Global coronavirus cases have surpassed 200,000 Wednesday morning and more than 8,200 have lost their lives since a novel virus appeared in the Hubei province of China late last year.
According to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University, more than 82,000 people have recovered from the virus.
As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, China tops the list with 81,102 cases, Italy has the second-highest number of cases with 31,506 and Iran comes next with 17,361.
All 50 states in the U.S. are now linked to the virus, with nearly 6,500 confirmed cases around the nation. West Virginia was the last state to report a coronavirus case Tuesday afternoon.
At least 100 people have died in the U.S., linked to the virus’s outbreak. Thirty of those individuals are linked to the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Wash., one of the first hotspots of community spread in the nation.
As test production ramps up around the nation, those numbers are expected to rise.
Researchers report harmful levels of toxic lead were found in the bones of 46% of bald eagles sampled in 38 states. Similar rates of lead exposure were found in golden eagles, according to their study Thursday in the journal Science.
As more and more states end mask mandates and ease other COVID restrictions, discussions about the endemic phase of the pandemic have been growing. For weeks, scientists have warned about how contagious the omicron variant is, but now it seems the tone has shifted and governors are rolling back policies they've had in place for months. Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, epidemiologist and senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss what the next phase of the pandemic might look like, how to act now that mask mandates are ending, and if we should be worried about another variant emerging.
Swedish electric motorcycle maker Cake says its mission is to inspire society to adopt a zero-emission lifestyle. The company admits this is a lofty goal that covers a lot of ground - so it's starting with the world of urban mobility and last-mile deliveries. The company also has an agreement in place with NorthVolt to continually improve the environmental impact of batteries for electric vehicles. Stefan Ytterborn, Founder & CEO of Cake, joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
One retailer and publicly-traded company says it is on a mission to inspire a new generation of consumers to think secondhand - first. thredUP is one of the world's largest resale platforms for women's and kids' apparel, shoes, and accessories. The company says it is changing the way consumers shop and ushering in a more sustainable future for the fashion industry. Anthony Marino, President of thredUP, joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
German vaccine maker BioNTech unveiled plans Wednesday to establish manufacturing facilities in Africa that would boost the availability of much-needed medicines on the continent.
As we celebrate Black History Month, Cheddar is highlighting prominent Black Americans who are carving their own historic paths and trailblazing in their industries. Today we feature Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett.
