New York City public housing will have onsite coronavirus testing, Cuomo says
People wait in line for a coronavirus test at the parking lot of NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health Morrisania in New York on April 20. Timothy A. Clary/Getty Images
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state is setting up a program with New York City Housing Authority to provide onsite health service and testing in the city's public housing.
"High concentration of people in one place, many people in the small lobby, many people in an elevator, many people in the hallways. Higher number of people in the apartment, just a higher occupancy, That's where the virus spreads," Cuomo said.
Cuomo also said the state is working to distribute 500,000 masks and 10,000 gallons of hans sanitizer to New York City's public housing communities. That's one mask for every public housing resident, according to Cuomo.
11:55 a.m. ET, April 20, 2020
New York governor: "The numbers would suggest we're seeing a descent"
From CNN's Aditi Sangal
State of New York
New York has seen a plateau for coronavirus cases and now the numbers may be on the descent, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a press conference today.
“The question was, 'How long are we going to be on this plateau? How long, how wide is the plateau?' The question now is, assuming we’re off the plateau and we’re seeing a descent — which the numbers would suggest we’re seeing a descent — the question is now 'How long is the descent and how steep is the descent?' And nobody knows," Cuomo said.
He added that the time frame for the descent is between two to four weeks according to some projections but he wouldn’t “bet the farm on them.”
11:54 a.m. ET, April 20, 2020
Gov. Cuomo: "You don't need protests to convince anyone" of desire to reopen
State of New York
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state needs to "reimagine" society as it works to reopen businesses.
Cuomo alluded to protests across the country organized to demand an end to stay-at-home orders and other coronavirus restrictions.
"You don't need protests to convince anyone in this country that we have to get back to work and we have to get the economy going and we have to get out of our homes," Cuomo said.
He said instead of asking when New York can reopen, the state should consider what lessons can be taken away from the pandemic.
"When we look back we can say, 'wow we went through hell, but look at all the lessons we learned and look at how much better we made this place from this incident,'" he said, adding that now is the time to consider how to make New York transit, housing and other businesses better.
"Let's use this situation, this crisis, this time, to actually learn the lessons," he said.
11:51 a.m. ET, April 20, 2020
At least 478 people died in New York from coronavirus yesterday
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
At least 478 people across New York died from coronavirus yesterday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
"The worst news is the number of lives lost. That number is still horrific," he said.
11:48 a.m. ET, April 20, 2020
New York governor: The question now is "are we past the apex?"
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said coronavirus hospitalizations are down across the state.
The governor said that as hospitalizations increased, experts wondered when the city would reach the apex. Now, the question has changed.
"The question for us is, 'Are we past the apex?'" he said.
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11:33 a.m. ET, April 20, 2020
Brooklyn Supreme Court justice dies from coronavirus
From CNN's Erica Orden
Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Noach Dear addresses a meeting for the transportation committee in New York, on Thursday March 28, 1996. Paul Hurschmann/AP
Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Noach Dear died early Sunday from complications related to coronavirus, Lucian Chalfen, a spokesperson for the New York state court system, confirmed to CNN.
Dear was elected as a justice in 2015. He also served as a New York City council member for nearly 20 years.
11:17 a.m. ET, April 20, 2020
US, Mexico and Canada will extend non-essential travel restrictions, US official says
From CNN's Priscilla Alvarez
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf speaks about the coronavirus on Wednesday, April 1, in Washington. Alex Brandon/AP
The Department of Homeland Security will extend travel restrictions with US, Mexico, and Canada an additional 30 days.
Acting Secretary Chad Wolf announced the extension today, saying the decision was made in "close collaboration" between leaders in the US, Mexico, and Canada.
"As President Trump stated last week, border control, travel restrictions and other limitations remain critical to slowing the spread and allowing the phased opening of the country,” he said.
11:16 a.m. ET, April 20, 2020
Why Shake Shack is returning its $10 million government loan
From CNN's Aditi Sangal
Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images
Shake Shack announced that it’s returning the $10 million loan from the US government under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), after it received backlash for applying for the loan at all. Shake Shack has around $100 million in cash on hand.
Randy Garutti, Shake Shack's CEO, said the loan was intended to “take care of our team and employ as many people.”
“The good news for us is as a larger public company, we also have access to capital in different ways,” Garutti said about the company’s decision to return the loan.
He added that the burger chain was able to fundraise last Friday “to ensure long-term stability.”
“That $10 million now can go back in the pot, can go to the people who deserve it and we hope can go help inspire the next round, as you’re seeing the Treasury and everyone talking today about how to make the next round better," he said.
About the loans: The emergency program was touted as a way to help small businesses pay workers and keep their operations running during the coronavirus crisis but it ran out of the $349 billion stimulus last week. Several media reports showed that large chunks of the package, overseen by the Small Business Administration (SBA), were taken up by chain restaurants, hoteliers and publicly traded corporations, rather than small, local businesses.
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11:02 a.m. ET, April 20, 2020
Florida lawmakers: There must be more testing before the state reopens
People walk up a public access to the beach on Sunday, April 19, in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
Florida representatives are calling on Gov. Ron DeSantis to expand testing for Covid-19 cases before reopening the economy.
During a press call, state Rep. Donna Shalala said paying attention to the public health experts and a strong testing regime is Florida's first line of defense against coronavirus. Those steps are vital to getting the economy up and running again.
"Gov. DeSantis can not be weak. He has to be a leader, and that means he has to lay out very strong procedures and you can not open up the beaches. Opening up the beaches is the most dangerous thing you can do." Shalala said.
Some background: On Friday, beaches in Jacksonville reopened for certain hours under some restrictions. The city said group activities and sunbathing are not allowed. DeSantis supported the idea of reopening beaches, parks and other public spaces as long as social distancing is practiced, WJXT reported.
Meanwhile, state Sen. Laurie Berman who also attended the morning presser said without widespread diagnostic and antibody testing, reopening the state and relaxing social distancing will jeopardize the health and safety of residents.
Berman is urging officials to use scientific data before making any decisions.
"If Florida fails to rise above the dangerous passions of this President's politics and doesn't adhere strictly to those educated we risk a second deadly wave right here in our state." Berman said.
