Coronavirus US summary: cases, deaths, news - 6 May
Coronavirus live USA: latest Covid-19 news - 6 May
US coronavirus latest: 15:00 PST / 18:00 EST on Wednesday 6 May (00:00 CEST on Thursday 7 May)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 3,742,665 cases have been detected worldwide, with 261,517 deaths and 1,237,907 people now recovered.
In the USA, there have been 1,223,419 cases with 72,812 deaths. 189,910 people have recovered from the virus.
Unemployment Insurance: phone numbers & online portals by state
US Unemployment Insurance: phone numbers and online portals by state
State-by-state contact information for people in the United States who need to file a claim for unemployment benefits:
Few NBA teams to open facilities on Friday
As few as three NBA teams are reportedly planning to allow players into team facilities on Friday, the first day the league is permitting individual workouts in states where coronavirus restrictions have been relaxed.
USA Today reported the Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets are the only franchises certain to host players this week.
While "maybe another team or two" may open facilities for players on Friday, others are more than three weeks from hosting players for individual workouts, including the Golden State Warriors, according to the report.
Per the NBA's guidelines, only four players at a time are permitted in the team facility and social distancing practices, including wearing masks when possible, are mandatory.
The NBA suspended its season 11 March and has been navigating shifting plans and projections on a potential return for weeks.
(Reuters)
Alternative high-school graduation
An aerial photo made with a drone shows vehicles lined up as graduates arrive to pick up their diplomas at Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Graduating senior students were allowed to walk across the stage in an auditorium with no audience after their name was called to pick up their diplomas. Illinois remains under a stay at home order because of the coronavirus, preventing normal graduation ceremonies from being held. (Photo: EFE/EPA/TANNEN MAURY)
“Death is not an economic motivator”
House speaker Nancy Pelosi has hit out at president Donald Trump’s eagerness to reopen the US economy despite the warnings of public-health experts that it could lead to a surge in coronavirus cases. “Death is not an economic motivator […],” Pelosi said, “so why are we going down that path?"
Branding in a world of Covid-19
When it comes to providing help and support during the extraordinary coronavirus crisis, US consumers cannot seem to decide if brands are uplifting the cause – or looking out for themselves.
An interesting look at brand marketing challenges.
States opening "a mistake"
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday that he believed states reopening their economies while seeing growing rates of infections from the novel coronavirus were making a mistake.
"You have states that are opening where you are still on the incline," Cuomo told a daily briefing. "I think that's a mistake."
Venezuela sanctions plea
The Covid-19 pandemic has dealt a new blow to Venezuela's crumbling health system, UN experts said on Wednesday, urging the United States to lift sanctions that have worsened the country's economic crisis.
Mike Pompeo said: "Remember, China has a history of infecting the world, and they have a history of running sub-standard laboratories."
He also said there was 'enormous evidence' that the virus was spread from a lab in Wuhan, China. He has since softened his cough though.
"Pompeo aims to kill two birds with one stone by spewing falsehoods," said an editorial in China's The Global Times after his comments. "First, he hopes to help Trump win re-election this November...second, Pompeo hates socialist China and, in particular, cannot accept China's rise."
Donald Trump has backed down over disbanding the coronavirus taskforce after public backlash. He now says it will continue 'indefinitely'.
European ethanol makers fear influx from U.S. and Brazil
An influx of cheap U.S. and Brazilian ethanol threatens Europe's producers as businesses resume operations, companies have told the European Commission, urging it to act to protect an industry reeling from depressed demand.
Sharp falls in driving and air travel due to the coronavirus pandemic have hit the biofuel sector worldwide, forcing companies to dtastically cut output and prices, notably in top producers the United States and Brazil.
The two countries account for about 55% and 30% of the world's ethanol production respectively.
European producers of ethanol, made from grains or sugar crops, now fear that record stocks in these countries could prompt them to further boost their shipments to Europe when confinement measures are lifted.
How does Trump plan to cut taxes to pay stimulus checks?
Donald Trump is planning to cut taxes in an effort to reinvigorate the American economy according to the New York Times. The US has already sent out millions of stimulus checks to its citizens with 26 million of them losing their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.
There has also been another round of stimulus checks in May mentioned as a possibility but Trump wants to cut taxes to limit government spending and seek to increase support the economy through in a different manner.
Nursing homes have been hit hard around the world and some have been downright neglected. The chances of an elderly person of dying is a lot higher than a healthy, young person and clusters have been identified in many nursing homes.
This could be the future of meetings and press conferences for a long time to come. Masks, gloves and social distancing.
People wait for US President Donald Trump to speak at a Honeywell International Inc. factory during his first trip since widespread COVID-19 related lockdowns went into effect May 5, 2020, in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)
Donald Trump looking to wind down pandemic task force by late May or early June
Donald Trump will start to wind down the pandemic task force by late May/ Early June according to Mike Pence. As the death toll hurtles past 70,000, Trump wants to get the country back open again.
“It’s possible there will be some because you won’t be locked into an apartment or a house or whatever it is, but at the same time we’re going to practise social distancing, we’re going to be washing hands, we’re going to be doing a lot of the things that we’ve learned to do over the last period of time. And we have to get our country back," Donald Trump said on Tuesday.
China says tariffs should not be used as a weapon after U.S. threats
China said on Wednesday tariffs should not be used as a weapon after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose more of them in retaliation for China's handling of the novel coronavirus.
Tariffs, in general, hurt all parties involved, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters at a daily briefing.
"So the United States should stop thinking it can use tariffs as a weapon and a big stick to coerce other countries," she said.
Trump said on Friday that raising tariffs on China was "certainly an option" as he considers ways to retaliate for the coronavirus pandemic.
A man wearing a KKK hood has been condemned by local California leaders. The incident happened at a store in Southern California and the man has been identified.
"Unfortunately, an alarming and isolated incident occurred at our Vons store in Santee, where a customer chose an inflammatory method of wearing a face covering,"said Melissa Hill, spokesperson for Vons, Albertsons and Pavilions stores in Southern California. "This was a disturbing incident for our associates and customers, and we are reviewing with our team how to best handle such inappropriate situations in the future."
Disney to reopen Shanghai park
Disney's Chinese theme park is set to be the first to reopen its doors after the coronavirus pandemic. The park has been closed since the outbreak in January.
NY Times, 6 May (front cover)
The front cover of today's New York Times with a start warning that the threat of the Covid-19 virus is far from over.
Best Buy, Macy’s and Chico’s plans to reopen in the United States
Lots of social distancing and wiping down of surfaces, but stores are gradually reopening.
Stimulus check payment: what to do if I missed the deadline for SSI benefits and VA benefits
Hopefully you didn't miss the deadline, but if you did you can still claim the money, it'll just take longer.
Trump pushing to reopen the country, Democrats not happy
The message coming from the White House is that it's time to get the US back open for business, despite the death toll mounting. "The people want to go back to work," President Donald Trump told ABC's David Muir in an interview. He also admitted people could be "affected badly".
The Democratic National Committee's War Room directo Daniel Wessel has condemned Trump for his approach. “Donald Trump is knowingly putting American lives at risk to further his political interests, it’s as simple as that,” said Wessel.
“Trump has declared ‘mission accomplished’ while the virus continues to spread, and he just admitted that a rush to reopen the country too quickly could cause unnecessary deaths. This level of neglect is astonishing even for a president who has always put himself first.”
Odd Covid-19 symptoms
What's really strange is that often the people getting this don't have other symptoms or even know they've been infected.
Some of our articles you may wish to catch up on:
- Is the stimulus check taxable?
- The full list of every sport affected by coronavirus
- The stick-on throat patch that detects Covid-19 symptoms
- Stimulus check: will there be a second round in May 2020?
Stimulus payment: deadline fast approaching for SSI and Veterans Affairs recipients
Some citizens only have hours left to ensure they get their additional stimulus payments if they have dependent children - don't miss out.
Hello and welcome
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of all the latest Covid-19 news on 5 and 6 May, as it happens from around the United States.
Sadly the death toll in the US has now passed 70,000 deaths, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. This comes as the White House has said it is already looking to wind down its coronavirus task force over the coming weeks. One projection warns that the daily death toll could hit 3,000 by 1 June.