Coronavirus USA news summary: cases and deaths - 17 May
Coronavirus live US updates: cases, deaths and news - Sunday 17 May
US coronavirus latest: 13:25 PST/16:25 EST on Sunday 17 May (22:25 CEST)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 4,690,287 cases have been detected worldwide, with 314,096 deaths and1,721,884 people now recovered.
In the USA, there have been 1,480,873 confirmed cases and 89,219 deaths. 268,376 people have recovered from the virus.
To keep up to date with all the latest developments in the US surrounding the coronavirus crisis, please head over to our live blog for Monday 18 May.
Are stay-at-home orders ending soon in the United States?
Stay-at-home orders winding down in the United States?
A look at the situation in the US and which states are lifting restrictions.
Pelosi sees negotiations on new $3 trillion coronavirus legislation
Pelosi sees negotiations on new $3 trillion coronavirus legislation
Nancy Pelosi said there will be negotiations on the new $3 trillion coronavirus relief legislation passed by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives and that Democrats have 'no red lines.'
Eric Trump claims Democrats are conspiring against his father
Eric Trump claims Democrats are conspiring against his father
Eric Trump says that during the November elections the coronavirus will ‘magically disappear’ suggesting the disease is a Democrat plot against the current president.
NHLPA to host Fortnite tourney for charity
The National Hockey League Players' Association is hosting a Fortnite tournament for charity.
More than 60 players are set to compete in the tournament, called the NHLPA Open, which will take place on Monday from 2-5 p.m. ET and will be streamed live at Twitch.tv/espnesports. It is being organized by Colorado Avalanche forward J.T. Compher and Toronto Maple Leafs forward Zach Hyman.
The NHL players will play Fortnite in groups of three, and the $200,000 prize pool will be donated to charities chosen by the participants.
Compher will take part with his Avalanche teammates Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Nieto, and Hyman will be a commentator.
"Players across the league are passionate Fortnite players. While we cannot compete on the ice right now, it is important to the guys that we give back in a meaningful way," Compher said. "We are excited to showcase our competitive skills online to an ever-growing audience, and I can't wait to watch our event unfold."
Fed's Powell says full economic recovery may require coronavirus vaccine
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said a U.S. economic recovery may stretch deep into next year and a full comeback may depend on a coronavirus vaccine.
"This economy will recover. It may take a while ... It could stretch through the end of next year. We really don't know,"
Powell said in remarks aired on CBS's "Face the Nation" as part of a longer prerecorded interview to be broadcast Sunday night on the network's "60 Minutes" news show.
"Assuming there is not a second wave of the coronavirus, I think you will see the economy recover steadily through the second half of this year. For the economy to fully recover people will have to be fully confident and that may have to await the arrival of a vaccine."
U.S. CDC offers latest daily coronavirus figures
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday reported 1,467,065 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 31,967 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 1,394 to 88,709.
The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by the new coronavirus, as of 4 p.m. ET on May 16, compared with its count a day earlier.
The CDC figures do not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual states.
Protesters wearing protective face coverings rally outside Metro Praise International church which has been holding services and defying stay at home orders amid the coronavirus outbreak in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., May 17, 2020. REUTERS/Max Herman
An attendee has their temperature checked by NASCAR Security prior to the NASCAR Cup Series The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway on May 17, 2020 in Darlington, South Carolina. NASCAR resumes the season after the nationwide lockdown due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images/AFP
"If we stop now, it may not just be back to square 1. We may be worse off than we started"
As US states reopen, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, Dr Sanjay Gupta, has said he is worried for the country in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic, warning that America could end up "worse off than we started”".
“If the country were my patient right now, we would be having a conversation that would be important, tough, forward-planning and goal-oriented,” De Gupta wrote. “I’m worried about my patient right now. In this case, the United States of America.”
He went on: “We have been infected, and we are only part way through the miserable therapy. If we stop now, however, it may not just be back to square 1. We may be worse off than we started.”
US' Social Security "could be insolvent" by end of 2020s
The coronavirus pandemic could leave the United States' Social Security program insolvent "by the end of this decade", according to new estimates reported by Politico:
LeBron James speaks at virtual graduation
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James speaks during the 'Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020' program. Photo: (EIF/XQ Handout via REUTERS)
US set to revise Paycheck Protection Program - WSJ
The United States is expected to revise its aid program for small businesses to cope with the economic fallout of the coronavirus outbreak, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
Citing lawmakers following the deliberations, the WSJ said the changes are likely to give businesses more flexibility and time when spending funds granted as part of the Paycheck Protection Program.
(Text: Reuters)
Heroes Act: How $3tn US stimulus bill would affect student loans
How the Heroes Act would affect student loans in the US
Among those to benefit from the Heroes Act, a $3 trillion coronavirus relief package passed by the House on Friday, would be student-loan borrowers.
Full details here:
"Complacent" Trump, Putin and Bolsonaro "may well end up paying political price"
“Donald Trump's performance is a lesson in how not to handle an emergency,” the journalist Simon Tinsdall has written in the Guardian today, in an opinion piece in which he says the US president has, together with Vladimir Putin of Russia and Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro, been left vulnerable by his "cynicism and incompetence."
Trump's response to the Covid-19 pandemic “may become a compulsory case study for future students of crisis management", Tinsdall adds.
US President Trump considering restoring WHO funding
Trump considering restoring WHO funding
In March, United States President Donald Trump decided to cut WHO funding because of their response to the pandemic and that decision has been criticized.
Full story:
'Surrogate Elton John' entertains neighborhood
A couple in Sherman Oaks, north-west of Los Angeles, listens to musician Adam Chester performing during his weekly neighborhood concert called 'Quaranchella' amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Chester, who earned the title of the 'Surrogate Elton John' for singing and playing the rock star's parts at rehearsals, organizes these weekly concerts for his neighbors and to raise money for 'The Man/Kind Project'. (Photo: EFE/EPA/ETIENNE LAURENT)
"Stir-crazy" penguins take museum field trip
Yes, you read that right. Penguins from Kansas City Zoo were allowed to wander around the halls of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, which is currently closed to the public because of the coronavirus pandemic.
"We're always looking for ways to enrich their lives and stimulate their days and during this shutdown period, our animals really miss visitors coming up to see them," said the zoo's executive director, Randy Wisthoff.
Second stimulus check: how many people would get it?
Heroes Act would increase who gets a stimulus check
But it's hard to see how it gets through the Senate in anything like its current form.
Las Vegas contemplates reopening
Interesting article from the Guardian on reopening Las Vegas for business. For a city that's built around catering to incomers looking for fun, Covid-19 is particularly devastating.
"A city like Las Vegas depends on consumer confidence and purchasing power by outsiders … Until we find a cure for the virus or an effective treatment, we’re on ‘virus time’," says John Restrepo, a principal consultant at the Vegas-based RCG Economics.
China admits to destroying early samples of coronavirus
US accusations have provoked a response
But China are saying they did everything by the book...
When does the Senate vote on the Heroes Act, the new stimulus package?
No firm date for Heroes Act
Republicans don't like the proposal, so don't expect the Senate to be jumping to get to it.
Obama criticises 'officials' over Covid-19 handling
The former U.S. president said to college graduates in an online commencement address: "More than anything, this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they’re doing. A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”
U.S. CDC reports 1,435,098 coronavirus cases, 87,315 deaths
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday reported a total of 1,435,098 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 22,977 cases from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 1,325 to 87,315.
The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by the new coronavirus, as of 4 p.m. ET on May 15, compared with its count a day earlier. The CDC figures do not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual states.
MLB-League proposes rigorous testing among guidelines for return
Players may have to skip the showers and spitting will not be allowed under guidelines proposed by Major League Baseball to bring America's pastime back during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As many as 10,000 coronavirus tests would be conducted per week for participants in games, according to the report, with spitting and fistbumps prohibited, and hand sanitizing required every half-inning.
Other potential rules include swapping out baseballs after they have been touched by more than one person, the report said.
A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the vast majority of testing would be done through saliva, as opposed to nasal swab procedures, and that multiple tests would be administered each week for both players and staff.
There will also be limits on who is allowed to sit in the dugout during games, in order to help maintain social distancing, with inactive players sitting in stands and elsewhere, six feet apart, inside otherwise empty stadiums.
The logistics of bringing back baseball, potentially as early as July, have been a topic of fierce debate among players, owners and the league
White House says Trump fired State Dept watchdog at Pompeo's request
U.S. President Donald Trump fired the State Department's inspector general following a recommendation by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the White House said on Saturday.
"Secretary Pompeo recommended the move, and President Trump agreed,” a White House official said after two top Democrats announced a probe into the Republican president's Friday night firing of the department's internal watchdog, Steve Linick.
When does the Senate vote on the Heroes Act, the new stimulus?
When does the Senate vote on the Heroes Act, the new stimulus?
Coronavirus live US: welcome
Hello and welcome to our live, United States-focused coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, which has now led to over 310,000 deaths worldwide. We'll endeavour to keep you abreast of the latest news and statistics as they emerge.