Our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in the US has ended for the day. Follow developments from around the globe here.
Randall Woodfin, the mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, said he’s “very concerned” with his state reopening as new coronavirus cases rise in his state.
The state’s stay-at-home order expired April 30 and another order with fewer restrictions is in place through May 15.
Woodfin also weighed in on a new study that showed evidence of more African Americans dying from coronavirus in the United States than whites or other ethnic groups.
Gary Cohn, former economic adviser to President Trump, said he’s optimistic about the future of the US economy.
“We are going to recover. We are going to put people back to work. And we’re going to do it rather quickly,” Cohn told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “I would not underestimate the strength and the recovery of this economy.”
Cohn noted that the economy may look different in a post-coronavirus world, and may feature different types of employment.
“We will be very clever and very creative at creating new jobs and new opportunities in our economy,” he said.
Despite his optimism, however, Cohn does not concur with the President’s assessment that the United States is going “to have an incredible next year” economically.
“I think it’s going to take longer than 12 months for us to evolve to where we’re comfortable,” Cohn said. “Unless something miraculously happens in the medical field and we get a vaccine… it’s going to take some period of time.”
All passengers using the Metro transportation system in Los Angeles will be required to use face coverings on buses and trains starting Monday, the agency announced on its website.
To help with social distancing, bus riders are being asked to use the back door to board and exit. The front door is still available to wheelchair riders and for those who need to use the ramp.
Metro is also looking for ways to help riders obtain face coverings, the agency said.
Metro has over 13,000 bus stops and 93 rail stations in Los Angeles County, according to its website.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Wednesday that all travelers at Los Angeles International Airport will be required to wear face coverings in addition to passengers on Los Angeles Department of Transportation’s DASH, Commuter Express, and Cityride buses.
A new estimate of the US infection fatality rate from the novel coronavirus puts it at 1.3%, making it deadlier than the seasonal flu, which in a typical season has a 0.1% infection fatality rate.
Anirban Basu, a professor in the department of pharmacy at the University of Washington in Seattle, used publicly available data on infection numbers and deaths from the novel coronavirus through April 20.
At a county level, the fatality rate ranged from 0.5% to 3.6%, Basu reported in the journal Health Affairs Thursday.
The study did not include New York City, which has had the highest number of cases and deaths in the country. The numbers of cases and deaths were changing too fast to include in the study, Basu said.
The lowest rate of deaths was in Putnam County, New York — estimated at 0.5%. The highest was in King County, Washington at an estimated 3.6%. By April 20, there were 134 counties in the US that had reported no Covid-19 deaths.
Some context: These are just preliminary figures, Basu said. The case fatality rate is based on the reported number of confirmed cases and confirmed Covid-19-related deaths.
Since it is still unclear how many people have actually been infected, the rate is probably not that high, although the authors did create a model that tried to account for some of the unknowns. The model doesn’t account for the number of asymptomatic cases. The numbers will be clearer when there is more testing, Basu said.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Thursday he hopes to move to the second phase of reopening his state at the end of May.
“Phase two allows some additional industries to reopen,” Inslee told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “Restaurants with 50% capacity. [We’ll] be able to have gatherings up to five people in a variety of contexts and a group of other less risky businesses.”
Inslee extended his state’s stay-at-home order until May 31.
“We’ve now brought back some industries, the construction industry,” he said. “Tomorrow some auto sales, for instance, will come back.”
The Washington state governor added that three weeks after moving to phase two of his reopening plan, he will re-evaluate to see if other businesses that are finding it difficult to preserve social distancing can reopen.
Inslee insisted that coronavirus testing remains a need “to allow our economy to fully reopen.”
“The needs of testing will increase, not decrease,” Inslee said. “I think some people think the need for testing will decrease as the virus goes down. Actually, it will increase because we’ll have more new employees coming back, more students, more people who need (personal protective equipment) and testing. So the need for the federal government to assist the states is going to actually increase.”
The US should be testing at least 900,000 people a day by May 15 if there is to be any hope of getting ahead of the Covid-19 pandemic, a team at the Harvard Global Health Institute said Thursday. That’s up from the institute’s previous recommended target of 500,000 a day.
“Social distancing measures have been able to stall the sharp increase of infection and death rates — but unlike in many other nations, new cases are only very slowly decreasing and death rates have plateaued at around 1,800 each day.”
Harvard published the new goals alongside reporting from NPR that suggests 41 states are not testing enough residents.
“As of this week, national testing is still stalled at around 250,000 daily tests,” the Harvard team said.
Yet many states are starting to allow businesses to reopen and people to return to beaches, parks and other recreation sites. States should not be loosening these restrictions yet, the group advised.
“Daily new cases should have been in decline for at least 14 days, for example, and states need to have a solid infrastructure in place for testing, tracing contacts of those whose tests have come back positive, and isolating all infected individuals regardless of symptoms,” the institute advised.
“For states that look like they’re meeting their testing goals, I wouldn’t take that as too much comfort, because the number of cases will start going up,” Jha added.
In states that are starting to relax restrictions meant to contain the spread of the virus, even more testing will be needed than in states still enforcing lockdowns, Jha’s team said.
If you’re just joining our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in the US, here are the latest headlines:
Georgia Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey said anyone in Georgia can be tested for Covid-19, regardless of whether they’re showing symptoms or not.
She added: “We’ll continue to prioritize first responders and others at high risk, like health care workers, but we want to ensure that everyone who wants to get a test can get access to free testing through one of our sites.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said the state doubled its daily testing capacity.
“A few weeks ago, Georgia ranked 43rd out of 54 states and territories in testing per capita. Today, we are 29th according to the Covid-19 Mapping Project,” Kemp said.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner pushed back on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to reopen state, saying there’s no way to require people to stay home if businesses are opening.
He added: “So once you removed the enforcement mechanism, there’s nothing you can do to enforce something that you can’t enforce.”
Marvin Odum, the appointed Covid-19 recovery leader for Houston, said the city will be adding 24 new testing locations by the end of May. It will be free and open to anyone who wants to get tested.
Nevada will begin reopening on May 9, Gov. Steve Sisolak said today.
Starting at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, restaurants will be able to open for dine-in services with social distancing, and customers waiting for a table will have to remain outside. Most retail establishments will be able to open, including hair salons by reservation only. Retail businesses can operate at 50% of normal capacity.
Sisolak made clear that one of the industries that will not be opening in the first round is casinos.
“Gaming operations shall remain closed until the Gaming Control Board determines that operations may safely resume,” the governor said.
Additionally, bars, bowling alleys, movie theaters and tattoo parlors are among the other businesses that will remain closed.
Frontier Airlines says it plans to begin temperature screening all passengers and crew next month.
The airline announced Thursday that the screening regimen with a touchless thermometer will begin June 1 and “anyone with a temperature exceeding 100.4 degrees will be denied boarding.”
Passengers who test above that limit “will be given time to rest,” and if a second screening is also high, “a Frontier gate agent will explain to the customer that they will not be flying that day for the health and safety of others.”
Tests will be conducted at the boarding gate by the agent.
CEO Barry Biffle said the temperature screenings are “an additional layer of protection for everyone onboard.” The airline is one of several US carriers requiring all passengers and crew to wear face masks.
On Thursday morning, Frontier acknowledged it is no longer charging customers $39 and upwards to reserve an empty neighboring seat as part of a social distancing initiative. The airline said it will continue to block the seats but not charge customers.
Frontier and other airlines say they are encouraging the federal Transportation Security Administration to include a temperature check at the security checkpoint.
The Transportation Security Administration announced Thursday it is requiring employees to wear face masks at airport screening locations.
The agency had been providing the masks to screeners, but now it is requiring that facial protection be worn.
The TSA says this change will happen in the “coming days.” Wearing eye protection remains optional, it says.
The TSA also says it is considering more measures to protect against coronavirus.
See how airports are trying to stop the coronavirus spread:
A JBS Greeley beef plant spokesperson said an 11-year employee will receive “the support she deserves” after her daughter told CNN Wednesday about her mother getting sick while working at the plant.
Tin Aye is now in a local Colorado hospital connected to a ventilator due to Covid-19, according to her daughter.
Aye’s daughter San Aye told CNN Wednesday her family filed a Family Medical Leave Act claim with JBS.
CNN reported on Wednesday that Aye started feeling ill in March and went to a JBS clinic to be checked by plant staff, according to her daughter.
Aye said the clinic staff told her mother that her symptoms were that of a common cold and she could return to work on the plant’s production lines.
In a previous statement, Richardson said: “If this is true, it would be a clear violation of our culture and procedures, which puts team member health and safety first.”
White House staffers, US Secret Service agents and officers working at the White House were seen heading to the White House Medical Unit for testing Thursday in response to news that a presidential valet testing positive for Covid-19.
More than 100 special agents and uniformed division officers were dispatched to the White House Medical Unit located in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building across from the West Wing.
A law enforcement source familiar with White House security operation told CNN the hastily arranged testing was ordered under the direction of the White House Medical Unit.
President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and the senior staffers who regularly interact with them have been getting tested weekly for coronavirus, two people familiar told CNN.
Later on Thursday, Trump told reporters he would be tested daily, saying there were “a number of days missed” between when the valet was last tested and when the valet discovered he had coronavirus.
Thursday’s testing included any Secret Service agent or officer who could potentially be in the proximity of the President or the Vice President, this includes special agents of the presidential protection detail and a variety of specialized officers and agents.
“White House Medical is calling all the shots,” the source said.
A United States Secret Service spokesperson told CNN it would not be disclosing information on testing practices.
San Francisco will not lift stay-home restrictions until May 18, Mayor London Breed said.
The city will not join the rest of California in reopening on Friday.
“Retailers like bookstores, florists, & music stores will be the first allowed to operate storefront pickup,” she added.
The stay-at-home order for seven Bay Area jurisdictions, which began on May 4, still remains in effect.
“The Bay Area orders do not currently permit curbside pickup from non-essential, non-outdoor businesses, and that is not allowed to begin on Friday, May 8,” the counties said in a statement.
“We appreciate that the Governor recognizes that California communities are impacted differently by coronavirus and can make decisions at the local level,” they added.
The areas covered in the regional order are Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties, along with the city of Berkeley.
“The coronavirus pandemic is still well underway,” the statement said. “Our communities will be dealing with it for a long time to come. We expect outbreaks to continue, especially among vulnerable populations.”
Following the announcement of Shanghai Disneyland’s reopening on May 11, Disney announced today that Disney Springs, an outdoor shopping, dining and entertainment area in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, will begin a phased reopening on May 20.
The statement said the reopening would include “increased cleaning procedures, the use of appropriate face coverings by both cast members and guests, limited-contact guest services and additional safety training for cast members.”
Theme parks and resort hotels will remain closed.
Florida began allowing restaurants to begin dine-in service on May 4, but restaurants at Disney Springs did not reopen on that date.
Dr. Richard Besser, former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, issued a warning this afternoon on the White House’s decision not to implement the latest CDC guidelines on when businesses could begin to safely reopen.
Besser’s remarks came after reports the Trump administration had decided not to implement a 17-page draft recommendation from the CDC for reopening America, a document which provided more detailed suggestions beyond the reopening guidelines the administration had put forth last month, including specific suggestions for schools and churches.
Besser went on to say that as states move to quickly reopen, they face the potential for further coronavirus outbreak.
“If you look at the trends around the nation, and you look at the number of states that are opening up their economy, it’s a really risky proposition,” Besser said. “I worry that we’re going to see very significant outbreaks in many of those places.”
Restaurants will be able to reopen with outdoor seating and 33% capacity on May 22, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday.
He said movie theaters and fitness centers will be allowed to reopen on June 1. Campgrounds will reopen on June 11.
The state’s goal is to allow childcare along with low-touch and outdoor youth sports by June 15, he said.
Beshear said phase three of the reopening plan will begin in July and plans include bars and groups of 50 people.
Beaches in Southern California’s Orange County will reopen starting today for active recreational use, county officials announced Thursday.
The announcement comes just a week after California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered all beaches in Orange County to close when large crowds gathered one weekend.
Newsom gave the county permission to reopen and announced in an earlier press conference on Thursday that an agreement was made for a “very thoughtful reopening.”
The state reviewed and approved the county’s phased beach reopening plan this morning, director of Orange County Community Resources Dylan Wright said.
It is consistent with the governor’s order, Wright added.
Orange County supervisor Michelle Steel said she’s still confused as to the governor’s motives on singling out their county.
“I want to reiterate that the governor’s actions on this front were clearly arbitrary and capricious and completely unnecessary,” Steel said.
