States reopen in US as coronavirus pandemic persists

Updated 9:57 p.m. ET, May 4, 2020

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12:38 p.m. ET, May 4, 2020

New Jersey reports more than 1,600 new Covid-19 cases

From CNN’s Sheena Jones

There were 1,621 new Covid-19 cases reported across New Jersey, bringing the total cases in the state to 128,269, Gov. Phil Murphy said today.

An additional 45 people have died from Covid-19 for a total of 7,910 deaths, the governor said.

The state will continue to review the numbers of Covid-19 cases to see if opening the parks was a good idea, he said.

Murphy said he went to a park this weekend and encouraged more people to wear face coverings because he didn’t see enough people wearing masks.

12:48 p.m. ET, May 4, 2020

The Senate is returning to DC today. Here's what to expect.

From CNN's Ted Barrett

Capitol workers wearing face masks walk past a sign advising people to observe social distancing in the Russell Senate Office Building on Monday, May 4. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images

Senators are returning to the Capitol today –– many anxious about their safety as the coronavirus spreads –– to tackle a variety of business.

Special rules governing social distancing in the Capitol will be enforced, including limiting the number of senators on the floor at a time during votes and ensuring doorways aren't crowded. Committees will be assigned the largest rooms available to conduct hearings, and face masks will now be expected to be worn by all.

Here's what to expect as senators return to work:

Coronavirus legislation: House and Senate negotiators must find common ground if they are going to pass anther coronavirus response bill. Congress has already approved about $3 trillion in relief since the onset of the pandemic but most lawmakers believe more help is needed. Democrats, who control the House and can filibuster bills in the Senate, are eyeing up to another $1 trillion to assist state and local governments, but Republican leaders in the Senate are unlikely to go along with such a big figure.
Director of National Intelligence confirmation: The Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a confirmation hearing Tuesday for Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe of Texas to the Director of National Intelligence –– a critical post overseeing the many agencies that make up the Intelligence Community. Ratcliffe was initially nominated to the post last year but withdrew after a storm of bipartisan criticism about his experience.
Controversial judge confirmation: The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a confirmation hearing Wednesday for Judge Justin Walker for a seat on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. Walker, a protégé of McConnell's, has drawn the ire of Democrats who accuse the majority leader of packing the federal judiciary with young conservative judges who will serve for decades.
Other key hearings: The health subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday at 10 a.m. on the Covid-19 response with former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Tom Friedman and others testifying. This is the hearing where the White House prevented Fauci from appearing.

Keep reading.

12:46 p.m. ET, May 4, 2020

Local governments can start planning their reopening for May 15, Cuomo says

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said different regions of the state are allowed to reopen based on their own analysis of the facts.

He urged local leaders to start planning the reopening now and to consider some factors.

"Do you have a health care system in place? Is your health system ready? Can your hospitals handle it? Do you have testing in place? Do you have tracing in place? Have you talked to businesses about how they're going to reopen?" Cuomo said.

He also noted that while governments and residents have done "tremendous work," they must continue to remain cautious.

"We have to remain vigilant and smart and confident going forward," the governor said.

12:43 p.m. ET, May 4, 2020

New Jersey schools will be closed for remainder of academic year

Gov. Phil Murphy listens to President Donald Trump during a meeting about the coronavirus response in the Oval Office on Thursday, April 30. Evan Vucci/AP

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted that schools will remain closed for the rest of the academic year.

Murphy said in a tweet that all schools in the state will remain closed for "in-person instructions" for the rest of the school year "to protect the health of our children, our educators, and their families."

"Guided by safety and science, this is the best course of action," his tweet added.

12:24 p.m. ET, May 4, 2020

New York governor to residents who refuse to wear masks: "You could literally kill someone"

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said it's "disrespectful" to not wear masks in public, adding that local governments should enforce penalties on those who refuse to wear face coverings.

"You could literally kill someone because you didn't want to wear a mask. I mean how cruel and irresponsible would that be?" Cuomo said.

He said local governments should enforce their own penalties because the situation is different in each region.

"I think it's disrespectful for people not to wear masks," Cuomo said. He then noted the outpouring of support, thanks and respect for the state's health care workers.

"The least gratitude you can show is at least wear the mask so you don't infect more people who place more of a burden on the hospitals and the nurses and the doctors," Cuomo added.

And to those who just don't "want" to wear a mask, Cuomo said, "It's not that big a deal."

"Show some respect," he added.

WATCH:

12:11 p.m. ET, May 4, 2020

These are the measures New York areas must hit before they reopen, Cuomo says

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state will reopen on a regional basis, and he outlined four metrics that will help decide if a region is ready to reopen:

Number of new infections
The capacity of health care systems
Diagnostic testing capacity
Have a contact tracing system in place

Cuomo said New York regions will follow US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for when to begin reopening. They are:

There must be a 14 days of decline in total hospitalizations and deaths on a 3-day rolling average.
A region can't have more than 15 new cases or 5 deaths on a 3-day rolling average.
A region must have fewer than 2 new Covid-19 patients for every 100,000 residents.
Regions must have at least 30% of hospital beds total and ICU beds open — "in case you have a surge," he said.
Hospitals must have at least 90 days worth of personal protective equipment stockpiled.

WATCH:

11:48 a.m. ET, May 4, 2020

226 died of coronavirus in New York on Sunday

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

There were 226 people who died of coronavirus across New York state on Sunday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a press briefing.

"This is the number that haunts me every day, and this number is not declining anywhere nearly as fast as we would like to see it decline," he said Monday.

The number of deaths were down from 280 people who died across the state on Saturday.

12:05 p.m. ET, May 4, 2020

New York governor: Hospitalizations are declining, but not as quickly as we had hoped

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the total number of hospitalizations across the state continues to decline — but it's going down at a slower rate than it increased.

"Now we're on the other side of the mountain," Cuomo said. "Unfortunately the decline from the mountain is not as steep as the incline."

He noted that the state had hoped for a steep incline, a brief plateau and a "fast decline." That decline isn't happening as quickly as he had hoped, Cuomo said.

Cuomo said the big questions now are how quickly does the rate keep falling and how low does the decline go.

11:11 a.m. ET, May 4, 2020

No White House coronavirus task force meeting planned today

From CNN's Jim Acosta

There is no White House coronavirus task force meeting on the schedule as of this morning, according to a source close to the task force.

Last week, a source familiar with the task force told CNN the White House coronavirus task force may soon begin slowly scaling back its number of meetings.