A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than half a million people around the world since the first cases were detected in China back in December.
There are more than 533,000 diagnosed cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the new respiratory virus, and over 24,000 people have died from the disease, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
The United States has eclipsed China's tally with nearly 86,000 diagnosed cases. The two countries, along with Italy, account for almost half of the world's infections from the novel coronavirus.
Today's biggest developments:
  • United States leads world in number of diagnosed cases
  • U.S. death toll at 1,296

    • 5:19 a.m.: Michigan health system develops contingency plan to deny ventilators and ICU treatment

    A Michigan health system has come up with a contingency plan for doctors to make life-or-death decisions when treating patients in the coronavirus pandemic.
    A draft letter from Henry Ford Health Systems outlining the plan to families was widely shared on Twitter late Thursday night. The plan, typed on what appeared to be hospital letterhead, said that coronavirus patients with the best chance of surviving will be "our first priority," while those who are "extremely sick and very unlikely to survive" will receive "pain control and comfort measures" rather than ventilators and intensive care treatment.
    "Treating these patients would take away resources for patients who might survive," the letter stated. "This decision will be based on medical condition and likelihood of getting better."

    Responding to a flurry tweets about the letter, Henry Ford Health Systems confirmed its accuracy but clarified that the policy has not yet been implemented.
    “With a pandemic, we must be prepared for worst case,” the company tweeted. “With collective wisdom from our industry, we crafted a policy to provide guidance for making difficult patient care decisions. We hope never to have to apply them. We will always utilize every resource to care for our patients.”
    News Source: https://abcnews.go.com/