Coronavirus pandemic in the US

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam does not anticipate reopening the state before May 8, he said in a news conference Friday.

Northam outlined his “Forward Virginia” plan and explained that phase one of reopening will require downward trends in new cases and hospitalizations for 14 days; increased testing and contact tracing and a sustainable supply of hospital beds and personal protective equipment.

Northam compared the recovery to the aftermath of September 11.

Northam said Virginia’s goal is to eventually process 10,000 tests per day. The state processed 4,000 tests each of the last two days.

Northam also said that he is not considering reopening the state by region or county.

Illinois has recorded 2,724 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, the highest number of new cases in a single day, said Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike.

This brings the total state count to 39,658 cases, Ezike said at a news conference Friday.

There were 4,828 people hospitalized and 25% of those patients were in intensive care, according to Ezike

Ezike also announced 108 new Covid-19-related deaths, bringing the state total to 1,795.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said on Friday he was “disturbed” to hear that grocery stores are not making a greater effort to get all employees tested for Covid-19.

Speaking at today’s news briefing, Duggan warned that he will “crackdown” on them if they fail to get all their workers tested by May 11.  

Missouri will begin loosening restrictions on businesses and some public gatherings beginning on May 4, Gov. Mike Parson said at a news conference Friday. 

“Since Missouri's first case nearly 50 days ago, we have accomplished a tremendous amount of work together,” the governor said.

He said the “reopening” will include restaurants, salons, gyms and houses of worship. Details outlining social distancing measures will be released next week, the governor said.

Parson said he is extending the state’s coronavirus emergency declaration through June 15.

“Extending the emergency declaration simply allows us to continue using our resources and deploying them across the state,” he said.

Indiana Department of Health Commissioner Kristina Box acknowledged that she has received questions about the wisdom of ingesting disinfectant and has told these people it is not something she recommends.

Sen. Mike Braun was more critical, saying, “sometimes when you’re not clear with how you say things, and especially when you’re at a high level where people watch, it’s best probably not to venture into areas that you may not know a lot about.”

Gov. Eric Holcomb followed Box, repeating the President’s explanation today that he was being sarcastic but also added the state will give sound medical counsel if anyone asks.

"Yeah and I would just add, apply those disinfectants to surfaces. They work. Not yourself," Holcomb said.

California is unveiling a new program focused on caring for seniors while also getting farmers, restaurant workers and delivery people back to work. 

Touted as the first of its kind in the nation, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the program will focus on seniors who are particularly vulnerable and dealing with isolation. 

The program will allow for restaurants to reopen in order to prepare and deliver meals to seniors.

Elderly people meeting eligibility requirements, including financial means and vulnerability to coronavirus, will receive three meals a day, seven days a week. The meals will be made with an eye on locally-produced ingredients in an effort to put farmers back to work, and will follow nutritional guidelines, the governor said.

As of yesterday, Boston coronavirus cases were up by at least 398, for a total of 6,958, Mayor Marty Walsh announced.

This is the city’s largest one-day increase so far in the pandemic, he said. The city had 11 new coronavirus deaths for a total of 232.

He added: “We do know that the measures we are taking in Boston are working. These numbers would be much higher if we had not taken very strong steps and if the folks in the communities haven’t been social distancing, physical distancing, staying at home and doing everything that they have been for the last, say, six or eight weeks here."

Because Maryland has yet to hit its Covid-19 peak and cases are still on the rise, the state is not ready to open back up for business, Gov. Larry Hogan said at a news conference this afternoon.

Hogan said that the federal guidelines issued by President Trump last week called for states to meet specific gating metrics before considering lifting restrictions, including a 14-day downward trend in key numbers.

Maryland has not seen a “spike” in Covid-19-related illnesses and it is not ready to open, Hogan said.

“We have been successful in flattening and lengthening the curve in our state, and we have not had the very high spikes that you have seen in other states. But that is also why we are several weeks behind those other states who spiked earlier, and the number of new cases of Covid-19 is still rising here in Maryland and throughout the Maryland, DC, and Virginia region, and by the federal standards instituted last week, and under the guidance given in the studies and reopening plans that we cited Maryland is not yet able to lift our restrictions," Hogan said.

A new study revealed that tens of thousands of Miami-Dade residents had Covid-19 and didn’t even know it, Miami Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced during a news conference Friday.

Gimenez said a random antibody testing study of some of the county’s 2.8 million residents was recently conducted. About 1,800 people participated.

The data showed 6% of the sample tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies, which would be about 165,000 residents, he said.

According to the Florida Department of Health, there are 10,701 coronavirus cases in Miami-Dade. That means that the actual number of cases, according to the study, is 16.5 times the number reported by the state, Gimenez said.

Gimenez pointed out that this means a significant number of people were carrying coronavirus while being asymptomatic. He emphasized that social distancing restrictions are working.

The data also shows that black Americans might be twice as likely to be infected with Covid-19 than other racial groups, he said.