By Meg Wagner, Elise Hammond and Mike Hayes, CNN
There has been at least 1,042,874 cases of coronavirus in the US, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
At least 61,123 people have died from the virus so far.
On Thursday, Johns Hopkins has reported 2,965 new cases and 157 reported deaths.
The totals includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.
Vice President Pence is scheduled to leave Washington, DC, soon en route Indiana.
While there, he’ll tour a GM ventilator facility in Kokomo.
Earlier this week, Pence faced widespread criticism for not wearing a mask during a visit to the Mayo Clinic, which has a policy that everyone must wear masks.
Today, his wife, Karen Pence, claimed he only found out the Mayo Clinic’s policy after leaving – although it was reported his staff was aware.
From CNN's Elise Hammond
The majority of the US population has been under some kind of stay-at-home directive as state leaders work to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
But, some states are starting to make moves to reopen their economies. President Trump indicated many states can reopen by tomorrow, May 1, and shared federal guidelines for restarting the economy with governors.
Here are the states whose stay-home orders are expiring today:
These state's stay-at-home orders will end tomorrow, May 1:
Other states either did not impose a stay-at-home order, or are leaving it in place while opening some parts of their economy on May 1:
Go here to see where your state stands on reopening.
CORRECTION: This post has been updated to reflect that Arizona extended its stay-at-home order until May 15.
From CNN’s Anneken Tappe
US stocks opened lower on the last trading day of the month.
Some more bleak jobs data weighed on market sentiment, as another 3.8 million Americans filed for initial unemployment benefits last week. The total of first-time claims climbed above 30 million over the past six weeks.
Meanwhile in Europe, the European Central Bank said it would take no more action on its key policies, although it did inject some more stimulus into the European economy.
Here's what happened at the opening:
More context: Despite more bleak economic data hinting at the disruption the coronavirus pandemic is causing the economy, it was a historically good month for stocks.
The S&P 500 is on track for its best month since October 1974, and the Dow is looking at its best month since January 1987.
The Nasdaq is on track for its best monthly performance since June 2000.
From CNN’s Nick Valencia
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is poised to make an announcement to ease social distancing restrictions, his spokesperson told CNN this morning.
“We will announce more later today,” Candice Broce said when asked by CNN about a shelter-at-home-order set to expire at midnight.
Broce declined to give more details including the time of an official announcement.
“No additional information to announce at this time. That’s all I’ve got for now,” she said.
About Georgia: Last Friday, Kemp allowed for the reopening of hair and nail salons, barber shops, massage businesses and gyms under new safety standards. He allowed restaurants and theaters to reopen with new restrictions Monday.
But Georgia is projected to see its number of daily Covid-19 deaths nearly double by early August, according to a model shared by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
From CNN's Nicky Robertson and Betsy Klein
Second lady Karen Pence defended her husband, Vice President Mike Pence, who faced widespread criticism for not wearing a mask during a visit to the Mayo Clinic earlier this week.
She was asked about the visit during an appearance on "Fox and Friends."
“That's a great question, I’m glad that you asked me. First of all, it was a great visit to Mayo. They are doing amazing research with blood from recovered Covid-19 patients, and as our medical experts have told us wearing a mask prevents you from spreading the disease. And knowing that he doesn't have Covid-19, he didn't wear one,” she said.
She claimed that Pence only found out the Mayo Clinic’s policy after leaving – although it was reported his staff was aware.
“It was actually after he left Mayo Clinic that he found out that they had a policy of asking everyone to wear a mask. So you know, someone has worked on this whole task force for over two months is not someone who would have done anything to offend anyone or hurt anyone or scare anyone. I'm glad that you gave me the opportunity to talk about that,” she said.
The Vice President is expected to travel to a GM plant in Kokomo, Indiana, later today. It remains to be seen if he will wear a mask this time – though his wife’s comments suggest it’s unlikely.
From CNN's Adrienne Vogt
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reacted to the latest unemployment numbers, as the total number of first-time claims rose to 30.3 million over the past six weeks, saying that the US economy won’t rebound until there is widespread coronavirus testing.
“I myself think the path to our re-entering the economy is testing, testing, testing. It all comes back to science and the health and well-being of the American people,” Pelosi said in an interview on CNN’s “New Day.”
“You cannot turn the economy around without the scientific leadership on it,” Pelosi added.
She called Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s suggestion that states should declare bankruptcy “an excuse.”
“He's making it look like there’s some blue state-red state thing here … It only has to do with the coronavirus. And the governors are united, Democrats and Republicans,” Pelosi said.
Pelosi also said that she wants to get federal stimulus funds to states and also directly to municipalities, and that money will be given for a years-long distribution period.
“We're not going to be able to cover all of it. But we'll be able to enable them to have sustainability,” she said.
Watch more:
From CNN's Priscilla Alvarez
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has been leading federal operations response since mid-March, is working with the Health and Human Services Department to develop transition plans, according to a FEMA spokesperson.
“Planning is underway to sustain Federal COVID-19 response operations in support of states, tribes, and territories. HHS and FEMA staff are closely coordinating to develop transition plans, which will likely involve transitioning certain functions and staff back to HHS,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Decisions on what adjustments will be made, or when, have not been made yet, the spokesperson added, noting that FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor “coordinates closely with senior HHS officials daily on operations and will do so on transition plans.”
FEMA said it will remain leading the "operational coordination for the COVID-19 response until directed differently by President Trump and the White House Coronavirus Task Force."
CNN has previously reported that FEMA is also looking ahead to natural disasters, like hurricane season, and preparing their response for those events.
Bloomberg first reported FEMA’s transition plans.
From CNN's Joe Sutton
Thousands of inmates in Ohio prisons have been diagnosed with coronavirus.
As testing in facilities around the state continues, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) is now reporting at least 3,890 prisoners have tested positive as of April 29. At least 5,676 have been tested total.
The total inmate population as of Tuesday was 47,820, the ODRC spokeswoman tells CNN.
“The reason that you are seeing numbers out of our prisons, that are much, much higher than other places is because we made a decision to go test everybody. And when we've got a hotspot we move in and we’ve surged testing in,” Gov. Mike DeWine said during a press briefing yesterday.
There have been 27 confirmed Covid-19 related inmate deaths.
"Because we are testing everyone – including those who are not showing symptoms – we are getting positive test results on individuals who otherwise would have never been tested because they were asymptomatic," JoEllen Smith, a spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said.
"Approximately 95% of the positive cases are asymptomatic,” Smith added.
According to the data, 419 prison employees also have tested positive and two died due to the virus.
