Coronavirus pandemic in the US

By Meg Wagner, Elise Hammond and Mike Hayes, CNN

Updated 10:54 p.m. ET, April 30, 2020
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4:29 p.m. ET, April 30, 2020

North Carolina reports largest daily increase in new cases since pandemic began

 From CNN’s Will Brown

North Carolina reported 561 new positive coronavirus tests on Thursday, the state’s largest daily increase since the pandemic began, according to Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Cohen explained that the increase is due to an increase in testing and that overall trends remain positive. North Carolina processed 6,000 tests on Wednesday.

“We remain optimistic that trends will be stable enough to move into phase one next week,” Cohen asserted in a Thursday press conference, referencing the governor’s three-phase plan for reopening the state.

North Carolina has reported 10,509 total positive coronavirus cases and 378 deaths.

4:27 p.m. ET, April 30, 2020

2020 Little League World Series has been canceled

From CNN's Jabari Jackson

Little League International has canceled the upcoming Little League World Series.

The World Series was originally scheduled for August 20 through 30. The organization’s Board of Directors canceled the regional qualifying events as well, citing public health concerns with coronavirus.

This is the first time the event won’t be held since the tournament began in 1947.

“This is a heartbreaking decision for everyone at Little League International, but more so for those millions of Little Leaguers who have dreamt of one day playing in one of our seven World Series events," Stephen D. Keener, Little League president and CEO said in a statement.

Little League International says it will donate about $1.2 million to help fund local Little League programs as they continue their operations.

4:32 p.m. ET, April 30, 2020

Here are the latest coronavirus updates from Connecticut

From CNN's Elizabeth Hartfield

Connecticut is on its eighth consecutive day of hospitalizations decreasing across the state, Gov. Ned Lamont said on Thursday. The state saw a decrease of 41 hospitalizations from the previous day, bringing the total hospitalizations to 1,650. 

One of the state’s criteria for initial reopening in the state is a 14-day decline of hospitalizations, Lamont said.

There are at least 27,700 cases of coronavirus in the state and at least 2,257 people have died from the virus.

The state has continued to increase its testing, which is a requirement on the state’s list of criteria for reopening. At least 97,133 tests have been performed so far.

4:25 p.m. ET, April 30, 2020

Frontier airlines is requiring passengers to wear masks

From CNN's Jordan Valinsky and Greg Wallace

Matt Staver/Bloomberg via Getty Images/FILE
Matt Staver/Bloomberg via Getty Images/FILE

Frontier is the second US airline to require passengers to wear masks or face coverings on flights beginning May 8.

"This new measure is aligned with CDC recommendations and those of many municipalities within the US that include wearing a face covering when out in public," Frontier CEO Barry Biffle said in a press release.

Customers must wear masks when they're around Frontier ticket counters and gate areas, as well as during flights. Young children will be exempt from the policy.

JetBlue announced a similar policy on Tuesday.

On Monday, American Airlines said its flight attendants would be required to wear face masks during every mainline and regional flight starting May 1.

4:17 p.m. ET, April 30, 2020

Stocks finish lower even thought it was a historically good month

From CNN’s Anneken Tappe

US stocks finished the last trading day of the month in negative territory. Another bleak look at the US labor market and inaction from the European Central Bank weighed on investor sentiment.

Here's where things ended up:

  • The Dow closed 1.2%, or 288 points, lower.
  • The S&P 500 finished down 0.9%.
  • The Nasdaq Composite ended down 0.3%.

Despite the pessimistic economic data showing the disruption the coronavirus pandemic is causing the economy, it was a historically good month for stocks.

The Dow climbed 11.1%, while the S&P 500 added 12.7% in April. It was the best monthly gain since January 1987 for both indexes.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 15.4% for the month, its best performance since June 2000.

4:23 p.m. ET, April 30, 2020

At least 92 coronavirus cases identified at an Illinois meat-packing plant

From CNN’s Dan Shepherd

The Tyson plant in Joslin, Illinois.
The Tyson plant in Joslin, Illinois. WHBF

Health Department officials in Rock Island County, Illinois have identified a new Covid-19 outbreak at Tyson's meat-packing plant in Joslin, Illinois. 

At least 92 confirmed cases and two deaths have been tied to the plant there, according to the health department's website.

According to Nita Ludwig with the Rock Island County Health Department, the infectious disease team has been working with each patient to minimize the number of infections outside the plant with contact tracing.  

Tyson Foods put up plastic barriers between line workers and staggered shifts and schedules to reduce the number of employees near each other. 

4:16 p.m. ET, April 30, 2020

Cancer patient who survived coronavirus: If I can beat Covid, I can beat cancer, too

From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury

Eliza Paris’ treatment for appendix cancer was disrupted when she was diagnosed with coronavirus.

“It was a very tough fight,” Paris told CNN’s Brooke Baldwin. “You know, I thought I'd been through everything that could be thrown at me with cancer and then Covid came in and it's just a whole other battle... it's so unknown."

She said “not being able to catch your breath is a scary feeling,” and she was unable to have her support system around her because she was isolated.

Paris had to stop chemotherapy in order to be treated for coronavirus and said that knowing that there was a risk of the tumors growing was “really upsetting” but that she trusted her oncologist.

“She knew that my body had to get stronger to fight the cancer," she said.

Paris said she’s now ready to fight cancer after beating coronavirus and that it gives her a little more determination.

“If I can beat Covid then I can take down cancer as well,” she said.

Watch more:

4:09 p.m. ET, April 30, 2020

New Jersey reports 460 new coronavirus deaths

From CNN’s Sheena Jones

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said today the state has 2,633 new cases of Covid-19 for a total of 118,652.

The governor also reported 460 new deaths for a total of 7,228 deaths.

Murphy said he had a "productive and broad discussion" earlier today with President Trump regarding Covid-19. Murphy went on to thank the administration for all their help.

He said the state will receive 550,000 new Covid-19 tests and 750,000 swabs from the federal government. The Trump administration will also send PPE to 358 nursing homes in New Jersey, the governor said. 

 

4:11 p.m. ET, April 30, 2020

Rhode Island governor hopes schools will reopen in September

Pool
Pool

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo said she hopes the state will be able to open school in September 

Raimondo has asked the presidents of the state's 20 colleges to submit plans on how they can safely reopen in the fall. 

The presidents have been given five or more weeks to develop their plans.

Raimondo said that each of the colleges have been given guidelines on “what a safe plan has to look like; and then they are going to come back to us and we will work with them…to get that plan in shape over the summer so that in the fall, hopefully, they’ll be able to allow students to come back.”

More cleaning, more testing, mask wearing and probably not big lecture halls is what students could possibly expect, Raimondo said.