Gov. Greg Abbott
According to the Texas Tribune, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will hold a press conference this afternoon to declare the coronavirus as a statewide public health emergency. More than 20 other states have already made such a declaration, as has the city of Dallas and Dallas County.
There are 49 known COVID-19 cases in Texas, including two — one in Dallas County — that are known to be “community spread,” in other words, two cases not known to be related to travel to known coronavirus hotspots.
Texas Tribune reports that “Abbott told lawmakers that the declaration was being made ‘in order for us to make sure we have the full capabilities to scale up our response to COVID-19.'”
The World Health Organization issues daily “situation reports” on the coronavirus pandemic. The March 12 situation report notes that in the 24-hour period between that report and the March 11 report, there were 6,729 new COVID-19 cases reported worldwide. In that same 24 hour period, there were 321 new COVID-19 deaths reported.
NOTE: That was 6,729 new cases diagnosed and 321 new deaths reported IN A 24-HOUR PERIOD.
That brings the worldwide total to 125,048 confirmed cases and 4,613 deaths as of yesterday. You can keep up with daily totals here.
