Coronavirus daily update: April 3, 2020

Too big to fathom

How do we get our heads around the scope of the coronavirus? It’s hit every nation on the planet, infected, as far as we know, 1.1 million humans, outright killed 58,230 of us and (hopefully) driven us all inside. Everywhere.

These numbers, this scale, is beyond our comprehension. So today in the news, we’ll be talking about North Carolina. It’s a bit more manageable, and — dare I say? — more hopeful. So here’s some news about our state.

Some news

• We are under a statewide stay-at-home order until April 29, as per Gov. Roy Cooper.
• State court proceedings have been halted until June 1.
• It’s a dangerous time for people living with domestic violence.
• State Treasurer Dale Folwell spent five days hospitalized at Wake Baptist, including time on a respirator. He’s now home recovering. At least three other Treasury employees have tested positive for the virus.
• It’s going to cost us $1 billion.
• 320,000 or so have applied for unemployment since March 16.
• We’ve got more than 2,000 cases in 86 of 100 counties (more in the numbers)
• If you’re not already, check out House Whip Jon Hardister’s Facebook page, where he posts useful, factual updates every day about state government and services. He’s also fairly responsive in the comment threads.
  • Today he put out a call for donated medical supplies. Got some? Email him at [email protected].
• If you’re looking for in-depth, enterprise watchdog reporting on various aspects of the coronavirus pandemic in a national scale, check out ProPublica’s daily breaking stories. Glad they’re out there.

The numbers

• We’ve got 2,200 cases in NC, according to the N&O‘s accelerated count. That’s up 161 cases, which is a good bit better than yesterday’s rise of 268. Good news? Yes!
• We’ve got 19 deaths, according to the DHHS, along with 259 hospitalized. We’ve completed 31,598 tests, up 2,919 from yesterday.
  • At the rate of 3,000 tests per day, it will take nine years to test all 10 million or so North Carolinians.
• The numbers include Guilford County (88 cases, up 14 with four deaths) and Forsyth County (80 cases, up 17 with one death).
• For comparison’s sake, Mecklenberg County has 564 cases and three deaths, while Durham and Wake counties combine to give the Triangle 434 cases (275 and 159, respectively). Neither county has recorded any deaths due to COVID-19.
• Remember that these numbers are just a snapshot because they’re constantly changing, and even then they only represent the people we’ve managed to test. Trends matter more than hard numbers. And it will be a while before there’s any great news in them anyway.

A diversion

You’re not going anywhere for a while, so it’s a good time to catch up on the canon of obscure videos, and then follow them down the YouTube rabbit hole to see where it takes you. In this vein I present Heavy Metal Parking Lot — one man’s documentary about the tailgate scene before a 1986 Judas Priest concert in Landover, Md. Mullets, mustaches and that thing with the jeans and no shirt. It’s the sort of work that every American needs to see at least once, whether you lived through the 1980s hair-metal glory days or not. That’s what makes this canon. And now is as a fine a time as any to get caught up — and check out the “where are they now” piece afterward.

Program notes

• Tonight’s featured image is “Clouds Over the Sea,” a Eugéne Boudin drawing ca. 1860-65, part of the National Gallery of Art‘s public-domain works.
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