Three things for March 27
1. MLB teams, fans celebrate Opening Day at home
Due to restrictions brought on by COVID-19, baseball teams and fans alike celebrated the honored Opening Day from their homes.
This day usually signifies the beginning of a new season of baseball. However, this year looked unlike any Opening Day in MLB’s long history. Rob Manfred, the commissioner of the MLB, wrote a letter to baseball fans expressing his thoughts on this year’s Opening Day.
“We need to call on the optimism that is synonymous with Opening Day and the unflinching determination required to navigate an entire baseball season to help us through the challenging situation currently facing us all,” Manfred wrote.
Though not live on the field, there is still plenty of baseball available for fans to watch. In addition to programming on MLB Network, Manfred expressed thousands of other games are available for free to fans on MLB's YouTube account.
2. America leads the world in most confirmed coronavirus cases
According to the New York Times, at least 81,321 people are known to have been infected with the coronavirus, including more than 1,000 deaths.
With 330 million residents, the United States is the world’s third most populous nation. This provides a vast pool of people who can potentially be impacted by the virus. According to a New York Times article, scientists warned the United States would someday become the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic because of its vast population.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), all 50 states have reported confirmed cases of COVID-19. The death toll has been more severe in a handful of states including New York, New Jersey, Washington, Louisiana and California. Case numbers are rising quickly across the country as containment falters and the virus spreads.
The CDC is providing daily updates on case numbers throughout the U.S. Their numbers close out at 4 p.m. the day before reporting. The New York Times is also providing live updates to their research on case numbers.
3. National Cathedral finds 5,000 masks stashed away in crypt
Head stone mason Joe Alonso recently discovered 5,000 unused N95 respirator masks in the crypt level of the National Cathedral in Washington.
Immediately after discovering these masks, Alonso contacted both the manufacturer and the CDC to confirm that they were safe for the general public to use.
The masks were originally purchased in 2006, when the H5N1 bird flu infected people at a high rate. The masks were meant to allow the clergy to provide pastoral care without putting their own health at risk.
According to CNN, the cathedral delivered 2,000 masks to Children's National Hospital and delivered 3,000 masks to Georgetown University Hospital.
“The Cathedral will retain a small number of masks to facilitate in pastoral care needs,” according to a statement from the National Cathedral.
“In these difficult and trying times, the Cathedral community is doing everything we can to help protect the most vulnerable among us from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic,” said Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of Washington National Cathedral.
As announced on their website, Washington National Cathedral will also partner with the American Red Cross to hold a blood drive on Friday, March 27, benefiting patients and practitioners at local collection sites.
