By Meg Wagner and Elise Hammond, CNN
From CNN's Sheena Jones
New Jersey will test all residents and staff at each of the five state developmental centers for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities next week, Gov. Phil Murphy said at a press conference today,
The state will use a saliva-based test created by Rutgers University, Murphy said.
New Jersey has had a total of 99,989 coronavirus cases, Murphy says –– and he expects that number to surpass 100,000 tomorrow. At least 5,368 people have died from the virus in the state, he said.
From CNN's Amanda Watts
There are at least 845,959 cases of coronavirus in the US, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally.
At least 46,972 people have died from coronavirus.
The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases and those in the US military, veterans hospitals and federal prisons.
So far today, Johns Hopkins reported 4,403 new cases and 284 deaths.
From CNN's Jacqueline Howard
New data from scientists at Carnegie Mellon University shows where in the United States residents have experienced symptoms, doctor’s visits, medical tests and online browser searches related to Covid-19, as well as estimates on county-by-county disease activity.
As of now, the information has been displayed in five new interactive US maps, published to the university's COVIDcast website on Thursday, but the researchers said that their hope is for some of the county-level data to actually forecast the spread of disease.
While the data in the new maps currently represent real-time information, the researchers plan to begin forecasting in the coming weeks.
The maps show different coronavirus indicators derived by Carnegie Mellon’s Delphi Research Group. The group analyzed data from surveys conducted via Google Opinion Rewards and Facebook, as well as data from other sources such as Quidel Corp. and Google Health Trends.
A Carnegie Mellon University statement published on Thursday said the forecasts could "provide up to four weeks of advance warning" to hospitals about disease activity.
"We are trying to make forecasts so that not just the CDC but local public health officials will be able to get a snapshot of what we think is going to come — to enable them to better prepare — and in order to do that we spent a huge amount of effort in the last three weeks on gathering relevant data sources," Ryan Tibshirani, co-leader of the Carnegie Mellon’s Delphi Research Group and an associate professor of statistics and machine learning, told CNN yesterday.
Tibshirani said, "We think it should be useful to public health officials."
From CNN’s Sharif Paget
City officials in Indianapolis, Indiana, announced a new initiative on Thursday to expand testing in Marion County for communities disproportionately hit by Covid-19.
“Minority residents in our city are suffering a disproportionate share of the worst consequences of Covid-19,” Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said at a virtual briefing with city officials and community leaders.
To address this concern, Eastern Star Church will be the first community-based Covid-19 testing site for the elderly and residents who are displaying symptoms or are immunocompromised, said Dr. Virginia Caine, the director of the county health department. Testing will be free and walk-up and drive-through options will be available at the church, Caine said.
She anticipates adding two more community-based locations in the next 30 days and stressed that essential workers, like the ones the mayor highlighted, should come get tested.
Earlier this week, Dr. Caine confirmed that African-American residents in Marion County have been three times more likely to test positive for Covid-19 than white residents despite only making up 30% of the population. African-Americans are also twice as likely to die from Covid-19 than white residents, she added.
From CNN's Nikki Carvajal
The United Arab Emirates is donating coronavirus test kits to the US, according to a readout of a call between President Trump and UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed.
“The President and the Crown Prince discussed cooperation in the fight against the coronavirus, including the donation of coronavirus test kits from the United Arab Emirates to the United States,” the readout from the White House said.
Trump also “encouraged the Crown Prince to take steps toward resolving the Gulf rift in order to work together to defeat the virus, minimize its economic impact, and focus on critical regional issues.”
There’s no information about how many test kits will be donated or when they will arrive.
New testing sites will be opening in the coming days to increase testing capabilities throughout Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds said at a news conference Thursday.
When all testing sites are open, the state will be able to test an additional 3,000 people per day, she said.
Earlier this week the state launched Test Iowa to increase their capacity. More than 120,000 people have completed online assessments, Reynolds said.
From CNN's Gregory Lemos
The Colorado Department of Public Health announced Thursday it is now requiring all workers in critical businesses and critical government functions to wear "non-medical masks and gloves while at work to protect the health and welfare of the public," according to a statement Thursday.
"The main reason to wear a non-medical mask is to protect others," the statement said.
The order, which will remain in place until May 17, defines critical businesses as banks, child care facilities, pharmacies, and grocery stores.
The statement also asks all Coloradans to wear a mask anytime they go outside, including their own backyards.
The governors of Maryland and Virginia and the mayor of Washington, DC are urging President Trump to allow federal employees to continue working remotely during the coronavirus pandemic.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, and Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser sent a letter to the Trump administration, saying more than one-fifth of the nation's federal workforce live in these areas, according to a statement from the leaders.
“While of course any essential employee should continue to report to work, we know that a continued federal telework policy will help save lives by allowing more of our region’s 360,000 federal employees to work from home,” the governors wrote in a letter to Michael Rigas, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management.
The letter said deciding which essential employees must still report to work in-person "is a hard balancing act between ensuring the continuation of critical government functions and ensuring the safety and well-being of employees."
The letter continued: "We encourage the Administration to help ensure the safety of the federal workforce and our residents as we work together to fight this pandemic. Failure to do so could lead to a rise in cases and delay our ability to re-open the region."
From CNN's Adrienne Vogt
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo criticized Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell over remarks he made about providing funding to states in the coronavirus pandemic.
McConnell said in a radio interview that he'd "be in favor of allowing states to use the bankruptcy route" instead of getting federal funds.
"Sen. Mitch McConnell goes out and he says maybe the states should declare bankruptcy. This is one of the really dumb ideas of all time," Cuomo said.
Some background: The House of Representatives will vote today on a roughly $480 billion coronavirus relief package to deliver aid to small businesses and hospitals and expand Covid-19 testing, but it does not include funds for state and local governments.
"Not to fund state and local governments is incredibly short-sighted. ... How do you not fund police and fire and teachers and schools in the midst of this crisis? Yes, airlines are important, yes, small business is important, so are police and fire and health care workers, who are the frontline workers," Cuomo said in his daily briefing.
"You're not going to fund the state government? You think I am going to do it alone? How do you think it is going to work? ... You want to see that market fall through the cellar? Let New York state declare bankruptcy. Let Michigan declare bankruptcy. Let Illinois declare bankruptcy. Let California declare bankruptcy. You will see a collapse of this national economy. So, just dumb."
Cuomo also said McConnell's rhetoric further divided the nation with his "blue-state bailout" term.
"If there's ever a time for humanity and decency, now is the time. And if there was ever a time to stop your obsessive political bias and anger, which is what it's morphed into ... now is the time. And you want to politically divide this nation now with all that's going on? How irresponsible and how reckless."
Cuomo later called McConnell a "grim reaper."