Our live coverage of the global coronavirus pandemic has moved here.
In a rare Saturday session, Canadian lawmakers passed legislation that will subsidize up to 75% of workers’ salaries to avoid even more mass layoffs during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, now out of quarantine after his wife tested positive for the virus in March, attended the scaled-down session with a “quorum” of about 20 lawmakers.
Opposition parties joined Trudeau’s governing party to unanimously approve the wage-subsidy scheme, which will cost more than $50 billion (in US currency) and will be applied retroactively to days worked since March 15.
A majority of Canadian companies are likely to qualify for the subsidy.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Saturday that a public health order banning mass gatherings was amended to include houses of worship.
“We know that you want to practice your faith, as you should. But this year we must remember that home is holy. The best thing you can do for your community is to stay there,” Grisham said in a news release. “While this will be emotionally difficult for so many New Mexicans, public health must be the top priority. The only way to slow the spread of COVID-19 is by staying home and minimizing all person-to-person contact.”
There are 478 people linked to the Cook County Jail in Chicago who have tested positive for coronavirus, sheriff’s officials said Saturday.
According to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, 304 detainees at the jail in Chicago and 174 correctional officers have tested positive for Covid-19.
Of the detainees sickened in the outbreak, 20 have been hospitalized and 39 have been moved to a recovery facility. Earlier this week, officials announced that two detainees died of “apparent” complications due to coronavirus, pending autopsy results.
A federal judge on Thursday denied a motion to order the immediate release of medically vulnerable detainees at the Chicago jail to prevent the further spread of Covid-19.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud approved an extension of the curfew imposed across the country until further notice, the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The Ministry of Interior is asking people “to adhere to the curfew for their safety” SPA reported.
Saudi Arabia initially instituted its curfew in March as part of a series of measures to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country.
There are at least 524,903 cases of coronavirus in the US and at least 20,389 people have died from it, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally of cases in the United States.
The total includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as all repatriated cases.
Wyoming is the only state that is not reporting a death from coronavirus.
The latest US numbers from Johns Hopkins can be found here.
The Internal Revenue Service sent out the first wave of stimulus checks to Americans on Saturday, according to an announcement the agency made on Twitter.
“#IRS deposited the first Economic Impact Payments into taxpayers’ bank accounts today. We know many people are anxious to get their payments; we’ll continue issuing them as fast as we can,” the IRS wrote on Twitter.
Deposits will continue in the days ahead, starting with people who have filed tax returns for 2018 or 2019 and authorized direct deposit. Others – including people who haven’t filed returns, authorized direct deposits, or receive Social Security – will probably have to wait week or months before seeing their money.
The distributions are part of the $2.2 trillion economic relief package passed by Congress in March.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was asked Saturday if he and the Gov. Andrew Cuomo would come to terms on the issue of closing New York City schools.
“I think we’re always going to work things through in the common interest of our people,” he said.
De Blasio added he’d always work with state government and Cuomo.
De Blasio said earlier Saturday the city’s public school buildings will remain closed through the end of the year because of coronavirus concerns – but Cuomo later said no decision about the schools has been made, adding that it’s his legal authority “in this situation” to close schools.
Chicago saw an uptick in violent crime this week, despite the coronavirus pandemic, according to Chicago police data.
There were 19 homicides and 44 people were shot in Chicago from Sunday to Thursday, police data shows.
“Crime overall in Chicago has ebbed and flowed,” Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tells CNN. “We’ve had days like last week where we have 14 shot in 12 hours.”
Guglielmi says it has been a trying time for the Chicago Police Department.
“In order to be able to do that effectively, we have to make sure our officers are supported.”
At least 237 members of the Chicago Police Department have tested positive for coronavirus, interim Chicago Police Superintendent Charlie Beck said at a press conference Saturday morning.
Key US government official Adm. Brett Giroir, whose responsibilities include oversight of Covid-19 testing, told Bloomberg News Saturday that coronavirus testing capacity in the US should be in the “ballpark” needed to begin reopening the country by May if the President recommends lifting some social distancing guidelines.
Giroir, the assistant Health and Human Services secretary, outlined the four diagnostics needed before easing social distancing restrictions.
“Surveillance to catch new flare-ups; testing of people who have specific symptoms; contact-tracing for confirmed cases; and antibody testing to know who’s recovered from the virus,” which he said is weeks away, according to Bloomberg.
Giroir said that the administration is having an “active discussion” about adding minorities to the priority list.
A finger-prick test to identify people who have already had coronavirus should be available “in the course of weeks,” Giroir told the outlet.
In a brief statement, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson thanked National Health Service staff at St Thomas’ Hospital following his treatment in the hospital’s intensive care unit, , according to the UK Press Association,
“I can’t thank them enough. I owe them my life,” Johnson said, according to the press association.
This is the first known statement from Johnson since he entered hospital last Sunday night.
He initially tested positive March 27 and was released from the ICU Thursday.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Department of Education Chancellor Richard Carranza sent a letter to parents announcing the closure of the city’s schools Saturday.
The full letter can be read here.
Malcolm Jenkins, a safety for the New Orleans Saints, made a request to the black community in the United States during the ongoing fight against coronavirus.
In a 58-second video, the three-time Pro Bowl defensive back ask his community to “take care of you first” as he questions the true destination of government-funded resources.
Jenkins is known for being one of the most socially conscious and community-minded players in the NFL. He was a visible part of the systemic-oppression protest led by Colin Kaepernick in 2016 to shed light on issues minorities face in this country.
There have been at least 20,071 coronavirus deaths reported in the United States, according to tally from Johns Hopkins University.
Johns Hopkins University reported the update Saturday afternoon.
There are currently at least 519,453 reported cases in the US, according to the university.
Parents and staff in New York City public schools say they were sent a notice that schools would be closed through the remainder of the academic year, but have not been updated since New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that was not decided at his press briefing Saturday morning.
Megan Demarkis, a parent coordinator for PS 13 elementary in Brooklyn, told CNN that school staff were sent a notice right before New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s press conference also on Saturday where he announced the closure.
A new hours later, Cuomo said decisions on how long to keep schools closed will made in coordination with all New York counties in the city’s metropolitan area — and maybe even with neighboring states like New Jersey and Connecticut.
Staff members say they have not been contacted by the Department of Education since the Cuomo press conference and parents have already started to ask questions on the school’s Facebook page about what is going on.
Schools have put into place plans for a full year closure, but “it would be really nice if our leaders were aligned,” Demarkis says, citing that a full-year closure requires decisions about helping underprivileged families with things like rent and food.
Parents at PS 527 in Manhattan received an email about school closure earlier on Saturday as well, but they have not received a follow-up email.
There has been an increase of court ordered releases of inmates in the City of Philadelphia jail population since Monday due in large part – but not wholly – to the pandemic, according to the mayor’s spokesperson Deana Gamble.
Gamble told CNN there has been an average of 78 releases per day since Monday.
Gamble could not get into the level of specificity as to the releases in regards to whether they were compassionate releases or granted based on offenders risk of contracting the virus.
The First Judicial District is the Philadelphia County Court authority and neither the mayor’s general authority nor emergency powers grant him the ability to release inmates unless otherwise ordered by the court, she said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved New Jersey’s request to use emergency, non-congregate sheltering for people impacted by the coronavirus who are not able to isolate themselves, the governor and State Police colonel said in a press release.
This means state, county and local entities will be reimbursed for providing housing at hotels or motels for certain vulnerable populations.
According to the release, these groups of people include:
By the numbers: The state of New Jersey recorded an additional 3,748 coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, bringing the statewide total to 51,027.
There have also been an additional 198 deaths in the past 24 hours, and “with adjustments given further investigations” the statewide death toll is 1,700, according to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.
The mayor of Miami-Dade County is the latest official to require public transit and ride share drivers to wear masks.
Gimenez ordered all essential workers to wear “face coverings” earlier this week.
The ride share company Uber said this week it began “distributing millions of ear-loop face masks to active drivers and delivery people around the world.”
“On Tuesday, we shipped our first order of masks to drivers in New York City, and we are receiving a shipment of nearly half a million more which we will immediately send to drivers in the hardest hit US cities,” Uber said in a press release.
Uber says it’s ordered “tens of millions more masks and expect them to arrive in other cities and regions around the world in the coming weeks.”
Philadelphia, Detroit and cities across the country now require public transit drivers wear masks.
A panel of experts have answered some of the questions from CNN viewers about the coronavirus.
Here’s what they had to say:
Q: Are all soaps created equal? Which ones are the best to use?
A: Dr. Darria Long, emergency room physician –– “It looks like when you’re using soaps that probably an antibacterial may be a little more helpful than say a generic moisturizing soap, but just as important as what you use is the duration. We say in medicine the solution to pollution is dilution–– meaning you have to have that time of the soap on your hands to really disrupt the virus and wash it off. That 20 seconds is really important.”
Q: How has coronavirus affected the housing market? Is it still a good time to buy or sell a home?
A: Suze Orman, money expert and host of the “Women and Money” podcast –– “I have to tell you for the housing market to go up means people have to be able to afford to buy a home and I’m not sure that is going to be able to happen. So I don’t think the housing market is going to go up. I probably would not be buying a home right here. If I had to, though, I would be selling a home if I needed to sell it but I wouldn’t be buying at this point.”
Q: Could Covid-19 spread from second-hand vaping and how quickly will it get into your lungs?
A: Dr. Darria Long, emergency room physician –– “If you are vaping, increased coughing and maybe deeper breathing you may be more likely to spread Covid to other people, but what we also have to emphasize is studies are showing that people who vape, smoke, smoke cannabis, any type of smoking are at higher risk of developing potentially more severe Covid and more complications from Covid. It decreases your immune system and hurts your lungs.”
According to Johns Hopkins University’s tally, there are at least 514,415 cases of coronavirus in the US and at least 19,882 people have died from the disease.
The totals includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as all repatriated cases.
Wyoming is the only state that is not reporting a death from coronavirus.
