USA coronavirus summary: cases, deaths, news - 21 April
Coronavirus live USA: latest Covid-19 news - Tuesday 21 April
US coronavirus update at 23:00 CEST on Tuesday 21 April (17:00 ET, 14:00 PT on Tuesday)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 2,546,527 cases have been detected worldwide, with 175,812 deaths and 678,557 people now recovered.
In the United States there have been 816,240 cases, with 43,912 deaths. 74,916 people have recovered from the virus.
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The meaning of ‘Payment Status Not Available’ on stimulus check
About 80 million Americans received their stimulus checks last week, slightly more than half of the country's 150 million taxpayers. That means millions are still waiting.
US unemployment info by state: where to contact and claim
The US now has over 22 million unemployed citizens. Many people are eligible for a stimulus check worth $1,200 with millions of Americans already using theirs to buy food after being laid off from their jobs
There are backlogs in several states with Florida being the slowest to process stimulus checks. California was reportedly paying their own money to give checks to immigrants in need of money to buy food.
Some of the websites below are not working with unprecedented demand on the servers. Bars and restaurants remain closed with industry workers losing their jobs. Oils prices have also plummeted too with workers in that industry also suffering.
New projections changes outlook for Illinois
The mid-western State is the second to order people to stay at home. “So it’s been pushed out now, according to the models, to maybe mid-May, but at a lower level, and so we’re moving, inching toward that date," Pritzker said during an online interview on The Washington Post Live.
U.S. readying 'substantial' aid to help Yemen fight coronavirus
(Reuters) The United States is preparing a "substantial contribution" to help Yemen combat the coronavirus, but it may have to find alternatives to the World Health Organization (WHO) to spend it, a senior U.S. official told Reuters, days after President Donald Trump slammed the U.N. agency's handling of the pandemic.
While only one case of COVID-19, the potentially lethal respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, has been confirmed in Yemen, aid groups fear that could be a harbinger of a catastrophic outbreak given the country's shattered health system and widespread hunger and disease after five years of war.
Trump announces he will ban immigration
Late on Monday night, Donald Trump tweeted saying he would temporarily band immigration into the United States. He provided few other details. The New York Times says it is an effort to limit competition for jobs as the country starts to re-open. Trump has said that his decision to ban flights from China in January saved millions of American lives. The fight over testing ability continues, however, with Trump responding to criticism from the governor of Maryland, who had to but 500,000 testing kits from South Korea.
Worldwide cases surpass 2.5 million
The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide has surpassed 2.5 million. The grim landmark was reached following warnings from the WHO president, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, that "the worst is yet ahead of us".
"This virus is dangerous. It exploits cracks between us when we have differences," he said. "Trust us. The worst is yet ahead of us,"
“Let’s prevent this tragedy. It’s a virus that many people still don’t understand. Easing restrictions is not the end of the epidemic in any country".
U.S. could see biggest ever Q2 GDP decline
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Tuesday the current dip of negative oil prices is due to a "very short-run thing" - the coronavirus pandemic - and that a decline in second quarter gross domestic could be the biggest ever posted.
"It's a grave economic situation for sure, that we're looking at one of the biggest shocks that any major economy has ever experienced and a decline in GDP in the second quarter that could end up being the biggest we've ever posted because so many things have shut down," Hassett said in an interview with Fox News.
(Report by Reuters)
How many Covid-19 tests have been done in the US?
Researchers at Harvard University suggest that the United States cannot safely reopen the economy unless it conducts more than three times the number of coronavirus tests it is currently administering over the next month.
Donald Trump “Spain is destroyed, it is incredible”
During Donald Trump’s daily briefing on Monday, the White House had a graphic prepared showing these numbers, which allowed the president to lament the situation in Spain and Italy, deflecting focus away from his own situation. At that point, Spain had 200,210 confirmed cases with 20,852 victims, while Italy had 181,228 confirmed cases and 24,114 victims.
Tom Brady ordered to leave Tampa park and fined for breaching lockdown restrictions
Former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was caught and ejected from a park in Tampa area of Florida on Tuesday for violating coronavirus lockdown regulations. All parks and public spaces in the state have been closed after a stay-at-home order was declared at the start of the month and enforced from 3 April.
Park staff found Brady exercising out in the open air during a routine patrol. Governor Jane Mayor explained in this morning's press briefing, "Our parks are closed down; and so a lot of our parks staff they patrol around just to make sure that people aren't doing contact sports and things like that, and saw an individual working out in one of our downtown parks; she went over to tell him that it was closed and it was Tom Brady..."
Mayor confirmed that Brady, the most decorated quarterback in NFL history, had been cautioned by police and will face a fine for his actions.
Protesters leave body bags outside Trump hotel in New York
A group of protesters have left body bags outside Trump International in New York City to represent those who have died from Covid-19. Read more here:
Spain death toll slightly up on Monday's figures
Spain's Ministry of Health confirmed this morning that 430 people have died during the past 24 hours due to Coronavirus-related issues. The number is slightly up on Monday's count of 399, which was expected but continues in the general downward trend. In total, Spain have registered 204,178 positive cases of Covid-19 infection with 21,282 fatalities. Madrid has recorded the most deaths with 7,460 followed by Cataluña with 4,152.
French flight ban - correction
The previously reported story about France suspending flights appears to have been a misinterpretation of the minister’s comments.
Rather than it being a new policy, the transport and environment minister Elisabeth Borne was explaining the situation that already exists.
Singapore extends lockdown to 1 June
Singapore has extended a partial lockdown by four weeks until 1 June 1 in an attempt to curb the spread of coronavirus infections in the city-state, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced this morning. The measures, which include the closures of most workplaces and schools, were initially set to run from 7 April until 4 May.
Queen Elizabeth II turns 94 but birthday celebrations are called off
British monarch Queen Elizabeth II turned 94 years old today but this year, her birthday will be a subdued affair. The Queen usually spends her actual birthday privately, but the occasion is marked publicly by gun salutes in central London at midday: a 41 gun salute in Hyde Park, a 21 gun salute in Windsor Great Park and a 62 gun salute at the Tower of London - but on this occasion, that will not happen today.
France has stopped all international flights from outside Schengen zone
France has stopped all incoming flights from outside the Schengen Area, French Transport and Environment Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Tuesday. "There are no more international flights outside the Schengen zone", Borne told French RTL Radio.
The Schengen Areais a visa-free zone comprising 26 European states who agreed to abolish internal borders, for the free and unrestricted movement of people under the Schengen Agreement in 1985.
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If you're one of the many to have recovered from the coronavirus, you have a special way to help others.
Some stimulus money means more
According to a new report, residents of certain states will get more out of the stimulus money than others.
Mississippi, Arkansas and Oklahoma are seen as the places where it will stretch most, while it will be less in the likes of Massachusetts, California and Hawaii. Full story below...
Crude awakening
U.S. crude oil bounced back into positive territory on Tuesday, but a historic plunge below zero rattled investors and triggered the steepest drop in Asian stock markets in a month, Reuters reported.
Traders could not give away West Texas Intermediate overnight after a storage squeeze turned holders of the contracts expiring later on Tuesday to forced sellers.
US coronavirus update at 07:30 CEST on Tuesday 22 April (01:30 Eastern Time, 22:30 Pacific Time on Monday)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 2,478,153 cases have been detected worldwide, with 170,368 deaths and 651,503 people now recovered.
In the United States there have been 787,752 cases, with 42,359 deaths. 72,826 people have recovered from the virus.
Which states could end their quarantine period in the US?
Which states could end their quarantine period in the US?
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, is pressuring the states of the country to end the quarantine period and reopen the economy.
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:
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:
China may be keeping Covid-19 data for commercial gain, says Trump adviser
White House adviser Peter Navarro on Monday claimed that China may be withholding data about early coronavirus infections because it wants to win the commercial race to create a vaccine.
The United States, which has been the country worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic according to official statistics, has repeatedly calling on Beijing to share early data on the outbreak, which began in China.
"One of the reasons that they may not have let us in and given us the data on this virus early, is they're racing to get a vaccine and they think this is just a competitive business race, it's a business proposition so that they can sell the vaccines to the world," Navarro told Fox Business Network.
"But we're going to beat them. We're going to beat them because of President Trump's leadership. We're going to beat them because HHS has already got a five-company horse race," said Navarro, referring to the US Department of Health and Human Services.
(Text: Reuters)
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:
Coronavirus: US study suggests Covid-19 mortality rate is lower than thought
US study suggests Covid-19 mortality rate is lower than thought
Researchers at Stanford said it is possible the total number of Covid-19 cases may be much higher and therefore the mortality rate could be less than 0.2%.
Full story:
"We put on a ban of China...we put on a ban of Europe"
Also in response to the question about his downplaying of the coronavirus, Trump says: “In January, we put on a ban of China, where China couldn’t come in, and before March we put on a ban of Europe, where Europe couldn’t come in.”
There are question marks over the veracity of this statement:
"A lot of people love me"
Asked about criticism that he did not take the coronavirus seriously enough, Donald Trump tells reporters: "A lot of people love Trump. A lot of people love me."
Governors "don't understand" Covid-19 testing - Trump
Trump also said that governors “don’t understand” Covid-19 testing, and took aim specifically at Larry Hogan on the issue.
He claimed that the Maryland premier “did not understand too much about what was going on” in a call with the 50 state governors today, in which the president says they were provided with details of how additional testing could take place in their areas.
US coronavirus update at 01:30 CEST on Tuesday 21 April (19:00 Eastern Time, 16:00 Pacific Time on Monday 20 April)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 2,468,733 cases have been detected worldwide, with 169,595 deaths and 645,099 people now recovered.
In the United States, there have been 783,290 cases, with 41,872 deaths and 72,015 people recovering from the virus.
Trump: US has "tremendous" testing capacity
Donald Trump has also declared in his daily coronavirus briefing that the US has "tremendous capacity" when it comes to Covid-19 testing, despite state governors complaining otherwise.
At the weekend, Maryland governor Larry Hogan told an interview with CNN: "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."
Cuomo to visit White House, Trump tells briefing
Donald Trump has told his press briefing that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will visit the White House on Tuesday to discuss coronavirus response.
"They're getting it together in New York," said Trump of the state, which has been an epicentre for the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
"I think the governor is going to come to the Oval Office tomorrow afternoon, Andrew is going to be coming in with some of his people," Trump said of the Democratic governor.
(Reuters)
Trump daily coronavirus press briefing
US president Donald Trump has been giving his daily coronavirus press briefing over the past half hour or so, and you can follow it live here:
Coronavirus live US coverage: welcome
Hello and welcome to our live, United States-focused coverage of the coronavirus pandemic - we'll endeavour to bring you the latest developments in the crisis as they emerge.