Coronavirus pandemic in the US

There have been at least 766,212 cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 40,905 people have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

As states begin to include “probable deaths” in their counts, so will JHU. In the upcoming days, these changes may show as surges of deaths in the United States. 

On Monday, Johns Hopkins reported 6,745 new cases and 228 reported deaths. 

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as all repatriated cases. 

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced today that for the remainder of this school year, K-12 students will continue learning remotely.

DeWine said while Ohio has flattened the curve, the virus remains dangerous. According to the governor, many educators also expressed that going back to school now with a relatively small amount of time left wouldn't be a good idea even if the health situation was resolved.

DeWine added that a decision about school in the fall has not been made.

“I know parents, teachers, and administrators are anxious about an answer about the fall, but we're not in the position to make that decision yet," he said.

According to the governor, the possibility of a blended system for the fall has been discussed, where some distance as well as some in-person learning would take place.

A group representing tens of thousands of laboratory workers is urging the White House coronavirus task force to address the “critical needs of America’s clinical laboratories,” namely the lack of testing supplies and protective equipment at labs across the country, saying “significant barriers” ​remain that limit labs’ abilities to meet demand.

“At this point, the biggest barrier to testing is not capacity, but access to vital supplies,” wrote Carmen Wiley, the president of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry in an April 16 letter to Dr. Deborah Birx, who sits on the White House coronavirus task force.

The group represents more than 50,000 lab and diagnostic professionals.

The letter stated that nasal swabs for specimen collection as well as other test components remain in short supply. 

Wiley added that lab professionals who collect and process specimens are frontline workers who require protective equipment, including gowns, masks, gloves, and face shields, and therefore increased production and disbursement of such items “is vital to ensuring the safety of those individuals.”

In an interview with CNN, Wiley said she felt it was important for the voices of the actual lab workers to be heard, “because we felt there was a disconnect between the theoretical capacity of tests that can be run and what we're actually experiencing.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said there will not be a deal today as senators work on another coronavirus relief package.

“At this hour, our Democratic colleagues are still prolonging their discussions with the administration, so the Senate regretfully will not be able to pass more funding for Americans’ paychecks today,” McConnell said in remarks on the Senate floor.

McConnell also asked for consent to setup another pro forma session for tomorrow, which could serve as a window for the Senate to try to pass an interim funding deal by unanimous consent if a deal is formally reached before then. There were no objections.

“Since this is so urgent, I have asked that the Senate meet again tomorrow in a new session that was not previously scheduled, and the Democratic Leader has agreed to my request. Colleagues, it is past time, past time, to get this done for the country,” McConnell said.

What this is all about: Congressional lawmakers and the Trump administration are on the verge of striking a deal on a nearly $500 billion package to extend funding for an emergency small business lending program, provide additional funding for hospitals and expand funding for coronavirus testing. 

Nothing is final until everything is agreed to — and they aren't there yet. But a resolution to a weeks-long stalemate is coming.

Hear McConnell's request from the Senate floor:

The world needs to come together on a national and global scale to overcome the coronavirus pandemic — and without that solidarity, "the worst is yet ahead of us," World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday.

"We need global solidarity that’s cemented on generating national unity. Without the two — without national unity and global solidarity — 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," Tedros said, making the argument that WHO warned nations about the novel coronavirus from early on in the pandemic.

Speaking at a media briefing in Geneva, he went on to say, "We warned even developed countries, saying this virus will even surprise developed countries. It did. We said that it will surprise even wealthy nations. We said it on record. Let’s stop additional surprises. Let’s stop tragedy. Hundreds of thousands now dying is serious. Even one life is precious. Let’s say enough is enough."

Tedros made this call for solidarity at the same time nations are considering loosening their respective lockdown measures and the United States considers gradually reopening after weeks of instilling stay-at-home orders across states. 

"If there is national unity and if there is global solidarity, if we take this as a common enemy for humanity and give our best — of course understanding that this is a new virus and dangerous virus — we can win the fight," Tedros said.

Tedros went on to specify that political discourse could fuel the pandemic, making conditions worse if within nations leaders fail to work together across party lines and within the world if there is no global solidarity.

"Don’t use this virus as an opportunity to fight against each other or score political points. It’s dangerous. It’s like playing with fire. Please work together. We need national unity. We’re seeing the tragedy and we need global solidarity that’s based on honest and genuine national unity," Tedros said.

"It's the political problem that may fuel further this pandemic," Tedros said. "At the end of the day we should know the root cause of the problem and try to address that."

Overall, Tedros warned with emotion about the dangers of the novel coronavirus.

"This virus is dangerous. This virus is public enemy number one. This virus is new and which has behavior of serious contagion, like flu. It’s very contagious like flu. And at the same time, it’s very killer like SARS and MERS. It has a very dangerous combination," Tedros said.

"What made me emotional? Because I know death, I know war, I know poverty," Tedros said. "I know how people really are influenced by all this."

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo said Vice President Mike Pence is wrong when he said her state appeared to be "past" its coronavirus outbreak peak.

Raimondo said that while she means the vice president no disrespect, that is “clearly not true.” 

The state added 339 new cases to bring the state’s total to 5,090. They also added five deaths for a total of 155. That’s an uptick from previous days, and indicates the state is still on the incline of the curve. 

Raimondo laid out a plan for reopening her state’s economy. The governor’s stay-at-home order expires on May 8, so it wouldn’t be until at least after then that she would start to loosen restrictions.

In order to execute her “Reopen RI” plan, the state would need to answer “yes” to the following six questions:

The governor said her plan is a phased approach that is close in line with the approach laid out by the White House, but more tailored to Rhode Island specifically. 

As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps through the nation's nursing homes, the facilities will now have to report all cases to patients and families, as well as to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Thousands of residents have died from coronavirus in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, with one of the earliest outbreaks in the US happening at the Life Care Center in Washington, killing several dozen people. 

Many families have complained that they haven't been told of what's happening inside the facilities where their loved ones reside, though nursing homes are required to inform state or local health officials.

Now, nursing homes will have to tell patients and their families within 12 hours of a coronavirus diagnosis and give weekly updates. 

The facilities will also have to provide information on confirmed and suspected cases, hospital admissions and deaths of patients and staff to the CDC, said Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Her agency will also make the data available to the public but has not yet decided how.

The agency has already issued guidance to nursing homes, advising facilities to restrict visitors, tighten infection control measures and ensure staff are using personal protective equipment.

Why this matters: Older Americans have proven particularly vulnerable to coronavirus.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Saturday said nursing homes have been a "feeding frenzy" for the outbreak. The hard-hit state said last week that there have been more than 1,100 confirmed and presumed coronavirus deaths in long-term care nursing home facilities.

Just days after reopening beaches in Duval County, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said the community is responding well to the limitations and social distance guidelines put in place by the city. 

Curry drew criticism over the weekend for opening the beaches too soon during the coronavirus outbreak. 

Curry said he has been in constant contact with law enforcement and mayors who have "been strong in the face of national, international news running sensational headlines without understanding our city." 

He said the limited beach reopening is the first step in a returning back to normal, but noted that they all must "be mindful of the risks." 

Keep reading.

Beachgoers talk to CNN as Jacksonville beaches reopen:

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf had a message for protesters at the Capitol today: “Please stay safe.”

“Obviously this a democracy everyone has a right to express their opinions I’m just hoping that they like every other Pennsylvanian recognizes that we want to keep each other safe so social distancing is part of that proposition," he said.

He added: “We want you to be safe. That’s what we’re trying to do here. We want to make sure that we do everything we can to keep Pennsylvanians safe — that includes you.”

Resentment has been growing across the country as stay-at-home orders keep the economy shut down and prohibit people from getting back to work and providing for their family.