Coronavirus US summary: Covid-19 news, Saturday 9 May
Coronavirus live US updates: cases, deaths and news, 9 May
US coronavirus latest: 16:00 PST / 19:00 EST on Saturday 9 May (01:00 CEST on Sunday 10 May)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 4,018,342 cases have been detected worldwide, with 278,756 deaths and 1,363,698 people now recovered.
In the USA, there have been 1,307,676 cases and 78,693 deaths. 212,534 people have recovered from the virus.
Coronavirus: are stomach pains a symptom of Covid-19?
Are stomach pains a symptom of Covid-19?
Studies suggest that digestive issues such as diarrhoea can be a symptom of Covid-19 but generally in tandem with fever, coughing and shortness of breath.
Full story:
Three NY children die of coronavirus-related illnesses
Three children in New York State have died of seemingly coronavirus-related illnesses, prompting governor Andrew Cuomo to talk of an “entirely different chapter” of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We thought children could be vehicles of transmission […],” Cuomo said on Saturday, “but we didn’t think children would suffer from it.”
Coronavirus: Bill Gates says 7bn people will need Covid-19 vaccine and it will take 18 months
Bill Gates: Covid-19 vaccine will take at least 18 months
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is working on a vaccine for Covid-19 and the Microsoft founder suggested it will be a year and a half in the making.
Gates' comments in full:
US unemployment benefits: where to claim - phone, online
Where to claim US unemployment benefits
State-by-state contact information - telephone numbers, websites - for people in the United States who need to apply for Unemployment Insurance:
Music great Little Richard dies at 87
Rock 'n' roll legend Little Richard has died of cancer at the age of 87, his agent confirmed today. "Little Richard passed away this morning from bone cancer in Nashville," Dick Alen said.
“He was battling for a good while, many years. I last spoke to him about two or three weeks ago. I knew he wasn’t well but he never really got into it, he just would say ‘I’m not well.’”
Stimulus check second round: what plans are under discussion
Stimulus check second round: what plans are under discussion
The distribution of the first round of coronavirus stimulus checks started in April. The White House and Congress are still discussing a second round of payments.
Full details here:
Obama says Trump coronavirus response a "disaster"
Donald Trump's predecessor as US president, Barack Obama, has branded the current administration's response to the coronavirus crisis an "absolute chaotic disaster", according to a report by Yahoo News.
You'll find Obama's comments in full here.
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:
“Reopening America is Trump’s biggest gamble”
With US president Donald Trump in a hurry to reopen the country’s economy despite coronavirus cases and deaths continuing to rise in America, he is “rolling the dice on his career - and tens of thousands of lives,” writes Ed Pilkington in the Guardian:
How to spruce up your Zoom background
If, as it has for many, Zoom has become a staple of your social calendar during the coronavirus crisis, this guide might be right up your street:
US government issues coronavirus fraud alert
Authorities in the US have warned people to be on the lookout for coronavirus related fraud targeting stimulus checks and businesses.
FDA commissioner in self-quarantine
(Reuters) U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn is in self-quarantine for a couple of weeks after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19, an FDA spokesman told Reuters late on Friday.
Hahn immediately took a diagnostic test and was tested negative himself for the novel coronavirus, FDA spokesman Michael Felberbaum said in an emailed statement.
Politico reported earlier that it was Katie Miller, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary, whom Hahn had come into contact with.
Brothers reunited after five-week Covid-19 battle
Paulino Pérez (R) hugs his brother Isaias Pérez Yañez, 59, as Isaias is released from Sharp Coronado Hospital after battling COVID-19 for five weeks in Coronado, California. Nurses, doctors and other staff members lined the hallways to celebrate Isaias' recovery as he was wheeled out of the hospital to reunite with his family. Mario Tama/Getty Images/AFP
US unemployed tell their stories
The New York Times has been running a series of stories focussing on the human impact of the unemployment crisis in the US.
Officials fear no quick economic bounceback
(Reuters) As many parts of the world's biggest economy begin to reopen after weeks of stay-at-home orders that slowed the spread of the coronavirus but gutted jobs, Americans should not expect a quick return to growth, U.S. Federal Reserve officials said on Friday.
"A couple months ago I was optimistic, I was hopeful, that maybe we would have a 'V'-shaped recovery - shut things down, clamp down on the virus, and then have a quick recovery," Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari said in an interview on the PBS Newshour.
The virus has continued to spread across the nation, with nearly 1.3 million people infected so far and more than 77,000 dead.
With a vaccine and effective treatment unlikely for a year or two, "we are in for unfortunately a slow, long recovery" from "devastating" job losses, Kashkari said.
The U.S. economy shed a record 20.5 million jobs in April due to the lockdowns imposed by states and local governments to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, a Labor Department report showed Friday.
US investigates possible coronavirus cases in November
An investigation is underway in the US to determine whether the novel coronavirus was present in the country as long ago as last November. The first reported case of coronavirus in the US was identified on 19 January.
Trump loses support among seniors
According to an internal poll, the US president has lost ground among senior citizens over his handling of the coronavirus crisis.
US unemployment soars in April
The Wall Street Journal front page for 9 May states that a decade of job creation in the US has been wiped out in a single month due to the coronavirus pandemic with over 20 million Americans losing their jobs in April.
U.S. tightens visa rules for Chinese journalists
(Reuters) The United States issued a new rule on Friday tightening visa guidelines for Chinese journalists, saying it was in response to the treatment of U.S. journalists in China, a shift that comes amid tensions between the two nations over the coronavirus global pandemic.
The United States and China have been engaged in a series of retaliatory actions involving journalists in recent months. In March, China expelled American journalists from three U.S. newspapers, a month after the United States said it would begin to treat five Chinese state-run media entities with U.S. operations the same as foreign embassies. One day after the U.S. verdict on the state-run entities, Beijing expelled three Wall Street Journal correspondents, two Americans and an Australian, following the publication of an opinion column that China denounced as racist.
In issuing the new regulation on Friday, the Department of Homeland Security cited what it called China's "suppression of independent journalism."
Ivanka Trump's assistant tests positive for Covid-19
According to widespread reports, the US president's daughter's personal assistant has tested positive for Covid-19.
Ahmaud Arbery wuld have turned 26 today
A petition demanding justice for Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot dead while out jogging has received almost 765,000 signatures. Arbery was killed on 23 February by two men identified as Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael who said they acted in self defence - even though Arbery was unarmed.
"No one has the right to pursue, attack and kill an unarmed, non-threatening individual. Ahmaud's voice will be heard," the Change.org petition reads.
#JusticeforAhmaudArbery #iRunWithMaud
Trump and Pence have not had contact with infected Pence staffer recently
U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have not been in contact recently with a member of Pence's staff who was found to be infected with the coronavirus, a senior administration official said on Friday.
"This morning we had someone on the vice president's staff test positive and so out of abundance of caution we went back and looked into all the person's contacts most recently," the official told reporters traveling with Pence to Iowa, according to a media pool report.
The official said the staffer may have been in contact with six people who were scheduled to travel on Friday with the vice president and they were removed from the flight before it departed.
MLS sides train with no return date known
There is no return date at present for the MLS season to resume but the bulk of the franchises are involved in training regimes.
NBA eyeing June return
Adam Silver contacted players to outline a feasibility plan to finish the 2019/20 season.
California will not turn its back on immigrants
In March the United States President Donald Trump signed the CARES Act, a $2.2 trillion economic relief bill to aid millions of Americans who lost their jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic. Since mid-April people have been receiving a $1,200 stimulus payment for individuals and $2,400 for married couples that get an additional $500 per child under 17.
A string of US stores are making plans to re-open. Several Republican politicians have also advocated for opening the country as opposed to giving out more stimulus checks.
USA live blog - welcome
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of all the latest Covid-19 news as it happens from in and around the United States.
With our rolling feed we'll aim to keep you posted on everything from President Trump's latest comments to the most recent developments on vaccines and treatment, not to mention the latest information relating to the stimulus package and unemployment processes.
You can read our live blog from yesterday, 8 May, here.