Our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in the US has ended for the day. Follow the latest developments from around the globe here.
Los Angeles will now offer free coronavirus testing for all residents with or without symptoms, Mayor Eric Garcetti said at a news conference today.
Los Angeles is the first major city to do this, according to Garcetti.
Those with symptoms will have the first priority, he added.
Los Angeles has the capacity to conduct roughly 9% of all tests in America, he said.
The Pentagon announced Wednesday that it “will invest $75.5 million in Defense Production Act Title 3 funding to increase swab production by 20 million per month starting in May.”
Some context: President Trump announced Sunday he will compel a US company to make swabs under the Defense Production Act, but Peter Navarro, his trade adviser who Trump tapped to coordinate DPA use, clarified to CNN Monday that the White House plans to use the act to give Puritan Medical Supplies federal funding to boost production.
“As Ben Franklin might have said today ‘For want of a swab, a test was lost.’ This swift DPA action by the Trump administration will help America continue to rapidly build up its testing capacity. It underscores the many and varied uses of DPA authorities to secure our supply chain and onshore production of critical resources in our public health industrial base,” Navarro said in a statement.
The Defense Department said that “Puritan is securing a facility in Pittsfield, Maine where it will build its manufacturing facility. Puritan is also adding 150 employees to staff the new factory which will start production in May.”
“More jobs for Maine is a nice bonus,” Navarro added.
The state of Wyoming announced that its 14-day quarantine directive has been extended, according to a statement from the governor’s office.
The decision by the governor was made following conversations with county commissioners throughout the state. Gordon also took into consideration the existing guidance in place in neighboring states, the statement added.
“He noted that Colorado continues to discourage nonessential travel and Montana’s 14-day self-quarantine directive remains in place,” the statement said.
Gordon announced that on May 15, reservation-only camping at the state parks would open.
San Diego County has extended its public health order indefinitely, Public Health Officer Wilma Wooten said at a news conference Wednesday.
The order was set to expire tomorrow, April 30.
The current county health order requires all people to remain in their homes or at their place of residence, except for employees or customers traveling to and from essential businesses or activities. Beginning May 1, all people in San Diego must wear face coverings anywhere in public if they come within 6 feet of another person, the order mandates.
County officials also said they are hoping to relax more restrictions for parks and golf courses by next week if public places and businesses can enforce social distancing.
The county loosened restrictions on Monday to allow swimming, surfing, paddleboarding and kayaking in the ocean and bays. Recreational boating is still banned.
Former Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice dismissed senior Trump adviser Jared Kushner’s claim that the administration’s coronavirus response has been a “great success story,” telling CNN’s Wolf Blitzer the President’s son-in-law’s words were “ridiculous” and would be “laughable if it weren’t so deadly serious.”
Rice went on to rebuke Kushner’s claim that much of the country would be back to normal by June and his stated hope that by “July the country is really rocking again.”
“This is the beginning, not the end of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States,” she said. “Dr. Fauci, whose judgment I trust implicitly, has just said that he believes the second wave in the fall is inevitable and that’s the pattern of pandemics of the past.”
Speaking on “Fox and Friends” earlier in the day, the President’s son-in-law painted a rosy picture of the White House’s response to the coronavirus pandemic calling a “great success story” — less than a day after the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States topped 1 million.
When Kushner was pressed on the same program on coronavirus testing levels in the US, he said the question shouldn’t be why did it take so long, but, “How did we do this so quickly?”
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There are 964 members of the New York Police Department out sick with the coronavirus, the NYPD announced Wednesday evening.
This figure represents 745 uniformed members and 219 civilian members, according to the NYPD’s daily coronavirus report.
As many as 2,800 members of the NYPD were out sick with the coronavirus on April 14, but it’s unclear if that represents the peak number for the department. CNN has reached out to the NYPD for more information.
As for the overall sick report, 7.7% of the NYPD’s uniformed workforce was out sick Tuesday, down from an April 9 high of 19.8%.
There are 4,959 members of the NYPD who have tested positive for the coronavirus and more than 3,958 members of the NYPD have returned to full duty after recovering from the disease.
“And let’s remember and pray for the 37 members of the service that have died due to coronavirus-related illness,” the NYPD added in the report.
New Hampshire has recorded 50 new Covid-19 cases and six new deaths due to the virus, Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette said at a news conference today.
There are now 2,054 people diagnosed with Covid-19 and 66 total deaths in the state, she said. There are 259 people who have been hospitalized in New Hampshire due to coronavirus and more than 19,800 people have been tested.
Shibinette announced that two additional long-term care facilities in the state have reported Covid-19 outbreaks.
One facility is the Hackett Hill Healthcare Center in Manchester, where 22 residents and two staff members tested positive for Covid-19. The other outbreak is at the Mountain Ridge Center in Franklin where 13 residents and two staff members have tested positive for Covid-19.
Gov. Chris Sununu announced the release of funds to assist homeless individuals in New Hampshire during the pandemic.
The Department of Health and Human Services has committed an addition $3 million from the CARES Act to do three things in New Hampshire:
Looking to the future: Sununu said the state was looking at ways to “phase in” reopening the economy, and said that on Friday he will be making an announcement regarding the stay-at-home order.
The state is looking to be flexible regarding certain areas of the state where they believe they can open in a smart and responsible phased approach that is “always putting public health first,” Sununu said.
All of this has to be done with increased testing, which the state is constantly working on, Sununu said. There are five new testing sites across New Hampshire for individuals who cannot access hospitals or urgent care locations. These new testing sites are located in Lancaster, Plymouth, Tamworth, Rochester and Claremont and the tests sites are up and running now, Sununu said.
Elective medical procedures and outpatient health care operations like dentistry will be permitted to resume beginning tomorrow morning in West Virginia, Gov. Jim Justice announced at a news conference today.
Health providers must have adequate personal protective equipment inventories and are required to follow guidance issued by their boards and associations in order to open.
Justice’s proposal to reopen West Virginia, called The Comeback, is a six-week plan dependent on cumulative positive cases remaining below 3%.
The next phase allows restaurants, churches, and professional services like salons to open with restrictions on May 4.
“We can’t stay where we’re at,” Justice said. “If we stay where we’re at, we’re going to lose way, way, way more.”
He also said reopening schools this academic year “is completely off the table.”
Justice was asked to respond to President Trump’s suggestion earlier this week that states consider reopening schools.
“In West Virginia, that’s not going to happen,” Justice said.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum’s signed an executive order Wednesday allowing certain businesses to reopen Friday.
The new order goes into effect at midnight Friday, but businesses may not open until after 8 a.m.
Here’s what we know about the order:
There are at least 1,033 coronavirus cases in North Dakota and at least 19 people have died, according to the North Dakota Department of Health.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shared specifics for his phase one reopening that is set to begin on May 4.
Schools will remain in distance learning, visits to senior living facilities will remain prohibited and elective surgeries can resume on May 4, DeSantis said today during a news conference.
Restaurants can reopen if they offer outdoor seating with 6 feet worth of space between tables and indoor seating is capped at 25% capacity.
Retail businesses can operate at 25% of indoor capacity.
Bars, gyms, and personal services such as hair dressers will remain closed, DeSantis said.
Churches will remain on “voluntary social distancing” and movie theaters will remain closed.
“I do want people to be able to get into gyms, and if I get some guidelines that make sense and I see it is okay, then we will obviously reevaluate that. And I would say the same with some of the personal services, like the hair dressers,” DeSantis added.
DeSantis said that Florida’s phase one reopening will focus on walk-up and drive-up testing, with a total of 11 state-supported walk-up sites across the state. DeSantis said that walk-up testing is a concept the state rolled out about two weeks ago and that about 6,300 tests have been administered so far.
There are at least 1,036,652 cases of coronavirus in the US and at least 60,475 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally of cases.
On Wednesday, Johns Hopkins reported 24,070 new cases and 2,120 reported deaths.
The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.
Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources announced a phased approach to reopening state parks during a news conference on Wednesday.
Between May 4 and May 15, park lodging, dining marinas and retail stores will reopen with limited services and locations, Director of the Department of Natural Resources Carol Comer said.
On May 11, Castlewood State Park, Elephant Rocks State Park, Watkins Woolen Mill State Park and Weston Bend State Park will reopen for day-use with limited parking. Some trails in these parks may be closed to ensure social distancing is possible, Comer said.
On May, 18, the off-road vehicle riding area at St. Joe State Park will reopen with a limited number of one-day permits available.
Camping in state parks will remain suspended through May 18, after which officials will reassess.
President Trump said he does not think states that have so-called “sanctuary cities” should receive federal bailout funds.
He added that it “will be a subject that will be discussed.”
“I don’t think you should have sanctuary cities if they get that kind of aid. If you’re gonna get aid to the cities and states for the kind of numbers you’re talking about, billions of dollars, I don’t think you should have sanctuary cities,” Trump said.
When asked specifically if he will prevent aid from going to sanctuary states and cities, Trump responded: “We shouldn’t have to pay anything anyway, because all they do is make it very hard for law enforcement.”
He added: “I don’t see helping cities and states if they’re going to be sanctuary, because all sanctuary means to me is that it’s protecting a lot of criminals, and others, many people.”
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Manufacturing, construction, vehicle or vessel dealerships and dog grooming and boarding businesses in Kentucky will be allowed to reopen May 11, Gov. Andy Beshear said.
This guidance also includes professional services operating at 50% capacity. Horse racing can also happen with no spectators, Beshear said.
On May 20, retail and houses of worship will be allowed to reopen, the governor said.
As a final step in the state’s first phase of reopening, starting May 25, social gatherings of 10 people will be permitted again. Barber shops, salons, cosmetology businesses and similar services will be allowed to reopen as well, according to Beshear.
Restaurants, movie theaters, campgrounds, youth sports, summer camps and daycares will be part of a possible June reopening, Beshear said.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said he has warned the federal government the nation’s food supply chain could be gravely impacted by Covid-19 cases in his state.
The governor said he just completed a call with the White House, the governors of Delaware, Virginia, and 15 other states, that have meat processing plants.
Hogan said he is receiving federal assistance and is grateful to the Trump administration, particularly Vice President Mike Pence and theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention for their swift response.
The governor said the issue has become a multi-agency and multi-state effort.
President Trump said he will travel to Arizona next week, after weeks of staying in Washington because of Covid-19.
The comments came during a meeting with industry leaders at the White House on Wednesday.
Asked if he is going to start traveling soon, Trump responded, “I think so.”
Trump said he hopes that “in the not-too-distant future we’re going to have some massive rallies.”
“And people will be sitting next to each other,” he added. “I can’t imagine a rally where you have every fourth seat full. Every six seats are empty for everyone you have full, that wouldn’t look too good.”
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced he signed an executive order today, requiring universal testing of all residents and staff at nursing homes.
Hogan emphasized that it was mandatory for all facilities to comply, whether or not the residents or staff are symptomatic.
He went on to say that all nursing homes are required to have a doctor, physician’s assistant, or a nurse evaluate all residents daily. Hogan said they expect they will see the numbers of cases significantly rise.
Hogan said any staff that tests positive will be “discharged into isolation.” He also said that all the nursing facilities would be required to have emergency staffing plans to ensure continuity of care.
Some California businesses operators, including restaurant and salon owners in rural parts of the state, are urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to begin easing stay-at-home orders aimed at reducing the spread of coronavirus.
“The one size fits all” approach isn’t warranted given the disparity in cases between rural areas and cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, they argued.
Drowns and other business owners gathered in front of the capitol in Sacramento this week to share the economic hardship their companies and employees are facing.
“I think the conversation needs to be how do we balance the economic and safety portions,” said Sarina Paulson, the owner of three salons in the state.
Newsom has laid out a vision for reopening California businesses, saying it is “weeks away.” However, he has not indicated whether restrictions will be lifted in some areas before others.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced that close contact services like salons and barbershops would be allowed to reopen on May 6 in 89 of the state’s 95 counties.
The governor went on to say that he signed an executive order yesterday, which was predominantly about reopening the economy.
“The situation there is that we had to issue an updated order yesterday in order to allow retail to open today. But as we said in the order, there are some places that we anticipate opening before the end of May. The first example of this, as you may have heard, is close contact services like salons and barbershops,” Lee said.
The governor also announced that “in the next several weeks, the Unified Command Group is embarking on widespread testing of all long term facilities in Tennessee.”
“We have 700 long-term care facilities in our state, and 70,000 of our Tennessee residents are in long-term care facilities,” Lee said. “So for this initial push, we are partnering with the National Healthcare Corporation to test all residents and staff in each of their 38 Tennessee facilities.”
Tennessee today reported a 3.1% increase in its total number of coronavirus cases since yesterday. The state has a total of 10,366 cases, with 195 deaths.
