Here are some significant developments:
April 17, 2020 at 6:00 AM EDT
Pandemic delivers crushing blow to China’s economyThe coronavirus pandemic is sending China’s economy, long the world’s growth engine, into a tailspin.
Gross domestic product fell at an annual rate of 6.8 percent in the first quarter, the first contraction since the country began releasing GDP figures in 1992, official data showed Friday. That’s a dramatic reversal for the world’s second-largest economy, which had been slowing in recent years but had still achieved growth rates of close to 6 percent or more.
China’s leaders locked down swaths of the country in late January to prevent the spread of infection, weeks after the coronavirus emerged in the central city of Wuhan late last year.
As the virus spread around the globe, the ruling Communist Party has pressed to get business gradually returning to normal without unleashing a second wave of domestic virus transmissions. That is proving to be a challenge, as many restrictions remain in place. More recently, Beijing has grown concerned as imported cases trickle in from abroad, notably among Chinese nationals returning from Russia.
Businesses that have resumed operations have often faced higher costs associated with hygiene measures and supply-chain disruptions. And with export markets in the United States and Europe facing Great Depression-style downturns and millions out of work, China’s policymakers face an uphill battle to right the ship.
Asian markets traded higher earlier Friday and were little moved after China’s GDP figures came out. Japan’s Nikkei, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 indexes were each about 2.5 percent higher, while U.S. stock futures were up more than 3 percent.
By David Crawshaw
April 17, 2020 at 1:59 AM EDT
China cracks down on shoddy mask manufacturing amid criticism of defective productsChinese authorities are cracking down on fraudulent activity involving face masks, arresting dozens of people for hoarding materials and driving up prices, and closing down a factory accused of making substandard masks.
China is a key producer of surgical masks and the advanced N95 masks used by medical workers, but countries that have bought Chinese masks and test kits, including the Netherlands and Spain, have rejected tens of thousands of them for being defective.
A total of 42 people were arrested across four provinces for criminal activities involving the fraudulent production and sale of melt-blown fabric, the synthetic polymer material used to filter out particles. Melt-blown fabric is in short supply globally because of skyrocketing demand for masks and the relative difficulty in producing the nonwoven fabric.
China’s Ministry of Public Security arrested the people in Guangdong and three other provinces for hoarding and trying to drive up prices, seizing material worth almost $5 million, the ministry said in a statement Friday.
“The public security organs will always maintain a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to crimes involving protective materials related to the epidemic,†an unnamed ministry official said.
Separately, Jiangsu provincial officials shut down factories producing melt-blown fabric in the city of Yangzhong after reports they were producing inferior-quality masks for export.
The city, northwest of Shanghai, had seen a sudden proliferation of melt-blown fabric producers as prices for the material skyrocketed. The wholesale price of melt-blown fabric has increased from $2,260 to as much as $97,500 per ton in less than six months, according to the Yicai financial news website.
The Commerce Ministry has also revoked the licenses of two exporters of personal protective equipment that it said were tarnishing the image of “Made in China.†One of the companies, Shenzhen-based AIPO, was producing earphones and microphones until it switched to producing face masks, disinfectant and protective suits in February. The other, Beijing-based Tus-Digital Group, had been a blockchain tech firm.
A total of 3,517 people have been arrested for epidemic-related criminal offenses since the outbreak, according to the Supreme People’s Procurate, the highest prosecutorial agency in China. These included people who had refused to wear masks or had obstructed officials.
By Anna Fifield
April 16, 2020 at 11:50 PM EDT
Michael Cohen’s attorney says Trump’s ex-lawyer allowed to leave prison due to pandemicA lawyer for Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal attorney, claimed Thursday that he had been informed by Cohen’s family that Cohen would be released to home confinement as part of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ push to stem the spread of coronavirus.
Roger Adler, a lawyer for Cohen, said that he had filed paperwork with prison officials seeking “compassionate release†for Cohen during the global health pandemic because Cohen had “an underlying medical condition that he has been hospitalized for.†He said it was his “understanding from speaking with a family member†that the request had been granted, and that Cohen would soon be moved to home confinement.
The Washington Post could not immediately verify the assertion with government officials. The lawyer’s claim was first reported by CNN.
A Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman said in a statement, “I am unable to address any specific offenders suitability for home confinement.†Neither the Justice Department nor the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, which prosecuted Cohen, could not be reached for comment late Thursday.
By Matt Zapotosky
April 16, 2020 at 11:17 PM EDT
College students are rebelling against full tuition after classes move onlineHis professors adapted swiftly to the campus closure. His classes are continuing online. He expects to graduate on time this spring from Johns Hopkins University, albeit without the pomp of commencement.
Yet Pavan Patel wonders why he and others at the private research university in Baltimore are not getting at least a partial tuition refund. Their education, as this school year ends in the shadow of a deadly pandemic, is nothing like the immersive academic and social experience students imagined when they enrolled.
But tuition remains the same: $27,675 per semester.
Patel, the school’s senior class president, and other student government leaders sent a letter to the university recently asking for a 25 percent refund, or nearly $7,000 per student. They are part of a growing rebellion against colleges and universities that refuse to cut tuition at a moment of financial peril.
By Nick Anderson
April 16, 2020 at 10:39 PM EDT
Amid unprecedented economic downturn, China braces for long-term challengesChina said on Friday that its economic output fell at an annualized 6.8 percent in the first quarter, the first contraction since the country began releasing the figures in 1992. The figures offer a glimpse into wider challenges. Massive stimulus from China helped stave off a deeper global downturn in 2008, but this time a return to business requires more than cash. The adversary is a microscopic one that thrives on many of the most cherished forms of Âeconomic consumption: movie theaters, live concerts and, yes, even tongue-obliteratingly-hot hot pots.
“This is a long-term change,†said Chiara Capitanio, a Beijing-based advertising executive. “Brands will need to rethink their business models.â€
By Eva Dou
April 16, 2020 at 10:23 PM EDT
Doctor who sounded the alarm about covid-19 is now a children’s book heroAuthor Francesca Cavallo told CNN that she penned the book, titled “Doctor Li and the Crown-Wearing Virus,†as a way to help parents discuss the virus with their children. Though the illustrated tome has a specific target audience, its true-life inspiration did not experience a happy ending.
In late December, Li, a 34-year-old ophthalmologist at Wuhan Central Hospital, sent what he believed to be a private message to several peers. Li wanted to caution them about a new virus that was similar to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) sweeping through Wuhan. In January, police detained Li for allegedly spreading “false comments.â€
Upon his release, Li returned to work, where he contracted the virus. He shared his story on a popular Chinese social media site, but on Feb. 7, he died of complications caused by covid-19.
Since his death, Li has been mourned as a hero who tried to warn the world about the pending pandemic. Even China’s Communist Party gave Li the highest state honor as a “martyr,†despite previously censuring him and attempting to downplay the effects of the virus.
In the book, Cavallo equates Li’s story with the significance of heeding to science.
“In different ways, this is the same thing that happened to many other scientists and doctors in other countries,†Cavallo said, according to CNN. “Leaders refused to listen to the scientists and the doctors, and that caused huge delays and made the crisis so much worse.â€
By Candace Buckner
April 16, 2020 at 9:50 PM EDT
Biden criticizes the White House for not taking the lead on testingJoe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, dismissed the White House’s new guidelines for how to reopen the country and accused President Trump of passing off the tough decisions to the states.
“Well, I wouldn’t call it a plan. I think what he’s done he’s kind of punted, he’s decided he doesn’t have the right to make the call for the country,†Biden said during an interview on CNN on Thursday night.
After claiming total authority to lift safety restrictions earlier in the week, Trump now says it’s up to governors to figure out plans for their states.
The former vice president said the medical experts he’s receiving counsel from have told him that testing capacity is key and that the country is “way behind†where it needs to be. He suggested that the federal government set up a “Pandemic Production Board†to coordinate testing.
“I mean, it seems to me there ought to be something that focuses on how we get as many tests as possible to allow some elements of the economy, some elements of society, to be able to get back to some sort of normal,†Biden said.
By Colby Itkowitz
April 16, 2020 at 9:36 PM EDT
Burials on Hart Island, where New York’s unclaimed lie in mass graves, have risen fivefoldNEW YORK â€" Desolate Hart Island, a mile-long stretch of dirt off the Bronx, has taken New York City’s unclaimed dead for 151 years: Civil War soldiers, stillborn babies, the homeless and AIDS patients, who were confined to the island’s southernmost tip for fear that their little-understood virus might spread from their corpses.
During the coronavirus pandemic, the mass-grave burials of indigent New Yorkers whose families could not be found or who could not afford a private funeral have quintupled, officials said, growing from an average of 25 per week to 120. They’re happening five days a week now instead of one. And Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office confirmed “it is likely†that people who have died of covid-19, the savage respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, are among those being interred.
By Jada Yuan
April 16, 2020 at 9:22 PM EDT
Meat processing plants are closing, and beef shortages may followThe coronavirus has sickened workers and forced slowdowns and closures of some of the country’s biggest meat processing plants, reducing production by as much as 25 percent, industry officials say, and sparking fears of a further round of hoarding.
Some of the slowdown is because of facility closures. Two of the seven largest U.S. facilities â€" those with the capacity to process 5,000 beef cattle daily â€" are closed because of the pandemic. Absenteeism, fewer employees and spreading out those remaining employees to maintain social distance are also contributing to the slow down.
By Laura Reiley
April 16, 2020 at 8:53 PM EDT
Santa Monica hospital suspends nurses for refusing to work without proper protectionA Santa Monica hospital has suspended 10 nurses who refused to work in a coronavirus ward with what they considered “inadequate†protection, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.
Three of the nurses have been suspended from St. John’s Medical Center since last Friday, the Times reported. That’s the same day they learned a co-worker working in the coronavirus ward had tested positive for the virus, the story says. A representative from St. John’s was not immediately available for comment late Thursday.
“We told them we’re willing to reuse the same mask all day long and cover it up with a surgical mask, just issue us one mask a shift,†Jack Cline, one of the suspended nurses, told the Times. “That’s all what we’re asking for.â€
The Times said the hospital declined to discuss the specific situation but did send this statement: “We are so grateful for the heroic work our nurses perform each day and will not let the actions of a few diminish the appreciation we have for all our nurses and their commitment to our community. … Saint John’s cherishes its nurses and is taking precautions sanctioned by leading world, national, state and local health agencies to ensure their safety.â€
“I’ve been a nurse for 25 years; I don’t need the CDC to tell me when I need an N95,†Cline told the Times. “When I have a patient coughing directly in my face … I’m not going into that room unless they provide me with one.â€
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention had originally suggested all medical providers wear N95 masks while treating or testing patients for the coronavirus. The CDC has since softened those guidelines, a possible measure to maximize a limited supply of masks.
By Jesse Dougherty
April 16, 2020 at 8:31 PM EDT
Dr. Oz apologizes for Fox News coronavirus commentsWhen Fox News host Sean Hannity wondered what would it take to reopen the country, he turned to his trusted source on all things medicine and science: Mehmet Oz, the surgeon and TV personality better known as Dr. Oz.
“First, we need our mojo back,†Oz said Tuesday night, in a soundbite that has since gone viral. He suggested that some things could be opened “without getting into a lot of trouble,†such as schools. “I tell ya, schools are a very appetizing opportunity,†he said, adding that resuming classes, according to his reading of a new medical journal analysis, “may only cost us 2 to 3 percent in terms of total mortality.â€
That death rate, he concluded, “might be a trade-off some folks would consider.â€
His suggestion sparked an enormous response on social media â€" prompting his somewhat apologetic statement late Thursday: “I misspoke,†he said in a video released on Twitter , acknowledging that his words had “confused and upset people.†The goal, he said, was to discuss “how do we get our children safely back to school†as he is “being asked constantly how will we be able to get people back to their normal lives.â€
By Paul Farhi and Elahe Izadi
April 16, 2020 at 8:09 PM EDT
Clinical trial for coronavirus drug treatment shows small but encouraging resultsMost of the Chicago-area patients assessed in a small clinical trial of an antiviral medicine to combat the novel coronavirus have been released from the hospital, according to a report from STAT News.
In experiments conducted by Gilead Sciences over several weeks at the University of Chicago, 125 patients with cases of covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, were administered the drug remdesivir. Among the group, 113 were deemed to have a “severe†case of the disease.
However, Kathleen Mullane, the University of Chicago infectious diseases professor, informed faculty members this week that “most of our patients have already been discharged,†according to the website.
Two patients within the clinical study died from complications of the disease.
The group received daily treatments as part of two Phase 3 trials. Some showed marked improvement and came off ventilators a day after receiving therapy, Mullane told faculty members. The experiment, however, did not include a placebo group.
“It’s always hard,†Mullane said, according to STAT, about not having a control group to compare and contrast results, “but certainly when we start [the] drug, we see fever curves falling.â€
The experiment â€" small in scope, yet encouraging â€" mirrors separate trials conducted by Gilead on 53 patients worldwide, including 22 in the United States. The “compassionate-use†administration of remdesivir resulted in 57 percent of the patients being removed from ventilators and 47 percent of the patients being discharged from the hospital. Seven of the 53 patients (13 percent) died from the disease.
By Candace Buckner
April 16, 2020 at 7:42 PM EDT
White House guidelines on reopening are less detailed than CDC and FEMA guidanceWhite House guidelines on how states can reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic are far less detailed than guidance drafted recently by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The blueprint from those agencies was sent to the White House coronavirus task force.
In recent days, White House officials had asked the CDC for detailed guidance on reopening in four settings: schools and day camps; child-care facilities; workplaces with vulnerable employees; and faith communities, according to a federal official involved in the response who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.
The CDC provided “long bulleted lists with a page-and-a-half of specific guidance for each setting,†said the official, who has seen the CDC guidance.
For example, the CDC guidance for houses of worship included recommendations for plans to protect staff and congregants from infection, to make worship services available for remote viewing and to remove hymnals and bibles and other items that can be shared. The CDC guidance also called for modifying religious rituals and services and the collection of financial contributions.
By comparison, the White House-issued guidelines state that places of worship can operate under “strict physical distancing protocols†in phase 1, under “moderate physical distancing protocols†in phase 2 and under “limited physical distancing protocols†in phase 3. The White House provides no additional specifics.
The initial reaction from state health groups was generally positive.
“We are glad that the proposal leaves the ultimate decision to reopen to the states that are currently developing similar reopening plans,†said Michael Fraser, executive director of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
But much more detail is going to be needed to safely guide reopening efforts in specific industries and in different communities, Fraser said. “The key to reopening is going to be a public willing to follow these guidelines for many more months, and a robust effort to test for covid-19 and a contact tracing workforce to contain new outbreaks,†he said. “Unfortunately, no state has the covid-19 testing and contact tracing capacity needed to safely reopen in two weeks,†he said, adding that states are working hard to expand that capacity as quickly as possible.
By Lena H. Sun
April 16, 2020 at 7:39 PM EDT
Guatemala says it won’t accept deportees from the U.S. ‘until further notice’MEXICO CITY â€" Guatemalan officials on Thursday said that on a single flight of deportees this week, 44 of 76 passengers tested positive for the coronavirus.
Guatemala will no longer accept deportees from the United States, one official said, “until further notice.â€
This week’s flight marks the second time in the past month that a flight of deportees was full of passengers infected with the virus. On a March deportation flight, roughly 75 percent of the passengers tested positive, Guatemalan Health Minister Hugo Monroy said.
The United States has insisted on continuing deportations throughout the pandemic, attempting to reassure Guatemalan officials by implementing new health protocols before deportees boarded planes.
But the coronavirus has spread in a number of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities over the past month, raising questions about the danger of deporting people who might have been exposed to the virus.
“Unless deportees have access to testing prior to boarding the plane, there is no guarantee that they are not at risk of spreading the virus to others on the plane or to their families once they arrive home,†said Rachel Schmidtke, Refugees International’s advocate for Latin America.
With deportations to Guatemala paused, it is likely that those who would have been sent back to their home country will remain longer in ICE facilities.
By Kevin Sieff
April 16, 2020 at 7:22 PM EDT
FBI alleges ex-medical company VP slowed shipments of masks, gloves and gowns with computer intrusionFederal authorities allege that a recently fired executive at a Georgia medical device packaging company stalled much-needed shipments of personal protective equipment to health-care providers after he sneaked into his former employer’s computer system and edited records.
Christopher Dobbins, who an online résumé lists as the former vice president of finance at Stradis Healthcare, was charged in federal court in Atlanta this week with making a computer intrusion that authorities allege had significant ramifications in the fight against the coronavirus.
After Dobbins edited 115,000 records and deleted more than 2,300, the company’s shipments of personal protective equipment â€" such as gloves, masks and gowns â€" had to be delayed for between 24 and 72 hours, according to an FBI affidavit.
By Matt Zapotosky
April 16, 2020 at 6:56 PM EDT
Greenville, Miss., backs down from ban on drive-in church services after Justice Dept. intervention, clarity from governorThe city of Greenville, Miss., will no longer seek to block drive-in religious services in an effort to stem the spread of coronavirus, after a church there filed a lawsuit over the restriction and won the apparent support of the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Greenville mayor’s office said in a news release that it now had “clear, definitive guidance†from the Mississippi governor, and that “all drive in and parking lot church services†would be allowed “so long as families stay in their cars with windows up and all state and federal social distancing guidelines and standards are adhered to and complied with.â€
The city had been facing a lawsuit from Temple Baptist Church, which alleged that police officers earlier this month issued $500 tickets to its parishioners who came for a drive-in service. The church alleged that the aggressive restriction was unconstitutional, noting that drive-up food service was still permitted in the city. This week, the Justice Department intervened in the case, appearing to back the church in a carefully worded, 14-page statement of interest.
“The facts alleged in the complaint strongly suggest that the city’s actions target religious conduct,†the Justice Department wrote. “If proven, these facts establish a free exercise violation unless the city demonstrates that its actions are neutral and apply generally to nonreligious and religious institutions or satisfies the demanding strict scrutiny standard.â€
The Justice Department has been carefully monitoring the restrictions posed on churches since the covid-19 crisis began â€" mindful that, even in the midst of a global pandemic, government officials must proceed with caution as they use emergency powers to strip people of their constitutional rights.
By Matt Zapotosky
April 16, 2020 at 6:33 PM EDT
Navy identifies first active-duty U.S. service member to die from the coronavirusThe first active-duty U.S. service member to die from covid-19 was a 41-year-old sailor who was infected with the coronavirus while serving on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, Navy officials said.
Chief Petty Officer Charles Robert Thacker died Monday. The service released his identity on Thursday. His case was part of an outbreak on his ship that, as of Thursday, has resulted in 655 positive coronavirus cases among 4,574 tested â€" more than 14 percent. More than 4,000 sailors of the ship’s crew of more than 4,800 have come ashore for testing and quarantining, while others clean the ship and maintain its weapons systems.
Thacker tested positive for the virus that causes the covid-19 disease on March 30, and was put in isolation on base. On April 9, he was found unresponsive during a routine medical check and placed in an intensive care unit.
Thacker’s spouse is an active-duty service member based in San Diego and was flown to Guam. The spouse was with him when he died.
The death adds a somber note to what has become an embarrassment for the Navy. The ship’s commanding officer, Capt. Brett Crozier, was relieved of command by acting Navy secretary Thomas Modly after requesting more help dealing with the outbreak. Modly went on to resign last week after an audio recording of him insulting the captain and lecturing the crew leaked online.
By Dan Lamothe
April 16, 2020 at 6:19 PM EDT
Cuomo releases blueprint for what it will take to reopen New YorkNew York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) released basic parameters that will go into resuming some normal activities in New York, which includes reopening businesses in phases of priority.
Cuomo extended what he calls the “NY Pause†until May 15 and is requiring masks in public when it’s not possible to be at least six feet from others.
“Businesses considered ‘more essential’ with inherent low risks of infection in the workplace and to customers will be prioritized, followed by other businesses considered ‘less essential’ or those that present a higher risk of infection spread. As the infection rate declines, the pace of reopening businesses will be increased,†the blueprint says.
Once businesses begin to reopen, offices will need to reconfigure its layout to provide six feet of distance between desks and in conference rooms. Employers will also be expected to make telework an option when possible. Workers who engage with the public will have to wear masks and gloves.
Cuomo spoke to conservative Fox News host Sean Hannity on his radio show shortly before this blueprint was made public and endorsed other ideas Hannity suggested for how to reopen New York.
Cuomo and Hannity spoke about having thermal temperature checks before entering any building and requiring masks and gloves indoors. They painted a picture of sporting events with fans in masks and gloves, slipping it off to take a bite of a hot dog or sip beer through a straw.
Cuomo likened the “new normal†to come to taking shoes off at airport security after 9/11, something he said would have been unthinkable but was widely accepted.
“9/11 changed our orientation,†he said, “and this is going to change our orientation.â€
By Colby Itkowitz
April 16, 2020 at 6:03 PM EDT
Louisiana’s governor looks ahead to reopening the state’s economy safelyLouisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) announced the formation of a task force called Resilient Louisiana that would make recommendations on how to reopen his state’s economy while protecting public health.
The governor was joined at his daily news briefing Thursday by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), who said he has been asked to join Trump’s task force on restarting the national economy.
“We’ve been through disasters before, and in Louisiana, unfortunately, we have more experience than others,†Scalise said. “We know we’re going to have to take extra precautions, but we can start getting back to work.â€
Edwards said the first part of the state’s economy to reopen, probably before May 1, would be clinics and hospitals, with respect to non-emergency procedures and surgeries. But he cautioned it would not look the same.
“You might have to sit in the car until you’re called and told to come in, so we don’t have people congregating in waiting rooms,†he said.
Edwards noted continued progress in curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“We are in a much better place than we literally thought was possible,†he said.
Louisiana has 22,532 reported cases and 1,156 deaths. New Orleans has 5,847 cases and 302 deaths.
Separately, in New Orleans, producers of the massive Jazz & Heritage Festival, originally scheduled for this month, announced that it would not be held in the fall, either, which had been the backup plan. This followed Wednesday’s announcement from the organizers of Essence Festival that this year’s event, scheduled for July, had been canceled. Mayor LaToya Cantrell said Tuesday that she did not anticipate any large festivals occurring in the city this year.
By Richard A. Webster
April 16, 2020 at 5:52 PM EDT
Mitt Romney, who voted to convict Trump in impeachment trial, is the only Republican senator not invited on phone callOn Thursday, President Trump spoke to a large bipartisan group of members of the House and Senate, dubbed by the White House as the “Opening Up America Again Congressional Group.†One Republican senator was noticeably missing: Mitt Romney.
Romney, of Utah, was the lone Republican senator absent from the group that spoke to the president and members of his administration about states moving forward in reopening regional economies, under the direction of governors. Romney’s omission comes months after he was the only one of 53 Republican senators to vote to convict Trump during his impeachment trial.
At the time when Romney broke party lines, he said he expected to endure “unimaginable consequences.†In the fallout, the president called Romney a “disgrace†while Trump sympathizers expressed disappointment.
Romney’s office declined to comment on Thursday’s exclusion.
By Candace Buckner
April 16, 2020 at 5:15 PM EDT
California gives two weeks of supplemental paid sick leave for essential food workersCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Thursday to offer two weeks of paid leave for essential food industry workers, an effort to ease anxiety about the coronavirus pandemic and keep sick people at home.
The paid leave will be supplemental, Newsom (D) said, and not negate any existing benefits. During his daily news conference Thursday, Newsom mentioned a food distribution center in California’s San Joaquin Valley. The center has had 51 employees test positive for the coronavirus and one virus-related death.
Newsom hopes this latest executive order will encourage people in the food industry to stay home if they have been potentially exposed to the virus or are feeling any measure of symptoms. Newsom said the supplemental paid sick leave will extend to fast-food workers and food delivery drivers.
The governor noted that “the grocery lines are also the front lines of this pandemic.â€
“We just want folks to know they don’t have to work when they’re sick, if they’ve been exposed, quarantined, been told to isolate or have a positive test of covid-19,†Newsom said. “And I think all of us would agree that people delivering the food, people picking the food, people that are cooking the food and serving the food, all of us would prefer they are safe and healthy, as well.â€
“So it’s in all of our interests that we prioritize these critical and essential workers.â€
By Jesse Dougherty
April 16, 2020 at 4:50 PM EDT
House should conduct proxy voting during pandemic, key Democrat recommendsA senior House Democrat recommended Thursday that the House adopt a system of remote voting by proxy during the coronavirus pandemic, allowing lawmakers to cast floor votes on their colleagues’ behalf for the first time.
The proposal from House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) represents a break with 230 years of tradition but responds to widespread calls among lawmakers for a safer option as public health officials continue to recommend Americans shelter at home â€" and after several in their ranks contracted covid-19.
Under the proposal, which McGovern detailed in a Thursday afternoon conference call with fellow House Democrats, a member could authorize any colleague to cast their vote on the floor after giving them specific direction on how to vote.
By Mike DeBonis
April 16, 2020 at 4:22 PM EDT
Trump releases new guidelines for reopening states amid coronavirus pandemic, leaving decisions to governorsThe White House released new guidance late Thursday afternoon for states to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The guidance, which will be formally announced during a 6 p.m. news conference, doesn’t lay out a specific timeline for relaxing social distancing restrictions. It lists a set of criteria â€" such as testing and hospital capacity â€" for local leaders to use in making their decisions.
On a call with governors earlier Thursday, President Trump said, “You’re going to call your own shots,†but he emphasized that the federal government will support the states, according to a person on the call who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the conversation.
By Felicia Sonmez and Josh Dawsey
April 16, 2020 at 4:14 PM EDT
Ohio governor wants state to reopen in less than a monthWhile stating repeatedly that he’s an “optimist,†Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) announced Thursday his intention to reopen the state’s economy by May 1.
DeWine, who started his daily briefing by taking off his face mask, is one of seven Midwest governors working together to begin mitigating economic concerns amid the novel coronavirus by getting people back to work. Though the country will live with the virus until a vaccine is discovered, DeWine professed, he said now is the time for Ohio to “enter a new phase†during the pandemic.
“We must get Ohio’s economy moving again. We must get people back to work,†DeWine said. “We’re looking to begin this process on May 1. We’ve got a lot more work to do between now and May 1 because we want to get this right.â€
Warning that a misstep in this reopening would lead to “horrendous†consequences, DeWine said the state would initially implement the plan with companies that demonstrate the ability to safely reopen under guidelines: employees wearing masks, deeper sanitization protocols and more distancing.
According to DeWine, Ohio has potentially started to flatten the curve. The state has a total of 8,414 positives cases in 87 of its 88 counties. Nearly 400 people have died of complications of the virus, including 28 since the last daily reporting. However, DeWine said hospital admissions have remained “relatively flat†over the past week. With the state appearing to approach its curve, DeWine wants Ohio to return to some sense of normalcy.
“For all the reasons that we know Ohioans are champing at the bit … to get back to work,†DeWine said. This week, crowds of protesters surrounded the Ohio Statehouse in opposition of pandemic-related shutdowns.
“I am an optimist. I think we can do this," he added.
By Candace Buckner
April 16, 2020 at 4:03 PM EDT
Bolsonaro fires health minister as dispute complicates Brazil’s response to pandemicA growing dispute between Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his own top health officials over the need for social distancing is threatening to derail the country’s already uneven response to the coronavirus.
Bolsonaro fired Luiz Henrique Mandetta as minister of health, Mandetta said on Twitter Thursday afternoon. The two officials had sparred publicly over the country’s response to its coronavirus outbreak.
Brazil has reported more than 29,000 cases and 1,760 deaths from covid-19, the largest outbreak in Latin America. But much of the country’s focus in recent days had been on widespread speculation that Bolsonaro was about to fire Mandetta, after Mandetta criticized the president on a popular news show for refusing to abide by the ministry’s social distancing guidelines.
Leading members of Brazil’s coronavirus task force are expected to step down following Mandetta’s removal. Their resignations would cripple the task force as packed hospitals and clinics teeter on the brink of collapse.
By Marina Lopes
April 16, 2020 at 4:00 PM EDT
Japan’s Abe acts to give all citizens a cash handout to mitigate coronavirus economic effectsJapanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe acted Thursday to give all Japanese citizens a cash handout to mitigate the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
As part of a move to expand a nationwide state of emergency likely to take a toll on the world’s third-largest economy, the government will give each citizen around $930 in cash, if parliament passes the draft budget, Abe said.
Japan appeared to have the virus under control early in the pandemic’s global spread, but a recent surge in infections and an overwhelmed health-care system has pushed the government to take more stringent measures. State governments now would have the power to call for business and school closures. To soften the blow such changes could bring about, Abe unveiled an emergency economic relief package last week â€" though it contained one widely unpopular item: an earmarked $22 million to boost the government’s global image.
Abe’s decision for a blanket payment to all citizens is the latest in a trend of governments ramping up welfare policies as the global economy tanks. Spain’s government has proposed a basic income for lower class workers hit hard by the virus, and other countries, including the United States, have passed legislation granting stimulus checks for hard-hit communities.
By Ruby Mellen
April 16, 2020 at 3:33 PM EDT
Trump’s approval rating falls as Congress’s growsTrump’s job performance fell from his personal best of 49 percent in early March to 43 percent this month, while approval of Congress grew to its highest in a decade, according to a new Gallup poll released Thursday.
Since January, the president’s approval rating in Gallup’s surveys has bounced between 44 percent and 49 percent.
Other recent live-interviewer national polls have found roughly similar results for Trump’s approval rating, ranging between 44 percent among U.S. adults (both CNN and Monmouth University), 45 percent among registered voters (Quinnipiac University) and 49 percent in a Fox News poll.
But as the public soured a bit on Trump’s job performance, more Americans gave Congress high marks.
Congress saw an eight-point increase in its approval from 22 percent in early March to 30 percent in this April poll after passing the coronavirus relief package. Congress has not enjoyed approval from almost one in three Americans since 2009 when it reached 39 percent at the beginning of President Barack Obama’s presidency and worked on an economic stimulus bill to respond to the Great Recession.
By Colby Itkowitz and Scott Clement
April 16, 2020 at 3:20 PM EDT
Trump tweets inflammatory accusation that Pelosi is 'responsible for many deaths’Trump attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) with an incendiary accusation that she is responsible for deaths in her San Francisco district.
The president shared a video of Pelosi in Chinatown in late February reassuring people about visiting the historic San Francisco neighborhood.
“We think it’s very safe to be in Chinatown and hope that others will come,†Pelosi says in the video. A few weeks after that, the coronavirus started to spread across the United States, and Americans were instructed to physically distance themselves from others.
Trump claimed that Pelosi had posted the video of her Chinatown visit on Twitter but then removed it.
“Crazy Nancy Pelosi deleted this from her Twitter account. She wanted everyone to pack into Chinatown long after I closed the BORDER TO CHINA. Based on her statement, she is responsible for many deaths. She’s an incompetent, third-rate politician!†Trump said on Twitter.
Pelosi’s spokesman Drew Hammill quickly reacted, disputing that Pelosi had ever shared the video.
“Fact check: We never posted this video. It’s obviously local TV coverage of the Speaker visiting Chinatown in San Francisco three weeks prior to the shelter-in-place order,†Hammill said on Twitter.
By Colby Itkowitz
April 16, 2020 at 3:16 PM EDT
South Dakota sees record unemployment numbers as infections riseSouth Dakota has had a historic increase in unemployment as coronavirus cases crested 1,300, with a peak expected in mid-July, Gov. Kristi L. Noem (R) said Thursday.
The Mount Rushmore State had an average of about 150 unemployment claims per week before the pandemic, but more than 8,000 were filed last week, she said. “We’re expecting a big surge,†Noem told reporters.
South Dakota has one of the nation’s single largest clusters of coronavirus: more than 300 workers at a Smithfield Foods production are ill, causing the facility to close. Noem said that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials toured the closed plant Thursday morning and will issue a report on their findings.
Noem has faced criticism for not imposing a statewide stay-at-home order.
Addressing the hot spot, she said that South Dakota is more aggressively testing its population than other states.
“The fact that we’re finding those positive cases is not a bad thing. It’s a good thing,†she said.
Currently, 36 people are hospitalized because of the virus in the state. Noem said she and experts are preparing for 5,000 hospitalizations. She encouraged South Dakotans to continue to practice physical distancing and to keep group sizes under 10.
By Lateshia Beachum
April 16, 2020 at 3:14 PM EDT
Midwest governors announce partnership for reopening region’s economyThe governors of seven Midwestern states announced Thursday they plan to closely coordinate the eventual reopening of the region’s economy â€" a bipartisan effort that comes on the heels of similar partnerships on the nation’s East and West coasts.
In a news release, the governors of Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky said that phasing in parts of their economies “will be most effective when we work together as a region.â€
They said they would prioritize the health of workers in a “fact-based, data-driven approach†aimed at restarting the economy while protecting families from the spread of the coronavirus.
“We are doing everything we can to protect the people of our states and slow the spread of covid-19, and we are eager to work together to mitigate the economic crisis this virus has caused in our region,†the governors said in a joint statement.
The statement outlined four factors the governors said they would rely on in determining when to reopen the economy: control of the rate of new infections and hospitalizations, increased ability to test and trace, health-care capacity to handle a resurgence and best practices for workplace social distancing.
“We recognize that our economies are all reliant on each other, and we must work together to safely reopen them so hard-working people can get back to work and businesses can get back on their feet,†the governors said. Two of the governors in the partnership, Mike DeWine of Ohio and Eric Holcomb of Indiana, are Republicans; the rest are Democrats.
By Brittany Shammas
April 16, 2020 at 3:02 PM EDT
France says outbreak has plateaued; Britain extends lockdownFrance on Thursday announced 557 new deaths from the coronavirus in the past day, raising the country’s death toll to 17,920, as its top health official said the outbreak has not peaked but instead has reached a “plateau with a small decline.â€
Jerome Salomon, director general for health, also said an additional 2,661 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in France, bringing the total in the country to 108,847.
Other nations in Western Europe announced similar trends. In Italy, the Civil Protection Agency announced 525 deaths, increasing the death toll in the country to 22,170, the second highest in the world after that of the United States.
Italy also announced 3,786 new cases of the novel coronavirus Thursday, pushing the number of cases in the hard-hit country to 168,941.
Although both daily increases were substantial, the pace of Italy’s outbreak has slowed since its peak in late March. Thursday’s daily death toll was the same as Monday’s, which was the lowest since March 19. Italy implemented a strict nationwide lockdown on March 9.
That lockdown is expected to lift May 4, although the country will then enter a “stage 2†level of epidemic control.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced Thursday that his country’s lockdown would be extended for three more weeks and possibly longer. He explained that the lockdown would not be lifted until Britain had seen a “sustained and consistent fall in deaths.â€
The British government said Thursday that the death toll reached 13,729, as an additional 861 fatalities were recorded.
Separately on Thursday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he had lobbied the British government to change the advice on face masks, telling BBC London that he wanted Londoners to wear masks or other face coverings when they leave their houses.
By Adam Taylor
April 16, 2020 at 2:33 PM EDT
How the Theodore Roosevelt outbreak became a defining moment for the U.S. militaryAs a coronavirus outbreak swept through a U.S. aircraft carrier crippled off the coast of Guam, the ship’s commander tapped out an email urging senior Navy leaders to evacuate most of the 4,800 sailors onboard.
Capt. Brett Crozier opened his March 30 message to three admirals by saying he would “gladly†follow them “into battle whenever needed.†But he shifted to his concern that the Navy was not doing enough to stop the spread of the virus and acknowledged being a part of the sluggish response.
The email, copied to a handful of Navy captains, is at the heart of a crisis that erupted into public view after a four-page memo attached to it was published in the news media.
The note set off a chain reaction that included acting Navy secretary Thomas Modly’s decision to relieve Crozier from command and Modly’s subsequent resignation amid an outcry after audio emerged of him insulting the captain in an address to Theodore Roosevelt sailors.
But while the attachment circulated widely, Crozier’s email did not.
By Dan Lamothe, Shawn Boburg and Paul Sonne
April 16, 2020 at 2:12 PM EDT
WHO Europe says access to alcohol should be limited during lockdownsThe World Health Organization’s European office recommends limited access to alcohol during lockdowns to decrease risky behaviors and partner violence.
In a Tuesday report, the regional office said that alcoholic consumption can “exacerbate health vulnerability, risk-taking behaviors, mental health issues and violence.â€
The agency also reiterated that the novel coronavirus can’t be killed with high consumption of alcohol â€" a myth that has become widespread. Drinking alcohol compromises the immune system and increases the risk of negative health outcomes, emphasizing why it should be avoided during the covid-19 pandemic, according to the WHO Europe.
A third of all alcohol-related deaths happen in the WHO European region, which is also the area with the highest alcohol intake and the highest prevalence of drinkers in the population, according to the organization.
Carina Ferreira-Borges, Alcohol and Illicit Drugs Program manager for the WHO Europe, said in the report that society should reevaluate risks associated with alcohol that can affect health and the safety of others.
By Lateshia Beachum
April 16, 2020 at 2:04 PM EDT
Trudeau says U.S.-Canada border restrictions won’t be eased soonTORONTO â€" Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that there is still a “significant amount of time†left before restrictions on nonessential travel at the U.S.-Canada border are relaxed.
His comments come one day after President Trump said the U.S.-Canada border will be “one of the early borders†to open and commended both countries on their handling of the pandemic.
The United States and Canada agreed last month to temporarily close their 5,500-mile land border to recreational travel and tourism. The measures, which went into effect March 21, expire next week.
Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s deputy prime minister, said Canadian officials have had “productive†conversations with their American counterparts about the border this week.
“Canada believes that the right thing to do would be to extend those border restrictions,†she said. A spokesperson for Freeland would not say how much longer Canada wants the limitations to remain in place or whether it is looking for any restrictions on travel to be eased or added.
Border traffic has been significantly curtailed since the curbs were implemented â€" so much so that the Canada Border Services Agency said this week it would be temporarily reducing service hours at 27 land border crossings.
Any efforts to ease restrictions would irritate many in Canada. Some mayors, particularly those whose cities share a border with American states hard-hit by the pandemic, have already expressed worry that the current measures are not stringent enough and have been critical of the U.S. response to the pandemic.
“When you see in parts of the United States that they’re allowing large church services or they’re not respecting physical distancing, that concerns us,†Mike Bradley, mayor of Sarnia, Ontario, told The Washington Post.
More than 1,000 people have died in Canada from the coronavirus â€" far fewer than in the United States.
By Amanda Coletta
April 16, 2020 at 1:57 PM EDT
Student calls for Obama to deliver national virtual commencementAs the pandemic cancels graduation ceremonies across the country, one high school senior is proposing a national commencement speech for the class of 2020 â€" delivered virtually by former president Barack Obama.
Lincoln Debenham, a 17-year-old senior at Eagle Rock High School in Los Angeles, pitched the idea in a Tuesday tweet directed at Obama, CNN reported.
“Like most high school/college seniors, I’m saddened by the loss of milestone events, prom & graduation,†he wrote. “In an unprecedented time, it would give us great comfort to hear your voice. We ask you to consider giving a national commencement speech to the class of 2020.â€
As of Thursday, the tweet had racked up 186,000 likes and 37,000 shares. #ObamaCommencement2020 trended on Twitter Wednesday.
Katie Hill, a spokeswoman for Obama, said they were aware of the tweets and “very flattered†but declined to comment further, CNN reported. She did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The Washington Post.
Debenham told CNN that the 44th president was an icon to his generation. He recalled voting for him a mock election and watching Obama being sworn in as the nation’s first black president. “I remember watching that in the classroom and feeling kind of amazed at such a young age and feel like I was a part of history,†he said.
In response to a Twitter user who noted President Trump “would hate it,†Debenham wrote, “it’s not about that.â€
“It’s about someone who speaks for my generation,†he added. “Like Barack Obama was the first President I can remember. The classroom mock elections, watching his inauguration in school. That’s what this is about. Hearing that voice of hope again.â€
By Brittany Shammas
April 16, 2020 at 1:48 PM EDT
Pelosi criticizes Trump for attacking WHO: ‘A weak person blames others’House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) criticized President Trump over his recent targeting of the World Health Organization, arguing Thursday that the president’s actions show him to be “a poor leader.â€
“The truth is, a weak person â€" a poor leader â€" takes no responsibility,†Pelosi told reporters on her weekly conference call. “A weak person blames others. So you see the president blaming the WHO, blaming this, blaming that and the rest of it.â€
Her remarks came after Trump on Tuesday announced that he will suspend payments to the WHO, accusing the organization of being complicit in Beijing’s coverup of the severity of the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump held a videoconference with Group of Seven leaders on Thursday morning. According to the White House, “much of the conversation centered on the lack of transparency and chronic mismanagement of the pandemic by the WHO.â€
Pelosi also weighed in on the issue of remote voting for members of Congress â€" an increasingly pressing issue given that it is unclear when lawmakers may be able to return safely to Washington.
“Until we have an appropriate way to do it, we can’t do it. … It’s not as easy as you may think,†Pelosi said of remote voting. But she noted that later Thursday, House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) will give House Democrats a “status report†on lawmakers’ efforts to work out a solution.
By Felicia Sonmez
April 16, 2020 at 1:04 PM EDT
Four authoritarian countries are still broadcasting live soccer gamesCraving the adrenaline of a live soccer game?
Well, Belarus, Burundi, Nicaragua and Tajikistan have you covered â€" despite the fact that it may put players at risk.
The unlikely quartet appear to be the only countries that have continued to permit soccer leagues to compete, even as much of the world has entered coronavirus-induced lockdowns.
Nicaragua’s 10-team soccer league, Primera Liga de Nicaragua, is seeing a surge in viewers worldwide, according to the Reuters news agency. Games are played in empty stadiums and broadcast locally and online.
“We can tell from monitoring these things that more people are paying attention, particularly on betting sites,†the secretary general of the Nicaraguan Football Federation, Jose Maria Bermudez, told Reuters. “It has no effect on us financially â€" people win or lose money, we don’t get more money â€" but we can see that people are following us because we are one of the few countries where football is still going on.â€
But not all the players are loving the newfound fame.
"Mentally, you’re not focused on the game, you are always thinking that opponents may have the disease,†Carlos Mosquera, a goalkeeper with Deportivo Las Sabanas, told Reuters.
Some players told Reuters they were not consulted about the decision that the games must go on. The government, headed by authoritarian President Daniel Ortega, provides compensation to some club owners and leagues.
In Tajikistan, the president of two decades allowed the top division to compete, all while denying speculation that the country has any coronavirus cases.
Belarus and Burundi, which are similarly ruled by authoritarian leaders, have also sought to play down the threat and project a veneer of control.
Health experts have warned that the coronavirus most often transmits through respiratory droplets, which strenuous breathing activities such as singing and running can produce in a higher quantity.
By Miriam Berger
April 16, 2020 at 12:59 PM EDT
White House defends Ivanka Trump’s family trip to New JerseyThe White House on Thursday defended Ivanka Trump’s decision to travel to the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., to celebrate the first night of Passover this month despite federal guidelines advising against discretionary travel and a stay-at-home order for Washington residents.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that Trump, who is the president’s daughter and a senior White House adviser, made the trip with her husband, Jared Kushner, also a senior White House adviser, and their children to the family-owned club, which has been shuttered amid the coronavirus outbreak.
In a statement, the White House acknowledged that Trump and “her immediate family†celebrated Passover at what it characterized as “a closed down facility considered to be a family home.â€
“Her travel was no different than had she been traveling to/from work and the location was less populated than the surrounding area near her home in D.C.,†the White House said. “While at Bedminster she has been practicing social distancing and working remotely. Her travel was not commercial. She chose to spend a holiday in private with her family.â€
Kushner has since returned to Washington, where he is among those advising his father-in-law on the fallout from the pandemic as he weighs how quickly to seek to reopen sectors of the economy.
President Trump frequently retreats to his club in New Jersey during summer weekends. It has long been a favored destination of his daughter and son-in-law, who were married there in 2009.
Washington has had a stay-at-home in order in effect since April 1 under which residents are allowed to leave home only for “essential activities.†In mid-March, the federal government advised that its employees engage in only “mission-critical travel.â€
By John Wagner
April 16, 2020 at 12:43 PM EDT
New York shutdown to continue through May 15, Cuomo saysNew York’s shutdown will be extended through May 15, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) announced Thursday.
His decision comes as hospitalizations and intubations have fallen in the state, which reported 606 deaths on Wednesday, the lowest in 10 days.
The governor credited the shutdown for those signs that the outbreak may be stabilizing, and said extending it was needed to “control the beast†and drive the rate of infection lower.
“We have to continue doing what we’re doing,†Cuomo said during his daily news briefing. He added: “So one month, we’ll continue the closedown policies. What happens after then? I don’t know. We will see depending on what the data shows.â€
Decisions are being made in coordination with other states based on the infection and hospitalization rates, the governor said.
Cuomo’s announcement came hours before President Trump was due to unveil his plan for reopening the country.
By Brittany Shammas
April 16, 2020 at 12:28 PM EDT
Testing is key to reopening economy, Sen. Lindsey Graham saysIn an appearance on ABC’s “The View,†Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) echoed public health experts who have said the United States needs to ramp up the scale of its coronavirus testing for the country to be ready to go back to work.
“I want to reopen the economy, but the key to that is testing,†Graham said Thursday. He argued that the United States is “beginning to turn the corner†â€" even though the administration’s stumbles over the past few weeks have cast doubt on its ability to conduct widespread, rapid tests.
Graham, a vocal Trump ally, also castigated China’s initial handling of the coronavirus crisis. And he pushed back against conservative critics who have argued that the Trump administration overreacted to the coronavirus threat.
“There’s a lot of people on the right saying that the cure is worse than the illness, that the president overreacted,†Graham said. “I talked to him two nights ago. I don’t agree with that.… I don’t think we overreacted at all.â€
Asked about the recent stimulus that was enacted in response to the economic downturn, Graham argued that conservatives are not opposed to “big government†â€" so long as it is at the appropriate times.
“There’s a time for big government,†he said. “Big government helped us get through World War II. … But what is the most sustainable way to keep the economy strong? It’s not perpetual big government.â€
By Felicia Sonmez
April 16, 2020 at 12:25 PM EDT
Russia postpones Victory Parade scheduled for MayMOSCOW â€" Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Thursday that the nation’s Victory Day Parade would be postponed due to the novel coronavirus.
But he said the event â€" in the milestone 75th anniversary â€" would take place in 2020. The event was to be held May 9, and Putin did not name a new date.
Many foreign leaders including President Trump had been invited to the parade, where thousands of troops were to march through Red Square in crisp formation and Russia’s latest military hardware was to be on show. French President Emmanuel Macron had accepted the invitation to attend.
But beyond the parade, the celebration is an affirmation for Russia’s elderly veterans, some of whom are invited to lunch with Putin at the Kremlin, and others get together with surviving comrades to share stories and toasts of vodka. Russian veterans had called for the postponement a day earlier.
Plans announced by the Defense Ministry in February included bringing veterans of World War II, known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War, to Moscow to participate in events and celebrations over four days. The move underscored how seriously Russia is taking the coronavirus, with Putin getting daily reports on efforts to contain the virus.
Russia has seen coronavirus cases climb daily by more than 3,000 cases in the past two days, reaching nearly 28,000 Thursday, with 232 deaths. Cases have spiked as authorities ramped up testing.
Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of Russia’s Federation Council, said that the parade would be huge and grandiose, “proportionate to the feat of the Red Army, the feat of our people, the people of the Soviet Union, in the victory over fascism.â€
By Robyn Dixon
April 16, 2020 at 12:14 PM EDT
Head of WHO Africa hopes U.S. cut will be ‘rethought’; $300 million neededMatshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization’s regional chief for Africa, said Thursday that she is “very much hoping†the U.S. suspension of funds to the United Nation’s health agency “will be rethought,†as WHO needs to provide the continent with about $300 million over the next three months to support countries there fighting the coronavirus.
The head of the African Centers for Disease Control also warned Thursday that Trump’s decision “absolutely will affect [African Union] member states’ ability to receive support†against the coronavirus.
John Nkengasong told reporters during a news briefing that over a million coronavirus tests would be conducted across the continent next week, though he acknowledged “maybe 15 million tests†would be needed over the next three months, the AP reported.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday tweeted out his thanks to world leaders and organizations, including a leading medical journal, for supporting him amid the political row.
The continent is home to over 1.3 billion people and has struggled to acquire coveted testing kits and emergency medical equipment amid the global scramble for resources. Nkengasong said 10 African countries, which he declined to name, still do not even have ventilators.
Millions of Africans have gone into lockdown in recent weeks as part of efforts to contain the virus in countries with already weak health-care systems. The shutdowns of economies, however, have severely hurt many across the continent already living in poverty or on the financial brink.
By Miriam Berger
April 16, 2020 at 11:53 AM EDT
Nurses, doctors take extreme precautions to avoid infecting family membersAfter long shifts treating covid-19 patients in New York hospitals, emergency room doctor Calvin D. Sun goes home and works for another 45 minutes. He cleans. He peels off his shoes, scrubs his jacket and places his protective suit outdoors to bake in the sun. Finally, he takes a shower, hot and scouring, to eliminate any microbes that could cling to his body like invisible thorns.
This new homework is as stressful as it is tedious. A misstep could mean a coronavirus infection. “Even with 30 to 45 minutes of prep, coming back home and doing all this, I still am worried I screwed it up in some way,†said Sun, who shares an apartment with his mother, who has Parkinson’s disease.
Across the country, exhausted health-care workers perform meticulous cleansing rituals like this in attempts to keep the pathogen contained behind hospital doors. It is a necessity to protect themselves and others, because hospital workers can catch, and also inadvertently transmit, infectious diseases.
By Ben Guarino
April 16, 2020 at 11:20 AM EDT
Maryland Gov. Hogan says now would be the ‘worst possible time’ to lift restrictionsMaryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said he is working to lift restrictions related to the novel coronavirus in his state, but now “would be the worst possible time†to roll them back.
Hogan’s comments on NBC’s “Today†show came hours before he was scheduled to have a conference call with President Trump, Vice President Pence and other governors to discuss federal guidelines to reopen the U.S. economy. Hogan is the chairman of the National Governors Association.
“Everybody wants to get our economy back and get people back to work and get our small businesses open, but we also want to make sure we do it in a safe way, that we’re not just ramping things back up and endangering the lives of thousands of people,†he said.
Earlier this week, Trump asserted he had “absolute authority†in deciding when states would rescind orders that closed businesses to help stem the spread of the virus and its disease, covid-19.
Hogan said he has been meeting with experts for several weeks about what it would look like to try to get back to “some type of normalcy.†He said there was “a little bit of tension†between Trump and governors on both sides of the aisle over the remarks that the president later appeared to back away from.
Different states are at varying points in the curve, Hogan said, and it will be necessary for governors to decide when they reopen. Federal guidelines will still be “helpful,†he said.
“It’s great to have a federal partner. There are many things the federal government can do to help the states,†he said. “They may come up with some good information that we can all share, but ultimately it is going to be the governors that have to make these decisions.â€
By Ovetta Wiggins
April 16, 2020 at 11:19 AM EDT
Smithfield Foods plants close in Wisconsin and MissouriSmithfield Foods plants in Cudahy, Wis., and Martin City, Mo., are temporarily closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, heightening concerns about meat supply availability.
The Virginia-headquartered company, the world’s largest pork processor and hog producer, has shut the doors at its plant near Milwaukee and turned off the lights at the Missouri factory for an undetermined amount of time, the Associated Press reported.
An unspecified number of employees at both plants are infected.
Smithfield Foods also closed down its raw materials facility in Sioux Falls, S.D., which supplies the Missouri location, according to the AP.
The closings come after John Eiden, president of the United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 1473, criticized the company in a letter to its human resources department, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Two employees tested positive for the virus, but all union members weren’t told about the second person, according to Eiden’s letter, which was reviewed by the paper.
More than 50 employees had called the union concerned about how Smithfield Foods was caring for workers and dealing with the pandemic, according to the paper.
The plant closures could spell a shortage of meat in grocery stores nationwide, according to Kenneth Sullivan, Smithfield president and chief executive.
“It is impossible to keep our grocery stores stocked if our plants are not running,†he told The Post.
By Lateshia Beachum
April 16, 2020 at 10:56 AM EDT
Mexico debuts phased plan to reopen countryMEXICO CITY â€" Mexico became one of the first countries in Latin America to lay out a plan to reopen after the coronavirus shutdown, announcing that some areas could resume normal activities as soon as May 17.
Hugo López-Gatell, the Health Ministry official who has designed the covid-19 response, said authorities planned to start a phased reopening of the rest of the country June 1.
Special restrictions would remain in place for vulnerable groups such as the elderly, he said. And the government would take steps to prevent people from areas of high contagion from traveling to places with few or no cases, he said.
López-Gatell cautioned that the timetable relied on citizens continuing to stay at home and maintaining a distance from others for the next few weeks.
If there are regions where people don’t follow the restrictions, “there will be an increase in transmissions, and it could be impossible, nonviable, not recommended to lift the restrictions,†he said.
Thursday’s announcement extended lockdown measures that had initially been scheduled to conclude at the end of April.
López-Gatell said that 473 of Mexico’s 2,448 municipalities had high transmission of the virus. On the other end of the spectrum, 970 had few or no cases and would be the first to reopen schools and other institutions, he said.
He predicted peak transmission of the virus would occur in early May. At least 449 people in Mexico have died of the coronavirus since the first case was identified in late February.
By Mary Beth Sheridan
April 16, 2020 at 10:55 AM EDT
Greece to relocate ill and elderly refugees from overcrowded campGreece has announced plans to relocate more than 2,000 “vulnerable persons†â€" such as elderly and ill asylum seekers and their families â€" from cramped refugee camps on the Aegean Islands to housing on the mainland amid mounting fears over an outbreak in the overstressed encampments.
Greece’s Ministry of Migration and Asylum said Thursday that it will relocate 2,380 people, including 200 asylum seekers older than 60 and their families. along with 1,730 ill people and their families or companions. The two-week process will begin April 19.
The novel coronavirus spreads fast in dense environments, but social distancing is often practically impossible for refugees housed in unsanitary camps and facilities.
On Wednesday, Greece transferred its first group of refugee children â€" 10 from Afghanistan and two from Syria â€" to Luxembourg, which, along with Germany and Switzerland, has agreed to take in about 1,600 unaccompanied minors in the coming months in another attempt to reduce crowding.
Earlier this month, authorities quarantined two mainland refugee camps outside Athens after reports of the first confirmed coronavirus cases among refugees in Greece.
More than 36,000 people are stranded on the Greek islands across five refugee camps built to house only 5,400, according to the United Nations refugee agency. More than a million refugees arrived in Greece by sea during 2015 and 2016, the height of Europe’s migration crisis, and many got stuck there when the rest of Europe shut its borders soon after.
By Miriam Berger
April 16, 2020 at 10:31 AM EDT
British Parliament approves Zoom debatesBritish lawmakers can virtually meet during the novel coronavirus â€" using the video conferencing app Zoom.
Lindsay Hoyle, speaker of the House of Commons, said Thursday that the use of technology to work remotely has been approved for lawmakers.
Hoyle said that allowing Parliament members to work from home will enable them to both “stay close to their communities†and continue “their important work scrutinizing the government,†Sky News reported.
Under the plan, roughly 120 members of Parliament will be allowed to call in to take part in debates, with screens set up in Parliament so Hoyle can see them. An additional 50 will be allowed to actually attend Parliament in Westminster but will be kept apart under social distancing rules.
Britain’s lawmakers are on recess and will have to approve the rules before returning next week.
U.S.-based Zoom has seen its use skyrocket during the coronavirus crisis as office workers were sent home to work remotely. However, some security analysts have raised concerns about the company.
Britain’s Ministry of Defense is banned from using the app, Sky reports, but the country’s National Cyber Security Center later advised it was “appropriate†for use in parliamentary debates, which are open to the public.
The British government announced Thursday that 103,093 people have tested positive for the virus, an increase of 4,617. The death toll has reached 13,729, as 861 more deaths were recorded.
By Adam Taylor
April 16, 2020 at 10:29 AM EDT
Americans less pessimistic about the pandemic, poll findsThe number of Americans who see the coronavirus situation in the United States getting worse has dropped considerably over the past week, a new Gallup poll found.
The poll showed that as of the weekend, 48 percent think the situation is getting worse, compared to 62 percent who said that in a poll conducted last week.
The 48 percent who think things are getting worse, however, remains higher than the number of those who think things are getting better (34 percent) and those who think things are the same (18 percent).
The new Gallup poll also found that Americans have a somewhat less pessimistic view about how long disruptions to U.S. life will last.
In the new poll, 27 percent believe the disruptions will continue for more than a few months, which ties for the highest in Gallup polling.
Meanwhile, 48 percent expect the disruptions to last a few more months â€" down from 59 percent in a poll taken at the beginning of the month.
And 26 percent say they expect the disruptions to last a few more weeks â€" up from 19 percent over the same period.
By John Wagner
April 16, 2020 at 10:19 AM EDT
Facebook will warn users who interacted with misinformationFacebook said Thursday it will begin alerting users if they have interacted with harmful misinformation about the coronavirus, part of a series of new, aggressive steps to combat what health authorities have described as a global “infodemic.â€
The messages â€" which will appear in users’ News Feeds â€" will direct people to official, credible information from the World Health Organization in an attempt to ensure dangerous myths about the disease, its origins and how it is treated don’t continue to proliferate, either on the social networking site or in the real world.
The new announcements illustrate Facebook’s heightened vigilance in the wake of a public health crisis that’s killed more than 29,000 in the United States and affected millions more around the world.
By Tony Romm
April 16, 2020 at 10:10 AM EDT
‘China has directly led to American deaths,’ top House Republican saysHouse Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Thursday that “China has directly led to American deaths†as he defended President Trump’s decision to suspend funding to the World Health Organization.
Trump this week announced a pause in U.S. funding to the WHO while the United States conducts a review of how the United Nations agency responded to the coronavirus pandemic, particularly in the early stages of the outbreak in China.
“If they are going to be the mouthpiece of China â€" I think there are fabulous people in WHO, but why don’t they look at it and change their own direction,†McCarthy said during an appearance on CNBC. “What the president is doing is bringing attention to it, so we’re safer around the world. I mean, the deception of China has directly led to American deaths.â€
Trump’s move prompted widespread criticism from health experts who questioned the timing of suspending U.S. funding in the middle of a global crisis. On Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the action illegal and vowed to contest it.
By John Wagner
April 16, 2020 at 9:31 AM EDT
Trump ‘acts like nothing is his fault,’ Biden saysFormer vice president Joe Biden on Thursday compared President Trump to a child prone to blame others for his mistakes, as he accused him of seeking to shift responsibility for shortcomings in the nation’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.
“What bothers me so much is the president of the United States doesn’t take responsibility,†Biden said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.â€
“The president of the United States acts like nothing is his fault, nothing is his responsibility.... He’s doing the exact thing we teach our kids not to do: Blame somebody else, ‘not me, the other guy.’ ... I mean this is the president of the United States.â€
Trump has pointed the finger at governors and Democrats in Congress on social media and during his lengthy White House briefings on the coronavirus pandemic.
During the interview, Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, also called Trump’s briefings “bizarre†and chided him for frequent attacks on the press and a threat on Wednesday to force Congress to adjourn.
“It’s like something out of a really bad play,†Biden said. “Everything is about him. This is not about him. It’s about us.â€
By John Wagner
April 16, 2020 at 9:20 AM EDT
Working from home is not rocket science (except when it is)Rocket scientists and a renowned artist are exploring Mars and creating amusing art pieces from home.
Telework hasn’t hindered the space scientists from completing their missions on Mars. Team members started working from home on March 20, and two days later, they successfully drilled a rock sample at a location called Edinburgh on the planet.
The successful drilling is the result of teamwork that happens across multiple chats and videoconferences, team leader Carrie Bridge said in a NASA statement.
Like most employees across the country, members of her team needed a little time to adjust to their new working conditions, but it was merely an earthly challenge for their brilliance.
“It’s classic textbook NASA,†she said. “We’re presented with a problem and we figure out how to make things work. Mars isn’t standing still for us; we’re still exploring.â€
The team also used some low-tech ingenuity to overcome limitations. The computers at the office run high-end graphics cards for 3-D goggles used to navigate Curiosity, NASA said. The ordinary laptops now supporting the mission can meet that demand â€" with ordinary red and blue 3-D glasses.
Anonymous artist Banksy has also joined the creative effort from home. The mystery artist posted a chaotic scene of rats overtaking his bathroom on Instagram.
“My wife hates it when I work from home,†Banksy wrote.
By Lateshia Beachum
April 16, 2020 at 8:21 AM EDT
Michigan protesters waving Trump flags mass against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s coronavirus restrictionsIf all roads in Michigan lead to the state capitol, conservative protesters on Wednesday made sure they were closed.
For miles, thousands of drivers clogged the streets to demand that Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) ease restrictions and allow them to go back to work. They drowned downtown Lansing, Mich., in a cacophony of honking. They blared patriotic songs from car radios, waving all sorts of flags from the windows â€" President Trump flags, American flags and the occasional Confederate flag.
But in the massive demonstration against Whitmer’s stay-at-home executive order â€" which they have argued is excessive and beyond her authority â€" the pleas from organizers that protesters to stay in their vehicles went unheeded. Many got out of their cars and crashed the front lawn of the capitol building, with some chanting, “Lock her up!†and “We will not comply!â€
By Meagan Flynn
April 16, 2020 at 8:17 AM EDT
Japan extends state of emergency to cover entire nationTOKYO â€" Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expanded a state of emergency on Thursday to cover all 47 prefectures in the country to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, and he asked people not to travel outside between regions unless absolutely necessary.
Last week, Abe declared a state of emergency in seven prefectures, including Tokyo, Yokohama and Osaka, and urged people to refrain from going out “needlessly†and to work from home when possible until May 6.
But with signs that the infection was spreading outside the major cities into other parts of the country, Abe heeded calls from medical experts and regional leaders to expand the scope of the emergency.
“I urge you not to return home or travel across prefectural borders unless it is urgent or absolutely necessary in order to prevent the spread of the virus,†he said. He also repeated a call for people to reduce social contacts by at least 70 percent or preferably by 80 percent.
Tokyo is much quieter than usual this week, but many bars and restaurants remain open, albeit for shorter hours, and some people are still commuting to work.
Early indications suggest that the state of emergency might have had some impact in slowing the pace at which infections are rising in Tokyo â€" although it is too soon to tell â€" even as the virus spreads to other parts of the country.
The governor of the northern prefecture of Hokkaido, Naomichi Suzuki, said Abe’s decision to declare a state of emergency over only part of the country last week “probably helped spread the infection to other regions,†public broadcaster NHK reported.
Japan registered 549 new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday, to bring the total to 8,722 with 179 deaths, not including people who contracted it on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
By Simon Denyer
April 16, 2020 at 8:14 AM EDT
Oil-rich Venezuela is running out of gas, and Maduro is running out of optionsCARACAS, Venezuela â€" Stung by one of the globe’s worst economic crises long before anyone had heard of covid-19, socialist Venezuela is used to deprivation. Venezuelans have struggled for years against shortages of everything from food to toilet paper to drinkable water.
Shortages of gasoline â€" nearly free and considered a national entitlement in this OPEC nation â€" began in some parts of the country years ago, as local refineries started to fail and smugglers funneled truckloads of cheap Venezuelan fuel to black markets in Colombia and Brazil.
Faiola reported from Miami.
By Ana Vanessa Herrero and Anthony Faiola
April 16, 2020 at 8:11 AM EDT
Death toll soars from Kenya’s curfew crackdownNAIROBI â€" The coronavirus hasn’t devastated Kenya yet. Its ripple effects, however, have proved deadlier here than the virus itself.
Police have killed at least 12 people while enforcing a dusk-to-dawn curfew that began more than two weeks ago, making Kenya’s lockdown one of the deadliest in the world. But the true death toll is higher still: An untold number of others have died because of the curfew itself and the fear prompted by police batons and bullets.
By Max Bearak
April 16, 2020 at 8:10 AM EDT
Iran’s coronavirus infections may be 8 to 10 times the official number, an Iranian report saysBEIRUT â€" The real number of coronavirus patients in Iran may be eight to 10 times higher than government numbers suggest, and the death rate may be nearly twice as high, according to an Iranian parliamentary report.
The report by the Research Center of the Islamic Parliament of Iran attributed the undercounting to the prevalence of asymptomatic infections, the lack of testing and surveillance capacity, the relative unreliability of coronavirus tests and the fact that only patients who die of the covid-19 disease in hospitals are included in the figures.
Iran had 77,995 coronavirus cases as of Thursday and 4,869 deaths, with 1,606 new infections and 92 deaths added in the previous 24 hours. If true, the new report suggests there could be as many as 770,000 infections and more than 8,000 deaths, which would give Iran the highest number of coronavirus infections in the world.
Many of the reasons cited for the low official figures also apply to other countries suffering from the pandemic. Tests are in short supply worldwide, and the most common PCR test has an accuracy of only 70 percent, the report noted. Between 30 and 40 percent of patients with definite covid-19 symptoms on a CT scan have tested negative for the disease, it said.
The parliamentary report nonetheless adds weight to widespread suspicions that Iran’s coronavirus count is too low because of the high percentage of deaths relative to the number of cases. Iran has the highest number of cases in the Middle East and was the first country in the region to suffer a major outbreak.
By Liz Sly
April 16, 2020 at 8:10 AM EDT
Which deaths count toward the U.S. toll? It depends on the state.In Alabama, officials have ruled that one of every 10 people who died with covid-19 did not die of covid-19. Among those excluded from the numbers reported to the federal government were a bedbound patient with aspiration pneumonia in one lung and a person with a buildup of fluid and partial collapse of one lung.
Colorado, by contrast, has included some deaths where the disease caused by the novel coronavirus was deemed probable â€" based on symptoms and possible exposure â€" but not confirmed through a test.
Health officials in both states say their approach is more accurate. Their divergent methods reflect a national debate over how to count the dead.
By Emma Brown, Beth Reinhard and Reis Thebault
April 16, 2020 at 8:08 AM EDT
Trump’s move against the World Health Organization is latest twist in a shifting policy on ChinaHaving already heaped blame on China for its role in the covid-19 outbreak, President Trump and his allies opened a new front in the campaign this week by targeting the World Health Organization, calling the institution complicit in Beijing’s coverup of the breadth and severity of the pandemic.
Critics contend that the White House is employing a cynical strategy, in the middle of a global health and economic crisis, to deflect culpability over Trump’s own mishandling of the U.S. response to the novel coronavirus and create another foil to rally his conservative base ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
A fundraising message to supporters Tuesday, sent hours after the president announced the withholding of funds from the WHO, asks for contributions to “hold China accountable.â€
By David Nakamura, Anne Gearan and Josh Dawsey
April 16, 2020 at 7:40 AM EDT
Michael Che to pay rent for some public housing residents to honor his grandmotherAs “Saturday Night Live†wrapped up the “Weekend Update†segment in the quarantine-themed episode shot inside cast members’ homes and over Zoom calls, Michael Che signed off with a shout-out to his grandmother.
“From Weekend Update, I’m Martha’s grandbaby,†he said.
This week, Che was once again inspired by his late grandmother, who recently died of the novel coronavirus. He announced Wednesday night on Instagram that he will pay one month’s rent for residents living in a New York public housing complex where Martha resided until the 1990s.
By Katie Shepherd
April 16, 2020 at 7:35 AM EDT
No end to lockdown until a vaccine? British official’s comment sparks concern.LONDON â€" British Health Minister Nadine Dorries said Britain would not “exit†a full lockdown until a vaccine is available â€" stunning many and forcing the government on Thursday to clarify her comments.
With no lockdown lift date in sight and scientific experts claiming that a vaccine could take between 12 and 18 months to develop, some were alarmed at the tweet.
Dorries, whose full title is parliamentary undersecretary of state for mental health, suicide prevention and patient safety, wrote Wednesday on Twitter: “Journalists should stop asking about an ‘exit strategy.’ There is only one way we can ‘exit’ full lockdown and that is when we have a vaccine.†She added: “Until then, we need to find ways we can adapt society and strike a balance between the health of the nation and our economy.â€
When asked if his colleague’s comments were “accurate and helpful†on Thursday during an interview with Sky News, Health Secretary Matt Hancock stressed that it was too early for Britain to consider lifting the current measures and said that “full†was the “key word†to take from Dorries’s tweet. “She was being quite precise I think,†Hancock said.
“The numbers aren’t coming down yet,†Hancock said, explaining that the virus in Britain has yet to reach its peak. There are currently more than 99,000 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the country and 12,868 reported deaths.
On Thursday, Dorries took to Twitter once more, this time entering into a heated back and forth with broadcaster Piers Morgan over her previous claim and saying that rather an abrupt “exit,†it would be a matter of gradually easing restrictions. “There is more than one lockdown. Full, or the introduction of a relaxation/easement strategy,†she said.
Britain’s current lockdown period is expected to be extended by the government Thursday for three more weeks.
By Jennifer Hassan
April 16, 2020 at 7:34 AM EDT
European cities under lockdown see major drops in nitrogen dioxide concentrationsNitrogen dioxide concentrations in several major European cities impacted by coronavirus lockdowns have fallen by more than 40 percent year on year, the European Space Agency (ESA) wrote in a new analysis Thursday.
Nitrogen dioxide pollution can lead to or worsen respiratory illnesses and other medical conditions. It is mostly emitted during industrial processes, as well as by power plants and vehicles.
In Italy and Spain, the cities or Milan, Rome and Madrid each saw decreases of roughly 45 percent during the period from mid-March to mid-April, compared to the same period last year.
In Paris, nitrogen dioxide concentrations dropped by 54 percent, according to the data from the European Union Copernicus program, monitored by the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI).
Italy was the first major E.U. country to impose a lockdown, followed by others, including Spain and France.
Because nitrogen dioxide concentration can fluctuate widely day-to-day due to weather factors, researchers rely on data collected over weeks or even longer periods to “see clearer changes in concentrations owing to human activity,†said KNMI researcher Henk Eskes, according to the ESA analysis.
By Rick Noack
April 16, 2020 at 7:16 AM EDT
Amazon suspends distribution in France after court orderPARIS â€" Amazon said Thursday that it was still unclear when its French warehouses will reopen, one day after the company announced it would temporarily close its distribution centers in the country.
Previously, a French court ordered a ban on nonessential sales during the coronavirus pandemic and upbraided the e-commerce giant for providing insufficient protections for its workers.
The court, a tribunal in ÂNanterre outside Paris, ordered Amazon to limit sales and deliveries to items such as food and medical supplies while the company submitted to a risk assessment and upgraded its health and safety procedures for employees. The decision gave Amazon 24 hours to comply, with a daily fine of 1 million euros ($1.2 million) until it does.
By James McAuley
April 16, 2020 at 6:58 AM EDT
Chris Cuomo says his wife, Cristina, has coronavirus, tooWhen Chris Cuomo announced he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the high fever, chills, shortness of breath and hallucinations about his late father were not what immediately worried the CNN anchor. What did concern him, he said, was passing the virus on to his family.
“I just hope I didn’t give it to the kids and Cristina,†Cuomo wrote in his March 31 tweet announcing his diagnosis. “That would make me feel worse than this illness!â€
On Wednesday night, Cuomo, broadcasting again from his home’s basement where he remains quarantined, said that his worst fear has become a reality: His wife, Cristina, has tested positive for the coronavirus.
By Timothy Bella
April 16, 2020 at 6:32 AM EDT
European Commission president offers ‘heartfelt apology’ to Italy over flawed coronavirus responseEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen offered a “heartfelt apology†to Italy on behalf of Europe on Thursday, saying “too many [member states] were not there on time when Italy needed a helping hand at the very beginning†of its coronavirus outbreak.
Despite unilateral border closures, a fierce debate over financial responsibilities and few recent signs of a coordinated approach on relaxing shutdowns in many European Union member states, von der Leyen said “Europe has now become the world’s beating heart of solidarity.â€
She cited doctors from other parts of the continent working in Italian hospitals, a joint medical equipment stockpile and patients from particularly virus-stricken nations being treated in Germany or the Czech Republic.
“We will use every available euro we have â€" in every possible way we can â€" to save lives and protect livelihoods of Europeans,†von der Leyen vowed Thursday.
But a $590 billion E.U. emergency program approved last week is expected to only delay rather than avoid a showdown over demands in Southern Europe for the joint issuance of debt by members of the euro zone, so-called coronabonds.
Demands for such bonds have been rejected by European countries with a relatively low debt burden in the continent’s north for years. Among the opponents is the euro zone’s biggest economy, Germany, where leaders fear such instruments would tie them to high-debt nations such as Italy and Greece and would discourage austerity.
By Rick Noack
April 16, 2020 at 6:18 AM EDT
Singapore scrambles to combat surge in new casesSingapore, once the subject of international praise for appearing to contain the coronavirus, reported 447 new cases Wednesday, the highest single-day increase since the virus began spreading throughout the Southeast Asian nation.
The number of cases in the city-state has risen rapidly this week, going up by 1,167 since Monday, the Associated Press reported. Singapore’s Ministry of Health has linked most of the recent cases to foreign workers living in crowded dormitories, where efforts are being made to increase testing.
On Wednesday, health officials said 404 of the new cases came from those dormitories, while 38 were local infections in the community. The city-state has not seen any new imported cases over the past five days, including Wednesday.
Singapore now has 3,699 reported cases and 10 reported deaths, with cases stemming from foreign workers making up nearly half that total, according to the ministry.
By Allyson Chiu
April 16, 2020 at 6:18 AM EDT
72 families in India self-quarantining after pizza delivery boy tests positive for coronavirus, officials sayMore than 70 families in South Delhi have been instructed to self-quarantine after a pizza delivery boy tested positive for coronavirus, officials in India said Wednesday.
As the country of 1.3 billion remains under a strict nationwide lockdown that was recently extended until May 3, many people stuck indoors have relied heavily on delivery services for essentials such as food and medicine, leaving those shuttling the goods between businesses and customers vulnerable to exposure.
The boy, who worked for a well-known pizza chain in an area of South Delhi, had been experiencing symptoms for almost three weeks before he was tested on Tuesday, India Today reported. India Today described him as a “pizza delivery boy†but did not give his age. Neither he nor his employer has been identified by local media outlets.
“We have found that 72 houses had taken delivery from that outlet and hence everyone has been told to follow precautionary measures and be under self-quarantine,†B.M. Mishra, district magistrate for South Delhi, told the Indo-Asian News Service.
Aside from the families, authorities have also quarantined more than a dozen other people who worked with the boy, Mishra said. According to the IANS, those who came into contact with the boy are being monitored daily while he receives treatment at a hospital.
Although the decision to quarantine all those people was “necessary,†Mishra urged the public to stay calm.
In a statement shared on Twitter, Zomato, a popular food delivery company in India that fulfilled some of the orders from the pizza chain, said all the boy’s co-workers have tested negative, adding that the restaurant has also suspended operations.
But the company stressed that coronavirus “could happen to anyone.â€
“It is near impossible for all of us to completely isolate ourselves, especially when we need outside support for essentials such as food.â€
By Allyson Chiu
April 16, 2020 at 6:08 AM EDT
Two workers die amid outbreak at Iowa pork plantTwo employees at one of the country’s largest pork processing plants have died, Tyson Foods said Wednesday, after dozens of workers in an Iowa facility contracted the novel coronavirus.
The company initially shut down the plant on April 6, when it announced that there was an outbreak of the virus, according to the Associated Press.
Since then, however, approximately 150 cases have been linked to the plant in Columbus Junction, Iowa, making up nearly all infections in rural, southeastern Louisa County.
The pork plant will remain closed this week as more of its 1,400 employees are tested, AP reported, although Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) said it could reopen as early as next week.
The two fatalities are only the latest in the meatpacking industry, which has grappled with a number of outbreaks in recent days. At least six employees in total have died at poultry and beef plants in Georgia and Colorado, while nearly half of the cases in South Dakota have been linked to a Smithfield Foods facility there.
The coronavirus mainly spreads through person-to-person contact and is not considered a food safety risk, although some meatpacking executives have warned that outbreaks and shuttered facilities could affect the country’s supply of pork and beef.
Food manufacturing sites are staffed heavily by immigrants and refugees, and Iowa health officials told the AP that outbreaks there have contributed to ethnic and racial disparities in Iowa. Latinos make up about 6 percent of the state population, they said, but more than 17 percent of the state’s confirmed cases.
Employees in meat and poultry processing plants have been labeled “essential†workers during the pandemic, and the industry is often set up to discourage workers from calling in sick, according to ProPublica.
By Teo Armus
April 16, 2020 at 5:42 AM EDT
NFL has discussed playing in empty or half-full stadiums, as calls grow for sports’ returnWhile still publicly committed to kicking off its 2020 season in September to packed stadiums, the NFL has been contemplating contingencies that include a potentially shortened schedule, holding games in empty or partially filled stadiums, and moving or rescheduling games if necessary, three people familiar with the league’s planning said Wednesday.
That revelation came on the same day the notion of the cautious return of professional sports gained a significant scientific endorsement â€" to go along with the more emphatic one already coming from the White House. And it underscored how the nation’s sports leagues, including the NFL, can still see only the outline of a path forward as the novel coronavirus pandemic continues, with nobody ready to say when or how games can resume.
By Mark Maske and Dave Sheinin
April 16, 2020 at 5:06 AM EDT
Qatar is accused of rounding up and deporting migrant workers amid coronavirus pandemicQatari authorities have rounded up and expelled dozens of migrant workers after telling them they were being taken to be tested for covid-19, according to a report by the human rights watchdog group Amnesty International.
The men were detained by Qatari police on the streets of the capital, Doha, in mid-March and were told they would be returned to their accommodations after being tested. Instead, they were held for days and then deported, without being given tests, Amnesty said, citing the accounts of 20 men interviewed in Nepal. The group said the total number rounded up could run into the hundreds.
The Qatari government denied the allegation, saying the men were repatriated because they were conducting “illegal and illicit activities. These included manufacturing and selling prohibited substances and the sale of “dangerous†food, according to a government statement.
Qatar treated the detainees with respect and dignity, it added, calling the allegations “unfounded.â€
The Amnesty statement said the men were given insufficient food and water during the days they spent in detention and many were forced to leave without collecting their belongings or the wages they were owed.
Migrant workers, many of them from the poorest Asian nations, account for nearly 90 percent of Qatar’s 2.7 million population and millions of families in Asia depend on their earnings to survive. Qatar has 3,711 coronavirus cases, giving it one of the highest reported per capita infection rates in the region.
The government statement said Qatar’s response to the coronavirus pandemic “has been driven by the highest international standards of public health policy and the promotion and protection of human rights.â€
By Liz Sly
April 16, 2020 at 4:49 AM EDT
99-year-old British army veteran completes 100 laps of his garden, raises $15 million for Britain’s health serviceLONDON â€" Last week, 99-year-old Tom Moore set himself a goal. To raise money for Britain’s cherished but underfunded National Health Service, he would make 100 laps of his 25-meter garden using his walker for support. The plan was to split the laps up into chunks of 10 and complete them ahead of his 100th birthday at the end of April.
On Thursday, he completed his 100th lap as his lone gesture of support gained nationwide attention and his final 10 laps were live-streamed by the BBC with balloons visible in the distance.
Even more incredible, an original fundraising target 1,000 pounds ($1,250) was long ago surpassed. Just 24 hours after Moore (or Captain Moore as he is known on social media) started, he raised 70,000 pounds. By Tuesday April 14, it was 1 million pounds in donations. On Thursday, as he finished, that figure hit 12 million pounds ($15 million) and it continues to climb as thousands are still to donate money to his cause.
Global interest in Moore has accelerated in recent days, with thousands using the hashtag #walkwithtom to offer him well wishes. On Thursday, the top trend on Twitter in Britain was #CaptainTomMoore.
Widely hailed as a hero, Moore has been embraced by many across the country as a national treasure bringing people together during a period of tragedy. Britain’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock called him an “inspiration†as others demanded Moore be knighted for his efforts.
Funds raised will be donated to a group of charities that support and protect Britain’s much-loved National Health Service. Moore’s Just Giving page has crashed repeatedly in recent days due to increased volume of traffic from donors.
On Thursday Moore told the BBC he was “feeling fine†and thanked people for their support.
By Jennifer Hassan
April 16, 2020 at 4:39 AM EDT
The brewing state battles over how to hold elections in a pandemicBut Wisconsin won’t be the last state to have a knockout battle over voting. In nearly a dozen states, debates over how to hold summer primaries and runoffs and the big November election are just getting started.
Nationally, some trends are emerging.
By Amber Phillips
April 16, 2020 at 4:26 AM EDT
At least 668 sailors are infected after coronavirus outbreak aboard French aircraft carrier, Defense Ministry saysNearly a third of the crew aboard a French aircraft carrier and its support vessels have tested positive for coronavirus, the country’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
As test results from 1,767 sailors on the Charles de Gaulle and other ships within its battle group continue to arrive, at least 668 have contracted the virus, officials said. More than 30 are being treated in the hospital with one person in intensive care, Agence France-Presse reported.
In the meantime, the rest of the crew has been quarantined at a military base in the French port city of Toulon, where the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier returned earlier this month following the first reported cases, according to Euronews.
Of those infected, two are American sailors who were serving on the carrier as part of an official personnel exchange program, the U.S. Navy said in a news release Wednesday, according to the Hill. Both sailors are “receiving excellent host nation medical care at French facilities,†the release said.
“We are working closely with our NATO ally to fight against the virus, and we are confident that our sailors are in good hands,†the Navy said. “We look forward to continued operations with the Charles de Gaulle and the French Navy in the future.â€
Before the outbreak, the aircraft carrier had been deployed in the Atlantic as part of a NATO exercise, AFP reported.
By Allyson Chiu
April 16, 2020 at 3:49 AM EDT
Arduous exercise can lower immunity, so don’t overdo it during the pandemicOn Easter Sunday, 35-year-old Pensacola, Fla.-based Caleb Carmichael finished his seventh marathon in as many days, an effort to fundraise for two covid-19-related charities. Noble? Absolutely. Healthy? Perhaps not.
During the pandemic, social media has encouraged people to dive into fitness challenges. With extra time on their hands, exercise buffs are taking up running and streaming high-intensity interval training, with the goal of reaching their fittest level ever. But there’s a case to be made for keeping things in check. Moderate levels of exercise benefit the immune system. Going beyond that, however, could weaken it, which is not a good thing with the coronavirus sickening and killing people around the world.
By Amanda Loudin
April 16, 2020 at 3:39 AM EDT
Lockdown in Kenya clears skies, revealing a dramatic mountain viewAfrica’s second-highest peak, Mount Kenya, is hardly ever visible from Nairobi. Smog in the bustling Kenyan capital, where factories, traffic and diesel generators churn out constant pollution, has long obscured views of the mountain.
But amid curfews and partial lockdowns, the 17,000-foot peak has suddenly revealed itself. From 85 miles away in Nairobi, it was photographed by Osman Siddiqi, looming in the background beside the city’s concrete and glass towers.
The resulting image was, for many Kenyans, literally unbelievable. They refused to believe Siddiqi’s photograph was not fabricated, some of them taking to social media to accuse him of doctoring the image on Photoshop.
As in India, sweeping measures to contain the outbreak have produced the unintended consequence of clearer air. That has opened up a sight that few remember seeing in years, if at a monumental economic cost to the population.
“The photo is a testament to what we might be missing out on with nature,†Siddiqi wrote on Instagram. “It really begs us the question, ‘What Nairobi do we want to emerge from the crisis?’â€
Siddiqi, who shot the image from his seventh-story balcony with a telephoto lens, told NPR he has received messages from older residents of Nairobi who said they were reminded of seeing Mount Kenya long ago.
Lately, he said, the smog often makes the mountain seem like no more than a hazy shape in the distance.
By Teo Armus
April 16, 2020 at 3:35 AM EDT
UAE’s ‘Happiness and Positivity Council’ debuts new high-tech police helmet for coronavirus combatDUBAI â€" The United Arab Emirates Interior Ministry’s “Happiness and Positivity Council†announced late Wednesday the adoption by police forces of a new high-tech smart helmet to help in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak.
The interior minister, Lt. Gen. Saif bin Zayed, said the helmet will be used by specialized police teams and has night vision and facial recognition cameras and can process car license plates.
“The helmets can also accurately and quickly read the temperature of people in different climatic conditions and outdoors, as well as in an unusual environment, utilizing thermal radiation based on smart technology while generating sound alerts and warnings according to a person’s condition,†reported the state news agency.
The UAE’s outbreak of the coronavirus has been worsening, with the number of cases doubling three times just in the past two weeks, reaching 5,365, with 33 deaths so far. Dubai, which debuted the helmets two days ago, has put residents on 24-hour lockdown while the rest of the country faces nighttime curfews.
A video released by Dubai police on Tuesday shows an officer using the helmet. The video is set to dramatic piano music interspersed with what appears to be heat-sensing imaging of people at a bus station.
Meanwhile, the UAE has announced the rollout of a “Do Not Worry†campaign on social media featuring English and Arabic podcasts to cheer people during the outbreak, according to a spokesman from the National Program for Happiness and Quality of Life.
The UAE, a wealthy state that is a top tourist destination and an immense market for migrant labor, created a minister of state for happiness in 2016 and has made the promotion of happiness a government priority.
By Paul Schemm
April 16, 2020 at 3:23 AM EDT
Governors confront political furor as they plot a cautious course for reopeningThe multistate reopening task forces being created by governors on both coasts will probably take weeks to develop as officials tackle issues ranging from how to identify and isolate those sick with the novel coronavirus to how best to keep people from crossing state lines in search of open bars and restaurants.
The two groups were created this week to bring cohesion and unity to a process that could pose one of the biggest challenges any state government has faced in modern times.
But even before these groups get to work, they face considerable obstacles as they seek guidance for how to reintegrate tens of millions of Americans into the workforce. At the same time, the governors face stiffening political pressure from President Trump and his Republican allies, who want much of the nation to reopen more quickly.
By Tim Craig, Scott Wilson and Shayna Jacobs
April 16, 2020 at 2:45 AM EDT
Analysis: Congress operates like a college, making a return to regular order complicatedThe struggle to reopen Congress is more complex than just monitoring how far the coronavirus curve has been bent toward containment, and then recalling more than 500 lawmakers to the Capitol.
This isn’t at all like reopening a corporate headquarters in a city center or a regional plant in a suburban office park, where employees are traveling a relatively short distance to their workplace.
Instead, Congress functions much more like a large college campus. More than 10,000 employees, on a normal day, are spread across the Capitol, seven office buildings for lawmakers and committees, the Capitol Police headquarters, Library of Congress and a dormitory for Senate pages.
By Paul Kane
April 16, 2020 at 2:30 AM EDT
Chaotic search for coronavirus treatments undermines efforts, experts sayThe massive effort is disorganized and scattershot, harming its prospects for success, according to multiple researchers and health experts. Researchers working around-the-clock describe a lack of a centralized national strategy, overlapping efforts, an array of small-scale trials that will not lead to definitive answers and no standards for how to prioritize efforts, what data to collect or how to share it to get to answers faster.
By Carolyn Y. Johnson
April 16, 2020 at 2:17 AM EDT
Haiti, a possible success story, will reopen textile facilities next weekHaiti will reopen its key textile industry next week, officials said Wednesday, in a promising sign that the coronavirus pandemic may have largely spared the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
“I think we reacted very well even if the population had lots of little lapses,†Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe said, according to Reuters.
While the Caribbean nation has usually struggled to fight outbreaks, his move to reopen textile factories â€" which produce 90 percent of its exports â€" seemed to indicate the country’s economic concerns were more pressing.
Jouthe’s announcement could also signal some confidence in his own containment measures. As soon as the country’s first two cases were reported in March, officials declared a state of emergency, closed off borders, and shut down churches, schools and factories.
Even with Haiti’s high population density and a fragile health system, that swift action may have worked. Only 41 cases and three deaths have been reported so far, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker, compared to a much more severe outbreak in the country’s one land neighbor.
The Dominican Republic, which has about as many residents, has reported more than 1,600 infections, including at least 180 fatalities.
Still, health experts warn that the peak of the virus may still be weeks away in much of Latin America and the Caribbean. Fewer than 500 Haitians have been tested, Reuters reported, meaning the virus may have infected far more people than recorded.
To ensure social distancing, textile factories will begin running at about a third of their usual capacity. Some had already been open to produce cloth masks and protective equipment for health workers.
By Teo Armus
April 16, 2020 at 2:14 AM EDT
New Zealand leader Jacinda Ardern says many restrictions will remain in place even if lockdown begins liftingNew Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Thursday that stringent restrictions would likely remain in place even if the country begins easing out of lockdown.
“We have an opportunity to do something no other country has achieved, elimination of the virus,†Ardern said at a news conference live-streamed on Facebook.
Since last month, New Zealand has been at the highest level on its coronavirus alert plan, Level 4, which constitutes a highly restrictive nationwide lockdown. As the effort appears to be working, leaders plan to announce on April 20 whether the measures will continue. The country, which has a population of nearly 5 million, reported 15 new cases Thursday, bringing the total to 1,401.
Even if a decision is made to move to Level 3, Ardern stressed Thursday that “Many things will feel the same as they do now.â€
“Ultimately, Level 3 is a progression,†she said, describing the stage as a “waiting room.†“It’s not a rush to normality.â€
At Level 3, Ardern said businesses and work places will move from “essential operations only†to “safe operations only,†meaning some people will be allowed to return to work provided they maintain social distancing. Businesses, she added, could be open as long as there are no “face-to-face transactions,†noting that bars, restaurants, cafes, malls and retail stores would remain closed.
Restrictions will also continue to be imposed on schools and gatherings such as weddings and funerals, Ardern said.
Meanwhile in neighboring Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Thursday that he would keep in place measures aimed at stemming the spread of coronavirus for at least four more weeks, at which point they would be reviewed. Restrictions could be lifted then, he said, provided there had been improvements in testing and contact tracing, among other caveats.
By Allyson Chiu
April 16, 2020 at 1:56 AM EDT
Some business leaders say Trump’s effort to reopen is haphazard, warn more testing is neededPresident Trump’s attempt to enlist corporate executives in a push to reopen parts of society amid the coronavirus pandemic got off to a rocky start Wednesday, with some business leaders complaining the effort was haphazard and warning that more testing needs to be in place before restrictions are lifted.
The president spent much of his day hosting conference calls with company executives, industry groups and others that he announced Tuesday as part of a hastily formed outside advisory council devoted to the issue.
By Robert Costa, Ashley Parker, Josh Dawsey and Felicia Sonmez
April 16, 2020 at 1:51 AM EDT
Analysis: What caused the coronavirus? A skeptical take on the theories about the outbreak’s Chinese origin.Of all the mysteries about the novel coronavirus, its origin excites the most fervent debate. At the outbreak’s beginning, there were conspiracy theories that the virus was man-made; recently, questions have focused on whether a natural virus was accidentally spread through research.
In the United States, such speculation largely comes from politicians hawkish against Beijing and keen to defend the Trump administration. Scientists, meanwhile, are often the most hesitant to speak out, wanting to focus on research that helps end the outbreak â€" not who, if anyone, caused it.
But the theories have spread widely, prompting a response from U.S. officials and President Trump himself. So, here is a skeptic’s take on three rapidly mutating theories: one clearly false, one possible but not supported by known evidence and one broadly true.
By Adam Taylor
April 16, 2020 at 1:48 AM EDT
Rams center is first NFL player known to have tested positiveBrian Allen, a center for the Los Angeles Rams, is the first NFL player known to have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The Rams confirmed that Allen, 24, had tested positive. Rams Coach Sean McVay told Jay Glazer, who first reported Allen’s positive test Wednesday night, on Fox Sports 1 that he spoke to Allen on Tuesday.
“I’m really glad to hear that he’s feeling good,†McVay said. “He’s healthy and he’s on the road to recovery. I think we all understand the severity of what this has meant for some people.â€
By Mark Maske
April 16, 2020 at 1:26 AM EDT
Trump denied he wanted his name on stimulus checks. Here’s how it happened.When President Trump publicly denied on April 3 that he wanted his signature on stimulus checks that would be sent to millions of Americans struggling amid a pandemic, officials in the Treasury Department were already secretly working on a plan to get the president’s name on the payments.
Trump, who was reportedly musing about placing his signature on the checks as early as late March, defended the unprecedented move Wednesday. “I don’t know too much about it. But I understand my name is there,†Trump said.
The effort to put Trump’s name on millions of “Economic Impact Payment†checks began shortly after the president on March 27 signed the bipartisan $2 trillion legislation aimed at stemming the financial fallout from a global pandemic that has halted much of the economy.
By Toluse Olorunnipa and Lisa Rein
April 16, 2020 at 1:16 AM EDT
Missouri will convene in-person legislative session, lawmakers sayThe Missouri legislature will reconvene in person later this month, the state’s top Republicans said Wednesday, with lawmakers set to return to the state capital no later than April 27.
Just three days after Missouri’s current stay-at-home order is set to expire, committee hearings and other legislative procedures will resume with social distancing guidelines in place.
“It is absolutely critical for the people of Missouri that we keep the state government funded and services operating without interruption,†State House Speaker Elijah Haahr (R) said in a statement.
While Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) has expressed his support for the effort, some Missouri Democrats said that resuming the legislative session so soon could put members and others at risk.
“There is simply no good reason to come back to Jefferson City during the worst of the Coronavirus outbreak for legislation that has nothing to do with fighting the Coronavirus outbreak,†State Sen. John Rizzo (D), the body’s minority leader, said Tuesday on Twitter.
He pointed out that an influential University of Washington model predicts that the outbreak will peak in Missouri just as lawmakers are heading to the state capitol in Jefferson City.
The legislature will also allow lobbyists and members of the public to attend hearings, although people’s temperatures will be taken as they enter the building.
By Teo Armus
April 16, 2020 at 1:08 AM EDT
The World Health Organization: What you need to know about the U.N. agency in Trump’s crosshairs“The United States has been a long-standing and generous friend to WHO, and we hope it will continue to be so,†WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news conference Wednesday. “With support from the people and government of the United States, WHO works to improve the health of many of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.â€
By Ruby Mellen
April 16, 2020 at 12:43 AM EDT
WestJet to lay off 1,700 pilots, calling plans a ‘last resort’More than 1,000 WestJet pilots received layoff notifications Wednesday night as coronavirus-related travel restrictions continue to cripple the aviation industry.
In a statement emailed to The Washington Post, a spokesperson for WestJet, Canada’s second-largest airline, confirmed that 1,700 pilots would be laid off in the coming months, calling the drastic move “a last resort.â€
“The impact of covid-19 on the aviation industry is colossal, and WestJet is making difficult but necessary decisions to right-size our airline to weather the crisis,†the spokesperson said, noting that the ongoing pandemic has forced the airline to ground almost three-quarters of its fleet.
The pilots were informed via an email from WestJet’s vice president of flight operations, John Aaron, according to Global News, which obtained a copy of the notice. Layoffs will be based on “reverse seniority†with the first 700 pilots to be laid off effective May 1, the network reported. The remaining 1,000 will be out of a job by June 1.
Then, about a week ago, WestJet said government wage subsidies would allow the airline to rehire 6,400 people, according to CTV News. Global News reported Wednesday that the pilots who will be laid off May 1 will also remain on the airline’s payroll as a result of the subsidy program.
By Allyson Chiu
April 16, 2020 at 12:34 AM EDT
Trump set to announce new guidelines to reopen the economy ThursdayTrump started out this week saying in a briefing he had “absolute†authority to open the economy, which he wants to do by May 1. He backed off that claim by Tuesday, after taking criticism for flouting the Constitution, instead saying he would essentially advise governors on how to open their economies.
Some of those guidelines could be coming in a news conference Thursday, he said, adding that “they’ll be safe; they’ll be strong.â€
He also indicated the United States may have reached its peak of cases, which is more hopeful language than his own medical experts are willing to use.
By Amber Phillips
April 16, 2020 at 12:33 AM EDT
There are so many coronavirus myths that even Snopes can’t keep upDid self-described psychic Sylvia Browne predict the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in her 2008 book? The people wanted to know, so they turned to the place one goes to find the answers to such questions: Snopes.com.
The Internet’s original myth-busters tackled this query on March 4, and the resulting post became one of the site’s most-read pieces that month, along with a look into whether the Trump administration actually fired the U.S. pandemic response team in 2018 and the one about whether Costco truly issued a toilet paper recall.
But since then, Snopes has been overwhelmed with so many covid-19-related questions that the website can’t keep up. The company has done something that seems counterintuitive: It has scaled back operations by publishing fewer stories. There have been no furloughs or layoffs; but Snopes is encouraging employees, whose lives have been turned upside down by the pandemic, to take time off if needed.
By Elahe Izadi
April 16, 2020 at 12:33 AM EDT
China reports increase in local infections while imported cases dropChina reported 46 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, the same number as the day before, and no new deaths, the country’s National Health Commission said Thursday.
Though the number of infections found in people who had recently been abroad still make up a majority of the new cases, those instances have continued decreasing for a third straight day, dropping from 36 to 34 on Wednesday, amid border closures and reduced international travel.
But domestic cases rose to 12, two more than the previous day, with Beijing reporting new local cases for the first time in more than three weeks. Of the 12 cases, three are from the country’s capital while the others were reported in Heilongjiang and Guangdong provinces.
China also saw a bump in asymptomatic cases, according to health officials. The country tracks those cases separately and does not include them in its count of confirmed cases. On Wednesday, there were 64 new asymptomatic cases, an increase from 57 reported a day earlier.
By Allyson Chiu
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