May 9 coronavirus news

A man walks by the Raging Bull Saloon in Augusta, Maine, on April 28.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced a reopening plan for businesses in rural counties that haven’t reported cases of community transmission.

There are 12 counties included in the Rural Reopening Plan: Aroostook, Piscataquis, Washington, Hancock, Somerset, Franklin, Oxford, Kennebec, Waldo, Knox, Lincoln and Sagadahoc.

On Monday, retail stores in those counties will be able to open, according to the plan.

The stores will need to use enhanced safety precautions. These include restricting the number of customers in a store at one time, implementing enhanced cleaning practices and using touch-free transactions when possible, the plan said.

Restaurants in those counties will be able to reopen on May 18 along with wilderness campsites, the plan said.

Restaurants will need to also have enhanced health and safety precautions including physically distancing customers, frequent hygiene and sanitation practices by employees, and controlling the flow of customers when possible.

Wilderness campsites will be open to Maine residents and visitors who have completed a 14 day quarantine period, the plan said.

Civil rights activist Henry Louis Gates Jr. gives the commencement address at American University's online ceremony on Saturday.

In light of the ban on mass gatherings because of the coronavirus, many colleges and universities have either delayed or cancelled their graduations, while others have opted for virtual commencement ceremonies.

American University in Washington, DC, hosted an online ceremony today with civil rights activist Henry Louis Gates Jr. giving the commencement address.

Gates offered words of congratulations to the graduates and discussed the difficultly of entering the working world at a time of great uncertainty.

Gates encouraged students to “find inspiration and hope and courage in the stories of those ancestors, even when the tide seems to be rolling against us, with history as our guide we will not be turned back.”

He joked about the circumstances of graduating during a global pandemic.

“Let’s be honest. You had something else entirely in mind for the event we are commemorating today, no one could have imagined the scenario we are living through. Maybe my friend Steven King,” Gates said.

American University has announced that it will hold a weekend of “special commencement ceremonies” for the Class of 2020 in mid-December.

Penn State University and the University of Connecticut also streamed online commencement ceremonies today.

The Obamas will host a virtual commencement for 74 historically black colleges and universities at “Show Me Your Walk, HBCU Edition,” on May 16.

There has been at least 1,297,549 coronavirus cases in US, and approximately 77,744 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

The totals includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez delivers a speech on May 6.

In a nationally-televised press conference on Saturday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was asked by CNN about the existence of a Johns Hopkins University ranking on Covid-19 testing that he had boasted about.

In a previous press conference on April 28, Sánchez said the university’s rankings showed Spain was fifth in the world in testing rates. But, those international rankings appear not to exist. 

CNN informed Sánchez during Saturday’s press conference that Johns Hopkins was unable to locate such rankings and that the Health Ministry hadn’t responded.

Asked if his office could point to the rankings he had referred to, Sanchez said only that “The numbers are there.” He then went on to read out the government’s latest testing data. 

When CNN first asked Sánchez about testing rates on April 28, the prime minister also cited contested Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) data showing Spain was 8th in the world for testing rates.

But even before Sánchez answered the question, the OECD had issued a statement correcting its data, after acknowledging it had mistakenly included Spain’s antibody testing rates in the overall numbers, which skewed its position.

The updated OECD chart at the time showed Spain had the 17th-highest testing rate, not the 8th, for Covid-19. 

Some more context: In April, CNN followed up with Johns Hopkins University to verify the rankings, but a spokesperson said, “We weren’t able to immediately locate such a report.”

When CNN asked if Johns Hopkins was tracking testing data outside the US, the spokesperson said, “We have elaborate US testing tracking efforts, including state comparisons, right now.”

On its coronavirus website, Johns Hopkins maps Covid-19 infections and deaths around the world and appears to only be tracking testing rates in the US. In April, CNN also asked the Spanish Health Ministry to send a link or proof that the rankings existed. They did not reply.  

The Spanish prime minister and his government have been accused by opposition parties and criticized by some of the country’s leading media of manipulating Spain’s test ranking figures.

On Saturday, Sanchez said that as of May 7, Spain had completed 1,625,211 PCR tests, and 842,550 antibody tests.

“We are one of the countries doing the most testing,” he said. 

The state of New Jersey is reporting at least 1,759 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the state total to approximately 137,085, Gov. Phil Murphy said.

There were 166 new deaths reported, bringing the statewide death toll to at least 9,116.

Where the state is seeing the most progress is the “declining positivity rate, that is the number of test that are coming back positive,” Murphy said.

Hospitalizations across the systems regionally are trending down and ventilator use also continues on a downward trend, Murphy said.

The governor also announced the American Red Cross will open two convalescent plasma collection sites in North Jersey on Monday. 

Approximately 100 Covid-19 patents at University Hospital, where one of the sites will be, have already been treated with convalescent plasma, Murphy said.

Long-term care facilities: Positive cases and deaths continue to grow in long-term care facilities, he added.

Murphy said the New Jersey National Guard is deploying members this weekend to several facilities to assist in mitigation efforts.

People ride bicycles in a cycle lane in the Chelsea neighborhood of London on May 9.

A $2.48 billion (£2 billion) package to encourage cycling and walking in the United Kingdom has been announced by the British government as part of efforts to promote alternative forms of travel to accommodate social distancing restrictions on public transport networks.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said Saturday that cycling and walking would be “at the heart” of the UK’s transport policy in a bid to avoid overcrowding on public transport services.

According to the transport secretary, the government’s new national cycling plan — which is to be introduced in early June — will aim to double cycling and increase walking by 2025.

“Swift emergency plans” are also to be put in place, including pop-up bike lanes, wider pavements for pedestrians and cycle and bus-only streets, Shapps added.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is confident his country is going in the right direction fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, according to remarks he made at a news conference on Saturday.

On Monday, more than 50% of the country will advance to Phase 1 in the “de-escalation process.”

Sánchez said that despite the good news, the country will be still living with the virus and it is crucial for each citizen to follow all guidance given by his government.

Packages of famotidine tablets are seen in this photo taken on April 27 in Orlando, Florida.

Patients who happened to be taking a common heartburn medicine while hospitalized for Covid-19 were more than twice as likely to survive the infection, according to a paper posted Friday on a pre-publication website.

It’s unclear whether the patients fared better because of the famotidine or if it’s a coincidence.

Of 1,620 hospitalized patients studied, 84 of them, or about 5%, were taking famotidine, an active ingredient in Pepcid, a popular over-the-counter heartburn treatment.

Intubated refers to patients being put on a ventilator, a machine in the intensive care unit that breathes for patients who are unable to breathe on their own. 

“It is not clear why those patients who received famotidine had improved outcomes,” the authors wrote in their statement.

It could be a coincidence: The study doesn’t prove that famotidine caused the lower death rate – it’s possible that it’s just a coincidence.

“This is merely an association, and these findings should not be interpreted to mean that famotidine improves outcomes in patients hospitalized with Covid-19,” according to the authors. 

A clinical trial is currently underway to see if famotidine saves lives of coronavirus patients. In that study, some patients will receive famotidine intravenously at doses nine times higher than what someone would normally take for heartburn. Other patients will be given a placebo, or a drug that does nothing, and the researchers will then compare the death rates and other outcomes for the two groups.

“Hopefully the results from this trial will determine whether famotidine is efficacious for the treatment of Covid-19,” according to the authors of the preprint paper.

A Thank you sign for medical staff is seen outside of Elmhurst Hospital in New York on April 27..

Health care workers at New York City’s Elmhurst Hospital will receive free vacations courtesy of American Airlines and Hyatt Hotels, according to a statement from American Airlines.

More than 4,000 doctors, nurses and assistants are eligible for three-night vacations to locations around the US and the Caribbean, according to the airline.

The donated flights “mark the largest total flight count ever provided to an organization by American,” the company said.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam

The number of deaths amongst coronavirus patients in the United Kingdom has increased by 346, bringing the total death toll to at least 31,587, UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said Saturday.

According to the UK Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van Tam, nationwide data shows a “steady and consistent fall” in the number of deaths recorded across the UK.  

Addressing members of the press during the government’s daily coronavirus briefing, Shapps said at least 215,260 people have tested positive for the deadly virus – an increase of about 3,896 cases since Friday.

At least 11,809 patients are currently in hospital with coronavirus, the transport secretary added.

Van Tam said that while the UK is “encountering several thousand new cases per day,” there is now a “solid decline” in the number of patients requiring hospitalization.

Mexico’s health authorities announced more than 1,900 new cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the country’s total number to 31,522 as of late Friday.

Additionally, 199 new virus related deaths were reported, bringing the current death toll to 3,160 Friday evening.

A woman sits during a hair-styling appointment in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 8.

There has been at least 3,965,863 cases of coronavirus around the world, and approximately 275,527 deaths globally, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

If you’re just tuning in, here are some of the top stories so far today.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled results from antibody testing which showed that among frontline workers, the New York Fire Department and EMT’s had a 17.1% infection rate.

“We think it’s higher because of the EMT workers,” Cuomo said, but this is below the city’s normal rate of infection, he reiterated.

Other results: Of at least 1,300 transit workers who have been tested, 14.2% were positive, Cuomo said. 

The rate was higher among station workers than bus operators, train conductors and assistant conductors. Of those transit workers, 17% of station workers tested positive, 14% of bus operators and 11% of conductors and conductor’s assistants tested positive. 

Cuomo said the normal rate of infection in New York City was 19.9%.

Roughly 12.2% of health care workers have tested positive, Cuomo said.

“It shows that the PPE works when we talk about masks and gloves,” he said.

The NYPD had an infection rate of 10.5% based on testing.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York joined Gov. Andrew Cuomo during his coronavirus news conference Saturday to discuss how religious organizations around the state are helping to address the pandemic.

Jeffries commented on a new initiative where Northwell Health is setting up 22 additional coronavirus testing sites at churches in predominantly minority communities.

“These churches have been there through the crack cocaine epidemic to welcome people in while others were rejecting them. Our churches have been there, for instance, to address the high rates of gun violence through gun buyback programs, taking thousands of guns off the streets in their congregations, buildings,” Jeffries said.

According to surveys and data, of the 21 zip codes with the most hospitalizations for coronavirus, 20 of 21 have greater than average African American and/or Latino populations.

“There’s no doubt that it is a problem,” Cuomo said. “We understand why, we understand the health disparities, we understand the comorbidities, but we also understand it’s just not right.”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said New York State Department of Health is partnering with the New York Genome Center and the Rockefeller University to conduct a genome and RNA sequencing study to better understand the virus.

“We still have a lot to learn about this virus,” Cuomo said.

This research will help the state learn more about why young children are getting sick with a coronavirus-related illness that does not present the typical respiratory symptoms, the governor added.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said three young children may have died from a coronavirus-related illness that is affecting young kids.

Cuomo said hospitals in the state have reported 73 cases where young patients had Covid-19 antibodies and tested positive for the virus, but did not have the typical respiratory symptoms.

Instead, these children had symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic-shock like syndrome, more generally, inflammation that ultimately causes heart problems, Cuomo said.

Cuomo said the Centers for Disease Control asked New York to develop national criteria for other states and hospital systems with similar patients.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has reported that the rate of hospitalization across New York has dropped, as has the rate of intubation caused by coronavirus.

The number of new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours was 572, Cuomo said at a news conference Saturday morning.

Since yesterday, the state has recorded 226 coronavirus-related deaths, Cuomo said. That number is up slightly from the 216 reported on May 7.

“And you see how that number has been infuriatingly constant; 226 is where we were five days ago. So we would like to see that number dropping at a far faster rate than it has been dropping,” he said.

Colombia’s health authorities announced that the country’s total number of Covid-19 cases has reached 10,051; after a sharp increase of 595 new cases late Friday.

At least 428 people have died from coronavirus in Colombia, according to the ministry of health.

The US Food and Drug Administration has granted the first emergency use authorization for an antigen test for the coronavirus, according to a statement from the agency on Saturday.

This test can detect “the presence of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein antigen,” according to the product details outlined in a letter sent by the FDA to the manufacturer. 

Often used to check for the flu and strep, antigen tests look for pieces of a virus. That differs from most coronavirus tests, which look for the virus’ genetic material and require a number of chemicals to operate, many of which are in short supply.

“These diagnostic tests quickly detect fragments of proteins found on or within the virus by testing samples collected from the nasal cavity using swabs,” according to a statement from FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen M. Hahn and Dr. Jeff Shuren, director of FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.

However, they note the tests are not as sensitive as PCR-type of diagnostic tests already authorized by the FDA, and there’s a higher chance of false negatives.

“Antigen tests are very specific for the virus, but are not as sensitive as molecular PCR tests. This means that positive results from antigen tests are highly accurate, but there is a higher chance of false negatives, so negative results do not rule out infection. With this in mind, negative results from an antigen test may need to be confirmed with a PCR test prior to making treatment decisions or to prevent the possible spread of the virus due to a false negative,” the statement continued.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Saturday it had shipped 260 cases of the experimental antiviral drug remdesivir to states hardest hit by Covid-19.

These cases are part of the previously announced donation by the drug’s manufacturer, Gilead Sciences, to the federal government, a HHS statement said.

The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization allowing remdesivir to be used to help treat the coronavirus.

Some context: The distribution of remdesivir has come under scrutiny since the FDA announcement which sparked a rapid rise in demand.

That has also caused frustration among some medical professionals wanting to get access to it. The White House announced Friday the coronoavirus task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx will help manage the drug’s distribution. The process for shipment began on Thursday night, HHS said.

The locations and amounts of the newest distributions are:

Each case contains 40 vials of the drug.

HHS also announced Saturday how the distribution process will work. In its statement it said state health departments will distribute the doses to appropriate hospitals since state and local health departments have insight into various community needs to help in the response to the virus. Candidates for the donated doses must be patients on ventilators or on life support who need supplemental oxygen.

In late April, Dr. Anthony Fauci announced that a study from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ (NIAID) showed remdesivir had a “clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery” from coronavirus.

The study showed patients who took remdesivir recovered faster than patients who did not

As the pandemic marches on, people around the world continue to live in self-isolation or under strict lockdown measures –– this includes many members of the international artist community.

In the absence of physical human connection and with movement drastically limited, many artists have had to turn inwards for inspiration.

CNN asked nine artists living in cities around the world to create an original artwork that reflects the times we are living in today.

Here are some of them:

Anthony Muisyo: Mombasa, Kenya

“This particular piece employs both dark and solemn colors as well as shades that contrast this. Over time, I have been able to better understand the role color plays in conveying emotions and in this particular case, color works to bring out the duality of a dark reality and that of a hopeful future,” Muisyo said. “This has been a period of self-reflection –– to try and understand what kind of world I’d like to live in, to deeply value and treasure the already beautiful and meaningful connections I have managed to build with people I care for and finally, to always hope.”

Olivié Keck: Cape Town, South Africa

“Having to adjust has been difficult. However, I have found sanctuary in the act of making. The escapism of creating helps stabilize and relax me because the action is so moment to moment,” Keck said.

Elen Winata: Singapore

“In Singapore, life is temporarily on hold to contain the spread of the virus. Businesses are closed, roads are empty and the hustle and bustle of city life is no more. However, the community feels more connected than ever with everyone looking out for each other,” Winata said.

See more of what the artists created.

During an appearance on C-SPAN Friday evening, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered a suggestion on how Democrats could still hold an in-person Democratic National Convention this Summer.

“My suggestion to Mr. Perez was get a gigantic stadium and put people six feet apart. So maybe you, instead of having 80,000 people there you would have 16,000 people there and just do it all in one day,” she said.

On Trump: Pivoting away from the convention, Pelosi also dismissed the President’s attack that suggested the House is on vacation.

She reiterated to C-SPAN’s Steve Scully that the upcoming stimulus will be “big” and didn’t rule out that it could be more than $2 trillion.

Dr. Stephen Hahn, the head of the Food and Drug Administration, will self-quarantine for 14 days after coming in contact with an individual who tested positive for coronavirus, an FDA spokesperson told CNN.

While the FDA did not name the person with whom Hahn came into contact, President Trump earlier Friday had revealed that Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, had tested positive for Covid-19.

Hahn is a member of the White House coronavirus task force, which held its most recent meeting on Thursday. 

An official familiar with the situation inside the White House coronavirus task force told CNN it’s unclear whether some on the panel will go into quarantine and that more will be known about next steps on Saturday.

The US Army is asking technology companies to develop wearable sensors to detect early symptoms of coronavirus.

This week they invited initial proposals for a $25 million contract to develop a device that uses existing technology as much as possible.

Where ever the sensor is worn on the body, possibly on the wrist like a watch or on a shirt or belt, the aim is it will provide indicators of a fever, respiratory difficulties, “molecular biomarkers” of exposure to the virus and even the presence of antibodies against it.

If symptoms are detected then the service member can be fully tested, isolated and receive medical attention if necessary.

Some context: This is all part of a broader military effort to contribute to efforts to battle the virus on everything from vaccine research to sewing face coverings. Many of the initiatives are similar to what is happening in civilian society, but there are efforts to adapt emerging battlefield technology to take on the pandemic.

An Army team based at Fort Benning, Georgia, in charge of ensuring advanced warfighting capabilities for soldiers in close combat has adapted goggles used in battle to take the temperature of 300 troops in 25 minutes.

The concept is important for high traffic areas such as public transportation, airports and buildings – as well as for the safe movement of large numbers of military personnel, especially new recruits who may need to be screened and tested multiple times.

Students from two Florida high schools are going to have a graduation ceremony like no other.

Chip Wile, the president of the Daytona International Speedway, is planning a drive-through commencement to honor graduating seniors at the local high school.

Wile said the students and their families will be in their own cars and drive across the finish line when their name is called over the speakers in the stadium where they will be handed a diploma through the window.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” he said.

The ceremony will be broadcast on the speedway’s low frequency AM radio so the graduates can hear it in their cars, Wile said.

“Then they’ll then make an entire lap around the speedway – at slow speeds – and then they’ll park at pit end, right where the cars end at pit road, and we’ll actually do a hat toss,” Wile said.

“So really trying to find all of the different elements that happen at graduation, and be able to incorporate them into the event,” he added.

Hunter Perez, a senior at Matanzas High School who will be participating in the graduation ceremony at the speedway, said it is going to be an event he never forgets.

“I think I most look forward to getting that picture at the speedway. Something that I’ll be able to show others. And always have something to remember,” he told CNN.

A woman sits during a hair-styling appointment in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 8.

It’s almost 9:00 a.m. ET in the US. Here what you need to start your day:

Thousands of people gathered in Minsk on Saturday to attend a Victory Day military parade, despite increasing numbers of coronavirus cases in Belarus.

Unlike other former Soviet states, Belarus did not cancel mass events to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe and has not imposed strict self-isolation rules.

Belarusian servicemen march for the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, as a crowd watches on with no social distancing measures in place.

Belarus has been criticized for inaction, continuing to hold football matches in the initial weeks of its outbreak, as other countries around the world stopped spectator sports and brought their economies to a halt.

For Victory Day celebrations. Minsk has set up seating up to 11,000 people, and 3,000 servicemen are also taking part in the parade, according to state-run Belarusian news agency Belta. Few people were seen wearing masks on the live-feed from the parade, aired by Belarusian TV stations. 

President Alexander Lukashenko’s decision to hold the parade amid the pandemic was met with criticism both abroad and at home, with over 13,000 people signing a petition to cancel the parade and use the funds to buy ventilators for hospitals. 

Belarus' servicewomen take part in a military parade to mark the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, in Minsk on Saturday

Lukashenko, who has publicly dismissed other countries’ coronavirus measures as “psychosis” and declared “it’s better to die standing than to live on your knees,” addressed the criticism during the ceremony on Saturday. 

“We just couldn’t have done it differently, we had no other choice, and even if we had, we would have done the same thing,” Lukashenko added.

Images of the celebrations showed a large number of spectators seated close together with very few wearing face masks, as servicemen and woman marched together in groups.

As of Saturday, Belarus, a country of 9.5 million, has officially reported 21,101 cases of coronavirus and more than 120 deaths, Johns Hopkins University figures show.

You make reservations at restaurants, sure. But how about booking in advance just to get a spot on the sand at the beach?

Spain offers a glimpse of how some countries may reopen their beaches this summer.

In the region of Galicia, on the Atlantic Ocean, Sanxenxo will only allow sunbathers entry on a "first come, first served" basis.

Canet d’en Berenguer, a Mediterranean town located just north of Valencia, will only allow 5,000 daily sunbathers on its local beach, around half the usual number, in order to maintain social distancing.

These spaces will need to be reserved in advance via a mobile phone app.

Canet will use a grid pattern to divide its broad, flat beach into square sections, each separated by two meters (six feet).

Read the full story here.

A combination of three antiviral drugs plus an immune system booster seemed to help patients recover more quickly from coronavirus infections, doctors in Hong Kong have reported.

They said the approach needs more testing but it could offer another treatment possibility for Covid-19 patients. Currently the only authorized treatment in the US is the experimental antiviral drug remdesivir, which also shortens the duration of illness but is limited in supply.

Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, who is treating coronavirus patients at the University of California San Francisco, said the study offers new hope in the pandemic.

Dr. Kwok-Yung Yuen at Hong Kong University and colleagues tested the HIV drug combination of ritonavir and lopanivir along with the general antiviral drug ribavirin and a multiple sclerosis drug called beta interferon.

Yuen’s team gave some patients only the HIV drug combination, often sold under the brand name Kaletra. Others were randomly assigned to get the lopinavir-ritonavir combination plus the antiviral drug ribavirin and injections of beta interferon.

The patients who got the cocktail tested negative for coronavirus after seven days on average. Those who just got the HIV drugs were positive on average for 12 days, the team reported in the Lancet medical journal.

The patients given the cocktail also felt better quicker – within four days.

Read the full story here.

The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday issued an emergency-use authorization for the first at-home Covid-19 test that uses saliva samples, the agency said in a news release.

With the test, people can collect their own saliva at home and send their saliva samples to a lab for results. Testing for Covid-19 so far has usually involved nose or throat swab samples.

Rutgers University’s RUCDR Infinite Biologics lab received an amended emergency authorization late Thursday. In April, Rutgers University announced that the FDA authorized the saliva test that it developed with other groups for “emergency use” for diagnosing Covid-19.

“If people are committed to do self-collection and can facilitate that collection at home, certainly with a prescription under medical care, we can get to those that are quarantined, don’t have the means for transportation or are too scared to go outside,” Brooks said. “So they get the test in the mail or from a distribution center.”

Read the full story here.

Medical staff collect coronavirus test samples at Ernakulam Medical College in Kerala, India, on April 6.

The southern Indian state of Kerala announced Saturday that it had flattened its coronavirus curve.

The state crossed its 100th day since its first Covid-19 case was reported and currently has only 16 active cases, Kerala’s State Finance Minister Thomas Isaac tweeted.

Kerala was the first state in India to report a positive case earlier this year. Since then, state officials have worked on aggressive isolation and treatment protocols.

Kerala is preparing to receive thousands of stranded Indians, many from the UAE, as the country embarks on a major repatriation drive. More than 1,000 people have arrived in the state from Dubai, Riyadh and Bahrain in the last two days.

Kerala has reported a total of 503 cases, out of which 484 people have been treated and discharged. The state has a death toll of four, one of the lowest in the country.

Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks at a meeting on December 2, 2019 in Beijing, China.

China’s President Xi Jinping sent a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, offering support to strengthen the country’s response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, China’s state media agency Xinhua reported.

Xinhua published the details of the letter sent on Saturday, in which President Xi expressed his concern about the “prevention and control of the North Korean epidemic and health of the Korean people.”

In the same letter, Xinhua reported that Xi offered China’s support to strengthen the North Korean response.

The background: North Korea is stepping up its response to the “widespread malignant virus infection,” carrying out “anti-epidemic activities” to stop coronavirus spreading, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). 

The country’s Ministry of Public Health is attempting to develop a vaccine, and is stockpiling “materials necessary for emergency anti-epidemic work,” KCNA reported. 

A special committee is also “intensifying the control and guidance on quarantine, lockdown, inspection and sterilization to thoroughly check the inroads of Covid-19,” according to the KCNA wire, which was published on Saturday.  

North Korea has not reported any coronavirus cases to the World Health Organization.

US President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping

The novel coronavirus has destroyed lives and livelihoods in both the United States and China. But instead of bonding the two nations together to fight the pandemic, it has sent their already strained relations on a rapid downward spiral – and fanned the flames of a potentially dangerous strain of nationalism.

China has been criticized at home and abroad over its handling of the virus, especially during the initial outbreak. Pushing back such criticism with increasingly fierce rhetoric, Beijing says it is merely “responding” to false accusations, particularly from the US. 

In March, as the pandemic raged across the globe, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian publicly promoted an unfounded conspiracy theory that the virus might have been brought to China by the US military. A few days later, US President Donald Trump called the coronavirus the “Chinese virus,” pinning the blame on China as the outbreak began to take hold in major American cities.

Trump dropped the term a week later – but the finger pointing did not stop there.

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has repeatedly lashed out at China over its handling of the outbreak, questioning its death toll and criticizing its early response to the virus. Last week, Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed – without providing evidence – that the virus originated from a Chinese lab. Beijing pushed back in response, dubbing the claim a reelection tactic aimed at boosting Trump’s standing among Republican voters – while China’s government-controlled media attacked Pompeo with unusually vicious language, calling him “evil,” “insane” and an “enemy of mankind.”

Yet the acrimony goes deeper than a mere war of words. The Trump administration is reportedly drawing up plans to punish China for the pandemic – retaliation options include sanctions, canceling US debt obligations and drawing up new trade policies. Trump and several administration officials are also enlisting foreign allies to join the pressure campaign against China.

Read the full story here.

Anthony Catapano and his wife, Nancy, in an undated photo. Catapano died April 12 from Covid-19 at Staten Island University Hospital. Nancy Catapano died in 2014.

Police say a nurse at a New York City hospital faces charges for stealing a credit card of a former Covid-19 patient while hospitalized, which the patient’s daughter says was used for gasoline and groceries.

Danielle Conti, 43, has been charged with grand larceny, petty larceny and criminal possession of stolen property after ringing up charges on two of Anthony Catapano’s credit cards while hospitalized at Staten Island University Hospital with coronavirus, according to the New York Police Department.

Catapano, 70, was hospitalized on April 4 after getting sick from coronavirus, his daughter, Tara Catapano, told CNN. He was lucid when the alleged theft occurred and later died on April 12 from complications of the virus.

How it unfolded: Tara Catapano, who had been paying her father’s bills since her mother passed away in 2014, said she normally doesn’t track her father’s spending closely. 

However, after he died and she received a credit card statement for gasoline – which she said her father always paid for in cash – she then saw the charge date occurred on April 9, when her father was “in the hospital, literally fighting for his life.” 

Tara Catapano said police showed her surveillance footage from a ShopRite of what appeared to be Conti paying for groceries using her father’s card.

Other belongings unaccounted for include her father’s eyeglasses, cell phone, cash in the wallet, phone chargers and pictures. It’s not clear what happened to those belongings and it isn’t certain they were intentionally stolen.

In a statement provided to CNN, Christian Preston, the director of public affairs for Staten Island University Hospital, said Conti – who has worked at the hospital since 2007 – “has been temporarily suspended and faces termination in response to the felony charges.” He also said the hospital is “working closely with the law enforcement authorities and the hospital is conducting its own investigation.”

Efforts to reach Conti were not successful. It was not immediately clear whether she has an attorney.

Read the whole story here.

A notice of guidelines for entertainment facilities is posted at the entrance of a nightclub in Seoul, South Korea, on May 8.

All bars in Seoul have been ordered to close until further notice after a spike in coronavirus cases linked to nightclubs in the South Korean capital.

At a briefing Saturday, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said that clubs and bars would all need to shut, effective immediately.

A spike in cases: The order follows a surge in cases connected with nightclubs in Itaewon, a popular nightlife district in Seoul.

On Thursday, a 29-year-old man from the city of Yongin – on the outskirts of Seoul – tested positive for the virus. The person visited several clubs in Itaewon on the night of May 1 and the early hours of May 2, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

Since then, 40 others believed to be connected to the case have tested positive. Of those, 27 are from Seoul.

Tracking partygoers: South Korea has not introduced a nationwide lockdown, but has brought in additional measures to control the coronavirus outbreak. At nightclubs, for instance, people must provide their full name and phone number before entry.

According to Park, 1,946 names were listed on the registry books of the three clubs the 29-year-old visited. Only 647 of those people have been identified.

More cases possible: Kwon Joon-wook, deputy director of the KCDC, also said there may have been more than one source of infection behind the nightclub outbreak. Some of the people who have been confirmed positive visited clubs on different nights from the 29-year-old.

“We’ve put in much efforts and made a lot of sacrifices,” Park added Saturday. “Are we just to let this all go to waste because of few people’s carelessness?”

A setback in South Korea: Before the nightclub-related spike, new coronavirus cases had been trending down in the country. On Tuesday, South Korea reported its lowest number of new cases for more than two months.

According to Johns Hopkins University, South Korea has reported more than 10,800 coronavirus cases and 256 deaths. The vast majority of South Korea’s cases have recovered, the KCDC said earlier this week.

Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza attends a media day in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on November 14, 2019.

Fighter Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza has been withdrawn from Saturday’s UFC 249 preliminary card after he tested positive for Covid-19.

Souza, whose two cornermen were also flagged as positive, was to fight Uriah Hall in a middleweight bout.

Here’s what the UFC said in a statement on its website:

Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates addresses the media in Sydney on May 9.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has no plans to defer the Tokyo Olympics again, according to John Coates, the head of the IOC’s inspectorate for the Games.

In March, the IOC and the Japanese government postponed the Games until July 2021 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The background: Last month, Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori said the Olympics could be canceled if the Covid-19 pandemic continues into next year.

Mori reiterated that organizers are still working towards holding the Games next year.

Read more here.

Fans cheer during the game between Fubon Guardians and Uni-President Lions at Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium in New Taipei City on May 8.

Taiwan’s professional baseball league played before spectators Friday for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began. 

A thousand fans were allowed to attend Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium in New Taipei, where the home-team Fubon Guardians won 7-6 against the Uni-President Lions, state-run news agency Focus Taiwan reported. 

Special rules: Fans had to wear face masks, sit in designated seats based on social distancing guidelines, and could not eat or drink, according to the article published on Friday.

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee on February 26, in Washington, DC.

US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn will self quarantine for the next 14 days after coming in contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus, FDA spokesman Michael Felberbaum told CNN.

While the FDA would not name the person Hahn came into contact with, President Donald Trump announced earlier Friday that Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary Katie Price had tested positive.

An official familiar with situation inside the White House Coronavirus Task Force told CNN that it’s unclear whether some on the panel will go into quarantine. 

Health care workers place a coronavirus test swab into a tube at a testing site in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, on May 8.

The United States has at least 1,283,929 confirmed coronavirus cases, including 77,180 deaths, according to the tally from Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

On Friday, the US reported 26,906 new cases and 1,518 additional deaths, according to the JHU count.

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.

For the latest JHU US numbers, check here. CNN’s map, using JHU data, continues to refresh every 15 mins.

US President Donald Trump attends a coronavirus response meeting in the White House on May 7 in Washington, DC.

The United States has scaled back its role on the world stage, taken actions that are undermining efforts to battle the coronavirus pandemic and left the international community without a traditional global leader, according to experts, diplomats and analysts.

The US – usually at the head of the table helping to coordinate in global crises – has declined to take a seat at virtual international meetings convened by the World Health Organization and the European Union to coordinate work on potentially lifesaving vaccines.

Former world leaders warn that the Trump administration risks alienating allies by politicizing the deadly pandemic with its push to punish China and have other nations choose sides.

The administration’s decision to halt funding for the WHO, the world body best positioned to coordinate the global response to the raging pandemic, has appalled global health officials.

Incredulity and sadness: And where US presidents have in the past offered a steadying voice, observers from the Asia Pacific to Europe expressed incredulity, amusement and sadness at President Donald Trump’s briefings on the virus, saying they are deeply damaging to the US image abroad. 

US officials push back, touting both funding to fight Covid-19 as well as work Trump is doing through the Group of Seven and bilaterally – leading more than 50 calls with world leaders. But experts say funding without full global coordination can slow overall progress. 

At a time when nearly 4 million people worldwide have been infected with the virus, diplomats say many countries are yearning for the firm US leadership they’ve seen at historic moments and in prior epidemics, citing President Barack Obama’s response to Ebola and President George W. Bush’s work on HIV/AIDS.

Read the full story here.

A store remains closed near Wall Street on May 8, in New York City.

With much of the American economy in self-imposed shutdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, April’s colossal surge in unemployment delivered a historic blow to workers.

The US economy lost 20.5 million jobs in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday — by far the most sudden and largest decline since the government began tracking the data in 1939.

Those losses follow steep cutbacks in March as well, when employers slashed 870,000 jobs. Those two months amount to layoffs so severe, they more than double the 8.7 million jobs lost during the financial crisis.

For many Americans who lost their jobs and their homes in the 2008 financial crisis, this moment reopens old wounds. It took years to rebound from those setbacks. When the economy eventually did crawl back, US employers added 22.8 million jobs over 10 years — a victory for all those who had weathered the Great Recession.

Now, the coronavirus pandemic stings not only because of the public health crisis it has inflicted — but also because it wiped out nearly that whole decade of job gains in just two months.

Read more here.

The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday issued an emergency use authorization for the first at-home Covid-19 test that uses saliva samples, the agency said in a news release.

Rutgers University’s RUCDR Infinite Biologics lab received an amended emergency authorization late Thursday. With the test, people can collect their own saliva at home and send samples to a lab for results.

Testing for Covid-19 so far has usually involved nose or throat swab samples.

In April, Rutgers University announced the FDA authorized the saliva test that it developed with other groups for “emergency use” for diagnosing Covid-19.

Read the full story here.

Amoeba Music store, a Hollywood landmark, remains closed on May 7.

The unemployment rate in Los Angeles rose from 4.7% in February to more than 24% in April according to city estimates, Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a press conference on Friday.

Los Angeles county has reported 30,296 coronavirus cases and 1,468 deaths. Garcetti said that this week’s data was “less deadly than last week.”

Testing in Los Angeles: Garcetti encouraged residents to get tested, as asymptomatic cases have been found. This is important for contact tracing and prevention of the disease, he added.

Los Angeles has capacity to test 20,000 people per day, and has met the basic minimum thresholds established by experts for acceptable levels of daily testing needed to consider steps to reopen, according to Garcetti.

Unemployment in the US: The US economy lost 20.5 million jobs in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday — by far the most sudden and largest decline since the government began tracking the data in 1939.

Those losses follow steep cutbacks in March as well, when employers slashed 870,000 jobs. Those two months amount to layoffs so severe, they more than double the 8.7 million jobs lost during the financial crisis.

Read more about unemployment here.

Roy Horn, of the illusionist pair Siegfried and Roy, at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2003.

Roy Horn, half of the popular Las Vegas animal and magic act Siegfried and Roy, died Friday of complications from the coronavirus, according to his publicist. He was 75 years old.

Roy Uwe Ludwig Horn and Siegfried Fischbacher began their upbeat performances in Europe, later becoming regulars in Las Vegas, where they would perform for four decades. 

Their revue ended after Horn was attacked on stage by a tiger named Mantecore in 2003, severing Horn’s spine. Horn was eventually able to walk again, but he and Siegfried would only perform together one more time – for a benefit – before retiring in 2010.

Queen Elizabeth II addresses the nation and the Commonwealth on the 75th anniversary of VE Day, from Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, on May 8.

Queen Elizabeth II has likened the British public’s response to the coronavirus pandemic with the efforts of its soldiers during World War II, in a televised speech delivered exactly 75 years after her father marked the end of fighting in Europe.

Speaking on the 75th anniversary of VE Day, the Queen remembered her own experiences at the end of fighting on the continent and praised the “strength and courage” of British and Allied troops who brought about Germany’s surrender on May 8, 1945.

“Never give up, never despair — that was the message of VE Day,” the monarch said. “I vividly remember the jubilant scenes my sister and I witnessed with our parents and Winston Churchill from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.”

Acknowledging the impact on modern British life of the coronavirus pandemic, which has forced this year’s public commemorations to be canceled, she also drew parallels between the UK’s wartime generation and their modern compatriots.

“Today it may seem hard that we cannot mark this special anniversary as we would wish. Instead we remember from our homes and our doorsteps,” she said at the conclusion of her speech. “But our streets are not empty; they are filled with the love and the care that we have for each other.

“When I look at our country today, and see what we are willing to do to protect and support one another, I say with pride that we are still a nation those brave soldiers, sailors and airmen would recognize and admire,” the Queen added.

The speech marked the second time the 94-year-old monarch has addressed the country since the coronavirus outbreak began — usually a rare occurrence saved only for her annual Christmas Day message.

The European Union flag flying on April 2, at Stockholm's city hall.

The European Union has acknowledged it allowed the Chinese government to censor an opinion piece published in the country, removing a reference to the origin of the coronavirus outbreak and its subsequent spread worldwide.

The piece was jointly authored by the EU’s ambassador Nicolas Chapuis along with the ambassadors to China for the EU’s 27 member states to mark 45 years of EU-China diplomatic relations.

In the original piece published on the EU delegation’s website, the ambassadors wrote that “the outbreak of the coronavirus in China, and its subsequent spread to the rest of the world over the past three months” had side-tracked pre-existing diplomatic plans.

But in the version that appears on the website of China Daily, a state-owned newspaper, the reference to the origin of coronavirus in China and its spread is removed.

While the EU Delegation to China said it “strongly regrets” the change, it also admitted that it ultimately agreed for the censored piece to be published because it still contained “key messages on a number of our priority areas.”

“The EU Delegation was informed by the media in question that the publication of the Op-Ed would only be allowed by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the condition that a part of a sentence related to the origins and spread of the coronavirus was removed,” the delegation said in a statement. “The EU Delegation to China made known its objections to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in no uncertain terms.”

“As the Op-Ed states, while the EU and China have differences, notably on human rights, our partnership has become mature enough to allow frank discussions on these issues. This is what makes this incident even more regrettable,” the Delegation’s statement adds. 

CNN has asked China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a response. 

A total of 823 inmates and 25 staff have tested positive for Covid-19 at the Lompoc Federal Correctional Complex in California’s Santa Barbara County, according to data from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Friday.

The complex in Lompoc, California is comprised of two facilities: FCI Lompoc, a low-security correctional institution that houses 1,162 inmates, and USP Lompoc, a medium-security US penitentiary that houses 1,542 inmates.

At the FCI Lompoc facility, 792 of 1,162 inmates – or approximately 68% of that facility’s total inmate population – have tested positive for the virus, according to the latest BOP data.

An additional 31 inmates have tested positive at the neighboring USP Lompoc facility. 

Two inmates have died at the complex due to coronavirus complications, the BOP reported in a press release.

BOP authorities have suspended all visitations to the complex until further notice. Inmate use of telephone and email stations at FCI Lompoc has been suspended through to May 18 to “ensure the safety of the inmates and staff while decreasing the spread of the COVID-19 virus,” the BOP said. 

The background: Across federal and state prisons, thousands of inmates have tested positive for the virus – many of whom showed no symptoms when they were infected. In Ohio, more than 20% of the people infected with coronavirus are prisoners. And in Colorado, the state’s largest outbreak is in a correctional facility.

Read more about outbreaks in US prisons here.

Shoppers wear protective masks as they walk on a commercial street on May 8, in Beijing.

China has reported 16 new coronavirus cases, according to a statement from the country’s National Health Commission.

Among those are 15 asymptomatic cases, as well as one imported.

In total, 78,046 patients have recovered and been discharged from Chinese hospitals, the NHC said. There are 836 asymptomatic patients still under medical observation. 

The last time China reported a coronavirus-related death was on April 15.

According to Johns Hopkins University, China has reported a total of 83,976 coronavirus cases, including 4,637 deaths.

People watch a screen showing a broadcast in Pyongyang on May 2.

North Korea is stepping up its response to the “widespread malignant virus infection,” carrying out “anti-epidemic activities” to stop coronavirus spreading, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). 

The country’s Ministry of Public Health is attempting to develop a vaccine, and is stockpiling “materials necessary for emergency anti-epidemic work,” KCNA reported. 

A special committee is also “intensifying the control and guidance on quarantine, lockdown, inspection and sterilization to thoroughly check the inroads of COVID-19,” according to the KCNA wire, which was published on Saturday.  

North Korea has not reported any coronavirus cases to the World Health Organization.

Ivanka Trump, senior advisor to President Donald Trump, participates in a video conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on April 7, in Washington, DC.

Ivanka Trump’s personal assistant has tested positive for coronavirus, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.

The assistant, who works in a personal capacity for US President Donald Trump’s daughter, has not been around Ivanka Trump in several weeks.

She has been teleworking for nearly two months and was tested out of caution, the source said.

She was not symptomatic. Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner both tested negative on Friday, the person familiar with the matter told CNN. 

White House cases: Donald Trump confirmed Friday that Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive.

One of Donald Trump’s personal valets tested positive on Thursday.

Read more here.

World Health Organization health emergencies program executive director Michael Ryan talks during a press briefing at the WHO headquarters in Geneva on March 11.

Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization health emergencies program, said the lives of people across the world could face “significant alteration” until a coronavirus vaccine is developed.

“There is a path out, but we must remain ever vigilant. And we may have to have a significant alteration to our lifestyles, until we get to a point where we have an effective vaccine, or an effective treatments,” Ryan said at a briefing Friday.

To reopen, “many countries are taking a very careful step-wise approach, relying on the patience and perseverance of their citizens to continue to suffer what is a difficult process both socially psychologically and economically for many people,” he said. “I think everyone is doing that because we want to protect those we love.”

Ryan sees the path out involving partial school openings, partial returns to workplaces and careful measures in high-density areas. 

But for events like concerts and sports, he said, “it’s going to be much more difficult to make those perfectly safe.” 

US President Donald Trump in the State Dining Room at the White House on May 8, in Washington, DC.

US President Donald Trump hoped this would be the week he emerged into a nation recovering from pandemic. Instead the pandemic came to him.

A day after breaking his White House self-isolation for a cross-country trip meant to signal the country’s readiness to restart, Trump received word that one of his Oval Office valets tested positive for the virus.

Two days later, Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary also tested positive – setting off another round of tests, delaying the vice president’s trip to Iowa and causing more hand-wringing inside the White House about who might be infected.

Why this is important: The arrival of coronavirus to the West Wing only served to illustrate the continued spread of the disease months into a pandemic that’s taken more than 77,000 American lives and turned a once hot economy to ice. Even the nightly deep cleanings, regular testing and a lot of wishful thinking couldn’t prevent the virus from arriving on Trump’s doorstep.

As the President agitates for states to loosen their restrictions and allow Americans back into workplaces and businesses, the sight of his aides contracting the disease did little to boost confidence the nation is ready to return to normal, even as jobless claims skyrocket to never-seen-before levels and options for reviving the economy fall short.

At the same time, it had no apparent effect on Trump’s willingness to proceed as normal on Friday, when he eschewed a mask while visiting with nonagenarian World War II veterans and invited a large group of lawmakers to the White House for a meeting, all of whom were tested before arriving. Asked the reason his staff weren’t wearing masks on Friday, Trump pointed to the one White House official in the room who was: the White House photographer.

It’s all part of Trump’s business-as-usual approach that’s become his default as he looks to move past the outbreak.

Read the full story here.

A closed sign in the town of Niagara Falls is seen on April 27 in Niagara Falls, Canada. Tourist attractions across Canada have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.

At least 2 million Canadians lost their jobs in April, adding to the 1 million who were already unemployed through March.

Canada’s unemployment rate stands at 13%, the second-highest ever recorded.

Statistics Canada said the unemployment rate would be even higher – nearly 18% – if those who were not actively looking for work were included. Nearly one in three Canadian workers either didn’t work in April or had reduced hours. 

Trudeau announced that the emergency wage subsidy program is being extended beyond June, in an effort to encourage more employers to keep staff on payroll or to help more businesses re-hire employees already laid off. 

Nearly 100,000 businesses have already been approved for the up to 75% wage subsidy program.

The coronavirus has infected more than 3.9 million people and killed at least 274,000 worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. If you’re just joining us, here’s the latest: