The number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in the U.S. was 41,511 as of Monday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins putting the U.S. third in the world. At least 499 deaths have been blamed on the virus.
Worldwide, the total number of cases neared 367,000 with more than 16,100 deaths. China remains the highest number of cases with 81,454 and Italy Second with 59,138
At least 12 states have implemented "stay at home" or "shelter in place" orders or advisories. Monday morning, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker ordered non-essential businesses to close and asked the state Health Department to advise residents to stay at home beginning at noon Tuesday and lasting until April 7.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered residents of her state to a stay at home for at least the next three weeks. She also ordered all non-critical businesses to close.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb issued a stay at home order that goes into effect just before midnight Tuesday and lasts until April 6.
Similar shelter-in-place or stay home orders were already in place for Louisiana, Ohio, Delaware, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey and New York, and many individual cities.
"This week, it's going to get bad," U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said Monday morning on NBC's "Today" show, adding that Americans must stay home.
At least 1.5 billion people — a fifth of the world's population — have been asked or ordered to stay home to try to dampen the spread of the coronavirus, according to The Associated Press.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said he thinks targeting the Florida counties hit hardest by the coronavirus instead of imposting a statewide lockdown is the way to go for now. He said about a third of Florida's 67 counties have no confirmed cases and another third have few.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced in a news conference Monday that 20,875 people across the state have tested positive for coronavirus. At least 157 people have died, he said. The New York City region now accounts for about 5% of confirmed coronavirus cases globally, the New York Times reported. Ellis Island and Liberty Park were closed to visitors
Rep. Ben McAdams, a Utah Democrat and one of two members of the U.S. House of Representatives to test positive for COVID-19, said he has been hospitalized since Friday. He said he had been receiving oxygen for shortness of breath. The second Congressman to test positive, Republican Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart of Florida, said he has self-quarantined in his Washington home. Former presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar said her husband, John Besser, has tested positive for coronavirus. In a post on Medium, the Democrat from Minnesota wrote that Besser checked into a Virginia hospital where he has pneumonia and is on oxygen. Klobuchar said she and her husband have not been in the same place in the past two weeks, and doctors told her she didn't need to take a test.
After crowds of people flocked to California beaches, hiking trails and parks over the weekend, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced on Twitter late Sunday that he was closing sports and recreation at all LA City Parks and shutting down parking at city beaches. Point Reyes National Seashore is now closed to visitors as is Yosemite National Park. He said people should stay home and save lives.
Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park and Oregon closed all of its state Parks today
On a positive note MIT scientists announced that the coming warm month may slow the transmission of the virus, Most transmissions occurred between 37.4F to 62.6F. Regions where average temps exceed 64.4F accounted for less than 6% of global cases. Arizona, Florida, and Texas have the slowest transmission rate in the U.S.