March 13 coronavirus news

By Jessie Yeung, Joshua Berlinger, Adam Renton, Meg Wagner, Mike Hayes and Veronica Rocha, CNN

Updated 9:49 p.m. ET, March 13, 2020

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12:08 a.m. ET, March 13, 2020

Coronavirus patient says he's still testing positive a month after contracting the virus

From CNN’s Michael Nedelman

Carl Goldman said he would remain in isolation for the coming days. CNN

Coronavirus patient Carl Goldman is still testing positive for coronavirus about one month after contracting it, he told Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta on Thursday during CNN’s Global Town Hall, “Coronavirus: Facts and Fears.”

Goldman said he last tested positive on Thursday, meaning he would remain in isolation in Omaha, Nebraska, for the coming days while health officials continue to take samples.

"I'm not the only one," he said. "There's a bunch of us from the Diamond Princess ... that are still in the same boat I'm in."

A retrospective study published Wednesday in medical journal The Lancet found that, among nearly 200 hospitalized coronavirus patients in China, viral shedding ranged from eight to 37 days among survivors, with a median of 20 days.

12:01 a.m. ET, March 13, 2020

Managing stress is key as coronavirus pandemic spreads

Aside from washing your hands regularly, there is a lot more people should be doing to take care of themselves as coronavirus creeps into every facet of society.

This advice was shared by Dr. Christine Moutier, a psychiatrist, during CNN's coronavirus town hall.

"When we look at the data and actually past events, what we see is that during time of stress, even wartime or natural disasters, we tend to come together and that can introduce a protective effect," Moutier said. "Because this has this social distancing piece and the infectious disease contagion piece to it, I think we have to think thoughtfully about are we connecting with our loved ones? Are we checking in? Are we using technology if we need to? This is a time we can use that for good."

12:00 a.m. ET, March 13, 2020

A fourth person in Hong Kong has died after contracting the coronavirus

From journalist Anna Kam

Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority confirmed that a coronavirus patient died on Friday morning, the fourth fatality in the city related to the global pandemic.

As of Friday, the citywide total number of cases is 131, the Hospital Authority said.

11:56 p.m. ET, March 12, 2020

The residents inside Washington state nursing home have nowhere to go

A cleaning crew wearing protective clothing enters the Life Care Center on Thursday, March 12, in Kirkland, Washington. The nursing home in the Seattle suburbs has had the most deaths due to COVID-19 of anywhere in the United States. John Moore/Getty Images

At CNN's coronavirus town hall, one viewer brought up the Life Care Center — the nursing home in Washington state at the heart of the outbreak there.

So far, 22 deaths in Washington state are associated with the nursing home. There are still 26 other infected residents living there. Twelve residents have tested negative, while nine more have results that are either pending or inconclusive.

"Why hasn't the Life Care Center in Washington been evacuated?" one viewer asked. "Shouldn't the staff be self-quarantining? The government is leaving these people to die."

CNN National Correspondent Sara Sidner weighed in from Kirkland, Washington:

"The number one the reason this nursing facility didn't evacuate and just move patients out and get rid of the staff, was that there was no one that was willing to take these patients," Sidner said.

Hospitals didn't want to take patients unless they had very acute, life-threatening symptoms, because of the risk they could infect other patients who are already sick in the hospital, Sidner said. And the residents' families often aren't in a position to care for their medical needs — that's why these residents are in a nursing home in the first place.

"And with some of the patients testing positive for coronavirus, they didn't want to infect families and communities. There was nowhere else for the patients to go," Sidner said.

11:54 p.m. ET, March 12, 2020

Los Angeles Pride organizers postpone all events in June

From CNN's Joe Sutton

Organizers of Los Angeles Pride have announced that all events related to this year’s 50th anniversary of the annual festival and parade have been postponed.

“Due to the concerns of COVID-19, CSW will postpone all events related to the 50th Anniversary of LA Pride that were scheduled for June 2020. Organizers are assessing the situation. More information to be provided around the postponement as details become available," the organization said on Twitter.

11:43 p.m. ET, March 12, 2020

Michigan is closing all K-12 school buildings

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer anounced that all kindergarten through 12th grade school buildings will close from Monday until April 6 as part of the state's efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

To date, Michigan has identified at least 12 coronavirus patients.

Here's Gov. Whitmer's tweets with the announcement:

11:42 p.m. ET, March 12, 2020

If you get the coronavirus, it is unclear whether you will contract it again

The verdict is still out on whether someone who contracts coronavirus can get the disease again.

This was a point made Thursday by Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious diseases epidemiologist with the World Health Organization, who spoke with CNN during its coronavirus town hall.

"The answer is we don't know. Yet. What we are looking at and what scientists are looking at is an immune response to individuals who are infected with this virus. We don't have a robust data on this yet," Van Kerkhove said. "What could happen is that when someone gets infected, they develop an immune and antibody response. And that could provide some protection going forward. We don't have data to be able to say whether this is possible or not. These studies are ongoing now. Across a number of countries. We'll have to get back to you on that."

Watch:

11:35 p.m. ET, March 12, 2020

At least 62,000 people have recovered from the virus so far

At CNN's ongoing coronavirus town hall, a viewer asked: How many people worldwide have recovered from the coronavirus?

The quick answer is, at least 60,000, said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious diseases epidemiologist with the World Health Organization (WHO) -- citing a figure from earlier in the week.

It has since risen; China's National Health Commission said yesterday that 62,793 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital.

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

There are more than 125,000 cases globally, according to the WHO.

About 80% of all patients in China had a "mild form of the disease," said Van Kerkhove -- meaning they may feel unwell for a week or two.

About 20% will require advanced care in hospital, and may need more serious measures like respiratory support.

Then, a small portion of people will die. According to a report in the medical journal JAMA, the fatality rate in China is about 2.3%.

11:38 p.m. ET, March 12, 2020

WHO official says novel coronavirus is "relatively stable"

From CNN Health’s Michael Nedelman

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious diseases epidemiologist with the World Health Organization, said the virus was "relatively stable" during CNN’s Global Town Hall, “Coronavirus: Facts and Fears,” on Thursday.

"We know that there are different groupings of these viruses," Van Kerkhove said in response to a question about an earlier study identifying separate strains of the coronavirus. "There's no indication that there are differences in terms of virulence based on those different groupings."

"There are normal changes that happen in a virus over time, but this virus is relatively stable,” Van Kerkhove said.