Our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in the US has ended for the day. Follow the latest developments from around the globe here.
Beaches in Los Angeles and San Diego counties will remain closed this weekend to slow the spread of the coronavirus as a heatwave brings record warm temperatures to Southern California.
The continued closures have prompted local officials to remind the public to continue to stay home despite the temptation to hit the sand during the summer-like weather.
In Los Angeles county, the stay at home order states that all public beaches, piers, public beach parking lots, and beach access points remain shuttered.
The closures could prompt Southern Californians to head to Ventura and Orange counties where most beaches are open, but parking lots and piers are closed to curb visits from out-of-towners.
Both the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff are increasing patrols to enforce social distancing rules at beaches. Two lifeguard chiefs and representatives with three law enforcement agencies praised Southern California residents for adhering to social distancing guidelines and for their cooperation.
There has been a concerted effort among aides and allies to get President Trump to stop conducting the daily coronavirus briefings, multiple sources told CNN.
Many close to him believe the daily briefings hurt him more than they help him. This comes after the White House spent the last 24 hours attempting to clean up remarks from the President that researchers should look into injecting people with disinfectant or ultraviolet rays to cure coronavirus.
“I see the disinfectant — where it knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning?” Trump asked Dr. Deborah Birx Thursday night.
Trump left the briefing after just 22 minutes on Friday and took no questions from reporters after tweeting he would be holding a press conference.
A source close to the coronavirus task force said Trump was upset about the “flack” he was taking after his comments about people injecting disinfectants as a coronavirus cure.
One White House official said they asked the President to stop conducting the daily briefings last week but he resisted. Another ally told CNN that this concern is not new among those close to him.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis may withhold emergency funding from Weld County after a local leader said any business would be allowed to reopen on Monday.
The state is moving to what it calls a “Safer at Home” plan on Monday that involves loosening some restrictions, but the plan promoted by Weld County Commission Chairman Mike Freeman would allow all businesses to open with only suggested social distancing guidelines.
“Weld County is prepared to let all of its businesses, including those involving face to face transactions such as restaurants and retail establishments, to open on Monday,” Freeman wrote on Facebook.
Polis says the state is allowing local counties to request their own exceptions to the state’s coronavirus restrictions, but he says Weld County has not even attempted to ask for a variance.
In an interview with the Greeley Tribune in Weld County, Freeman said he considered tight coronavirus restrictions to be unenforceable.
“People are trying to do the right thing, but people have reached the end of their ropes,” Freeman told the newspaper.
The Supreme Court denied a request Friday from New York and other states to block the Trump administration’s controversial “public charge” rule during the pandemic.
The rule makes it more difficult for immigrants to obtain legal status if they use public benefits such as Medicaid, food stamps and housing vouchers.
Earlier in the term, a 5-4 court said the rule could go into effect nationwide while legal challenges played out, but the states had asked the justices to reconsider that decision given the implications of the virus.
The court denied the request with no noted dissents, but the justices did indicate the states could ask district courts for relief.
Some context: New York, Connecticut, Vermont and New York City had filed one petition asking the justices to block the rule nationwide, arguing that while they are trying to stop the spread of Covid-19, the government’s rule is deterring some immigrants from accessing health care and public benefits that are “essential tools for protecting the public at large” by limiting the “spread and severity” of the virus.
“Such narrow and temporary relief” is warranted, New York Attorney General Letitia James argued.
In the petition, James provided examples of the impact of the rule on immigrants.
“A physician in Connecticut has spoken with patients who had symptoms consistent with Covid-19,” James wrote, “but were afraid to obtain COVID-19 testing or seek treatment due to concerns about the Public Charge Rule and fears that they could not afford to pay for treatment.”
She said the unwillingness for immigrants to come forward jeopardized their safety but also the public at large.
There are at least 890,524 cases of coronavirus in the US and at least 51,107 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally of cases.
On Friday, Johns Hopkins tallied 21,579 new cases and 1,130 reported deaths.
The totals includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories.
The 2020 California State Fair and Food Festival has been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, event organizers announced in a press release Friday.
This year’s event, which was scheduled for July 17-August 2 at Cal Expo in Sacramento, would have been the 166th year of the award-winning fair. This is the first time the annual California State Fair has been canceled since WWII, Cal Expo said.
More than 700,000 people were expected to attend this year’s event, according to Cal Expo Deputy General Manager Margaret Mohr. The cancelation of the fair has a huge economic impact on Cal Expo and the region, she added.
Cal Expo hires over 800 seasonal employees for the event each year.
The venue for the event currently serves as a drive-thru coronavirus testing site, as well as a temporary emergency isolation trailer facilities for the homeless population, according to the press release.
“California Exposition and State Fair is a proud member of the statewide community and we will continue to do our part to combat COVID-19,” Pickering said.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont slammed President Trump for his comments Thursday which suggested that disinfectant could be a treatment for coronavirus.
Lamont added: “And I urge each and every one of you, don’t even take it as a bit of humor and sarcasm. Make sure your kids know that this is something that’s dangerous and should not be allowed.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has not set a deadline for when to reopen the state.
“I’m not concerned about specific dates as much as I’m concerned about getting it right,” DeSantis said at a news conference Friday.
The governor’s Reopen Task Force was scheduled to deliver their recommendations to DeSantis today.
DeSantis said he plans to take a look at the task force’s recommendations through the weekend and then roll out the plan in the “next many days.”
“When that [the reopening] would start has absolutely not been determined yet,” DeSantis said.
President Trump announced the Food and Drug Administration has approved the first at-home COVID-19 test kit this week during the White House press briefing.
FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said the at-home test was developed by LabCorp.
Hahn said the test would require a doctor’s referral.
Vice President Mike Pence says the US has tested roughly 5.1 million Americans for coronavirus.
This update was provided moments ago during the White House coronavirus task force briefing.
New York City has 10,746 confirmed coronavirus deaths and 5,102 probable coronavirus deaths, according to the city website.
The New York City Health Department defines probable deaths as people who did not have a positive Covid-19 laboratory test but their death certificate lists as the cause of death “Covid-19” or an equivalent.
CNN reached out to the department Friday afternoon for an explanation on why the probable deaths dropped by 19 compared to yesterday.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus deaths and probable coronavirus deaths in New York City is 15,848.
There have been 146,139 coronavirus cases in the city and approximately 37,995 people have been hospitalized, according to the city.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, speaking about the shortages of personal protective equipment in his state, slammed Trump for delaying his use of the Defense Production Act.
“As you also know, I have been very robust in urging the President to get off the dime and start producing some PPE with the Defense Production Act,” Inlsee said. “Unfortunately he waited weeks before he did that and so we’ve been delayed.”
The DPA gives Trump authority not only to order private companies to produce and expedite production of certain essential items — in this case, ventilators, masks and other essential medical resources — but also to allocate such materials.
He said the federal government is “starting to do a little more work to produce more PPE and we’re grateful for that” but he stressed that “we need to continue to ramp up the manufacturing.”
Washington has 85 million pieces of PPE that are “in the queue or in the supply chain” to the state, he said. Inlsee added that private businesses and prisons have also been working to make PPE for the state as well.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has instructed his surgeon general to give licensed pharmacists the power to order and administer Covid-19 tests.
The governor made the announcement during a news conference Friday.
DeSantis said the effort is a step towards making testing more “simple” and “accessible” in Florida.
Former President Barack Obama says the US needs a comprehensive testing program “if we want life to approach anything like normal anytime soon.”
By the numbers: The US is testing about 150,000 people per day.
Germany, with a smaller population, is testing 120,000 per day, according to The New York Times. Harvard researchers have argued that unless the US could be testing 500,000 per day by May 1, the economy won’t be able to open up.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam does not anticipate reopening the state before May 8, he said in a news conference Friday.
Northam outlined his “Forward Virginia” plan and explained that phase one of reopening will require downward trends in new cases and hospitalizations for 14 days; increased testing and contact tracing and a sustainable supply of hospital beds and personal protective equipment.
Northam compared the recovery to the aftermath of September 11.
Northam said Virginia’s goal is to eventually process 10,000 tests per day. The state processed 4,000 tests each of the last two days.
Northam also said that he is not considering reopening the state by region or county.
Illinois has recorded 2,724 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, the highest number of new cases in a single day, said Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike.
This brings the total state count to 39,658 cases, Ezike said at a news conference Friday.
There were 4,828 people hospitalized and 25% of those patients were in intensive care, according to Ezike
Ezike also announced 108 new Covid-19-related deaths, bringing the state total to 1,795.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said on Friday he was “disturbed” to hear that grocery stores are not making a greater effort to get all employees tested for Covid-19.
Speaking at today’s news briefing, Duggan warned that he will “crackdown” on them if they fail to get all their workers tested by May 11.
Missouri will begin loosening restrictions on businesses and some public gatherings beginning on May 4, Gov. Mike Parson said at a news conference Friday.
“Since Missouri’s first case nearly 50 days ago, we have accomplished a tremendous amount of work together,” the governor said.
He said the “reopening” will include restaurants, salons, gyms and houses of worship. Details outlining social distancing measures will be released next week, the governor said.
Parson said he is extending the state’s coronavirus emergency declaration through June 15.
“Extending the emergency declaration simply allows us to continue using our resources and deploying them across the state,” he said.
Indiana Department of Health Commissioner Kristina Box acknowledged that she has received questions about the wisdom of ingesting disinfectant and has told these people it is not something she recommends.
Sen. Mike Braun was more critical, saying, “sometimes when you’re not clear with how you say things, and especially when you’re at a high level where people watch, it’s best probably not to venture into areas that you may not know a lot about.”
Gov. Eric Holcomb followed Box, repeating the President’s explanation today that he was being sarcastic but also added the state will give sound medical counsel if anyone asks.
“Yeah and I would just add, apply those disinfectants to surfaces. They work. Not yourself,” Holcomb said.
