Johns Hopkins University is tracking the spread of the Novel Coronavirus, COVID-19, in almost real time.

As of Monday, Mar. 23 at 6:30 a.m. HST, worldwide cases stand at more than 354,677, with more than 15,436 deaths.  More than 100,462 people have recovered.    In the United States, total cases stand at more than 35,530 with more than 473 deaths.

Johns Hopkins researcher Lauren Gardner in an interview with PBS Newshour said the data comes from multiple sources.  In some parts of the world the information is transmitted electronically by public health authorities.  In other parts of the world the researchers are collecting the data through media sources and then validating it before including those numbers.   Gardner said they started the interactive dashboard in mid January.

World Health Organization Executive Director Mike Ryan said lockdowns will not be enough to combat the disease and that testing is vital, testing anybody who might have the disease, to try to lock the virus down.  He said testing everybody is not necessary, but testing those who might have the disease and their contacts is important.

Dr. Debra Birx of the White House Coronavirus Task Force said over the weekend that the United States in ramping up testing will show an increase in cases.  New York State now has the most confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country.  The Chair of the Department of Surgery at the New York Presbyterian Hospital issued a letter saying the peak of the virus is not expected to peak until mid-April.     Lauren Gardner said New York State is testing a larger percentage of the population in the state, larger than any country or state.  Their increase in numbers reflects that, per Gardner.