British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is sent to intensive care after developing serious COVID symptoms.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is sent to intensive care after developing serious COVID symptoms. Leon Neal / Getty News

Here's your daily roundup of all the local and national news about COVID-19. (Like our coverage? Please consider donating to the Mercury to keep it comin'!)

• Oregon saw its number of coronavirus cases pass 1,000 this weekend. The total number of COVID-19 deaths in the state as of Sunday was 27. The country overall crossed the 10,000 deaths milestone on Monday morning. UPDATE: As of today, Monday April 6, the total number of positive COVID-19 cases (that we know of) is 1,132. The number of deaths has risen to 29.

• Today's surprising stat: A single county in Oregon has tested more people per capita than every state in the country (excepting New York, Washington, and Louisiana). That county? JACKSON. Jackson County officials are just as surprised by this as you are.

• Gov. Kate Brown announced Saturday that she'd be sending 140 of Oregon's surplus ventilators to New York. On Sunday, Washington state sent 400 of its ventilators back to the federal reserve, to be redistributed to states in need.

IN NATIONAL NEWS:

• The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) which was included in the government's $2 trillion relief package is only being offered to existing clients for most banks, and Wells Fargo has announced they are no longer accepting any PPP applications.

• British prime minister Boris Johnson has been taken to intensive care after his COVID-19 symptoms worsened, just in case he needs to be put on a ventilator.

• A watchdog for Health and Human Services has confirmed that the nation's hospitals are desperate, adding they are "being impeded by shortages of tests, protective gear, staff and space, as well as inconsistent government advice."

• In "Trump Being Trump" news: "Trump blocks Fauci from answering question about drug Trump is touting."

• Another adjustment made due to Coronavirus upending everything: Colleges are increasingly abandoning letter grades, and are giving serious thought to never going back.

• The University of Washington's COVID forecasting model is one of the most prominent methods being used in the White House's decision making process (such as it is), and while their prediction of the pandemic's peak has held steady (April 16), the number of deaths has been adjusted downward (81k from 93k) as have the number of ICU beds and ventilators.

• Vox's Ezra Klein sat down to talk with former presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren about the coronavirus. Wouldn't you know it... she has a plan for it? She's had THREE of them, in fact. The first of them was back in JANUARY. Turns out that at the time, we were all busy ignoring her for... (checks notes) (notes are just 15 question marks and a doodle of a shrugging man).

• Wisconsin's GOP-controlled state legislature made national news for refusing to postpone their state's elections this coming Tuesday, despite the state being under a "stay-at-home" order. Today Wisconsin governor Tony Evers issued an executive order postponing in-person voting. He fully expects the GOP to challenge his order in court.

• The latest major sports cancellations and postponements due to coronavirus now includes four different golf majors, prompting the question "why the hell is golf still a thing in the first place?"

• If you're already having a tough day, get your mood going in a different, more positive direction with the Mercury Cheer Up Club!

• You need a crap-ton of fun stuff to do while staying safeat home this week, right? Well, we have a crap-ton of stuff for you to do right here, courtesy of your pals at the Mercury!

And finally, does your face mask make your glasses fog up (LIKE MINE)? Here's a super useful hack!