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Residents of Los Angeles should wear non-medical grade face coverings when in public, the city’s mayor Eric Garcetti said in a news conference Tuesday.
Garcetti emphasized that all medical-grade N95 masks were reserved for front-line workers in hospitals and clinics.
Face coverings, like a bandanna, are only effective with safe physical distancing, he added. There are currently 8,155 cases of the virus in California.
Global debate on face masks: Despite the regular use of masks in Asian countries such as China and South Korea, Western governments have been slow to embrace them to stop the spread of the virus.
But with the number of new cases remaining low or stable in Asia, it appears that more countries in the West may change their approach.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the UK and Canada were making plans to repatriate their citizens from two Holland America cruise ships currently off the coast of Florida.
Two cruise ships off Florida coast: Both the Zaandam and the Rotterdam are currently on their way to Florida, and have requested permission to disembark guests.
Since March 22, 83 passengers and 136 crew onboard the Zaandam have exhibited flu-like symptoms. Eight passengers have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Four people on the Zaandam have died, but the cause of their deaths is unknown.
On the Rotterdam, 14 passengers have exhibited flu-like symptoms.
Dr. Deborah Birx said a coronavirus antibody test could be available “within this month” and says “I’ve really called on every university and every state to develop ELISA’s, you can buy the antigens and the controls online, and really work to test entire health care communities in your state and support them that way.”
The ELISA, or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, test detects and measures antibodies in blood. If successful, the test could help identify those who have already had the virus, but have since recovered.
Experts say that if a person has had the virus and developed antibodies, it will most likely mean they have built up immunity and the chances of that person being infected again drops dramatically.
Birx said that the test could help identify frontline medical workers who may have had the coronavirus and not know it.
Birx said a first test could be available, “soon, within this month if the universities help us, absolutely.”
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There have been at least 917 new coronavirus deaths reported in the US on Wednesday, according to a count by CNN Health.
This is the most reported deaths in the United States in a single day since the coronavirus outbreak.
There have been a total of 4,745 deaths reported in the US since the outbreak.
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Wyoming remains the only state in the US without a death from coronavirus.
So far, there are 137 positive cases in the state, according to CNN’s tally.
Adam Schlesinger, a prolific songwriter for film and television and co-founder of the band Fountains of Wayne, has died from complications of Covid-19. He was 52.
Schlesinger wrote the title track for “That Thing You Do,” the 1996 film directed by and starring Tom Hanks.
More recently, he wrote and produced music for the show “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.” He won multiple Emmy Awards, a Grammy and was an Oscar and Tony Award nominee. The Fountains of Wayne song “Stacy’s Mom,” a pop hit from 2003, was among the group’s most popular songs.
The Zaandam and Rotterdam cruise ships are expected to arrive and remain off the coast of Florida early Thursday while they wait for clearance from US authorities, according to a statement from Holland America.
The company made a plea to President Trump, Florida authorities and the public to be allowed to arrive to Florida.
The cruise line called the status on the ships a “humanitarian situation.” Four people on the ship have died and at least eight people have tested positive for Covid-19.
Since March 22, 97 guests (83 on Zaandam and 14 on Rotterdam) and 136 crew on the Zaandam have exhibited flu-like symptoms, according to the statement.
About 45 guests have mild illness and are unfit to travel. These passengers would stay isolated on board until they recover, per the press release.
Holland America says less than 10 people need immediate critical care onshore and it has secured a local health system to treat them.
“This small number is the only group that will require any support from medical resources in Broward County and is necessary to prevent further harm to their health,” Holland America said in a statement
When asked Wednesday evening during a coronavirus task force briefing why he didn’t issue a universal stay-at-home order for the entirety of the country, President Trump implied that some states are basically fine when it comes to the disease.
Facts First: The entire country has been impacted by the coronavirus. Americans have tested positive in every US state and all but one territory. As of the start of Wednesday’s press briefing, all 50 states had at least 100 cases.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said that Georgia could “reach peak hospital capacity on April 23.”
Kemp added: “That’s nearly three weeks from today. This model assumes that Georgians continue to abide by the state’s orders and use social distancing methods through the end of May.”
Grand Canyon National Park announced its closure “immediately” in a press release Wednesday evening.
The National Park Service said it is closing the park based on the recommendation of the chief health officer in Coconino County, Arizona.
The park had been operating with very limited services, but resisted a call from the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks and other groups to close entirely.
President Trump said learning about the “severity” of the novel coronavirus led to his recent shift in tone away from comparing the virus to the flu as he did in the early days of the pandemic.
The President was asked about the unnamed friend whose struggle with the virus Trump has cited at least twice in previous briefings. Trump has said this friend slipped into a coma.
“Also the violence of it — if it hits the right person, and you know what those stats are, if it hits the right person that persons in deep trouble. And my friend was the right person,” Trump said.
The President stopped short of saying his friend’s condition was a turning point in his view of the virus, saying his view shifted due to the data he was presented.
“But it hit him very hard. He’s strong, very strong kind of a guy, but he’s older, he’s heavier and he’s sort of central casting for what we’re talking about,” Trump said.
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President Trump said he won’t issue a national stay-at-home order because different states have different levels of coronavirus cases.
The President said there should be some sort of flexibility among the states depending on how bad individual states situations might be.
“You have to look — you have to give a little flexibility. If you have a state in the Midwest, or if Alaska for example doesn’t have a problem, it’s awfully tough to say close it down. We have to have a little bit of flexibility,” Trump said.
Some context: Surgeon General Jerome Adams said the 30 days to slow the spread guidelines should be viewed as a national stay-at-home order on Wednesday morning.
“My advice to America would be that these guidelines are a national stay-at-home order. There are guidelines that say, look, the more we social distance, the more we stay at home, the less spread of disease there will be,” Adams said.
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President Trump said the administration is considering cutting off coronavirus “hot spots” from air travel, but added that such a move would be “very tough.”
“Once you do that,” Trump added, “you really are clamping down an industry that is desperately needed.”
Trump said the calculation between keeping the industry afloat and spreading the virus, “is a calculation we’re looking at right now. We’re looking at it very strongly.”
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Canadian officials say the government is telling them the stockpile for medical supplies may not be enough to combat the novel coronavirus.
“I have heard those stories myself from frontline workers, I know provinces and territories are developing different sets of rules for frontline workers around the dispersement, and use of personal protective equipment,” Hajdu added.
Several hospitals in Ontario and Quebec, the worst affected provinces in Canada, are now telling medical staff to ration their supplies of protective equipment.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government continues to work to find supplies around the world and he says he is working hard on “made in Canada” solutions.
“We recognize the challenges frontline health workers are facing in different parts of the country. We are working very closely with the provincial authorities in charge of those healthcare systems to try and meet the needs that they’re facing,” Trudeau said during a press conference Wednesday. “We are facing – looking at a global demand for these supplies that is unprecedented. Countries around the world are trying to get more of these supplies. We are expecting to see some shipments coming in very shortly that will help in Canada.”
When asked if the US Strategic National Stockpile is nearly depleted, President Trump told reporters “It is. We are sending it directly to hospitals.”
Trump went on to echo statements he made yesterday that the federal government wants supplies to be directly shipped where they are needed, rather than sitting in a warehouse.
Some context: The Strategic National Stockpile is deploying the last round of shipments in its inventory, depleting the bulk of its protective gear, a source familiar told CNN earlier today.
The official added that the stockpile was never meant to serve as the only source of protective gear for the entire coronavirus response and they said the states would need to get more supply from the private market.
New York City has 45,707 coronavirus cases and 1,374 deaths, according to the city’s website.
Today there has been 3,936 new cases and 278 new deaths.
New York state as a while has 83,712 coronavirus cases and 1,941 deaths, according to CNN’s tally.
There have been at least 869 coronavirus deaths reported in the US on Wednesday, according to a count by CNN Health.
This is the most reported deaths in the United States in a single day since the novel coronavirus outbreak.
There have been a total of 4,703 deaths reported in the US since the outbreak.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced in a press briefing on Wednesday that the state has been talking to Chinese factory owners, and others, to purchase medical equipment.
According to the governor, Colorado has a “monumental task” at hand to build medical capacity at this critical time. And the state is not just facing a healthcare crisis; it is also facing a supply chain crisis, Polis added.
“We simply do not have the medical capacity, the beds, hospital beds, ICU units, ventilators, personal protection equipment to treat everybody who might get sick and have the potential to get better,” the governor said. “We placed a number of purchase orders, and we have a number of supplies that are in transit or in the supply chain, all subject to verification. We want to verify that the masks work and that they are not counterfeit.”
By the numbers: Colorado has ordered 2.5 million N95 Masks, 750 ventilators, 1.5 million gloves, one million surgical masks, 25,000 face shields and 250,000 gowns, according to the governor.
Colorado has a total of 3,338 coronavirus cases with 77 deaths, according to CNN’s tally.
The spread of the novel coronavirus may occur before patients present with symptoms, according to a report released Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The transmission of the novel coronavirus before the development of symptoms might occur through respiratory droplets or indirect transmission, according to the report.
