Coronavirus USA news summary: cases and deaths - 20 April
Coronavirus live USA: latest Covid-19 news - Monday 20 April
Coronavirus live USA updates: cases and deaths, latest news
We've now closed this live feed - you can continue to follow the latest US-focused developments in the coronavirus crisis here:
Coronavirus: China replies to Donald Trump’s threats during Covid-19 pandemic
China replies to Donald Trump’s threats during Covid-19 pandemic
The President of the United States has warned on multiple occasions that he will send investigators to China to look into the source of the outbreak.
Full story:
Coronavirus: Which US states have made face masks compulsory?
Which US states have made face masks compulsory?
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, several states in the US have now made it mandatory for citizens to wear a face covering if they leave the house.
Full details here:
How the $2,000 stimulus check proposed by US Democrats would work
How the $2,000 stimulus check proposed by US Democrats would work
Democrats have proposed two bills that would see qualified US citizens receive $2,000 a month, while rent/mortgage payments would be cancelled during the coronavirus crisis.
Full story:
France the fourth country to pass 20,000 deaths
France has joined the United States, Italy and Spain in registering more than 20,000 deaths as a result of the coronavirus, after passing the figure on Monday.
According to figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 20,092 people have died of Covid-19 in France, where there have been a total of just over 154,000 cases.
"The epidemic is very deadly and is far from over," France's public health chief, Jerome Salomon, told reporters.
(Quote courtesy of Reuters)
Coronavirus: the complete guide to the Covid-19 pandemic
Coronavirus: the complete guide to the Covid-19 pandemic
All the information you need to understand the coronavirus and ways to stay safe during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Deported from US, man infects 14 migrants with coronavirus in northern Mexico
At least 15 migrants from several countries tested positive for coronavirus at a northern Mexico shelter, Tamaulipas state authorities said on Monday, adding that a man carrying the virus and deported from Houston had infected most of the others.
A Mexican man deported at the McAllen-Reynosa border has also tested positive, the Tamaulipas state health department said in a statement.
In recent weeks, concerns have mounted about the spread of the highly contagious virus through deportation proceedings. Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei said on Sunday a total of 50 migrants deported by the United States to the Central American country had tested positive for coronavirus.
The 15 migrants who have tested positive for coronavirus have been placed in isolation, health officials in Tamaulipas said, adding that they would continue testing the rest of the migrants in the shelter in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, where crime is rampant.
(Text: Reuters)
5-year-old daughter of firefighter becomes first child Covid-19 victim in Michigan
A five-year-old girl from Detroit has become the first child to die of coronavirus in Michigan.
After the testing positive for Covid-19, Skylar Herbert, the daughter of Ebbie, a Detroit firefighter, also developed meningoencephalitis, a rare form of meningitis, which casued brain swelling.
MSNBC releases Trump coronavirus poll results
An MSNBC poll finds that 65% of voters believe Trump did not take the coronavirus seriously enough at the beginning...
Canada-US-Mexico border restrictions extended
The US Department of Homeland Security secretary, Chad Wolf, has confirmed that the US, Mexico and Canada border restrictions on non-essential travel will be extended by another 30 days.
What happens with US students loans during Covid-19 crisis?
Student loans will stop but the CARES Law Act has seen $14 billion put aside for college and universities students pay for course materials and other resources.
Trump criticised over Cuomo video clips
Donald Trump has, ironically, been accused of Fake News. In a surreal clip of one of his biggest critics, Trump edited out some of his quotes and made it seem like he was being praised.
“What the federal government did, working with states ... was a phenomenal accomplishment,” the governor said in the first clip before it was cut off. “These were just extraordinary efforts and acts of mobilisation, and the federal government stepped up and was a great partner, and I’m the first to say it. We needed help and they were there.”
Who is White House immunologist Anthony Fauci?
Who is White House immunologist Anthony Fauci?
The Brooklyn born immunologist and physician is seen by many Americans as a trustworthy voice in the coronavirus crisis.
Novartis, U.S. drug regulator agree to malaria drug trial against COVID-19
(Reuters) Novartis has won the go-ahead from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to conduct a randomized trial of malaria drug hydroxychloroquine against COVID-19 disease, the Swiss drugmaker said on Monday, to see if it helps patients.
The decades-old generic medicine got FDA emergency use authorization this month for its unapproved use for coronavirus disease, but so far there is no scientific proof it works. There are currently no approved COVID-19 medicines.
Novartis plans to start recruiting 440 patients for its Phase III, or late-stage, trial within weeks at more than a dozen U.S. sites. Results will be reported as soon as possible, the company added.
Use of the drug, also approved to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, has soared after having been promoted by President Donald Trump, with some worried the administration's advocacy for an unproven medicine for COVID-19 has short-circuited the FDA's oversight process.
"We recognize the importance of answering the scientific question of whether hydroxychloroquine will be beneficial for patients with COVID-19 disease,” said John Tsai, Novartis's top drug developer. "We mobilized quickly to address this question in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study."
Companies such as Novartis, Roche and Gilead Sciences are testing older medicines developed to treat other diseases, for signs they could be repurposed to tackle the coronavirus epidemic. Gilead just expanded a trial of its Ebola drug remdesivir.
The law in Los Angeles says you have to wear a mask when outside as they try to curb the spread of the virus but Mayweather disregarded such measures during a bike ride.
The price of oil in the US has hit its lowest point in over 20 years according to the Financial Times. The problems are stemming from the ability to store it with producers promised to reduce supply. According to FT, "As markets opened in Europe on Monday, West Texas Intermediate — the US oil benchmark — was down 17.9 per cent at $14.99 a barrel, its lowest level since 1999. It had fallen as low as $14.47 in Asian trade.
The Economist says global storage facilities are packed to the rafters.
US death toll surpasses 40,000
The US is the most affected country in the world by coronavirus in terms of raw numbers. Their death toll surpassed 40,000 on Sunday. New York will start intense antibody testing this week as they try to get to grips with the virus and they reported their lowest total cases in a number of days on Sunday. There are a number of states trying to re-open or eyeing the relaxing of measures in an effort to save the economy.
The United States coronavirus death toll hits 40,000
United States coronavirus death toll hits 40,000
The United States death toll from the novel coronavirus rose to more than 40,000 deaths on Sunday, April 19, the highest in the world from the pandemic.
Governors tell Trump it's too soon to 'reopen' America
Governors in U.S. states hardest hit by the novel coronavirus sparred with President Donald Trump over his claims they have enough tests and should quickly reopen their economies as more protests are planned over the extension of stay-at-home orders.
New York continued to see hospitalizations decline to 16,000 from a high of 18,000, and the number of patients being kept alive by ventilators also fell. There were 507 new deaths, down from a high of more than 700 a day.
"If the data holds and if this trend holds, we are past the high point and all indications at this point are that we are on a descent. Whether or not the descent continues depends on what we do," Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a daily briefing.
Cuomo, along with other governors, are clamoring for more testing. "The administration I think is trying to ramp up testing, they are doing some things with respect to private labs," said Republican Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland during a CNN interview. "But to try to push this off, to say the governors have plenty of testing and they should just get to work on testing, somehow we aren't doing our jobs, is just absolutely false."
Democratic Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia told CNN that claims by Trump and Vice President Mike Pence that states have plenty of tests were "just delusional."
The region of Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. is still seeing increasing cases even as the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, New York, has started to see declines. Boston and Chicago are also emerging hot spots with recent surges in cases and deaths.
Jewish neighborhood deaths up in New York during Covid-19 crisis
More deaths in Jewish neighborhoods
Two ultra-Orthodox Brooklyn neighborhoods that have been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic have seen a sharp rise in people dying at home.
...another Trump-CNN live spat
President Trump was quickly onto the offensive (literally) when challenged about previous statements he'd made during the last couple of months. The CNN reporter also suggested it was not the time to be praising himself when thousands of Americans were dying. That went down well!
POTUS promotes his actions to the country again
It was another show from Donald Trump as he told the gathered press about his achievements in dealing with the current Covid-19 crisis.
Trump says deal is 'close'
U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that Republicans were 'close' to getting a deal with Democrats on another legislative package to help alleviate economic damage done by the coronavirus pandemic.
At a White House briefing, the president suggested there could be a resolution by Monday.
Covid-19 live blog: USA
Hello and welcome to our live daily coverage of the news that surrounds the coronavirus pandemic with a special focus on the United States.
Throughout the day we will aim to keep you up to date with all the latest developments from America related to the Covid-19 crisis that has devastated many countries.