California governor on reopening state: "There is no date"
From CNN's Cheri Mossburg
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said there "is no date" for when the state could reopen and residents could return to normalcy.
“No one wants to share the timeline for the return to normalcy than I do,” Newsom said at his daily press conference. However, “There is no date," he said.
“I wish I could prescribe a specific date ... and go back to normalcy,” he said. “I know so many of you demand and deserve clarity.”
Newsom warned, “You will be left wanting.” About lifting restrictions, the governor said, “We are not prepared to do that today. We won’t wait week to week, when we’re ready, we will make those announcements in real time.”
California is looking closely at six key indicators based on health science, not politics, the governor said. Those indicators are:
Testing and tracking
Protecting vulnerable populations
Hospital preparedness, including personal protective equipment
Developing treatments, including vaccines
The ability to continue physical distancing, especially at schools and businesses
The ability to reinstate stay home orders if needed
3:32 p.m. ET, April 22, 2020
California governor says call with Trump focused on need for testing supplies
From CNN's Cheri Mossburg
Gov. Gavin Newsom pictured on April 14 during a news conference. Rich Pedroncelli/AP
California Gov. Gavin Newsom detailed a call with President Trump focused on coronavirus testing materials.
As the state increases testing capacity, the overwhelming need is supplies, specifically test swabs, Newsom said he told Trump during a call Wednesday.
The President promised that California will receive 100,000 test swabs this week, 250,000 next week, and more the week after, Newsom said.
So far, about 465,000 people have been tested for coronavirus in California.
3:59 p.m. ET, April 22, 2020
Minnesota records its most coronavirus deaths and infections seen in one day
From CNN's Allison Flexner
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz provides an update on the state's response to Covid-19 during a news conference on April 20 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Scott Takushi/Pioneer P
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the state recorded its highest number of coronavirus infections and deaths since the pandemic began.
The governor cited 19 deaths and 154 new infections. Walz went on to say it appears the state is climbing the slope.
Health Secretary Jan Malcolm said the state expects to see these numbers increase.
2:37 p.m. ET, April 22, 2020
Two cats in New York are first pets in US to test positive for coronavirus, federal officials say
From CNN Health’s Arman Azad
A veterinarian tests a cat for the coronavirus, a requirement for travel, at a clinic in Cairo, Egypt on March 29. Maya Alleruzzo/AP Images
Two cats in New York have been infected with the novel coronavirus, federal officials announced Wednesday.
Both animals had mild respiratory symptoms and are expected to make a full recovery.
“These are the first pets in the United States to test positive,” the US Department of Agriculture said Wednesday in a joint statement with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The agencies emphasized that there is no evidence pets play a role in spreading coronavirus in the United States.
"There is no justification in taking measures against companion animals that may compromise their welfare," they said.
The two cats were tested after they showed respiratory symptoms, according to the agencies, and they join the ranks of a lion and a tiger in New York who were previously confirmed to be infected.
A veterinarian tested the first house cat after it showed mild respiratory signs, but none of the humans in its household were confirmed to have the virus.
It’s possible, officials said, that the cat was infected by somebody outside the home. Someone inside the house, with mild or no symptoms, could have also transmitted the virus.
The second cat, in a separate area of New York, was also tested after it showed signs of respiratory illness. The owner of that cat tested positive for Covid-19 before the cat became ill, but another cat in the household has shown no signs of illness.
Coronavirus and pets: Officials are still learning more about coronavirus and pets, but the CDC is recommending that people limit interactions between their pets and people or animals outside the household.
Cats should be kept indoors when possible, the CDC said, and dogs should be walked on a leash, maintaining at least 6 feet from other people and animals.
The agency said dogs should also avoid public places where a large number of people and animals gather, such as dog parks.
If someone is ill with Covid-19 – whether suspected or confirmed – officials recommend having another member of the household care for pets.
2:21 p.m. ET, April 22, 2020
Interior Department and National Park Service will work at state-level to open parks, official says
From CNN's Sarah Westwood
Bryce Canyon National Park covered in snow on January 2. Daniel Slim/AFP/Getty Images
An Interior official downplayed President Trump's comments on the reopening of National Parks this afternoon as a major new announcement — noting that space at some parks has remained open throughout the pandemic response.
The official said Interior and the National Park Service will work at the state level to open parks as those individual states begin to reopen, but the expectation at the moment is that the administration won’t move to open parks before the states they’re located in move to at least Phase One of the federal reopening guidelines.
2:05 p.m. ET, April 22, 2020
More than 75% of US hotel rooms remain empty
From CNN’s Aaron Cooper
More than 75% of hotel rooms in the United States remain empty, according to hotel data and analytics company STR.
Nationwide hotels reported an occupancy rate of 23.4% for the week ending April 18, which represents a 64% decrease from the same week last year.
The numbers are a slight increase from recent weeks, but STR attributes that to rooms being used by people working to respond to the pandemic.
“It is important to state that this is not any type of early-recovery sign,” Jan Freitag, STR’s senior vice president of lodging insights said in a statement. “Rather, more demand can be attributed to frontline workers.”
New York City, were some medical workers are being housed in hotels, posted an occupancy rate of about 33%, up from a low of about 15% for the week ending March 28.
Oahu Island, Hawaii, remains the market with lowest occupancy. Only 8% of the rooms there are occupied.
2:00 p.m. ET, April 22, 2020
The Senate approved the next round of fiscal stimulus, but economists don't think it's enough
From CNN's Anneken Tappe and Kate Trafecante
US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks during a press conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, April 21. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
Economists call the latest round of fiscal stimulus a step in the right direction, but warn that more money will be necessary to help both American households and businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.
"This bill will help address shortfalls, but even more stimulus will likely be needed," said economists at Bank of America in a research note. "We expect Congress to pass another large package worth up to $1.5 trillion that extends on provisions in the CARES Act."
The US Senate passed a new $480 billion round of fiscal stimulus Tuesday in Washington's latest effort to provide economic relief, including an additional $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program to help small businesses. The program ran out of funds last week.
"Demand for this program has been sky high as small businesses, which have limited capital market access, are in need of funds to survive the quarantine period," the note said. "This latest round of funding should go a long way to help those businesses which missed out on the first round of funds. However, it may still fall short of what is ultimately needed, which we estimate to be $900 billion."
The expanded program also likely won't prevent some small companies from going under.
"Many small businesses that are currently closed or operating at reduced levels could still struggle to remain financially viable, even if lockdowns are progressively lifted over the coming weeks," said Rebecca Karnovitz, a Moody's vice president, in emailed comments. "A wave of small business bankruptcies would weigh on a recovery in employment and economic activity."
2:05 p.m. ET, April 22, 2020
There will be "many different types of businesses" soon open in Texas, governor says
From CNN's Ashley Killough
Texas Governor Greg Abbott during a press conference at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, on March 29. Tom Fox/Getty Images
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott previewed his upcoming announcement for how Texas will further reopen its economy.
There are "so many different types of businesses," including hair salons, that will open back up, Abbott said.
Abbott also detailed a patchwork approach in which rural counties may be allowed to open up more businesses than areas that have more community spread.
"It won't be fully opened but it will be opened in strategic ways, in ways that are approved by doctors to make sure that we we can contain the coronavirus," he said Wednesday on the Chad Hasty radio show based in Lubbock, Texas.
State parks already opened up in Texas on Monday, and limited medical procedures were allowed starting today.
On Friday, the state will begin a "retail-to-go" approach of allowing retail stores to sell to customers through curbside and delivery.
1:32 p.m. ET, April 22, 2020
Covid-19 causes sudden strokes in young adults, doctors say
From CNN’s Maggie Fox
A woman wears a protective mask while talking on a cell phone on April 21 in New York City. Cindy Ord/Getty Images
The novel coronavirus appears to be causing sudden strokes in adults in their 30s and 40s who are not otherwise terribly ill, doctors reported Wednesday.
They said patients may be unwilling to call 911 because they have heard hospitals are overwhelmed by coronavirus cases.
There’s growing evidence that Covid-19 infection can cause the blood to clot unnaturally, and stroke would be an expected consequence of that.
Dr. Thomas Oxley, a neurosurgeon at Mount Sinai Health System in New York, and colleagues gave details of five people they treated. All were under the age of 50, and all had either mild symptoms of Covid-19 infection or no symptoms at all.
“The virus seems to be causing increased clotting in the large arteries, leading to severe stroke,” Oxley told CNN.
“Our report shows a seven-fold increase in incidence of sudden stroke in young patients during the past two weeks. Most of these patients have no past medical history and were at home with either mild symptoms (or in two cases, no symptoms) of Covid,” he added.
“All tested positive. Two of them delayed calling an ambulance,” Oxley said.
It is not common for people so young to have strokes, especially strokes in the large vessels in the brain.
“For comparison, our service, over the previous 12 months, has treated on average 0.73 patients every 2 weeks under the age of 50 years with large vessel stroke,” the team wrote in a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine. That’s fewer than two people a month.
A stroke in a large blood vessel causes severe damage if it is not removed right away. At least one patient has died and others are in rehabilitation facilities, intensive care or in the stroke unit. Only one went home but will require intense care, Oxley said.
Oxley said his team wanted to tell people to watch themselves for symptoms of coronavirus infection and to call 911 if they have any evidence of stroke. “Up until now, people have been advised to only call for an ambulance with shortness of breath or high fever,” he wrote.
The easy memory device for stroke, he said, is “FAST”: F for face drooping, A for arm weakness, S for speech difficulty and T for time to call 911.
“The most effective treatment for large vessel stroke is clot retrieval, but this must be performed within 6 hours, and sometimes within 24 hours,” Oxley wrote.
