the CDC’s best practices.

Meanwhile, there’s been some news.

Some news

• Gov. Cooper signed the latest coronavirus relief bill today, spending $1.57 billion of the $3.5 billion in aid we received from the federal government via the CARES Act.
  • It’s a long one, but includes aid for research, testing, loans and other forms of aid.
  • Excised from the bill were provisions increasing unemployment payouts by $400, and allowing take-out restaurants to sell mixed drinks.
• Cooper also mentioned that he’d have an update on Phase I on Wednesday.
• Greensboro Pride 2020 has been canceled.
• High Point University will hold a virtual graduation for its Class of 2020 on Saturday. You can watch here.
• The NC DMV extended expiration dates for drivers licenses and ID cards.
• The Northgate Mall in Durham has officially closed for good.
• An internal FEMA document obtained by the NY Times speculates that by June 1, US confirmed cases could reach 200,000 per day, with 3,000 deaths per day. A fine time to pivot towards the numbers.

The numbers

• We’ve got more than 977,000 active COVID-19 cases in the US — that’s from more than 1.2 million diagnoses, including more than 18,000 today.
  • 69,236 deaths since Feb. 28.
• North Carolina saw a big drop in new cases over the last two days — down from 586 on Saturday to 155 and 184 on Sunday and Monday, respectively.
  • This drops our 7-day rolling average to 387, the second straight day of decline in that metric.
• Guilford County is up to 476 diagnoses, 102 hospitalizations190 recoveries, 31 deaths.
• Forsyth County added 19 today for 287 diagnoses.
• The NC DHHS reports that COVID-19 has reached 99 of our 100 counties, and that we’re still only performing about 3,000 tests a day, statewide.

A diversion

Time was, they’d make a TV show about anything: “My Mother the Car,” about a guy whose mother was reincarnated as a vintage car; “The Patty Duke Show,” about identical cousins; the aforementioned “Cop Rock.” “Hogan’s Heroes” was one of those — a sitcom that took place in a Nazi detention camp during World War II, complete with a laugh track and everything. It first aired in 1965, more than 20 years after the war ended. And if you dive down the rabbit hole a bit, there’s some fascinating backstory to the project. For now, here’s the pilot, Season 1 Episode 1, “The Camp,” which first aired on Sept. 17, 1956 in black and white, though the show eventually went to color. The sound sucks, but this one’s hard to find.

Program notes

• I’ve gone through much of the National Gallery of Art‘s public-domain collection, so I’m switching over to our Faces of the Pandemic series. This one’s by Owens Daniels.
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