Nearly two-and-a-half weeks in the national emergency prompted by the coronavirus crisis, the number of confirmed cases in the United States surpassed 165,000, the highest in the world. Meanwhile, officials continue making an earnest appeal to residents to stay home and following good social distancing practices to help curb the spread of the outbreak and 'flatten the curve.'

More than 39,000 people worldwide have died after contracting COVID-19. Residents in Italy and Spain, two of the hardest hit countries in the world that account for more than half of all of the global deaths from the virus, held a moment of silence at 12 p.m. local time.

Here is your COVID-19 update for Tuesday, March 31, 2020:

U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Surpasses 3,100 as Model Predicts 'Peak Resource Use' in U.S. by April 15

The number of people who've passed away from the novel coronavirus in the United States surpassed 3,100 on Tuesday, with nearly half of those occurring in New York alone.

The number of infections also continued to rise in the U.S. as testing continues to roll out across the country. According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University, more than 164,600 people in the U.S. have been confirmed to have COVID-19, with at least 5,945 of those recovering successfully from the disease.

Meanwhile, a new mathematical model designed by the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation found that the peak of the coronavirus pandemic would likely hit by April 15. The model, which is publicly available, estimated that more than 2,000 people could die each day in the United States when the virus is predicted to hit the country hardest.

The model also estimates the number of hospital beds the U.S. will need at the peak of the outbreak. Up to 224,000 hospital beds (about 61,000 more than are available), would be needed by mid-April.

Assuming social distancing continues through May, around 82,000 people in the U.S. could die from COVID-19 by August.

The situation prompted President Donald Trump to sign an executive order authorizing the Pentagon to call-up units of the National Guard, reserves and individuals from the Individual Ready Reserve to help assist with the response to the pandemic in the U.S.

"This will allow us to mobilize medical disaster and emergency response personnel to help wage our battle against the virus by activating thousands of experienced service members, including retirees," Trump said on Friday.

Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) is a pool of former servicemembers who have recently left the service but still have time left on their military contracts. People entering the armed forces generally sign up for two to four years of active duty, but must be available to be called back for up to eight years. Servicemembers can finish up the balance of their time on the contracts by serving in the National Guard, the reserves, or IRR.

"Decisions about which individuals may be activated are still being reviewed," said Jonathan Rath Hoffman, the Pentagon's chief spokesman. "Generally, these members will be persons in headquarters units and persons with high demand medical capabilities whose call-up would not adversely affect their civilian communities."

WHO Says If You Aren't Sick or Caring For Someone Who is Sick, You Don't Need to Wear a Mask

Amid a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) like N95 masks for emergency workers battling the coronavirus crisis on the frontlines, health officials with the World Health Organization (WHO) reminded people that they do not need a mask if they do not feel ill, or they are not caring for someone who is sick.

"There is no specific evidence to suggest that the wearing of masks by the mass population has any potential benefit. In fact, there's some evidence to suggest the opposite in the misuse of wearing a mask properly or fitting it properly," Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO health emergencies program, said at a media briefing in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday.

Ryan pointed to the shortage of PPE for frontline health careworkers as one of the reasons why people really don't need a mask.

"Right now the people most at risk from this virus are frontline health workers who are exposed to the virus every second of every day," said Ryan. "The thought of them not having masks is horrific."

In fact, the Surgeon General warned Americans earlier this month that the improper use of N95 masks could even increase your risk of contracting COVID-19.

"Folks who don't know how to wear them properly tend to touch their faces a lot and actually can increase the spread of coronavirus," US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams told Fox and Friends on March 2.

"We're certainly seeing more spread in communities, but it's important for folks to know that right now their risk as American citizens remains low. There are things people can do to stay safe. There are things they shouldn't be doing and one of the things they shouldn't be doing in the general public is going out and buying masks," he said.

National News

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